The next installment. I'm so excited :) writting the ghost is really fun. thanks for reading and reviewing :) and if you have read and haven't reviewed, feel free! hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge :D the next chapter is coming soon :D i have been writing my socks off coz i just can't stop. i should probably slow down and think a bit... anyway, ill stop ranting, and leave you to enjoy the story.
Questionable Sanity, Part 4
Mai was having trouble sleeping. She could not get the screams from her last dreams out of her head. She sighed, and checked the clock. 2:30. She groaned and turned over. Half an hour later she got up, and stumbled into the base.
"Mai? What are you doing?" Naru looked up from his file. She tripped over her feet. "Mai, you should really get some sleep." She looked up it him with her confused big eyes. He sighed, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to the sofa.
"Sleep" he commanded. Mai rolled her eyes. Wait, where's Lin? This might be my only opportunity to tell Naru about the dream without the others thinking I'm nuts. Do not speak of the dream, do not speak of the dream. THERE HAS TO BE A FLAW SOMEWHERE! Do not speak of the…I've got it!
"Naru, I am not insane." Mai started, and Naru flashed her a look which showed that he clearly disagreed with that statement. She took a deep breath. And grabbed one of the files and a pen.
"Mai, you are not drawing on the files. Now go to sleep." Why does he always have to guess what I'm going to do? Mai grumbled.
"Give it back!" She shouted at him, snatching the file out of his hands. She proceeded to draw her dream.
"Is that supposed to be a person?" Naru asked, trying not to smile at her lack of drawing skills.
"It's a stickman woman." Defended Mai. She finished drawing her first dream and moved onto the second. Once she was done, Naru grabbed the file and looked at it with interest.
Interesting. I knew you would manage to get past such little difficulties. You are fun to play with. Mai clenched her jaw in anger to prevent her yelling something like 'shut up!'. Naru noticed.
"Mai, go to bed."
"But I'm not sleepy!"
"Then lie down on the sofa." Mai grumbled, but did so. He's your boss, not your General.
"I know" mumbled Mai. Naru paid full attention to his work, not speaking to Mai once. She became incredibly bored. If you're bored, go hug him or something. Mai blushed at the thought of hugging Naru. You did it earlier.
That was different. Thought back Mai.
You still hugged him.
Shut up. I think I'll go to sleep.
I thought you said you weren't tired? Or did you only say that so you could be in the same room as him?
I'm tired of hearing your voice.
I'm tired of hearing your daydreams. Mai ignored it and fell asleep.
"Mai?" Naru asked. He smiled at her.
"Naru!" Mai grinned back. If only the non-dream Naru would smile.
"If only he would…" He sighed. Mai frowned.
"What are you showing me today?"
"Remember Mai, I don't show you, I guide you." Mai sighed.
"Pretty much the same.." she muttered. He grabbed her hand and pulled her forward.
The scene was in the house again, but this time in the dinning room. A family was having dinner. Suddenly the man jumped up. He was middle aged, and his hair was going grey.
"What was that?"
"What was what, Fumiki?" The woman who sat next to him looked confused.
"Did you just say that?" He said to his youngest son who looked at him confusedly.
"Say what Daddy? Mummy, what's going on?" The mother didn't answer but looked at the father like he was going crazy.
"Wataru, take your siblings to bed." She said. "Fumiki, what's wrong with you?"
"How dare you!"
"Wh-what?"
"What do you mean? And after everything we've been through too." The woman clearly thought he was going crazy.
"Kasumi, where have the kids gone?" The man sat down, and looked confused.
"I sent them to bed."
"But they were here just now. When did they go?"
"A couple of minutes ago."
"Oh.." The scene morphed into a different one. The middle aged man was pacing the kitchen.
"I must be going crazy." He muttered. A woman appeared in the corner of the room. Mai shivered, it was freezing. The man's breath shouldn't be visible.
"Now I'm seeing people." The ghost morphed into the shadow of his wife. "Kasumi?" He asked, reaching out to her. His hand passed through.
"Kasumi, I'm sorry. I never meant to drive you away. I love you." The ghost laughed. Mai shivered as she recognised the laugh. The man had tears streaming down his face.
