Chapter 10

I gasp in air. I have never seen anything like that. But it isn't the worst I've seen. I take some time to catch my breath. Unfortunately, it seems like this occurrence isn't just another nightmare. Carefully, I slowly get up. I press my skirt to the wound. The blood won't be noticeable on the red fabric.

The first thing I notice is how dark it is. It is almost impossible to see. I turn on my phone. Then an idea hits me. I open up my contacts and call the first person I find, Marie Francis. I wait for her phone to ring, but all I get are constant beeps. Peering at the screen, I see why. No signal.

"Perfect."

I keep my phone on for the light. There are four longs shelves. Small shoes litter the dirty, old floor. There is a stench in the air that makes me suck in my breath. By the entrance, there are words carved onto it.

"Kangi." Tilting my head, I attempt to read it. "Tenjin…. Tenjin Shogakko. Shogakko? That means…. primary school. Elementary school. Tenjin? Heavenly...Host?" It's been awhile since I read kangi, so it is difficult to read. Well, at least I can read it.

I turn toward the shelves. This must be the school Briella was talking about. It sure looks like it could be haunted. I step forward. Squish! I stop. Lifting my shoe, I check the bottom. I crinkle my nose. At the bottom sticks what seems like a piece of meat. I gently peel it off my shoe. The soft meat leaves a red smudge on my finger. I press my lips together. We have to get out of here, before we end up without our guts too. I look around to find the owner of the… thing I hold. A corpse sits a few feet away at the corner of the room. It seems to be old, so this place has been here for a while. I walk toward the corpse. Its eyes watch me the whole time. Discomfort starts to creep up. I squash it and steel myself. Standing in front of it, I put down its piece. I bow my head and whisper, "Gomen'nasai."

Knowing I couldn't do anything for it, I am about to walk away. Snap! I glance back to the corpse. Now, it's body is more slumped, head bowed, eyes looking down. Maggots from inside are crawling out from the disturbance. As one little worm crawls out of a slit, something gleams from inside the corpse. I tilt my head to the side in curiosity. I go back and inspect it. From the outside it looks the same. But something moved it, for sure. I take a closer look in the little cut where I saw the glistening object. Something shiny is lodged near the last rib bone at the back. It shines mysteriously, red matter covering it. I bite my lip, indecision making me waver. I take out one of my knives and align it to the cut. My hand hovers at the area. "Gomen'nasai. Please forgive me." The knife slices through the rotting skin. Bugs crawl out from the opening. I ignore them as they walk over my hands and arms. The organs hiding behind its skin is in the process of rotting, most of it black and leaking a weird liquid. I hold my breath knowing if I inhale the air it would wreck of the new exposed meat. Using the knife I make the cut bigger. I need it big enough for me to fit in my fingers. Once it was big enough I search for the easiest way to get the object. Then, I plunge my hand inside. The squishy rotting meat is soft against my hand. It isn't...morbid as I thought it would be. Moving my fingers around, I try to get the item with as little blood and excess liquid on me. My fingers brush against something hard. I grab the hard object and pull it out slowly, not wanting to spill any more of the exposed organs. In my smeared red hand, a small purple stone lays inside. I whip the bloody stone using my skirt. The stone is encompassed with a light aura. I turn it around.

"Amethyst." I whisper to myself. Amethyst is useful against vengeful spirits. I have a feeling it's going to be very useful in a place like this. I put the stone in my pocket. Taking out a penny, I put it in front of the corpse. "I'm sorry for the intrusion. Please, take this." I bow and leave the corpse in peace.

I'm so sorry! This must be like my second or third time posting on Monday. But I have a really terrible excuse. I decided it was a great idea to leave all my work to the last minute so, yeah. Sorry! :( I used a few Japanese terms in this chapter. If you don't know the meaning here's a general translations.

Kangi - written form of Japanese

Shogakko - elementary school

Gomen'nasai - I'm sorry or I'm very sorry.

And I think that's all the terms. Remember I update every Saturday and Sunday, or at least I try, so stick around to find out what happens to these unfortunate group of friends. Enjoy! :)

-P.V.J