Sara kept pace alongside Leon, working to maintain a stoic face. As hard as she tried, however, she couldn't keep a rein on her thoughts. Fear, doubt and self-disappointment gripped her.
For all her training and preparation, she had failed to protect her partner. She hadn't been able to think fast enough to stop the jubokko B.O.W.s. And her "super powers"… Sara scoffed inwardly. Where had they been when the jubokko had been feeding on Leon? With no way to control her ability, she felt like an incompetent freak.
Suppressing a dejected sigh, Sara glanced at Jake thoughtfully, unsure of what to make of him. He was certainly capable and brave, but his wisecracking, brusque attitude grated on her. Still, Leon trusted him, and it was clear that they were going to need all the help they could get. Sara only hoped she could tolerate his brash behavior.
The comm device suddenly went off, abruptly scattering Sara's musings. Ingrid Hunnigan's voice came through her earpiece.
"Leon? Sara? Do you read me?" Hunnigan asked.
Leon stopped, signaling to the others to do the same. "We read you, Hunnigan."
"How's it going?" she inquired.
"Pretty rough," Sara replied gloomily. "Kuraishi was attacked this morning. Viral gas bombs were launched all over the town, including the hotel we were in. We almost didn't make it out, and the remaining townspeople… were killed."
She glanced at Leon whose expression had gone steely at the recollection. Jake stood impassively, hands on hips, looking up the road.
"Dear God…" Hunnigan murmured. "Well, I've got eyes on you here; you're already in Fukushū?"
"Yeah. The outskirts, anyway," Leon answered. "Been a hell of a trip. Apparently, someone knows we're here, and they're pulling out all the stops to take us down. We've got an extra hand, though. Jake Muller is here."
Hearing his name, Jake glanced over coolly.
"Jake Muller? What in the world is he doing there?" asked Hunnigan, surprised.
"A… business venture of his," Sara replied. "But apparently, our end goals are similar."
"And you're all okay, right?" Hunnigan asked.
Sara looked over at Jake's bruised and battered face then at Leon's blood-soaked bandaging. Her own body still smarted from the crash. "Let's just say we're still in the game."
"So what've you got for us, Hunnigan?" asked Leon.
"I just sent you a map of Fukushū's structural layout; landscape, areas of interest, and buildings worth looking into. The satellite images reveal some very interesting things about our ghost town.
"Thirty years ago, a severe fire broke out late one night and spread to dozens of homes and businesses. The local fire department did what they could to control and extinguish it, but the town ultimately went down. Many buildings were razed to the ground. There should be almost nothing left in Fukushū but structural skeletons. Here's the interesting part: there are two new edifices. And among the surviving buildings are three temples and an old castle called Deddoraito which had been renovated as a museum. Get this: we've traced transmission signals from that castle."
"So the castle's been fitted with a telecommunication tower and who knows what else," Sara said.
"Clearly, this isn't some impromptu act; whoever took Hana Matsuo and launched these attacks has been planning this for years with some serious funding," Leon mused. "Add all of this up, and I don't know what the hell it means. Hunnigan, can you tell us anything about Shiroi Yoake?"
"Shiroi Yoake?"
"Yeah. The city welcome sign says 'Home of Shiroi Yoake', and I've got a hunch it means something."
"Offhand, I've got nothing, but I'll see what I can dig up."
"I'll send you a shot of the sign. Maybe it'll help you find something a little faster," Leon said. He quickly took a picture of the sign and uploaded it to Hunnigan.
"Got it," she said presently. "I'll be in touch as soon as I've got something."
She disconnected immediately.
Sara glanced at Leon. "You really think there's a hidden detail in this 'Shiroi Yoake' thing?"
Leon narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "I don't know. Call it a gut feeling."
"Hello?" Jake spoke up peevishly. "Feeling outta the loop here. What's all the chatter about?"
Sara threw him an irritated glance. "Our ops support agent was giving us location info. This whole town was partially destroyed and abandoned over thirty years ago, but the bioterrorist we're after has built parts of it up again. And an ancient castle museum has been fixed with a signal tower."
"So that tells you what?"
"It tells us where to start looking for Hana Matsuo and the answers we need to shut down this terrorist," Leon replied.
Sara looked down at her device's screen, staring at the GPS map. The only clearly labeled building was the castle: Deddoraito. It was like traveling blindly, map and all.
The trio moved on, following the cracked, uneven road until they came to a stone wall with a heavy gate of solid steel.
"What the hell?" grumbled Jake.
"Fantastic. Another hiccup," Leon sighed.
"They're really working hard at keeping people out," Sara sighed. She leaned over, noticing an inscription on the colossal gate. It was written in Japanese:
言葉を話し、真実を解き明かす
春の花のように魅力的で、ベラドンナのように致命的
"There's something written on the gate, but I can't read it," she said.
The men studied the text.
" 'Speak the words, unravel the truth. Attractive like a spring flower, deadly like belladonna…'," Jake read. "It's a riddle."
Sara placed her hands on her hips. "Great. What's belladonna?"
"Deadly nightshade," Leon replied. "It's a poisonous plant. It looks unassuming, but if you consume it, it can definitely kill you."
"Okay. Botany lesson complete. What's the point?" asked Jake.
Sara studied the gate, racking her brain for an idea. Her eye suddenly fell on a small engraved figure on the left door, hidden beneath a patch of wild ivy. She pushed the leaves away to reveal it.
She found herself looking at the image of a robed woman with a halo around her head. In the woman's left hand was a gem of considerable size. "Kisshōten…," she murmured.
"What did you find?" asked Leon, looking over her shoulder.
