Urban Legend
Chapter Eight
Cye and Kento were still digging through boxes, trying to find the correct power cord, when they heard the scream. It was muffled, far away in the first floor bathroom. They were all the way in the storage room on the second floor. The noise managed to reach their ears and the distance and closed doors did little to filter out the absolute horror in that sound.
Ice poured into Cye's veins from that horrible cry. He knew Mia's scream when White Blaze tracked mud into the house and he knew her scream when she found a particularly gnarly spider. This was a life threatening scream of pure terror.
"Mia!"
He took off out of the storage room as if his feet had grown wings. Kento tried to follow after, tripping over several boxes on his way out. Cye was already leaping over the balcony to the floor below as Kento stumbled into the hall. In a matter of seconds, Torrent was at the bathroom door and found it locked as he yanked on the knob. The scream on the other side of the door cut off with a garbled gasp, as if she were choking. He heard heavy thuds from a struggle, making Cye even more desperate to get in there.
"Mia! Hang on!"
He shoved his shoulder into the door. When it offered no give, he gave it a mighty kick and the door splintered around the knob, cracking and breaking completely away. Kento had finally caught up by then and both rushed in to see Mia struggling against some sort of grayish foggy entity. It was roughly her size, but nearly formless as it stood behind her, strangling her neck. She clawed at invisible hands as she struggled to breathe, her bare feet kicking uselessly.
The entrance of the two warriors immediately caused the thing to retreat. Kento could have sworn he saw it slip right down into the toilet bowl to escape. Mia lunged for Cye, clutching his shirt and sobbing. Cye held her tight, noticing the angry hand-shaped marks on her neck. At least her cries made it clear there was no damage to her throat.
Cye tucked her in closer and pulled her out of the bathroom, holding her shaking frame. He looked to Kento and the two locked wide-eyed expressions. What the hell just happened?
"Bye, Sage! Come by anytime. I'm sure Robyn would love to see you again," Regan called from the door as Robyn walked inside.
Sage, already halfway back to his car, glanced back at the odd farewell. He managed to give a small smile and a wave before climbing into his vehicle.
"Laying it on a little thick there," Robyn commented as Regan shut the door and turned to her with a wide smile.
"Just letting him know he's welcome to take you out again any time."
Robyn shook her head. "This isn't going to work. You can't just make two people fall in love with each other."
"You won't know if you don't even try," the brunette retorted. "You two would make such a cute couple. And he did ask you out."
"Are you aware that when we were teenagers he didn't trust me further than he could throw me? We're just trying to figure out how to be friends. Don't ruin it with your matchmaking."
"Fine," Regan relented. "Friends first." She grinned again. "And then more than friends later."
Robyn turned from her and started down the hall. "Ugh, you're awful. I'm going to shower."
Sage had his phone on vibrate during dinner. That is, until Rowen called him twice within five minutes. Sage didn't bother to answer. Rowen knew he was out with Robyn. He was probably calling to make a thorough pest of himself and Sage most certainly was not going to allow him to facilitate that bad behavior. The jerk didn't even text. He was really trying to be disruptive to their evening. When the third call came in, Sage turned off the phone.
He didn't turn it back on until he climbed into the car after dropping off Robyn, ready now to head home. As he was pulling onto the street, the phone he left in the cup holder beeped to let him know that while it was off, he had received a message. Then it beeped again, and again, and again. And again. Had Rowen been leaving him dumb messages all night long? Sage wouldn't have put it past him.
When he had to halt for a stoplight, Sage took the opportunity to check the messages. Rowen's voice did indeed sound on the first message, but instead of the snark Sage expected, the tone on the other end was hushed and labored.
"Sage, I'm at the subway station by the university." Rowen whispered, his breath heavy. "I'm alone, but... there's something coming this way. And I am not okay with that. If you could maybe pick me up..." There was a pause and a hitch of breath. "It's coming closer, it's looking right at me." In the background, Sage picked up a subtle clacking sound and then a strange hiss or a screech. He couldn't tell. Most of it was drowned out by Rowen's sudden loud scream and the voicemail ended.
Sage stared at his phone, heartbeat picking up in fear. The light turned green and Sage pulled forward, immediately looking for some place to park so he could listen to the rest of the messages without having to divert his attention to the road. Even though fear fluttered in his chest, he tried to rationalize the situation. There was still a chance this was all a prank. Even if something bizarre really had happened to him, the further voicemails on his phone indicated that Rowen certainly had survived whatever he encountered on that first message.
After locating a small lot, Sage pulled in and left the car running as he listened to the other messages.
"I don't... I don't know what that was." Rowen's voice panted; he was clearly running as he spoke on the phone. "It happened so fast! But it was like... I swear it was just like in that story. It's just like... a torso, dragging itself and—SHIT!" The message abruptly ended.
Sage moved to the next message.
Rowen's voice sounded a bit labored, but steadier and slightly irritated. "Sage, I think this thing is chasing me. I'm trying to find it, but it disappears. Then, I think it's gone and it just shows up right behind me. Could really use a ride here. Can you please answer your damn phone?"
The next message, Rowen's voice was suddenly in near hysterics.
"Sage! Why don't you answer your phone, you son of a bitch?! She had no legs! No legs!" Rowen sounded somewhere between laughing hysterically and crying. "I need a ride! Answer your phone, you asshole!"
The next message was, surprisingly, from Cye.
"Sage, something came after Mia tonight."
Halo's blood ran cold.
