Hello again! Thank you all for your reviews! I love being able to connect with others through this community!
I gotta say, part of me is really liking updating this often! It definitely gives me something to do and look forward to. The other part of me stresses out about correcting mistakes and constantly re-reading chapters to ensure that they are as entertaining as possible. Anyhow, enjoy!
The next morning Mai drove to the location with Tommy and Kelly and was greeted with an interesting surprise when entering the base. Inside Monk and Ayako were talking to Madoka and Lin. Naru was over by the monitors reviewing last night's footage.
"Monk, Ayako, what are you both doing here?" Mai asked closing the door. She thought that they were going to be shopping and looking at more of London with Luella.
"Well, we thought we would come to see our favorite daughter before we left!" Monk cheered getting up from his spot next to his wife.
This was news to her. "Leaving? I thought you still had a few more days left." Mai sat on a chair next to Naru, who was writing down timestamps of certain events.
"Originally we were, but Yasu called us last night and said that this case was more than they thought," Mai leaned forward to listen closer to Ayako. "Masako confronted the spirit and one thing led to another and she is currently possessed."
Mai's mouth hung open.
"John was trying to exorcise her, but apparently they underestimated the number of spirits. Masako could only feel one, but a second one just came out of the woodwork. So, we're going back to see if we can diffuse the situation a bit more." Monk sighed and leaned back into the couch.
"Oh, I see." Mai looked over to one of the monitors. Naru watched her out of the corner of his eye and tried not to react to the tears in her eyes. It was obvious that her emotions were clashing inside her. Fear for her team, and sadness knowing her family was not going to be so close to them. "I'll miss you both. I didn't expect you guys to leave so soon."
Monk laughed and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Really? How are you going to be able to miss us when you're going to be spending time with your boyfriend?" His eyebrows wiggled at her.
Mai looked at Madoka. "Did you tell them?! I told you I wanted to talk to them." She shook her head at the strawberry blond smiling at her with a big grin.
"Don't look at me! I didn't tell them," Madoka feigned innocence, but it was obvious she was trying not to laugh at something.
Mai looked to Lin and he shook his head. Then a thought struck her. She looked to Naru who was looking at her with a straight face. "You?!"
He nodded. "I wanted to ask for their permission."
Mai blushed and swallowed.
"That's right! Big bad Naru himself asked us!" Monk declared. Kelly watched with amusement and Tommy gave her a look of sympathy. "I almost started crying at the question. My sweet innocent daughter being claimed by some vampire. It was unthinkable."
Mai's mouth fell open, Naru glared at him for the 'vampire' comment, and Madoka started laughing.
Ayako smacked her husband and looked at Mai. "What we are trying to say is that we support you and Naru in your relationship. You just need to make sure you tell Luella and Martin."
"I have already planned to do so after this case," Naru said closing his notebook. "It would be preferred if no one alerted them to our relationship until we do."
Ayako nodded and held up her hand in defense. "I get it, don't spill the beans when we go back to the house, just make sure you let them know. I'm sure they'll be very happy."
Adrian walked into the base looking shaken which caught the attention of his sister.
"Are you alright?" She moved over to him and watched with careful eyes.
"I have some serious news." He looked to Naru and glanced at Mai. Walking more into the room, he quickly shrugged off his coat and sat on the couch next to Madoka. "I was out looking up a few things that Madoka asked me to, but everything that happened in Mai's dream had me wondering." He threw down a thick group of papers. "So, I looked up the missing person report that was filed for Mr. Adams. According to the report, Jocelyn hadn't filed it until a week after he had gone missing."
Mai was taken aback. "Why would she do that?"
"You think she's hiding something," Naru said crossing a knee over his other leg.
Adrian nodded. "I do." He flipped a few of the papers over to another set. "Something else that is new is the fact that there is no mention of a baby. I looked through birth and death certificates, and obituaries of the papers, yet no mention."
"That's really strange. From the dream, she seemed like she would have done anything for her child. She would want to honor it by giving it a proper burial." Mai said looking at Adrian.
"That's why I dug a bit deeper, and I have a theory." He flipped to a specific page and pointed to it. "This is a document of the original missing person's report that Mrs. Adams filled." He shuffled a few more papers until his eyes focused on the one that he was looking for. "A few days goes by and she retracts her report. She had stated that she was not concerned and needed to move on with her life."
"So, she is hiding something," Mai said catching his attention. He nodded to her, and she thought a little more. "You think she had something to do with her husbands' death?" The words didn't sound like her own, but that was the only thought that she believed he was implying.
