DISCLAIMER: I don't own "Ju-On," "The Grudge," or the characters of Kayako and Toshio Saeki. Feedback and constructive criticism is welcome.

Fury

"How about Tim's little side journey, though? That cost us half a day!" Carly said, rolling her eyes to no one in particular as they walked hand-in-hand through the busy shopping mall.

"I couldn't wait to get out of there," Evan responded, somehow not feeling as cool as his button-down shirt, khaki shorts and flip flops let on. In addition, he hadn't shaved in over a week, and had been letting his curly blonde hair grow out. Carly had told him that she liked this look on him; as per usual, he obeyed the wishes of Carly.

Evan looked around the mall. As of this moment, he and Carly had passed the food court, the busy streets of New York City clearly visible from the all-glass foyer that served as the entrance to the mall. He and Carly were both busy at work getting ready for summer, and had already begun stocking up on a few summer essentials in the various higher-end clothing stores in the shopping center.

"Tell me about it," Carly said, smiling as she did so. No matter what I'm feeling, that look makes me feel better. "We could've been having fun that day, but instead we had to go on one of Tim's little nerd tours. Surprised he didn't take us along to…what was that thing he went to last summer again?"

"It was a horror convention."

"A horror convention. What do they do at those things anyway?"

"He only talked to me about it for a little bit. Supposedly they go around and get people's autographs and stuff."

"That doesn't sound like very much fun."

"Different strokes for different folks."

"So what do you think possessed him to drag all of us along to that stupid house, anyway?"

"Who knows with Tim," Evan said as he grabbed Carly with both of his arms, pulling her into a tight bear hug, not even caring that there were countless people walking around them at this moment. Carly pulled up the bag containing the clothing purchases she had made throughout the day to her neck. "Who cares about that house, anyway?"

"Evan!" she said, laughing to herself.

"What?"

"There's people around!"

"Who cares?" Evan said, kissing Carly on the mouth. Not surprisingly, she reciprocated the gesture. They broke, returning to their normal walking gait.

"What is it with you and that house, anyway?" Carly said, still laughing at the spontaneity of the embrace.

"I don't know what it is, Carly. There was just something about it. I just had this feeling."

"Really? What kind of feeling."

"I can't explain it. And we were in there for so goddamn long."

"Evan, we were only in there for 20 minutes. Half an hour, at the max."

"You're telling me you weren't scared?"

"Well, I was at first. When he was telling his story and going through his usual Johnny Depp overacting spiel. But after that – it was just a house, Evan. For all we know, Tim was making it all up. He could've picked it at random, as weird as he can be sometimes."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. But it still felt weird, you know? Like when you're in a really crowded room for a long time. Suffocating."

"Suffocating, huh? That place really spooked you!"

"Yeah, it did."

"I know something that'll make it better." Evan looked down, admiring the curves of Carly's shapely body. He had taken her in when he had first picked her up to come to the mall; somehow, in the act of talking about the house, he had forgotten. As it had warmed up in the big city within the last three weeks, the clothing styles of everyone at Chester Donovan had matched. Carly shined more than all the others in the warm weather, with her tiny shorts and tank top leaving little to Evan's imagination.

"When?"

"Later tonight. My parents aren't going to be home."

"Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"I just kind of wanted to spring it on you. Wanted to see the look on your face. Goal achieved on that one."

"Shit, Carly. That just made my day."

"I was hoping."

It was amazing the effect that a little quality time with Carly had on his psyche, Evan thought to himself, yanking down the zipper of his shorts and beginning the tried-and-true method of urinating through a zipper hole. Surprisingly, no one else occupied this particular men's room.

Carly had said that the bag was getting a little heavy; she needed to go outside to her car and drop it off. Taking the initiative, Evan had seen this as an opportunity to relieve himself while not in her presence.

It had been a week since their Tokyo trip had ended. Another full week back at school; the spring sports season had already ended, which meant that Evan Daniels had participated in the last Chester Donovan track meet of his career. However, this also meant that baseball season was about to go into full swing, and coach Myers had already begun to work the boys hard. Evan was the team's pitcher; once, while completely away from the other members of the team, Myers had told him that the pitcher is always the best athlete on the team. As he always did, Evan took the advice to heart, seeing this as motivation to train even harder than he would have without knowing the complimentary information. As such, he had a spectacular season last summer, and was looking forward to another standout effort this year.

Today, though, had been the first Saturday since touching down in the States; as per usual, he was spending it with Carly. He wouldn't have it any other way. But for some strange reason, he needed the time with Carly this week.

There had been a lot of weirdness this week; it had been occurring ever since he had entered that house. That damned house.

There had been the feeling; it hadn't gone away since he left the house. The feeling of suffocation, and occasional bouts of sheer panic. As if someone, or something, was standing directly behind him, looking at him with an expression of pure hatred, arms outstretched and ready to choke the life out of him at any moment. It went away intermittently; it had today when he had been in the mall, with thousands of other spectators, and most importantly with Carly.

There had been Kristen's incident on the plane ride back from Japan. Jen had told him the day after it happened that when Kristen ran past her, she had looked more terrified than she had ever seen her, and that when she called out to her she seemed to be a million miles away. She had disappeared into the bathroom; after thirty minutes, Jen had grown worried, and the flight attendants had knocked on the door.

There had been no answer. There had only been Kristen, on the floor, passed out. When she came to, she told a story about a strange woman in the mirror trying to kill her.

Evan himself had been one of the people who had tried to comfort her to no avail after heareing her story, and finally, after both Jen and Carly offered her assistance and sat with her on the plane (it was amazing how other females could comfort girls, Evan had thought as he watched the scene unfold), Kristen had calmed down. But the look on her face told the entire story. She had seen something. Something that scared her to her core.