"She's safe, but... whatever it was got away. I don't... we're still trying to figure out what it was."
In his pauses between speaking, Sage could hear Mia's hiccupping breaths and Kento murmuring to her in the background.
"As soon as you get this, come over. And call the girls. I got Robyn's voicemail and I don't have Regan's number."
There was one last voicemail from Rowen, but Sage didn't bother with it, opting to call Strata instead.
It rang twice, and then: "You fucking asshole."
"Where are you?" Sage asked simply.
"I called you two dozen times!" The blond Ronin took heart that Rowen sounded viciously pissed instead of afraid for his life. "I know you check your phone. What the hell—"
"Where are you?" Sage repeated. "I just got your messages. I'm coming to get you."
Rowen told him, and Sage put him on speaker to keep him on the line as he turned the car around for the station. He found Rowen a few blocks from a subway exit, hands in pockets and shoulders hunched. His foul mood was visible even from a distance. He yanked open the passenger door when Sage slowed down at the curb and scrambled in.
"We're going to Mia's," Sage told him before Rowen could begin to complain.
"No 'Rowen, I'm so sorry for not picking up my phone, like an asshole, while you were being attacked by a woman with no legs?'" Strata's voice was scathingly sarcastic. "And why the hell are we going to Mia's?"
"Something came after her, too," Sage said gravely, and Rowen's indignation immediately fell away. "That thing we were waiting for... looks like it's happening." As he drove, Sage quickly used his phone to dial Robyn's number and placed it on speaker as it rang.
After three rings, the call picked up, and Regan's voice said, "Robyn's phone. Can I help you?"
"Regan, is everything okay over there? Where's Robyn?" Sage asked.
"In the shower. Everything's fine, why?"
"Can you check?"
"Mmhmm." The line went quiet for a long moment, and then a door opened and they could distinctly hear a running shower. "Rob, you okay in there?" They heard the shhink of the shower curtain being pulled open, and then a surprised squawk.
"Regan Sundari!"
"She's angry, but good," Regan said with a grin in her voice.
"Get out!" Robyn yelled.
Regan was laughing on the line. "Can I do anything else for you, Sage? Do you need pictures? I can send you some."
"Oh. My. God. Get out!" Robyn's voice screamed in the background.
"No, that's not necessary, thank you," Sage replied dryly.
"It might be a little necessary," Rowen said with a smirk.
There was the sound of the bathroom door closing and it was quieter on the other end. "Oh? Am I on speaker? Hey, handsome. How was class?"
"Good," Rowen said back after a brief hesitation. "Fantastic." He looked considerably calmer than he did before the phone call, although his tone was still off, and she picked up on it.
"Are you sure? You sound the opposite of fantastic."
"I... we've got a situation." He glanced at Sage, wordlessly deciding between the both of them not to go into detail and scare the girls before they had more information. "Some weird stuff is going on and we're headed to Mia's to try and figure this out. In the meantime, just lock your doors tonight. Don't go anywhere for the rest of the night, okay?"
Regan's earlier playful tone was nowhere to be found. "Yeah, we can do that. Stay safe and keep us updated, okay?"
"You got it, beautiful. Stay safe yourself."
After the phone call ended, Sage preempted Rowen's questions with, "I don't know anything more than what I told you, Cye just left a voicemail. I got to his when I was listening to yours. You both must have been attacked at nearly the same time."
"Son of a bitch." Rowen sighed explosively and dropped his head in his hands, rubbing his face and dragging his hands through his hair. "I don't know what Mia saw, but down in that subway... Sage, it was just like the story. Exactly like it."
"What story?" Now outside the city, the car's headlights swept over rice fields, tall grasses, and trees, moonlight reflecting off the water in the fields and getting absorbed in the thick, dense pockets of forest. Sage found himself tensing every time the road curved and his headlights sliced over the next road, as if he half expected to find something crouched in the center of the dark pavement.
"Those urban legends we read out loud at the inn. It was Teke Teke, Sage. I swear to God, it happened exactly as the story said it would. I was waiting for the train and the platform was completely empty. It's never empty! That station is right in the middle of town! And then, I just saw this... thing crawling toward me. Dragging its body. This grotesque woman-thing that was just a torso with no legs. Talpa has nothing on this chick, she was so scary. And she just suddenly booked it at me so fast! No matter where I ran, she would disappear and then be right in front of me. Like at the top of the goddamn escalators, waiting for me." Rowen shuddered hard. "And she would just look at me and grin."
"And once you got to the street?"
"She disappeared."
Sage frowned to himself. The Koji manor appeared in the distance, and they both went silent as he parked by Kento's jeep. Hardrock must have heard them pull up, for he opened the door as soon as they ascended the porch steps.
"The circus has begun," Kento said tersely as he shut and locked the door behind them.
"I know, I had a front row seat," Rowen said as he stepped inside, raking his fingers through his hair. "I saw it while I was waiting for the train. Probably close to the same time it went after Mia."
"It caught you in the bathroom, too, huh?" Kento said.
Both Strata and Halo paused to look at him. "What, no. I was on the platform. And this legless torso came crawling at me."
"What. The. Hell?" Kento said.
"I know, right?"
"Mia was in the bathroom. Cye broke down the door, and this cloudy black thing had her around the neck. Then it just disappeared right in front of us."
The other two looked at each other as Kento led them to the living room. Mia sat on the big couch, a blanket wrapped around her shivering form, a white-knuckled grip on the mug of tea in her lap. Cye was protectively next to her. She gave a small, wobbly smile when she saw the pair.
