Mai peered around the darkness. She heard a roaring sound which she couldn't quite place. The heavy atmosphere pressed down on her, making it difficult to breath. Mai started shivering, and the pressure increased until it was hard to breath. She tried to push against the darkness with her hands, but there was nothing to push against. She felt her lungs screaming for air, and she realised that she was suffocating…

Mai woke up with a start. Taking huge gulps of air, she sat up and ran an agitated hand through her already messy hair. Flopping back on to her pillow, she peered over at where Naru was. To her relief, it was empty. She gazed back up at the ceiling.
"Happy 18th birthday Mai," she muttered to herself, curling her toes in excitement. She felt sad briefly at the thought of not visiting her parents' grave, but pushed the thought aside. She got up, and hummed as she got ready before going downstairs. On the landing, she bumped into John and Yasuhara, who were also heading downstairs.
"Hello Mai! Did you sleep alright?" Asked Yasuhara mischievously. Mai ignored him.
"Good morning Mai-san. Happy Birthday." Said John.
"Oh yeah! Happy Birthday!"
"Thanks." By this time they had reached the kitchen. Mai entered it, Yasuhara and John following a little confused.
"Um, Mai, why are we going in here? I mean, I know that a person's memory gets worse as they get older, but I didn't think that it happened that rapidly." Mai poked her tongue out at him.
"I'm just getting Naru's tea, that's all. He'll ask for it anyway. Did you want some?" They nodded, and with that she filled the kettle with water and, whilst waiting for it to boil, pulled out cups and put teabags into them. When the tea was made, they crossed the corridor into base. There sitting on the couch was Bou-san and Ayako, freshly returned from the hospital. Mai placed the teacup next to Naru, before turning back towards the sofa.
"Happy birthday Mai! Here." Ayako fished into her bag that was sitting by her feet and came out with a present.
"It's from all of us," said Bou-san. "Even Lin." Mai looked behind her at the silent man, who looked up and nodded in her direction, before returning to his keyboard.
"And this one's from me." Naru cut in smoothly, indicating to a present on the table. She scooped it up and opened it eagerly. Her face fell slightly. It was a box of tea.
"Tea. I got tea."
"Well done Mai, your observational skills are improving. Anyway, if you cared to look a little closer, you would notice that it is English tea."
"So?"
"That is my favourite, Mai." She poked her tongue out at him, before turning to her other present.
"Um, Mai, I think it would be better if you opened that away from the rest of us." Said Yasuhara, uncharacteristically serious. Bou-san nodded, and Ayako smiled. Mai felt apprehension curl inside her stomach.
"Okay. I'll just put it in my bag then." Mai picked it up along with the box of tea and walked out of the door. As she walked up the stairs, she came across Azusa standing at the top.
"Don't go in there." She said clutching the bottom of her dress. This time she was without her doll, and she looked slightly scared.
"Um, I'm sorry, but I have to go in there. I have to put these away."
"No. You have to leave. Now. Go, and don't come back."
"Why?" The girl looked over her shoulder towards the landing, terror entering her expression.
"It doesn't matter. You just have to go, please!"
"I'm sorry. I can't go." With that Mai smiled at the girl and walked past her. As she got closer and closer to the room, Mai felt the temperature drop. She lifted up her arms, looking at the goose pimples that had appeared on them. She looked out of the window, and it was yet again a clear and stifling day, but with a metallic edge to the air. When she entered her bedroom, she placed the tea in her bag, shaking her head as she did so. She then ripped off the paper on the other package. Inside there was a photo frame, with a picture of all the SPR members, even Naru. There was a note that fell out with it, and Mai picked it up off the floor.

Dear Mai,

Happy Birthday! We hope you like the photo. We ambushed Naru. It was quite an operation. (For some reason he didn't want to come….). We hope that you have a really awesome 18th!

Love,

Ayako, Bou-san, Yasuhara, John, Masako, Lin and Naru. (I forced him to write that. :) Have a lovely day, Madoka.)

Mai felt a lump rise in her throat for the second time that day, but she pushed the feelings away and put them in her bag. She was just straightening up when something cold brushed against her arm. She turned and saw Azusa's doll in the middle of the room, dripping wet. She frowned, confused, when she was knocked off her feet. Something cold wrapped itself around Mai's waist and pulled, yanking her off of her feet. Before she could scream, the same thing that had pulled her blocked her mouth. Mai struggled uselessly, and as she was thrashing around she caught sight of Azusa, looking frantic. Mai sent a pleading look towards her, and terror flashed across the girl's face. Mai's heart sank at the sight. Before she could do anything else, she was dragged along the floor and down the corridor in the opposite direction to the stairs. She was pulled along a maze of corridors, and she soon gave up trying to memorize them in case she did escape. They reached a door which seemed to open of its own accord. There was a hidden flight of stairs there, and she was pulled down them with a thump down every step. They burst out of another door at the end, and she was dragged along a stone corridor that was similar to the one they had explored the day before. They reached the end of the tunnel which opened out onto the river. Mai's eyes widened further and she started to struggle even more, but it was no use and she was tossed unceremoniously into the watery depths. There was a rumble of thunder and raindrops started to pour down but Mai didn't notice, as she was submerged under the river. She remembered the few swimming lessons that she had had, and managed to swim to the surface. She broke through, and gulped a large breath of water. She started to swim towards the bank, but she was swept up by the strong current and pulled down the river. She called out, but it was unheard over the roar of the river, rain and thunder.