She was correct when he nodded to her again. "That's what I am suggesting, yes."
"So, let me get this straight, she murders her husband, files a missing person's report, but doesn't disclose the fact that he murdered her baby, and was extremely violent towards her?" Ayako said referring to one of Mai's previous dreams and waving her hands around.
Everyone around the room silently agreed.
"Be that as it may, we cannot change the past," Naru said reorganizing the papers. "We need to come up with a game plan."
It wasn't a question, but the group knew that he was looking for suggestions.
"I think we have to start with Jocelyn," Mai said speaking up first. "She seems to be the one to harbor more ill will than any of the others. Remember she was influencing Stephanie when her husband died."
Kelly nodded. "I agree. Her level of hate needs to be dealt with first. We won't be able to reach the others without getting her out of the way. I sense that the other two, Stephanie and James, will be easily persuaded and will move on with no regrets."
Naru puzzled this and Mai watched him think. As she did so, a sudden wave of fatigue hit her. She yawned and rubbed her eyes a bit. This day was already getting to her and it wasn't even one.
"Uh, should we be discussing any of this so openly?" Adrian said looking around nervously. "I do not want to be on a spirit's hit list."
Monk waved away his comment. "Relax, kid. No ghost is going to be able to get through the charms that Ayako and I have placed on the doors and walls unless they want to waste their energy. And I think you're forgetting that it would dare attack knowing that the room is filled with so many spiritualists."
Mai's eyelids grew heavy and her breathing slowed down. Monk's voice was in and out of focus. She put a hand to her head to stop it from dropping onto the table.
Kelly scoffed at his comment. "Be careful what you say. You never know-" Her voice caught.
Mai perked up a bit, but regardless of Kelly's distressed face, she couldn't help but feel numb to the emotion. The others looked at her in question.
"Kelly, what's wrong?" Adrian eyed his sister carefully.
"Something is circling the base. I think it might be Jocelyn; there's so much hate radiating from her."
Just then the lights flickered on and off at a fast pace. Those who were sitting got up to move in a huddle, on edge waiting for anything to happen.
Mai who was still where she had been sitting was starting to tilt toward the desk.
"Mai, get over here now!" Ayako shouted to her. Not waiting long enough for an answer, Ayako made her way over to her only to be stopped by a slamming noise. Noises were coming all around the room.
Naru stepped forward. "Mai," He inched closer to her, only to be met with resistance. "What the- Lin!"
"It looks to be a barrier." Surveying the static shield between the group and their youngest member, Lin noticed a small detail. "I don't think the ghost made this."
"Then, who the hell did?" Monk said yelling over the knocking.
"I think Mai did."
Said girl's head hit the desk with a smack. She had succumbed to sleep, most likely dreaming. The knocking noises stopped and the lights flickered out and Kelly let out a small whimper of fear.
"She's here! Adrian, it's Jocelyn, speak to her!" Kelly said grabbing her brothers' arm.
"On it, but where is she?"
"Over by Mai." Kelly's voice was just that of a whisper. "She looks awful, no longer human."
Facing the area his sister had said, he began. "Jocelyn,"
Kelly gasped. "She heard you." She watched as Jocelyn placed a hand against the barrier. A ripple shot over the surface and she jerked her hand back quickly and glared at Mai.
"Jocelyn, what are you looking for? What do you want?" A quick reply was heard coming into Adrian's head and Kelly held up a hand to her mouth. He gritted his teeth. "It pointed to Mai. If any of you 'spiritualists' have any chants I would use them! Now!"
"Monk, Ayako, go!" Naru pushed against the barrier as much as he could.
Monk and Ayako started chanting. Kelly watched Jocelyn's reaction.
"Keep it up, I think it's working!"
Without much of a pause, the lights came back on and the ghost had faded away.
"She left," Kelly took in the room around her. "That's interesting, I thought she would have put up more of a fight."
"She didn't because she got what she wanted," Naru said looking at the empty chair where Mai was once sitting.
Mai's head was pounding and her eyes felt puffy. She wasn't new to this feeling. She had cried all night.
Opening her eyes and getting out of her bed, she made her way over to the bathroom. Dipping her hands in the water she splashed her face and tried to let it ease her irritated eyes.
Sighing and using the clean linens to pat her face dry, Mai looked at herself in the mirror but was shocked to see Stephanie's face frowning back at her. She looked skeletal and tired. Her face boney and sharp, and her eyes were wracked with dark bags.
She was dreaming in first person.