"Hi, guys." Her voice was hoarse.
"Thanks for coming," Cye said. His attention only strayed from Mia's for what he'd intended to be a second, but he took a longer look when he saw Rowen. The Ronin of Strata was pale and only a few shaky steps above Mia in the visibly shocked department. "Something else happened."
"Yeah," Rowen said. "It's been a great night all around." He sat down heavily next to Mia and squeezed her shoulder as he did.
Sage knelt in front of Mia. The red marks were still visible on her neck, clear indicators that someone had tried to choke her. Sage's jaw was clenched but his hands were gentle as he tilted her chin so he could get a better look. Rowen hissed in sympathy at the wounds, now starting to bruise slightly. Neither missed the drying tear tracks on her cheeks. Her gaze was steadier, but she trembled under his touch.
"Can't seem to stop shaking," Mia said, laughing a little at herself.
"Kento's already done a sweep of the house and the outside," Cye told them, his arm wrapped around Mia's waist. He rubbed a hand soothingly up and down her back while Sage laid his hands over the red welts.
"Whatever it was, it's gone," Kento supplied, swallowing the words "for now." He was still keyed up, his anger and fear over watching something choke Mia having no outlet with nothing to fight. He felt likea tight rope, strung out so taunt he was liable to snap. "Went down the fucking pipes to who knows where. White Blaze has been patrolling outside and hasn't found anything, either."
A subtle, green glow emanated from Sage's fingertips as Rowen suddenly sat up in realization. "Wait a minute, the attack happened here? In this house?" He jumped to his feet. "That means this thing can just appear anywhere. We left Regan and Robyn in their apartment alone. They were in the bathroom when we were talking to them. And if this smoke thing travels by pipe—"
"That's not all there is to it," Cye interrupted in a low voice.
"It was Aka Manto," Mia whispered. She couldn't say the name louder; she felt, absurdly, like she'd invite him to come back by saying his name where he could hear her. "I heard it ask me: red or blue paper."
Rowen jerked both his index fingers at himself. "I got Teke Teke! A woman with no legs came crawling for me at the train station."
An uncanny silence filled the room as the weight of haunting possibilities ran rampant through all their imaginations. A creak from the kitchen made everyone jump and a white tiger prowled into the room, headed straight for Mia.
Sage was in the way, but didn't move until after he'd finished tending to her bruises. When he removed his hands, the marks were merely a bad memory. She ran her fingers over her smooth neck, feeling no irritated hot skin, no remnants of that…creature's hands wrapped around her throat. She hugged Sage, whispering a thank you. He squeezed her back, and then moved to give the tiger some room. Mia immediately hid her face in the soft fur while White Blaze purred to soothe her.
"So what does that mean?" Sage asked. "The two of you saw some sort of manifestation that mimicked the stories we told at the inn?"
"The extremely creepy-ass inn that suddenly turned into a dilapidated junk pile in the middle of the night," Kento reminded. "It was listening to us," he added in a paranoid tone.
"Not only that," Rowen put in, "Mia was the one who read the Aka Manto story and I read the one about Teke Teke. We were both attacked by the stories we read."
"So what is that supposed to mean?" Cye asked. "Are we all going to have encounters similar to the stories we read aloud that night?"
"I read the story about Inunaki Village," Kento popped in. "The next day, we did find a village, but it wasn't like anything described in the story. And nothing attacked us, other than it gave us the creeps and Mia came back with a gnarly photo. So how does that fit in?"
"Neither Robyn nor Ryo read one," Mia recalled, her voice still a little scratchy. "Regan told us stories from her own culture; she didn't read any from the book itself. I don't know if that makes a difference."
"And Mia read like four of them," Kento recalled, causing the brunette to suddenly pale at the idea of other characters coming after her. "Rowen read at least one other one."
"The other one was the story of the Gozu," Rowen recalled. "But it's not really a thing because the whole shtick of the Gozu is that if you hear the story of the Gozu you get so scared you die, but since no one can live to retell it, no one knows the story."
"Doesn't mean a creepy cow head still isn't going to come after you, bro."
Rowen looked a bit sick himself.
"What story did you read, Sage?" Kento then asked.
"I read about the Kokkuri-San. If you recall, it just talked about how to make your own ouija board and how to properly end the sessions or else misfortune and death may follow you. I don't plan on making one ever, so I doubt I have much to fear from it."
"What was Cye's?" Mia asked suddenly. "Baby, what was your legend?"
"Sadako," he answered gravely.
Kento snorted. "Shit, no more TV for you."
"Not funny, Kento."
"This isn't giving us any answers, only more questions," Rowen complained. "Since some of us read multiple stories and others didn't read any, we can't assume there's a story assigned to each of us. We also can't assume that the monsters we've encountered will only follow us. Kento could see Teke Teke next."
"Dude, don't even wish your bad juju on me."
"And what about the marks?" Mia asked. There was still fear in her voice, but, like Rowen, the intrigue of the mystery was getting the better of her. "What do they have to do with all of this?"
"It's possible it's a way for whatever this thing is to find each of us," Sage said. "It's also possible that whatever this is, it's neither Teke Teke nor Aka Manto, but something that decided to take these forms for some reason. We really don't know."