"I-I love you." He whispered as the ghost faded away. He staggered to a cupboard.
"NO!" Mai reached out as she realised what he was going to do.
"Mai, there is nothing you can do to help him." Naru said sadly. She sobbed as the man grabbed a knife and stabbed himself.
"I think it's time to wake up now." The dream faded.
Everyone looked up as Mai called out.
"NO!" She reached out in her sleep.
"Mai!" John, Ayako and Monk called. They moved forward but Naru beat them there.
"Mai, wake up!" He shook her gently.
"Naru!" she called out, sobbing.
"Mai, it's okay. What was the dream this time." Mai shook her head. "I see." He stood up, leaving the others to comfort Mai as usual. He grabbed a piece of paper and flipped it over to the clean side, placing it in front of her. He grabbed his pen and gave it to her.
"Naru, what…..." Monk started, but Mai nodded and started to draw her dream. Everyone watched her as she drew, stickman style, the man mishearing his wife, talking to the ghost, and finally…with a knife. Monk bear-hugged her once she was done. "Aww, poor you! Come to daddy!"
"You're not my daddy!" Mai wrestled out of his arms.
"Mai, why are you drawing your dreams?" Masako asked, mouth behind sleeve.
"Because…."Mai's mouth clamped shut. "Mhmmhmmmmhmhm!"
"Mai, that's not funny." Said Masako.
"I know!" protested Mai.
"John." Said Naru suddenly. John nodded.
"Wait, what?" asked Mai. She hadn't noticed that John was in his priest clothes.
Ayako closed the curtains, and the room became quite dark. Mai was left standing in the middle of the room with John in front of her. Everyone else leaned against the walls. She realised that they were going to exorcise her.
"Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done-"
Mai's eyes became blank. "You will not get rid of me. I do not give up that easily!" And she laughed the maniacal laugh.
"-on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us for our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. In principio."
Mai sagged to the floor. Ayako ran to support her.
"Mai? Do you feel alright?" She asked, looking down at the young girl.
"Yeah, help me to stand please." Ayako remained by her side, Monk was on her other.
"Hara-san, can you feel where the spirit is now?"
Masako nodded. "She's in the-no, wait…the kitchen-the master bedroom-the living room-the dinning room…" Masako looked confused.
"How is she moving around that quickly?"
"She's not moving around, she's in the different rooms at the same time."
"What? Is that even possible?" cried Mai.
"It's not…normal. I've never heard of this before. But, as it is happening, it must be possible."
There was a knock on the base door, and everyone turned, to see the door open slowly…and Yasuhara enter the room.
"Hey guys!" he called cheerfully.
"Yasuhara!"
Naru walked over to Yasuhara. "The information." He said, holding his hand out. Yasuhara gave him a folder. Yasuhara gave a summary, as Naru flicked through.
"The house was built in 1643, by the Yoshida family. They were a wealthy but troubled family. The man who built it killed his wife and committed suicide afterwards. The house passed onto the son, who married and had two daughters and a son. The daughters married and moved away, the son, Fumiki, inherited the house. However one of the daughters, Emiho, died in a house fire. Her husband and 4 of her children died with her. One daughter, Aika, survived. She went to live in with her uncle Fumiki in this house."
Mai gasped. Where had she heard that name before? Her dream…
"However nobody knows what happened to her after she moved here. There are no records of anyone having seen her at all. Then, several years later Fumiki started to go mad. His wife left him, taking the children with her, and he committed suicide."
"Like in my dream." Mai said sadly. Ayako rubbed her arm comfortingly.
"After that the house has been rumoured to have been haunted. The next family who moved in was the Sakamoto family. The wife committed suicide, but the husband remarried some years later. The new wife killed the only child of the ex-wife. She also committed suicide later. The Sakamoto family moved out. There have been various families which have moved in, only to move out after someone committed suicide."
"Why would anyone want to live here after all those deaths?"Mai asked, worriedly looking round to see if anyone was on the verge of suicide.
'So, you found out about the families, but not about me. Maybe you should have tried harder. It's too late now, after all.'
The voice came from everywhere at once. Lin unplugged the headphones so everyone could hear it come from every single microphone in the house simultaneously.
"She's here," Masako breathed.
