SuperNatural Paradox

Volume 3 Chapter 4: Meeting House

"I'm sorry. I'm just a little confused. What situation is our town in?" Tenten asked again.

"You mean you haven't really noticed?" Professor Samuel asked. Tenten looked at him like he was crazy. "There have been lots of mysterious deaths going around in this town. Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

"I have noticed, but it never really occurred to me. I was thinking it's some natural cause that's causing people to die. Like how any other person would normally die."

"Not quite." Ross began to continue on. "These last two months have been hell for us doctors at the hospital. We haven't been able to save a single person with this unknown disease."

"Disease? You mean that there's an epidemic going around?" Tenten asked.

"Not quite." Ross continued on. "The ones treated at the hospital do have all of the same symptoms but they seem like something's different about them. They're in a completely daze look the whole time like they don't even know what's going on around them, but yet they fully respond normally."

"That just isn't possible." Sheriff Gordan said.

"Not really." Samuel began to say. "Just because she or he is in a daze doesn't mean anything is out of the ordinary. Take for an example when you're half asleep. You barely know what's going on around you, but yet you respond to the people around you and you can walk normally, except sometimes people end up collapsing because they can't keep balance really good."

"I do remember that. That happens to me all the time in the morning." Tenten said. "I can barely get myself up early in the morning to get to work."

"So does that mean that this disease has something to do with sleeping?" Gordan asked. "That would explain the deaths because you know those shots you give animals to put them to sleep, or I mean dead. The same thing could be happening to those people, except it takes a few days then a couple of second."

"Those are all very good points there." Ross said. "What do you think about this Renge?" he asked.

"Me? Well… I think you all have some really good points, but there are also other symptoms that wouldn't fall under those categories. For an example their heart beats two times faster than its normal paste. That doesn't happen from being half asleep. Your blood pressure would normally decrease while getting some sleep. Their temperature rises to. The highest I've seen so far is one hundred and four degrees Fahrenheit."

"You're saying all of the patients have the same symptoms." Samuel asked.

"Yes." She answered him.

"Then I don't see how this is an epidemic." He said.

"There is another thing the doctor hasn't mentioned that we've seen so far on our patients." Renge said.

"What is that?" Tenten asked.

"People show up with scratch marks or bite marks on them, not having any symptoms at all of those that seem to have a disease. The test results show that they're completely healthy, but within a few days we find that they're missing or…" The room started to turn dark. "Something came in and ate them alive. One thing that has been in common with all the patients is that they won't say anything that has happened to them before they've entered. It's a complete mystery. Like something is trying to prevent them from saying anything."

"That's bull shit!" Gordan said. "There isn't anything preventing them from saying anything. Stop saying stuff that isn't true."

"I see. I'm sorry." Renge bowed her head. "I was speaking out of terms. I just thought you would want an opinion from someone who has been seeing these people for two months now. I'm sure that you'll see what I'm talking about if you saw someone in a daze like this. They seem more like a completely different person. They all refuse to go the hospital but family members always force them to go."

"Refuse to go?" Tenten sat there thinking.

"I do know for a fact that we've been having an increase of animal behaviors lately." Gordan said. "It has started about two months ago. More and more of them keep attacking and killing people on the streets, leaving nothing, sometimes not even their bones. It's a complete mystery to me."

"Two months ago you say." Ross asked. "I wonder if all of this is somehow connected together."

"You guys keep talking about crap." Samuel said. "There is no way that they're connected. There are two problems that are in this town and we should try to fix them. Far as I can see is that we've hit an epidemic and if the animals are involved then it's a transmitted disease through an animal bite. I bet if you check all of the sick patients you will see a couple of bites."

"I see that we're beginning to get nowhere now so I think this meeting is dismissed." Mayor Barthamez said standing up. "We'll continue this when you guys find out more information. Until then we'll settle this on an epidemic." He then walked out of the room.

"I believe I made my case then." Samuel stood up and walked out.

"Is everything alright?" Renge asked Tenten.

"No, nothing at all. I was just thinking about something. That's all." she said.

"Ok. If you need anything please contact us. We're here to help if anything is wrong." Renge started walking out of the room. "Are you coming Doctor Ross?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm coming." he followed out behind her.