"These marks are driving me crazy." Mia suddenly stood. She was tired of being scared. Now she had the urge to act. "I feel like if I can just crack their meaning, it will help figure out what is going on, or what to do next. I'm going to take Rowen's sketches and the pictures upstairs to the library and pull out grandfather's ancient language texts again. I did an online search first, but I haven't had time to really dive into it." Her voice strengthened with resolve, the lingering fear in her eyes masked with determination—the need to do something. "I'm making time tonight." Sleep would be impossible, anyway.
"I'll help you," Rowen offered. "But first I'm going to check on my girl."
"Has anyone got in contact with Ryo?" Sage asked while Rowen pulled out his phone and dialed.
"He's working, his phone's off," Kento replied. "We left messages, let him know what's going on. But his shift doesn't end until the morning."
"Regan, Regan," Rowen announced as she picked up her end of the call. He wandered off to the hallway as he talked to her. "Baby, you still okay?"
"Uh, yeeeeah," came a facetious response. "Why wouldn't I be? What's going on?"
In this, Rowen hesitated. If he told them everything and they weren't in danger, was he needlessly scaring them? If he didn't and something happened, was he leaving them unprepared to defend themselves? Suddenly, he badly wanted Regan next to him. But he also did not want her on the road—nor him on the road either. Despite Mia's attack in her own bathroom, being inside the house felt safer than the darkness of the outside.
"Something... happened—is happening. I don't even know how to explain it."
"Rowen, just tell me the facts. Don't leave anything out."
Rowen was good at many things. Lying was not one of them. He loved the truth too much, even if it was blunt or scary. The truth poured out of him, all of it. Everything he saw and experienced at the station, everything the others had told him that had happened in the mansion. And then all the different theories spewed forth. The rest of the group remained silent through it all, listening to it all over again as if answers could be pulled from the air as Rowen's words drifted in.
When he was finished, Rowen could hear two different female voices discussing quietly in the background. It sounded like Regan had put him on speaker at some point while he was talking. When they were finished, Regan's voice came clear on the line.
"All right, Rowen. We're glad everyone's okay. We're going to stay here and keep the doors locked as long as you promise you're not going anywhere tonight either."
"Trust me, no one wants to go anywhere."
"And in the morning, maybe we can all... meet somewhere?"
"Ooh! Let's get breakfast!" Robyn's voice sounded in the background.
Rowen smiled a little at that. "Sounds good. We'll go to that place down the road from your apartment. It will have to be early."
"I have a feeling we'll all probably be awake." Regan's voice went low. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Me, too, babe. Don't hesitate to call if you experience anything out of the ordinary, okay?"
As Rowen ended his call, Cye put an arm around Mia. "Love, how about a change of clothes before you hit the books?"
Mia nodded and rose to her feet with him. She didn't escape the living room without solid hugs from Kento, Rowen, and even Sage. White Blaze trailed after them as they headed upstairs for Mia to change. When they were in the bedroom, she watched Cye pull out her favorite pair of lounge pants and paired it with one of his t-shirts. He'd vaulted the balcony to get to her, according to Kento.
"Some socks, too," he said, half to her and half to himself. "I can make more tea, there's enough honey left. Let me know when your appetite's come back; it sounds like it'll be a long night. I can make whatever you'd like."
The bundle of clothes was still in his arms when Mia launched herself at him in a hug, squeezing him hard and burying her face into his neck. "I love you," she said, her voice shaking with emotion. "How did I get so lucky?"
He swallowed against the lump in his throat. If she didn't know him, this never would have happened to her. How was she the lucky one? Cye pulled back to kiss her now smooth throat, softly, worshipfully, ending in a slow comforting kiss on the lips. "I promise you, I'm never going to let anything happen to you. Ever."
The air was gray, signifying the coming dawn, and Ryo was glad for it. He didn't actually mind graveyard shifts, and it was largely because he was awake to watch dawn break. He liked being awake and aware at the trembling edge between the end of yesterday and the beginning of a new day, when nearly everyone else was still asleep or just stirring. It uncomplicated things…especially when disaster struck. He could do his job, and worry less about innocent bystanders and interference.
The girl in front of him thought so, too.
"I'm so glad I was the only one on the road," she said. Her dark eyes were wide, glassy with shock. "If I had hit someone trying to avoid him…" her face crumpled, but she valiantly held back the tears.
"But you didn't," Ryo assured her as he carefully applied a bandage to her forehead, where it had connected forcefully with her steering wheel. "I wish someone had come down this road afterwards, so you wouldn't have had to sit out here for so long until we got here."
"It was a little scary," she agreed. "But I deserve it for getting tired and not seeing that little tanuki until the last minute."
"Hey, everyone gets tired, especially that late."
"I can go home now, though, right?" She shivered in the slight chill of the early morning air, despite one of the ambulance blankets around her shoulders. "I was supposed to be home hours ago."
"We'll take you to the hospital first," Ryo said firmly. "You have a concussion, and I'm sure your family will feel better knowing that you had the proper tests done. A tow truck will be along soon for your car."
The only sound on the quiet country road, as the clouds in the sky were stained purple and the horizon bled red and orange in a straight, fiery line, was the idling of the ambulance's engine. The first car they spotted, headlights still bright in the weak morning light, was the tow truck.
"Oh, my jacket," she said plaintively when they spotted it. "And my phone charger. Can I get them?"
Misao shook his head firmly—she'd wobbled like a newborn foal when they got her up the incline earlier. No way was she going back down to her car. "I'll get them," Ryo offered.
