Chapter XXVI – Gun Shot
"Have you ever been to a neighbouring village?"
"Huh?" The question caught Mia off guard.
They had finally finished unpacking everything that was in the suitcase and were now both relaxing in the garden.
"I mean, I heard there was a village nearby here…started with an 'H'. Though I've forgotten its actual name."
"Ah, yes. I've been there." Mia answered, feeling too fatigued to recall the name herself.
"Wasn't there a gas outbreak in that village?" Diego failed to notice this and questioned her further.
"Do we really have to talk about this now?" Mia groaned.
"I can answer for you!" Maya perked up and jumped in between them playfully.
"Fine, you take over Maya, I'm going to go lie down." Mia thanked her sister with a pat on the head and left Diego alone with Maya.
"That village you're talking about has a really complicated name and past. I've forgotten what it's called exactly, but there was a gas outbreak many years ago that wiped out the whole village."
"Really now?" Diego suddenly grew very interested in what the medium in training had to say. "Any idea on what caused the outbreak?"
"I heard it was toxic volcanic fumes." Maya said with a frown. "Though the experts say they never found out if that was the true cause or not."
"I see… Guess I'll have something to look into when I get back to the city." Diego stretched his arms above his head and realised then that it had been two hours since he had last had a cup of coffee.
"…You wouldn't happen to have a bean grinder out here, would you?" He asked Maya sheepishly.
Ryu gasped painfully as he leaned against the door to the cubicle. He had splashed cold water onto his face repetitively so now there was water dripping steadily from his drenched hair.
He knew that Mia was waiting for him outside.
"Switch with me."
Ryu jumped, and realised after several heartbeats who was talking to him.
Xekuto's faded form materialised next to Ryu.
"You've been in my body long enough, switch with me."
"You do realise if I do that then you would take your own form?"
"I am fairly sure there is a way for me to keep your appearance."
"Hmph, when did you get so clever? Alright, fine." Ryu took a hanging towel from its rack to soak up the dripping water.
"We will switch minds for as long as you want. You've waited for quite a while."
"Three years," Xekuto hissed and felt himself being dragged in.
"Ryu? Are you alright in there? You've been there for a long time!" Mia's voice called out to them just as Xekuto took full control.
"Coming!" He croaked, getting used to his new voice and tidied himself up before displaying himself to her.
"Oh good. I was getting worried there." Mia said, seemingly not being able to notice any change with her friend.
"Sorry, had a stomach ache." Xekuto invented and managed a smile.
Diego acquired the location of a local library and told Mia he would head there to do some research. What Maya had told him had him intrigued and he couldn't wait to find out more details.
Being in a rural area, the library was quite small and contained only books. But it was enough for Diego.
"I went through much tougher times when studying to be a lawyer." He muttered as he ran a finger across the spine labels to find the dewey number he was looking for.
After flicking through numerous pages, he found an article that caught his eye.
It was titled 'Village X's Syndrome.'
"Syndrome? This could be interesting." Diego flicked to the page indicated and read.
It seemed the village's name was withheld from the public as it was a dangerous site and did not want to attract any reporters or visitors of the kind.
The document was centred around the illness or syndrome that the village was famous for. Diego felt a shiver brush up his spine when he realised the symptoms of this illness were exactly the same as the ones he had seen Mia experience.
"People who have come in contact with anything located in this village will have automatically been passed this illness. It is similar to that of a dormant volcano. But once it erupts, severe harm may come to the patient. They will see shimmering lights and hallucinations, they will be convinced everything in the world is after them. The feeling of bugs and maggots crawling in their veins will be apparent and the patient will attempt to scratch and tear at their skin to free themselves from this horrible feeling. Many fatal cases include patients scratching away at the skin of their throat until they hit a major artery and die from blood loss."
Diego stared at the document, shivering and feeling extremely ill at reading this.
He also realised that no cure had been discovered for such an illness and that it only flares up when the patient is exposed to extreme stress or agony.
He made a mental note of this and promised himself he would keep an eye on Mia's condition and not let any further harm happen to her.
The senior attorney whipped out his phone and took several pictures of the pages he deemed most important. To his surprise, in the middle of this process, his phone began to vibrate.
"Hello? Armando, can you hear me?"
It was Lana Skye.
"Ms. Skye? I didn't know I could get reception here in the damned mountains."
"That would explain why you didn't answer any of my calls."
"Hmm?" Diego straightened up at once as he sense the note of urgency in Lana's voice.
"Did something happen?"
"Yes! I've been trying to reach you all this time to tell you! You and Mia have to get back here at once!"
"What's wrong?" Diego's heart pounded faster by the second.
Lana's next words were muffled, but he heard them very clearly in his mind.
"Zoren's been…!"
On a sleepy morning when I just fall asleep and wake again over and over
I fasten my necktie tightly
I walk through the door of the classroom able to stick out my chest ever so slightly
The wind blows right through such ordinary days
I felt like I heard it
Because I felt like I sensed it
Just now, in my heart that has begun to tremble
I felt it come again
Some hundred million stars vanishing
I saw them off
Waved goodbye
And said "Good for you"
"Not bad. It sure did keep me entertained. Where did you get that from, Shinjiko?" Shinume reached into the cage and pulled her twin's face close to hers after she had finished the song.
"I-It was one of the songs that our former self loved to sing, Shinume-nee-sama." She whimpered back.
"Ah, yes. Now I remember. Very good. We will put it to use for this first section of Xekuto's story then."
Shinjiko chose that moment to cry out a little.
"Hmm?" Shinume turned once again towards the many basins that showed the worlds of Xekuto Zoren.
"Ahh, yes. Something interesting is going to happen now. Tee-hee… I cannot wait."
"The note said somewhere around here, right, Ryu?"
"Yeah… Weird, I don't see anyone."
Xekuto paced around the courtyard, waiting for someone to turn up. He reread the note again, making sure he didn't miss any bits of crucial information.
"It sure is unlike Lana to tell me to come out here. Well, whatever she has to say must be very important."
It was at that exact point that Xekuto heard a rustling in the bushes.
"Is that you, Lana? Hello?" He walked towards the bushes, just as Ryu tried to grab his arm and pull him back.
"What did you want to talk ab…?"
BANG