Narushi stood at the front of the cemetery, looking at the four different graves that have been dug up. "Damn those damn grave robbers." He grumbled to himself as he walked up to the closest one. He stuck his shovel into the loose dirt and started to bury the empty casket back up. "If they're going to be stealing people's graves, they should a t least bury the holes back up. I better hurry before tomorrow arrives. There's to be another funeral burial."

"Are you busy tonight?" Surina asked Sophia the following morning.

"Um… actually I kind of am." she said quietly.

"Really? What are your plans?"

"I need to get things ready for my brother's funeral tomorrow. I'm um… so late on setting everything up."

"Then it's decided! We'll help you out tonight as for our second team bonding." Surina said.

"No. Everything is fine. I can manage things myself." Sophia tried to say.

"Come on. What is the point in having friends if we're not here to help you at all? I'm sure Shin would help to. After all you did go to his dad's funeral." Shin walked into the classroom right then. "SHIN! I know what we're doing today!" Surina raced over to him and gave him another hug. Shin sighed.

"I was thinking all morning that you've disappeared since you didn't follow me. I guess I was wrong. It's only wishful thinking I guess." He mumbled.

"You want to help Sophia with setting up her brother's funeral tonight? Don't you?" she asked.

"Sophia's… brother?" he looked over at her and his face began to turn red. "I guess. That doesn't seem like such a bad thing to do. After all I did like Toshio."

"Really!" Sophia eyes watered up. "Thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me."

"Sure. No problem." Surina stared at him.

"I didn't expect that one." She mumbled to herself. "Is he finally starting to cheer up inside his heart?"

"Huh? What are you looking at Surina?" Shin asked.

"N… nothing at all!" she turned around blushing.

"I'm home!" Tenten walked into her house. She walked into the kitchen and into the fridge to see what there is to snack on.

"Oh… Tenten. You're home." her husband came walking out. "You were out all night. Weren't you?" he asked her.

"Yea… sorry I was busy last night." She got up and looked over at him. She noticed that his skin looked a little pale. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked him.

"Of course. What else would I feel like?" he asked.

"Come here." She said. "You don't look alright to me." He walked over to him and she checked his pulse. His heart beat speed faster than what it would normally. "This, It can't be." She began thinking to herself. "It's just like how Renge said. His heart beat is faster than normal." She walked over to get a thermometer out of the cupboard.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her as he watched her move around the kitchen.

"Nothing is wrong." she said. She began to feel worried. "Here, put this in." she handed the thermometer to him. When she pulled it out his temperature was 101 degrees Fahrenheit. "No. This can't happen to me yet." She grabbed her coat and walked over to him and handed his coat to him.

"What are we doing?" he asked.

"We're going to the doctors." She said. "You're sick. You need some treatment right away before it gets worse."

"I told you I'm fine. I don't want to go see any doctors. I'm staying right here." He moaned.

"…They seem more like a completely different person. They all refuse to go the hospital but their family members always force them to go." Tenten remembered what Renge had said.

"I understand now." Tenten mumbled. "Now I know what she's been seeing every day for the past two months. Fine." she said. "If your condition worsens by tomorrow then we're going to diffidently take you to the hospital. You got it."

"Thank you so much for helping me." Sophia said when they've finished setting everything up. "You have no idea on how much you two have helped me out today."

"No. It's really no problem Sophi. You can call on me to help you out anytime." said Shin.

"We are not done here yet!" Surina stomped her foot.

"What do you mean?" asked Shin. "We've already got everything finished for tomorrow's funeral."

"Ice cream!" she pointed at him. "We still have to go get some ice cream as for a celebration on finishing our task today. Come on!" she grabbed Shin's hand and started taking off. "Are you coming Sophia?" she asked.

"Yea! I'll be right there in a minute." she said.

"What do you know." Shin held his empty wallet upside down when he entered through the door to his house. "I should have known that Surina would make me pay for everyone. She is such a cruel person to me." He sighed.

"Where have you been!?" his mothered yelled at him. "It's getting close to midnight and you have school tomorrow."