Birds chirped and twittered in the wooded area around him as Ryo descended to the foot of the grove, down the grass slope that her car had crashed down when she'd swerved to avoid hitting a tanuki and met a tree. The hood of her car was crumpled like an accordion. She was lucky to be alive and in the shape she was in—her seatbelt and the avoidance of a head-on collision had done their parts. The driver's side door was still open, and Ryo slid in the seat, searching half-blindly in the poor light, then found and unplugged the phone charger. He pocketed it and stuck his head into the back to fish around for her jacket, finding it on top of a weekend bag. He decided to grab that for her, too.
He was pulling it between the front seats when movement from beyond the back windshield made him pause. Ryo stared into the gray-blue forest; probably a deer, maybe a fox, although it hadn't seemed terribly low to the ground. He didn't see any other movement, and shrugged it off as he left the car.
The absolute silence around him didn't register as he slung her bag over his shoulder. He shut the car door, startled at how loud it sounded; he could hear the ambulance engine idling, but couldn't see it well because of the incline and the trees.
"Got them!" he called.
"Oh, thank you!" The girl called gratefully.
Twigs snapped in a series of loud cracks, halting Ryo in his tracks. He took a curious look around again, fully expecting a deer this time.
He saw nothing but the gray woolly air, the purple light beginning to penetrate the forest floor in the east as dawn continued its steady approach.
Crack.
There—he saw it now. Or at least, movement. A rustle of leaves, some twenty yards ahead. Ryo's heart started to pound, although he couldn't say why. It had to be nothing more than an animal, maybe a bear this time. It was early; they'd naturally be more active at this hour. Telling himself that helped him move toward the road, although he didn't turn his back from the source of the noise.
The sound of his own feet shuffling through the undergrowth made him realize what had been missing since he left the car.
He couldn't hear birds anymore. Not a single one.
In the total silence he heard the stirring, and then, the lazy drift of leaves shaken loose, tumbling to the ground.
The fine hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he scanned the trees, the low hanging limbs and gnarled branches. This time, the sound had come from above him.
Mia felt the coming day's presence more than she saw it; she hadn't looked out the windows in hours. But dawn was there, in the way Sage began to move around the house, with purpose instead of the still presence he'd maintained here and there throughout the night; sometimes in the study with her and Rowen, checking on their progress, playing devil's advocate to Rowen's ideas as he bounced them off the blond warrior.
There wasn't much sleeping in the Koji manor last night. For anyone.
Kento, Rowen, and Sage had taken turns patrolling throughout the night, sleeping in catnaps. Mia was never alone, and when she had to use the restroom, Cye went with her. She was too relieved to not be alone, still too shaken up to be embarrassed. She threw herself in the search for answers to thwart the memory of those cold fingers around her neck, the rasping voice, the heavy weight of the thing that attacked her and cut off her air. It had taken all of her strength to loosen its grip long enough to get out the scream.
"Mia?"
She started a little when Rowen's deep voice registered. He was peering at her from across the table, pale and tired.
"Let's call it a night. Day. Whatever. We haven't found a single helpful thing, and it'll only get harder the more tired we get."
He was right, but frustration gripped her anyway. "So, we just wait for the next time? If there's a next time?"
"We'll be prepared," Cye called from the doorway. "Kento was right; it's started coming when we weren't ready. When we got comfortable."
"It came at me in the subway, Cye," Rowen argued. "In what's ordinarily a really public, busy place. There's no "prepping" for that."
"We'll find a way. We'll figure it out," Cye replied in hardened voice. "In the meantime, Mia, I insist you go to bed. I don't care if you sleep, but I want you to rest and close your eyes, okay love?"
Mia sighed as she allowed Cye to turn off her computer screen. Worse than not knowing when and how the next attack would come, was going to bed without any answers.
Cold sweat prickled along Ryo's neck as he tried to see what was causing the movement, but couldn't. Couldn't get a clear view. For a moment he thought he saw a flash of something pale and thin, like a tree trunk stripped of its bark, and then it was gone, rattling through the foliage. It sounded too large to be in the trees, too heavy for its weight to be supported.
The shuffling of feet distracted Ryo, and he whipped his head around to see Misao descending to him.
"Hey, what's taking—"
"Go back up to the truck," Ryo said. His voice was low and quiet, but the thread of steel and warning in it made Misao's eyes widen. "Get ready to go."
"What the hell is going on?" Misao asked, his voice hushed.
"I don't know," Ryo said honestly. "I feel like there's something out here. We should go."
Misao knew better than to argue with the look in his partner's eyes; he knew when Ryo wasn't screwing around. And he, too, suddenly became eerily aware of the silence of the forest. He fairly ran back up the incline.
Ryo went closer to the source of the noise, keeping his eyes trained on that section of the woods. His entire body was on edge, his senses clamoring in the face of potential danger. If this thing was dangerous, whatever it was, he couldn't let it get near his partner or that injured girl. Because he had the sudden, distinct impression that they were being watched. That he was being watched.
Hunted.
His fists were clenched as his gaze fixated on a twisted mass of branches and moss, seeking out the thing that didn't belong, the unnatural presence he sensed. The sheer lack of noise from all the natural animals of the forest, while disturbing, proved that whatever was rummaging around—whatever had crept closer—was a predator to them, too.
Ryo almost considered climbing one of the trees to get a closer look when something shifted behind a curtain of leaves—from one limb to another. And another. Tree to tree.
It was moving. Towards him, and towards the truck.
And Ryo didn't need to see it to know it was large.