Her heartbeat started picking up. First-person dreams always ended up poorly. Trying to reach out for her tether to her body, she couldn't grasp it entirely.
Stephanie walked through the hallways and made her way to the room across from, what Mai is assuming to be, her bedroom. A baby's crib was set up and a rocking chair sat close to the window. Mai had seen this room before, but it was emptier.
So, this was where the nursery was. No wonder she walked here on their initial investigation. However, this time, the room held a much deeper sadness. It was almost suffocating. She distinctly missed a lack of weight to hold in her hands. Something she would never again get back.
She wanted it to end.
Tears rolled down her face and she could only tag along in the ride as Stephanie had entire control of her movements. She made her way over to the window and looked out into the backyard. Further back slightly past the tree line, Mai could see what looked like a rather large pond. She looked at it for a while with a blank stare, until her body started moving on its own.
Making her way out of the house and into the backyard, her body didn't miss a beat, but she felt empty. Like her body was hollow without a soul, without purpose.
She watched helplessly as the pond got closer and closer until she stood on the edge of it. She bent down, picked up a rather large stone, and slipped it into the waistband of the dress that they were wearing. It hit Mai like a ton of bricks. Stephanie was taking her own life.
"No," Mai had drowned once in a dream, and there was no way she wanted to live it again. "No, no, no, no!"
Her desperate pleas were ignored as the dress was filled with more stones of varying sizes.
Time seemed to slow as Mai started moving into the water, the cold moving up her legs until she was forced to tread water. Mai briefly wondered how deep the pond truly was. A small lake might have been more fitting. It didn't matter, however, as there was enough water to die in.
The rocks in her pocket weighed heavily on her body, but she still felt nothing. Tilting her head back, she sighed as the water hit the back of her head. She could feel herself slowly drift deeper into the depth of the water as the coldness wrapped its claws around her mouth.
Panic settled into her body and brain as they realized that they were never going to get oxygen again. Internally, she reasoned with the two and asked them to accept it. To give in to the silence of death. Anything couldn't be worse than her reality.
She opened her mouth and water rushed into her stomach and lungs as she took a scared breath.
A stinging sensation registered on Mai's face and at first, she was focused on that. But soon she could feel her lungs in pain. Sitting up, Mai turned as she coughed up a lungful of water.
She could feel a hand holding her hair and another wrapped around her torso. She was thankful for both as she felt an intense wave of weakness.
She took a few more gasping breaths and looking around she noticed all of her team members watching her with fear. Ayako sank to the ground in relief and Monk let out a breath. A lack of warmth around the environment had her assessing her surroundings. She was right next to the pond. What had happened? Was she still dreaming?
"Mai," She looked up more attentive to the sound of Naru's face. "How are you feeling?" His eyes held fear and relief, and Mai was scared to ask what happened.
"Fine, I- I feel okay." Her face felt hot and her head felt dizzy. Leaning her head down onto Naru's chest, she reveled in the cool feeling of his wet clothes. She looked up to him in alarm. "Naru, why are you wet?"
He watched her with concern.
"Why is he wet? Why is he wet?!" Ayako stepped up to her and bent down to her level. "You gave us all a heart attack." She wrapped Mai in a tight hug, and Mai went slack not bothering to reciprocate the python grip Ayako had on her.
She couldn't explain it, but she felt weird. Her mind followed a buzzing noise that was persistent in her ears. Ayako went into a lecture, but Mai watched dumbly. The residual emotions weighed down on her consciousness and body.
Naru continued to watch as Mai watched Ayako talk but it was obvious that she wasn't focusing at all.
"Ayako, that's enough," Monk said placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked at her husband with tears in her eyes. "She probably needs an explanation of what is happening."
"Mai," While he gathered the attention of the group, Naru did not get the attention of the one he wanted. "Mai. Look at me." Nothing.
Reaching forward, he placed a hand on her cheek and noted the heat coming off her in waves. Ignoring the warmth for a moment, he tilted her head towards him and he watched as her dull eyes lit up a bit.
"Naru,"
"What are you feeling right now?" He asked shifting closer to her. She happily leaned back into his body.
"Too warm," A small smile graced her lips and she placed her head onto his chest. "You're cold."
"She has a fever," Naru said. He pulled her closer to him and lifted her when he stood. "Let's get back to my parents. This is enough for one day." Looking back down to Mai, he noticed that she had fallen asleep. Sighing he glanced back at the pond and grit his teeth.
Hope you all enjoyed this next chapter! This week has been exhausting, but I will update again next week! As always, leave a review if you can! All comments welcome!
Cheers!