There had been strange incidents during the night throughout the week. Strange scratching sounds coming from the attic of his house on the outskirts of the city – sounds that he had never heard before in his life. And just last night, he had heard a strange clicking sound coming from all the way up there. Clicking that sounded, in some way, that it might be coming from something human…

CCCCCCCCC RRRRRRR OOOOOO AAAAA KKKKK…

Evan was in the last stages of urination when he heard the sound – it was clear as day, and much louder than when he heard it last night, laying in bed and bathed in sweat.

It was in the bathroom stall right next to him…

Without thinking, Evan zipped up his jeans, letting the last few drops stain his pants, and quickly hopped backward. There were two urinals near the entrance to the bathroom, followed by the two stalls. The sound had come from the first stall.

Evan looked at the door, well aware of his own terrified face in the bathroom's mirror. The door slowly opened as Evan began backing away toward the bathroom door.

CCCCCCC RRRRRRR OOOOOOO AAAAA KKKK…

All Evan saw coming out of the stall was a long, black shroud – but from the way it flowed and angled, it was apparent that this was a woman's hair.

Evan cared to see no more. He turned around and bolted out of the bathroom, running down the empty hallway that led to both bathrooms. He had been prepared to warn people of the danger that lurked inside; he was glad he didn't need to.

Upon reaching the main hallways of the mall, looking out at countless stores and pedestrians, he immediately picked out the form of Carly, who had entered the mall from one of the side doors. She spotted him almost immediately, waving to him and smiling.

He ran to her.

"Evan, what the…"

He grabbed her hand. "We have to go."

"Evan, what the hell's going on…"

"Shut up. We just have to get out of here."

Carly's silence was understood. Evan was well aware of the fact that he was different from other guys she had been with, and was proud of the fact that Carly had once told her that he was the most honest guy she had ever met. And he wouldn't lie if he was truly frightened for her safety.

She stopped protesting, allowing herself to be led away from the direction of the bathrooms...

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What the hell was that thing…

Evan had been alone in his house now for twenty minutes. He had locked all the doors; he had even called Carly at home to make sure she was okay.

Somehow, she followed me…but who the hell is she?

And that sound-God, that sound…

Evan walked to his window. The living room of his house was very spacious, with a ridiculously large television mounted on one side of the room, and posh furniture dotting the landscape all the way to a large window overlooking the front yard.

There was nobody there. No burglars, no attackers, no terrible croaking women.

Evan sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. His parents were away; regardless of what was going on with Carly, he had been planning on spending the night with her one way or the other. But at this moment, Evan wished badly for their presence.

Stupid family get-togethers, Evan thought to himself. Maybe I SHOULD have gone…

And then Evan heard another sound – but one that was unmistakable. It was coming from the second level of the house, in the room directly above his own first floor bedroom.

But the sound did not scare him, although it intrigued him. It was the meowing of a cat.

Evan turned around, looking past the dining room and to the wood door that led to the stairs. He quickly made his way across the area, opened the door, and began climbing the stairs. He heard it again, and again.

How the hell did a cat get in there? Poor thing's probably starving, with all the goddamn noise it's making.

He reached the top of the stairs. The second level of the Daniels home was really nothing more than for show; he was an only child. There had never been a need for extra bedroom space, although there were two empty rooms on either side of the base of the stairway built specifically for that purpose. He rounded a corner, stepping past the bedrooms, headed directly for the large wooden door at the end of the hallway. The attic.

He heard the sound again. It had picked up in intensity.

A freaking cat, he thought to himself. Is that what's been making all the noise up here? I've been scared of a cat?

Evan opened the door. The inside of their attic was stuffed with tons of old boxes. The room was about ten feet high, and there were probably close to a hundred boxes containing all the knickknacks that his parents had picked up over the years. They were successful – his father was a doctor and his mother was a radiologist. Antiquing had been their vice, and stupidly, neither ever seemed to look at their purchases, leaving most of them to rot up here.

There was a small lightbulb in the dingy room, turned on only by an old-fashioned hand string. He pulled it, casting the cut off room in an eerie yellow glow.

There was something different. In the middle of the room, surrounded by the boxes, was a large black stain that hadn't been there the last time he had been in this room.

What the…

Evan took two steps in, and suddenly, the door snapped shut behind him.

He snapped backward, looking at the door, feeling his resolve and strength leave him already…

Oh Jesus…

Then he heard it again – the meowing.

He looked to the center of the room again.

Standing directly behind the stain on the floor was a small boy, no older than ten years old. He was shirtless, and wore only shorts. He was no doubt Asian in nationality, but his skin…

My God, what the hell's wrong with him – he's pure white!

The terrifying boy opened his mouth as if to speak…but no words came out. Instead came the meow of a cat.

Evan opened his own mouth, feeling the scream escape from it without even hearing the sound.

The boy continued to scream his feline scream – and then something emerged from the stain in the floor. The top of a woman's head – and the long, flowing black hair, unmistakably the same as the hair he had seen in the mall bathroom…

She's coming out of the stain…

The eyes followed, followed by a face, and then shoulders.

Evan had already turned around and tried to open the door many times, to no avail. This was a nightmare come to life.

It was a woman, and her eyes burned into his. Her mouth, face, and throat was stained with blood, and in one motion, the remainder of the woman's body somehow crawled out of the stain. The woman herself remained prostrate on the ground, and began crawling toward him, her body contorting with a sick precision, almost as if she was in great pain – but yet wanted to inflict great pain on him…

The woman inched toward him, closer and closer, and all the while Evan screamed, attempting to open the door simultaneously as he did so.

And just before the terrible woman reached him, Evan's last conscious thought was that the woman was still making that same sound, like some sort of psychotic frog hell bent on destroying everything that was good and decent in his life.