He couldn't engage it, he realized suddenly, not out here, not with two innocent people who could accidentally get hurt. Ryo broke into a run up the incline, and fear spiked in his heart when he heard it pick up speed above him, leaves whirling in the air as they were upset from their branches. As he was in sight of the ambulance, the light of dawn spilling over the pavement, he thought he heard labored breathing behind him, above him, and had the disturbing mental image of something dropping from the sky onto him.
Ryo threw open the back door, startling the girl lying there, and hopped in. Misao was in the driver's seat. He glanced to the back as Ryo slammed the door shut.
"Sanada, what the hell?"
"Just go," Ryo said sharply.
Misao didn't reply as he drove away. After double-checking their patient, Ryo climbed up to look at the rearview mirror. All he saw was an empty road.
It didn't make him feel any better.
It was a sleep-deprived group that met up at a small cafe early that morning. Regan and Robyn were already waiting for them at a long table. Clearly, the two had enjoyed a much better night than the rest of them. Ryo had not arrived yet, but texted that he was coming and that they didn't have to wait for him. A hot, delicious breakfast certainly did its part in putting all of them into a better mood by the time their last member arrived.
They waved him over as he stepped inside the cafe and looked around for his friends. Robyn brightly patted the extra seat next to her and there was already a plate waiting for him.
"I ordered pancakes for you," she said with a wide grin.
"Of course you did," he shot back. He was really never going to live down the pancake thing. Good thing he really did like pancakes and immediately began devouring them as if he hadn't eaten in days.
As they all ate, it was mostly Rowen and Cye, with Mia chiming in here and there, that filled in Wildfire as to what had transpired the night before. Robyn and Regan seemed solemn at the story, though they had heard it once before.
"What time did this happen?" Ryo asked.
"Quarter after ten," Mia replied. Ryo hated how hoarse she sounded. "I was checking my email, I remember glancing at the time."
"Rowen?"
The blue-haired Ronin blew out a breath, squinting as he tried to remember. His hand twitched underneath Regan's, and she stroked the back of his hand soothingly. "Oh, hell, why am I trying to remember—Sage, look at your phone. When did I start calling?"
Sage checked, scrolling through the missed calls. "Your first call came in at 10:05."
"So, what, they happen in pairs?" Kento's brow was furrowed; he scrtached behind his left ear.
"Too early to tell," Rowen replied. "One occurrence doesn't prove a pattern; if it happens like this again, than we can more definitely say that these will come in waves, but even then…who knows? There's no precedence for this."
Ryo opened his mouth, then shut it again. The ever watchful Sage caught him.
"Ryo, what?"
"It's nothing."
"Is it?" Halo pressed.
Ryo rubbed his face. God, he was bone tired. He really needed sleep before he felt capable of better dealing with this problem. "My last call took us out of town to a forest area. I was out there alone and I felt... watched. Maybe even hunted."
"By what?" Cye asked in a hushed tone.
"I don't know. I didn't see anything. I just felt like something wasn't right. I could hear it, it was big but...it was also so fast. And not just on the ground. Suddenly, it was in the trees, still moving so easily."
"Could have just been a troop of macaques," Rowen reasoned.
"Monkeys aren't this quiet," Ryo insisted. "It was one, big thing. And it was like everything else in the forest just went silent. We all knew there was something there that wasn't supposed to be."
"And that wasn't last night, that was this morning?"
"About two hours ago. Maybe 5:30 or so."
"And no one else experienced anything. So that possibly disproves our 'attacks in twos' theory." Rowen took a thoughtful bite of his breakfast. "Though, since Ryo didn't visually confirm what was out there, we can only make tentative assumptions about the whole encounter."
"One assumption is that what Ryo may have witnessed was not the same thing as the other two," Sage said. "Right now, there's the possibility of at least three different... entities of some kind that are out there. The only good news is, so far, they seem entirely focused on just us and not just other random people. I've been checking the news."
"Yeah, because we were the ones who went to that creepy village," Kento said with a frown. He paused as the waitress came over to refill coffees and waited until she left. "I think that's how we got these marks. All the crazy stuff started to happen after the village. We were marked because we went somewhere we weren't supposed to. And now we're being punished for it. Don't ask me why Cye didn't get one, but the rest of it makes sense."
The others seemed to agree. Ryo let out a loud sigh. Pushing his now empty plate away, he rested his head on his folded arms and shut his eyes. It had been too long since he had slept and how was he supposed to sleep now?
"I still feel like the marks hold all the answers," Mia spoke up. "If we can just figure it out. Rowen and I were up all night. We looked through all ancient Japanese writing, but nothing comes close to these symbols. Next, since our written language descended from the Chinese style of writing, we moved to ancient Chinese. We're currently trying to find any matches similar in pictograms or bone script."
"What do those look like?" Kento wondered. He could read Chinese, but he didn't know anything about his ancient ancestors using pictograms.
"Kind of like Egyptian hieroglyphs. This was before they developed a linguistic style of writing. I feel like we're getting closer, but nothing solid yet."
As Mia spoke, Rowen stood from the table, producing a large magnifying glass that he had been keeping... somewhere. "Speaking of which," he said as he approached Ryo from behind and brushed the hair back to expose his neck. "I need to take another look at one of these things."
Ryo jerked from his cold touch. "Why me?"
"Because yours is easy to see. Now hold still." Strata leaned in closer. "They're so intricate. It's like trying to read a novel written on a tiny piece of paper. It's like Smurfs tattooed their life history in one little circle. It's like—"
Ryo jerked an elbow back as Rowen attempted to stretch the skin as if it would better allow him to see all the answers.