"Sorry mom. I was out helping setting up a funeral for my friend that's happening tomorrow. Then we all went out to get ice cream." Shin said.

"Really?" her voice mellowed down. "Tell your friend that I send my deepest condolences for their lost one." She bowed her head.

"Ok. See you mom. I'm really tired and I should go and get some sleep before tomorrow's school day starts." he yawned as he walked to the stairs.

"Ok! Goodnight! I'm so glad that he's finally making some friends." she smiled cheerfully.

"I'm getting really tired of those stupid grave robbers coming here every night and digging up all my graves and not burry it back." Narushi said hiding behind a bush in the cemetery. "I'll get them tonight and put an end to all this madness." A young girl walked into the graveyard. "What is a little girl doing in here?" he mumbled to himself.

"What a poor soul this one turned out to be." Midna said. She pulled out a rose and threw it next to the gravestone. "He didn't even get a chance to start a new life. Oh well. We have a new young soul that will be joining us." she began giggling. She walked over to another grave. She pulled out a shovel and started digging.

"Hold on! What do you think you're doing?" Narushi jumped out of the bush. Midna looked at him. "Her eyes?" he noticed that her eyes were red. "Who… Who are you?" Narushi asked in fear as he got closer to her. He noticed that her skin was really pale.

She began giggling again. "Digging mister." She said. "What else does it look like I'm doing? Burring acorns?" she continued digging.

"I know what you're doing!" he began feeling irritated from getting a smart reply. "You're on private property! Get off or I'll call the cops!"

"Call them." She said. "They can't do anything to me. Besides, I'm the least of your worries right now. Shouldn't you be more concerned for the guy that's about to get eaten."

"Eaten? What are you talking about?" he felt confused.

"There's something else lurking around here." Midna looked straight into his eyes. "Can't you feel its presence?" her voice deepened. Narushi began to get a shiver down his spine.

"I'm going to say this to you one more time. If you don't stop digging and get off this land then I'm going to call the cops!" He grabbed the shovel to stop her.

"LISTEN TO ME!" Midna looked ferocious. Her eyes began to paralyze Narushi's body with fear.

"What's this?" Narushi began thinking to himself. "I… I can't move my body. Is this… fear? Who is this little girl?"

"You're getting in my way." She started to say. "Unless you want to die next I recommend that you leave me be from this day forward. You got it?" she sounded angry.

"What just happened?" Narushi mumbled when he snapped out of it. "Her eyes, there's something weird about them. I'm, too afraid to try to stop her anymore"

"Someone! Help me! Please!" Narushi heard someone yell out.

"You better hurry mister. If you don't, it'll be too late to save him." Midna said as she continued on digging up the grave. Narushi fell back on his butt and started to crawl backwards. He then got up and started running as fast as he could. "Good luck mister. You're going to need it." She mumbled to herself.

"What's going on here?" Narushi asked himself. He noticed that someone lying on the ground while another man walking closer to him.

"Someone! Help me!" the man on the ground yelled. "He's trying to eat me!" He has scratch and bite marks all over him.

"This town is going crazy." Narushi thought to himself. "First it was a strange little girl, and now a cannibal? He's not really going to eat him… is he?" he got out his phone and dialed the police.

"Hello, who is it?" the lady asked on the phone. The man walked closer and started to give out a loud screech. The noise became so intense that Narushi dropped his phone on the ground. "Hello, anyone there?"

"What's going on?" he thought to himself. "I… I can't move. My vision… it's starting to fade. My, balance… I'm losing balance." He then dropped to his knees. "What's going on in this town?"

The man stopped screeching and bent down to his victim. "I'm sorry…" he started to whisper in his ear. "But I'm just very hungry." His victim couldn't speak anymore from the loud screech. The man then started to eat him alive.

"What the hell! He really is eating him…" Narushi's eyes became drowsy and soon started to lose sight on his surroundings. He fell to the floor.

"Hello, someone there?" he heard the lady on the phone saying, but he couldn't get himself to talk.

"Am I going to be eaten next?" he continued thinking. He heard the giggling noise from Midna.

"It looks like you were too late mister." She said. "I tried to tell you but you wouldn't listen to me." Narushi's eyes closed and he fell unconscious.