Yay! More reviews means I post faster! thank you all for reading, I will put in some breaks to make the last chapter flow better. anyway...
On with the show~
"Yeah," Mai agreed, closing her eyes trying to block out the pain. "But then who would save Naru?" Lin's head snapped up and looked dead into her eyes, willing her to tell him everything she knew.
"They are all safe, but not for long." She stated, and Lin hurriedly finished wrapping her leg, gently he set it on the ground then in one swift motion stood and plowed forward to the house. Mai reached her hand out and grabbed his leg.
"Lin-san, only death awaits both of you if you chase after him now." Mai's words cut clean through Lin's panic. He stopped dead in his tracks, as Mai tugged on his pant leg.
He stared at her, why was she holding back.
"The ghost thinks it's a game," she said.
"He is laughing at us now," Masako stated from beside Ayako. "A teenager, he wants to break everyone apart."Ayako began to stir; she tossed her head back and forth coming out of a daze. Barely audible Masako said, "Suicide."
"Lin you can help Naru just not through the front, not alone."
"There is no back door," he stated.
"A root cellar leads to an escape route, if I can open it you can come in there." Mai stated.
Lin ran through the layout of the house in his head, root cellar, where and what is that? A crawlspace basement was noted but he could never get in there. Mai began to root around in the debris for something, he saw her grab two larger boards, and struggled to get up. Masako braced her for a moment.
"I'll go." The medium stated, steadying Mai, and then moving toward the side of the house.
"No Masako," Mai spoke though her words were little more than a whisper. "Someone needs to stay and help Ayako, and you know more about medicine then I do; we will need your help more later stay here and rest, please?"
The medium stepped back and looked towards the miko. She said nothing seemingly relegated into the background once again, she accepted her place. Something in Mai's words gave her a foreboding feeling she should follow them.
"Around the corner Lin there are several boards near the cement basement, can you pull them off?"
Lin on his long legs made it to the place Mai had indicated quickly, sized up the boards and gave them a solid kick. They splintered under his force. Mai struggled on her makeshift crutches over to the hole in the wall, Lin had pulled the pieces of wood from the edges, but there was no way he could get his large frame through the small hole. With Every step Mai's leg throbbed with pain but she willed herself forward, the opening was little more than 18 inches tall and 2 foot wide. She lowered herself to the ground then with Lin's assistance pushed herself feet first through the hole. Within an inch of rain water over a muddy floor greeted her.
Along the crawl space, she maneuvered herself over to where the wall came in from outside a little more than a foot then the rest of the place. Her dream had told her, this was it, and secret space that connected the outside to a staircase. She knew if she pushed on the roof above her it would come up to reveal a trap door on the landing of the stairs, but infront of her she found a bare wall. In the dream it had been pushed somehow to open outward, no doubt to where Lin stood, but how? Beside her a soft purple light was given off by a Shiki that followed her in. It bobbed here and there and the way the light and shadow played on the wall revealed a hand hold near the ceiling, Mai pushed it but nothing happened, harder she pushed and her fingers slipped and she smashed them against the wall. Ignoring her now broken nails she grabbed hold once more and pulled it toward her. A wood block pulled away to reveal the outer wall. This time Mai gave a mighty shove and the wall broke free just barely more than an inch, but this was enough, Lin saw it. Mai saw his long slim fingers slide in through the opening and gave a mighty pull the false wall pulled open allowing Lin access. He ducked through the entrance. Lin began to move up toward the trap door carefully stepping around Mai.
"It is not good to be alone here, it lets him win" Mai called holding onto Lin's coat as he tried to go past.
"You can't walk and I can't wait, go outside and stay." Lin said brushing her off.
"You may get to him alone, but you will not be able to get out of here." She stated holding his sleeve.
"What is my life if I break my promise, even if he is no longer a minor; I promised to take care of him."
"What good is your sacrifice if he dies trying to save you?" Mai screamed at him.
"What do you know? What have you dreamt?"
"Bits and pieces, this house houses a selfish teenager who wants only to break people up. The stronger the bond the better for him. Once he breaks the trust of a group they fall apart, one by one going on their own and becoming his targets their weaknesses are his strengths."
Ever the silent type Lin did not answer only picked her up in his arms. She pushed open the trap door. He climbed out onto the landing of the stairs, pausing only a moment he started heading up. Mai held on loosely around his neck trying to balance her weight and help what she could. Lin followed the trail his Shiki showed. His long stride covering two steps at a time.
Naru heard a crack from below and beat Takigawa and John to the attic window to lookout. He saw Lin sprawled across the ground holding Ayako as though he was carrying her when he fell. Below him he saw the rubble of the awning, through the dust he saw Mai extricating herself from the rubble.
"Baka," he stated.
"She is under a collapsed porch roof and all you can say is Baka?" Takigawa asked incredulously.
Naru deigned a reply.
"Lin is helping Mai out, wonder why the porch roof collapsed like that." John mused ignoring the others.
Naru moved away from the window and started to investigate the attic. Although there were many incidents in this house a lot of them had at least one link to the attic. Several people were found badly beaten or barely conscious up here, this is where the worst things would happen, and the latest death. It was posed as a suicide, a boy hung from a rafter, but the rest of the people from the house said it was impossible.