"Rowen, leave him alone," Robyn defended, pushing Strata away. "Everyone's tired and no one needs your shit right now."
"Fine, fine," Rowen sauntered back to his seat.
Robyn patted Ryo's shoulder, then rubbed his back. In turn, Wildfire leaned into her, letting her drape an arm around him and rest her chin on his shoulder. He appreciated the gesture. It felt nice. So often he was the one everyone looked to, the one everyone expected to lead and protect. It was nice, for just once, to have someone protective of him. Even if it was just from Rowen's antics. And she smelled really good. He was willing to bet he did not. He couldn't even remember when he last showered.
"You know," Regan spoke up, "I wouldn't have even thought of this before, but when you guys told me about the Dynasty and all that, it really stuck with me that our dimension isn't the only one. What if the writing on these marks isn't even from our world? What if it comes from somewhere else?"
A chill swept the table. Even for those who had lived with knowledge of the Dynasty's existence for several years now, the thought of other worlds, of other things, that could possibly exist out there was unsettling.
Sage was the first to speak, clearing his own throat to steady his voice. "Look, we're not doing ourselves any favors by giving ourselves the creeps with possibilities. What we need to do is go with what we know and prepare as best we can. I think we can all agree, this is probably going to keep happening."
"So, then what are we supposed to do?" Regan asked, a bit of irritation in her voice. "I'm not losing my job over this. I'm not going to stop going to work because something scary or dangerous might happen a day, a week, or a month from now. Whatever that thing is, I'm not going to let it do that to me."
"I'm sure several of us agree with this," Sage replied. "We're not disrupting anyone's lives unless we absolutely have to. Until we know more—until we have a solid idea of what we're up against and what to do about it, we build in a system of checks. We're not going to do anything differently; we're just going to stay in contact with each other. We keep each other updated on where we are at all times. We don't go out—especially alone—unnecessarily. And if any one of us sees something that doesn't seem right, we tell the others immediately."
"And we answer ALL phone calls, Sage," Rowen shot icily.
"I said I was sorry, Rowen."
"...you did not!"
"Cool, group text chat room it is," Kento said, already pulling out his phone. "I'm adding all of you right now."
"I'm going to keep researching," Mia said. "I know it's not much, but I feel like I'm going to go crazy if I don't do something."
"All right." Ryo announced as he lifted his head. "We'll just take it one day at a time and do the best we can to stay safe. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going home and going to bed. I'll text you guys when I get there."
Days passed. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, although everyone remained on edge. Mia could feel it in every conversation she had with one of the guys, although not so much Robyn and Regan yet; if they were worried, they hid it well. Perhaps it didn't yet feel real. It barely did to Mia, more like a terrible nightmare she'd had…except when she had to use the bathroom. Or shower.
The first time she tried showering alone, she'd started trembling with fear any time the shower curtain fluttered. She'd called Cye to come inside while she finished. She found herself holding it until morning if the need to use the bathroom woke her up in the middle of the night. She knew Cye would just come with her, but she hated waking him.
Then the day came when she was at work, it was an hour before her shift ended, and she had to pee. She'd been able to use the bathroom once before, because it was in between classes and she was in a busy part of the school; there'd been half a dozen girls in there, and the amount of noise and laughter distracted her enough that she'd been able to go in.
But not today.
Mia was in her office, and her whole department was quiet. It was late, in that hour after early evening classes ended and most students had gone home, along with professors who preferred teaching earlier classes. She'd stayed to use the university's extensive resources to do a little research, and lost track of time.
You can hold it until you get home, she told herself. It's not a big deal.
Yet she'd stumbled on some interesting accounts of villages in the era Mia thought sounded about right, for the age and look of the Shinto shrine they'd found in the mountains. She wanted to keep reading. But she really had to go. And the nearest bathroom was sure to be empty this time around. Empty, and waiting for her to go in alone.
Mia bit her lip, hating that she was too scared to go into a public bathroom, for crying out loud. You've faced down warlords, and now you're afraid of a bathroom?
"This is ridiculous," she said to herself, standing up and leaving her office for the restroom down the hall. She stopped in front of the door.
Red paper or blue?
She closed her eyes and shuddered. Mia's hand slid into her pocket for her phone, and she dialed.
"What's up, Mia?"
"Can you come down here for a minute? …I need a favor."
The bathroom was empty, like she feared, but now the door was propped open. She did her business quickly, flushed the toilet, and washed her hands. Mia crept back out and spotted the Ronin leaning against the wall, arms crossed, his head tilted to the side as if he'd listened the entire time for anything unusual.
"Thank you for doing this," she said, embarrassment coloring her cheeks, as it had when he first came down.
Rowen smiled. "Anytime, Mia."
"I feel so silly."
"Don't. It's really not a big deal. All you need to do is text me, I'm like a five minute walk away. You could even say it in code, if it makes you feel any better. 'Hey, I have to deliver a package.' 'I have to pay the water bill.' 'I have to go water my horse.'"
Mia laughed as he walked her back to her office. "I'll be sure to do that. It's just…" She scrubbed at her face. "Please don't tell Cye. He's worried enough as it is."
"Listen, I'll make you a deal. A pact. I'll be on pee duty, and you let me know whenever you need me to come down, and I won't say a word to anyone. But I need a favor, too."
Mia regarded him suspiciously. "What's that?"
Rowen grinned crookedly, barely hiding the unease in his own dark blue eyes. "Can I get a ride home? I don't ever want to go to that station again."