Back in Base…

Naru ran his hands through his hair in frustration. Mai had been ages, and he wanted more tea. The others were causing an unnecessary amount of noise. And a storm was raging outside, adding to the din. Naru scanned the monitors in front of him, looking for Mai. She was nowhere on the screens.
"Matsuzaki-san, go upstairs and find Mai." Ayako looked up, confused. "Now." Ayako nodded and stood up, slipping quietly out of base. "Takigawa-san, go with her." Naru internally sighed with little relief. He continued looking through the reports and making notes. Soon, Ayako and Bou-san came back in.
"Naru, she's not there. We found this." Bou-san held out the cold and bedraggled doll. Naru looked at it silently.

"Lin. Rewind the camera in front of the girls' room." Lin rewound the tape, and they watched as Mai was dragged across the screen.
"Matsuzaki-san, Yasuhara-san and John, you look inside and in the gardens. Lin and Takigawa-san, you come with me and look along the riverbank. Meet back here when it gets dark." With that, the three going outside donned their coats and grabbed some torches. They wrenched open the door and walked out into the pouring rain. Naru ran quickly down to the river, casting the light from his torch about the river. He dimly heard the others behind him, but paid no attention to them. He strained his ears to try and hear Mai over the river and the storm, but it was no use. He walked further down the river, his eyes scanning the river, when he caught sight of something. His eyes pierced through the gloom, and he realised that it was Mai.

Mai continued to struggle against the current, clinging to a tree root. Her arms were aching, and a tired induced haze was starting to cloud her brain. She suddenly saw the dim light of torches, and she called out.
"HELP! OVER HERE! BY THIS TREE ROOT!" a wave filled her mouth with water, and she choked. Once her airways were clear enough again, she took a deep breath, and called out once more.
"NARU! YASUHARA! BOU-SAN! ANYONE! Help me…" She faintly saw one of the torches shine in her direction, but at that moment her arms gave out, and she succumbed to the watery depths. Her head slipped beneath the surface, and she felt her eyes close. All that she could feel was the burning in her lungs, craving oxygen. She took a deep breath, but all that she managed to draw was a lungful of water. Frowning, she scrambled for air. This was not was not as peaceful as she thought that it would be. Something gripped at her arm, and too exhausted to struggle anymore she allowed it to pull her upwards. Her head broke the surface, yet she still did not draw air. She wanted to thank the thing that had pulled her to the surface, but she couldn't open her eyes, or her mouth. She felt something on her chest, pounding away on top of her heart…

"Mai! Lin! I've found her. Call an ambulance. Mai, wake up soon… start breathing… "

Mai felt the pounding on her chest stop, and something soft pressed against her cold lips.

"Please, Mai. Don't give up now. Start breathing again…"

A rush of air rushed through her body, inflating her lungs. She coughed, and spat out a mouthful of water. She opened her eyes, and dimly saw Naru kneeling beside her, shock, worry and relief clearly shown on his face instead of his usual expressionless façade. Mai wanted to thank him, but before she could will her lips to move, she slipped back into the darkness.

Beep. Beep. Beep. The sound of the incessant sound broke through the haze that Mai was in, and she groggily opened her eyes. She winced at the bright light, which instantly dimmed. As her vision swam into focus, she realised that the beeping noise was a machine that she was hooked up to. I searing pain flared up in her throat, and Mai cupped it with her hands. A glass of water entered her line of sight, and a hand held her back as she greedily drank from it. When it was finished, the hand vanished and Mai sank back into the pillows. She turned her head to see who was with her, and found Naru who was already re-engrossed with his black notebook. Mai smiled, and fell back asleep again.

When she next re-awoke, the members of SPR were all crowded into the small room.
"MAI!"
"Hi Ayako." Mai managed, although her voice felt and sounded like rough sandpaper.
"Finally. It's been days now." Said Yasuhara, his glasses glinting.
"Um… what happened?"
"Well, Naru found you in the river and pulled you out. He then proceeded to resuscitate you, whilst Lin called an ambulance. We all followed you to the hospital, and haven't gone back to the hotel since."
"WHAT?" Mai immediately winced, and Yasuhara, John, Bou-san and Ayako all looked concerned. "You mean the ghost is still there?"
"No. When it failed to kill you, it got violent and started throwing the furniture around. John exorcised it and the other ghost moved on after that of her own accord." Said Naru in a slightly bored tone.
"What other ghost?" The others looked as confused as Mai was.
" The ghost of the little girl. Apparently she was Kamura's last victim. Literally the last now."
"But, Naru, why was she still there?"
"According to the files, the last victim that Kamura killed stays behind to try and warn the next victim. Azusa was one of the causes of the activity."
"But why Mai?" Naru studied Mai before answering John's question.
"He chose Mai because of her birthday. All the victims share the same birthday. This is why the police overlooked the fact when investigating the killings. The victim's deaths were spread out over decades, so it would be impossible for it to be one person. Unless they were a ghost." Mai shuddered, and at that moment the nurse came in. After spotting that she was awake, the nurse then proceeded to check Mai over, and shooed the others out of the room. When they were allowed to re-enter, the others found Mai sound asleep yet again.

Sorry that this took so long. But I was writing Hello and Lullaby, and basically couldn't write this chapter at all. But the next one's the last chapter! So I'll have finished my first ever story! What a bittersweet thought. I just hope you guys enjoyed it.
On a brighter note, it means that I have more time to write another story. Yay! And this was a longer chapter than usual. Well, for me it was…
Please review!