The police report and witness reports were summarized as the following. A group of friends decided to rent the old house for a summer vacation. It was a few miles from the beach and a good price for a month. Eight friends arrived at varying times on Saturday night. Slept over and went to the beach Sunday morning. That night they came home mostly drunk, then strange things started happening. Knocking on the walls, which were chalked up to childish jokes, and then the girls felt they were being watched, and started freaking out. They chose to leave together to a hotel. Then things got worse, five boys started drinking, and one became singled out, Gin, unable to drink as much and called the wimp. The leader Tamaki had been especially harsh on him. Eventually they settled down three in one room two in another. Gin was sure that his roommate was playing jokes on him and making weird noises, and after the roommate, threw up he decided to leave and get a room at the hotel with the girls. It is confirmed that the girls got a call for him around 4am. Once he left the room he got lost in the house, and started running wildly through the house not noticing what he tipped over or broke, he said he heard laughter following him and the lights flickered and crashes came behind him. He made it to the front door with some bruises and a sprained ankle. His roommate Tetsuya hearing the noises tried to follow and stop Gin. He claims Gin in his wild escape attempt punched him, and pushed him through the front window, he suffered severe cuts, and lacerations.
The three remaining boys began to fight amongst themselves; two of them found and called an ambulance for Tetsuya. One thought they should all leave Masahiro, and Tamaki wanted them to stay again, trying to prove them as wimps. Tamaki took off for the attic to prove he was the best, they followed for a while but Masahiro turned back at the top of the stairs. He made it to the bottom of the stairs where he started hearing laughter, he figured from those above him so he continued out. He stopped to pick up his things in his room and got locked in, he claims things started flying around trying to hit him, he was found in the morning pinned against the wall behind a bed with a dresser lying across one leg.
Tamaki went all the way up the stairs to the attic, but after hearing screams and cries from Masahiro, Jiro turned back. He claimed to have heard laughter just before being pushed down the stairs and then somehow locked into the basement while unconscious. Tamaki was found the next morning swinging from a rafter in the attic. No accounts were known as to how he got his injuries but none of the boys were charged with any crimes.
Although the police believed little of the story they could prove or disprove little else. This is the fifth such case in this house. The first three were families, one group of spiritualists who 'cleansed' the house and one other college group. Previous groups reported similar incidents, except for the death. This was an unsuitable escalation.
Noll investigated the room, although it was cleaned up, still remnants' remained of the suicide. The rafter on which the boy had committed suicide was in fact nine foot high. Noll jumped and tried reaching up onto the rafter, his best jump his fingers grazed the bottom. There were no chairs or stools present nor in the accident report. He looked around the room. Walking close to the walls he ran his fingers along the edges, and where there were gouges. Bou-san and John looked around also, although with less scrutinizing eyes. Shards of glass fell to the inside of one window. Either sucked in, or pushed in from the outside. Trail of papers spread throughout the attic some had personal writing on them.
"Gather up these pages; see if there are any names or information on them."
John and Bou-san did as asked. Gathering the papers, they piled them and sorted them into sections, most were nondescript random things, some homework, a few newspapers and a few magazines. Then amidst the rest was scraps of a letter, torn to pieces, they pieced part of it together but the most of the letter was missing still. No name or date could be seen. The paper and calligraphy would have dated it a while in the past, Twenty maybe thirty years at least, maybe more. Finding nothing more of interest in the attic they began to head to the door when they started to hear loud knocking, and the lights started to flicker.
Bou-san got ready to chants but stalled as Noll held up a hand to wait. Under the din of the knocking came the softer sound of someone hollering, faintly Noll recognized it.
It did not take Lin long to get to the door of the attic, he softly cursed as he reached the door to find it closed and locked. Trying to open it started a clashing, and banging that the china-man feared to those upstairs' safety. With Mai still in his hands he tried forcing it open but with no avail, he stood there dumbfounded at how to get it open without putting the girl down.
"It's ok, set me down here, and then you can go up." Mai said softly as though reading his mind. He was reluctant to let her go. Though she was just Noll's Japanese assistant, the girl drew everyone to her, and she seemed to know more about this house then he did.
"Set me down here, and then the door will open easier." She said simply gesturing to a place on the landing. Reluctantly he set her down gently taking care not to jostle her leg more than he had to. The noise and racket through the door seemed to calm and he approached the door.
"Lin, trust Noll, even when he seems like and insensitive jerk he comes through for us. Make sure everyone sticks together." Mai said before Lin touched his hand to the door. He looked at her quizzically when opening it, why would she say that, he knew it, and she could tell everyone in a minute. He opened the door and took one step in the door. Unless… he tried to back up but there was a force that pushed him through the door and he flew into the attic, slamming against the wall on the opposite side of the door. The door slammed shut behind him. John and Bou-san went and helped Lin up; While Naru went over to the door and tried to open it. It was sealed shut.
"What happened?" Naru asked coolly looking at his assistant still sitting on the floor.
"I was coming in when Taniyama-san said something, I was about to go back when I was thrown in here."
"Why did you come up here?"
"I came to get you guys out of this house. Safely."
"Why do you think we need to get out, we haven't even started yet, and the ghost barely showed us anything?"
"He already started, Hara-san and Taniyama-san say that he thinks it's a game to divide a group and conquer one at a time. He attacked Ayako In the bathroom then collapsed the porch roof. Ayako is recovering down there, but the concussion and bruising around the neck will put her out of this investigation, He collapsed the awning while I was underneath it, if he succeeded he would have trapped, me under it with Matsuzaki san, and trapped Taniyama-san in the house and Masako outside, effectively dividing us all up which is his M.O.. But Taniyama pushed us through the door and getting a sprained ankle instead."
"So he isn't wasting any time now, did they have any clue who 'he' was?"
"Teenage boy, suicide, Hara-san heard him laughing, and said he felt it was a game to split people up."
"So to keep us from splitting up you came in alone to get us?"
"Not alone," he paused; the three boys stared at him, "With Taniyama-san."