She stood on her tiptoes to hug the Ronin of Strata around the neck. "Of course you can."
"Goodnight, sensei!"
Sage waved to the last student as she headed out the door with her mother. His last class of the evening had gone well; he was pleased with the progress of most of his students, with only a few stragglers he was considering inviting to a weekend session to help them get caught up.
He put away the equipment and all the mats except for what he'd need for himself. Sage used the opportunity an empty dojo presented to go through a few katas, letting the familiar movements center him and help him achieve the calm the last week had disrupted. Burn off some of the negative energy that had gathered while they waited.
He hated this waiting.
When he finished, Sage changed and retreated to his office to finish some paperwork. He annoyed himself when he found his hand straying to his hairline as he worked, rubbing the spot where they'd found his mark. It was well past dinner time when he finally grabbed his keys and headed out, locking up behind him and walking across the parking lot to his car.
When he turned the ignition key, however, nothing happened. Not a single noise; no grinding, revving, rattling. Nothing. Sage mentally checked the age of his battery. He hadn't even hit the two-year mark yet. There was no reason the car should be this dead. Unfortunately, he being the last one at the building, there was no one else to ask for a jump. He was going to have to take the bus home.
Before stepping out, he remembered his part to keep everyone updated on his situation. The entire group had been good about that so far. Sage refused to be the one who set the poor example. He texted his car had died and he was taking the bus home. The closest stop was only three blocks away, he should be fine.
Kento texted back, asking if he wanted to come to the restaurant—which was closer than Sage's house—to wait for him to get off shift and then he would take Sage back to his car for a jump. That sounded like an even better idea. Sage told him he would be there soon. When he was finished, he sat for a moment longer in his car. A part of him knew this was risky. Anything could happen out there between here and the restaurant. But then again, anything could happen in the two hours he'd be alone in the building or in his car if he chose to wait for Kento to come get him. He had already been pressing his luck by staying to do paperwork.
He had done that because he was getting careless. When they got careless, that's when it seemed the attacks came. He had to get smart, be on alert. He had to get to people, even if it was just a random crowd. These creatures seemed to prefer attacking when they were alone. Even if he could make it to another business or a crowded bus, anything was better than being here by himself. So Sage took a deep breath and climbed out, sharp eyes aware of everything in all directions as he proceeded down the sidewalk.
He wasn't in a busy part of town, but a few cars passed by, as well as a group of pedestrians going the opposite direction on the other side of the road. Up ahead, a couple, speaking happily with each other, walked toward him and Sage inwardly appreciated their company up until they passed and he could no longer hear their voices.
One more block to go. The area had gone quiet, but he was close to the bus stop. Behind him, he became aware of someone coming up the sidewalk in the same direction as he. He heard the clack of heels on the concrete and a quick glance back confirmed a woman walking behind him roughly ten paces back. She was tall and thin. Long black hair. If Sage had to guess from the eyes, he would assume the rest of her face was attractive, but it was hidden with a white surgical mask. Sage didn't think much of it. Many people wore them out in public, especially during the flu seasons in attempts to avoid catching sickness or spreading the sickness to others. Maybe this woman had a summer cold and would rather keep it to herself.
Up ahead, the street light stood tall over a covered bench. He was here and the bus would be arriving shortly. Sage had made it. Once under the streetlight, he opted to stand as he waited for the bus. A few moments more and the woman was under the light as well. She slowed her pace as she approached the bench, seeming intent to wait for the bus, too. Sage merely glanced her way before continuing to keep a sharp eye out on the rest of the city.
He wasn't even aware the woman had moved to his side until he heard her speak.
"Do you think I am beautiful?"
The sudden words, the woman so quickly in his space, caused Sage to take a step back. Simultaneously, the hairs on his arms stood at attention as he felt the uncanny sensation of being next to something that wasn't completely normal.
"What?" he managed to get out, his brain racing to find meaning in why this woman would ask him that.
She reached up to her mask and pulled it down. "How about now?" Her mouth was split, as if by a sharp blade, nearly from ear to ear. She grinned at him and the full mouth stretched open, revealing an impossible amount of needle-like teeth.
Sage's mind was still trying to process what was going on when the glint of metal in the light caught his eye. He jerked back as she swiped at him, a scalpel in her hand. Her eyes had gone completely black. Not even her skin looked human now. Her arms seemed too long for her body, extending her reach as the blade sliced at him again, just barely missing his throat. Sage stumbled back, nearly tripping over an uneven crack in the sidewalk.
Right then, his fighting instincts kicked in. He solidified his stance, head low. He didn't dare look her in the eyes. It felt as though those black, soulless voids would be his undoing if they ever caught his gaze. He would be frozen in fright, too scared to move. He would die.
Each of the inhumanly long arms now held a blade and she made a high-pitched hiss—a sound that weakened his knees. He was scared to death. But he knew the flow of battle. One swipe at his neck, then a stabbing motion towards his sternum. He grabbed the creature's wrist with one hand, clutching the arm for leverage with the other. Beneath his hold he felt fine, birdlike bones under leather skin. His fingers felt the skeletal system pulsate, move, as if the fibrous skeleton were constantly changing. It made him sick to his stomach as he flung her over his shoulder and as far as he could away from him.
For a split second, Sage was distracted by the friendly honk of the public bus as it rumbled to a stop. Still breathing hard, eyes wide, he scanned the area for danger, but the woman-thing had disappeared.
