The Dead Tell No Tale

by Oblivion-Time

After a charm gone wrong, Maka, Soul, Black*Star, Tsubaki, Liz, Patty, Kid and Marie end up at a haunted school. Dead bodies are around every corner and the threat of death looms over them in the shape of three ghost girls, a man with a chainsaw and other unknown threats lurking in the dark. There is no way out. No way to find each other. Only death is certain.

20. Soul Evans

Chapter 20

Soul Evans

Maka couldn't swallow the horror of watching the one last hope of Soul surviving literally slipping from his fingers and falling down through the cracks. The only hopes Soul had… it was gone.

Before she knew it, Liz yanked at her hand and pulled her away to the sound of the bell tolling. She screamed in sorrow, simply staring at the spot where Black*Star was buried underneath the wood and metal, where blood started to seep out from underneath it. Soul pushed at her and Liz yanked at her to continue.

Tsugumi was running right beside them and Anya was at the end of the corridor, pointing them in the right direction. The familiar shelves and children's shoes came into view and before they knew it, they ran out on the grass and the rain splattered on their skin.

"Don't go too far out! There are mines!" Liz warned. "We got to perform the Sachiko Ever After charm quickly!"

This was really it.

This was the moment when they had to perform it and escape from there. Only Maka and Liz had their paper scrap from the ritual. Maka looked over her shoulder and found Soul standing right behind her, surviving through all of this hell and now when they were so close, they would have to leave him behind all because of a stupid lack of a paper.

"I can't leave you," Maka whispered. She inhaled shakily as new tears blurred her vision. "I can't leave you behind after all of this."

"You will have to. You can't perform the ritual with only one person," Soul spoke softly as if this wasn't the moment where they would part and Soul would be as good as dead in this place. All alone. Left to die along their dead friends.

"But what will happen to you?" Maka asked.

"Don't worry about me. I won't let Medusa get her hands on me," he commented as his hand patted his pocket where she knew his pocket knife was. Simply connecting the two made her lose her breath and new tears rose in her eyes.

"Maka come on," Liz pleaded as she tugged at her arm. "I want to live."

She bit her lower lip. She pulled herself out from Liz's gasp. In two quick steps, she crossed the space and smashed her lips against Soul's. Soul took a step back from the force, but wasted no time. He returned eagerly her hard kisses and wrapped his arms around her waist. Tears trickled down her cheeks and she allowed herself to be in the moment to the sound of the bell tolling. She communicated the feelings she hadn't given a voice to before through their heated kiss. There was nothing more she wanted than to live in the moment. Forever be wrapped in his arms and letting the feelings she had suppressed for so long run free.

But they couldn't.

Soul pulled away from the kiss and embraced her tightly. She heard the crinkle of paper and Soul's hand pushing something down into her skirt pocket. "Promise me you will read it when you're out of here and safe. Not a moment before then."

"I promise," she whispered.

Soul pushed her away by the shoulders. "Now go. Before it's too late."

Her pulsing lower lip quivered as she nodded. Turning her back on him ripped her heart apart as she retrieved the student ID from her pocket. Liz had already pulled out hers and had her piece of paper from the ritual ready. Maka's hands quivered and her eyes fluttered shut.

"I-I can't do it," she whispered.

"Look, I don't care who of you two do the ritual. All I care is that one of you does it! Give Soul the piece of paper then!" Liz sneered in annoyance. "We don't have room for hesitation!"

"You should take it!" Maka exclaimed as she turned around, holding the student ID out to him. "It is my fault we're all here and I'm the person who least deserve to return back."

"No," Soul sternly said as he closed her hand around it. "I lost mine. It's yours. I'm not going to take it from you." The bell tolled.

"Come on and just choose!" Liz exclaimed.

"No! There has to be another piece of paper!" Maka insisted.

"Miss Marie's is lost, Patty's is also lost. So are Tsubaki's and Black*Star's gone too but…" Maka's eyes widened. "Kid! He wasn't killed by the ghosts! And he jumped out of the window to the forest! He could still have his student ID on him and the piece of paper!"

The new-found information sparked hope in Soul's eyes and he was already on it. "I'm going to look for his body."

"I'll go with you—"

Maka was quickly interrupted by Liz grabbing her wrist and pulling her backwards as Soul started to run, following the edge of the wall. "Oh no you don't. I'm not going to let you get yourself killed and force me to stay in this place."

Maka bit her lower lip and she pleadingly looked at Tsugumi. "Please go with him."

Tsugumi nodded dutifully and she followed where Soul had disappeared around the corner.

Soul ran as fast as he could. He pumped his arms as he ran close to the walls, not straying too far in fear of running into one of the mines Liz had talked about. Tsugumi floated right beside him as he ran. He grabbed a hold of a downpipe to turn around the corner faster.

There Kid's body lay. Soul skidded against the wet grass as he dived to Kid's side. No time was wasted. He snaked his hands into his pockets searching for the one chance he had at surviving. For the first time he prayed to gain some luck. In the last ten minutes he had already been unlucky. He patted Kid's body down, not caring of the fact he got Patty's blood on him. The bell tolled loudly.

His eyes widened when he found something stiffer. He shoved his hand into the pocket and retrieved Kid's student ID. He unfolded it and just like Maka had guessed, Kid's piece of paper was there.

There was no time to lose. He ran as quickly as he could. Feet slipping on the wet grass as he pumped his arms, willing himself to run faster. He dashed around the corner and when Maka and Liz was still where he left them, relief washed over him as he victoriously waved the student ID over his head.

He skidded to a stop as him and Maka pulled out their piece of the paper doll out.

"Remember, say Sachiko we beg of you four times, okay?" Maka repeated the instructions. They nodded and their eyes fluttered shut to the sound of the bell tolling.

Sachiko we beg of you

Sachiko we beg of you

Sachiko we beg of you

Sachiko we beg of you

In their minds they chanted the charm and before they knew it, the sound of the bell's tolls grew more distant. The splatter of the rain grew quieter and only darkness remained.

The next time they opened their eyes, they were back in their homeroom classroom.

They had survived.