Sara stepped back, holding the ivy vine aside. "It's the image of Kisshōten; known as the goddess of happiness, fertility and beauty."
"Hey, there's something else over here," Jake said, pointing at another image on the right door of the gate, partly obscured by a shrub. "Looks like a spider with a bull's head."
Sara bent to look at it. Her brow furrowed. "The ushi-oni; brutal demons known for spitting poison and eating humans," she said.
"How do you know this stuff?" asked Jake, staring at her.
"Call it an unusual talent," Sara replied, inclining her head sarcastically.
Leon chuckled lightly, then turned grave again. "They're clues," he concluded. "If we find out what they mean, we solve the puzzle."
Jake huffed. "I hate this shit."
The three stood silently, contemplating the riddle before them.
"Stab in the dark, beauty is being compared to death," Jake said at last.
Sara considered. "Actually, that makes sense," she said. "Try this: 'beauty is death'."
Jake recited the phrase in Japanese. Nothing happened.
"I think we're on the right track," Leon remarked. "We just need the exact concept. Belladonna is poisonous. Sara, you said that spider thing lets out poison to kill its prey. The key may be 'beauty is poison'."
Nodding, Jake translated the phrase. "Utsukushi-sa wa dokudesu."
A low buzz sounded, followed by the grinding of gears. The gate opened slowly and heavily, admitting the small group into the town.
"Nicely done," Leon told Sara softly as Jake led the way in.
She turned to him. He nodded at her, warmth and esteem evident in his intense blue eyes.
Sara smiled slightly, a glow of satisfaction and relief spreading within her. She desperately longed to prove her worth as an agent, and on a much more personal note, to be the partner Leon needed and deserved.
The team proceeded cautiously into the town, looking this way and that. The road was flanked on either side by dilapidated houses; some with dark, glassless windows that seemed to stare out at the passing group drearily.
The chilly drizzle had ceased, giving way to a dull, gray mist that shrouded the desolate landscape. A melancholy wind wailed through the trees, causing the boughs to creak and groan before dying away in the distance.
"Classic ghost town," Sara murmured.
The silence was oppressive, and she couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. She let Leon and Jake take the lead while she trailed behind, watching for signs of life.
"Apparently, the fire didn't get this far. These houses aren't burned out; just deserted," Jake noted.
Sara's wary gaze fell on a startling sight. A pale face peered out at her from a low window with unblinking eyes. Sara halted instantly, her hand falling reflexively on her gun's grip. A second look, however, stopped her cold.
The mysterious observer was a stuffed peculiar-looking female doll seated on a chair. Its expression was menacing as it glared back at Sara, giving her the oddest impression of malevolent sentience.
"Sara, what is it?" asked Leon, startling her. He had turned back to rejoin her, his countenance grave.
"Take a look at this," she replied, waving him over.
Leon's brow furrowed curiously as he approached, following her gaze. "What the hell…?"
Jake advanced to see what the delay was. He inserted himself beside Sara and Leon. "A doll?"
"What the hell is a doll doing here? Sure didn't belong to a kid; damn thing looks like a murderer's effigy," Leon remarked.
"Hey, check it out," Jake said, pointing at another house diagonally across.
On the veranda of that house stood another doll propped up against the wall. This one was a male, dressed in khaki pants and a black shirt. The group neared it, studying it in puzzlement.
Sara stared at the figure uneasily. Its expression was as sinister as its female counterpart across the way. "They're like scarecrows of some sort," she said, bending to examine the hideous face.
"Reminds me of a town called Nagoro," said Jake. "They got hundreds of dolls replacing dead people. Pretty creepy shit."
"Question is, what are they doing here? Fukushū was vacated thirty years ago; these dolls look relatively new," Leon reflected.
"So who put them here?" Sara wondered. "And why?"
As the three of them stood analyzing the ugly doll, a figure moving stealthily behind a row of houses several yards away caught Sara's attention.
"Someone's here," she hissed to her companions.
Leon and Jake turned to look, but the figure had vanished from sight.
"Another doll, maybe?" Jake suggested, shrugging.
"No. It was a person walking around. And they didn't want to be seen," Sara replied firmly. "They were sneaking behind those houses." She indicated the area with her chin.
"We'd better take a look," Leon said quietly. "Eyes open."
Ignoring the chill that shot down her spine, Sara moved ahead. She licked her lips nervously as she cautiously led the way to where she had seen the skulking form. Clutching her gun tightly, she surveyed the houses as they passed. To her dismay, she noted yet another doll sitting by a tree glowering at them. She signaled wordlessly at the others to look.
Presently, they came to a large house that had once been a very fine home. It was a two-story house with two hip roof fixtures on the first story and a traditional Irimoya-style roof on the second. A bow window graced the lower floor, sun-faded blue curtains still hanging within. Surrounding the house was a low stone wall covered with dried-out plants and dead wood. Two sakura trees bloomed on either side; the only sign of life and color on the bleak property.
Rounding the house, Sara stepped forward slowly, cursorily scanning the yard. There was still no trace of the mysterious person.
"Damn it!" she muttered. "They didn't just disappear into thin air!"
Leon and Jake came up beside her, looking around.
Leon lowered his gun. "Maybe they went inside."
Glancing up at the house, he stepped forward a few paces. "Let's check―" Leon was cut off mid-sentence as the earth suddenly gave way beneath him.
Crying out in alarm, Sara rushed to aid him, but Leon had already fallen through. She ran to the gaping hole and dropped to her knees at its edge. The loose soil and sediment crumbled beneath her, and she felt herself sliding forward. Sara was startled to feel Jake seize her roughly from behind and pull her back.
"Watch it, Wondergirl, or you'll be hitting the dirt, too," Jake said, his arctic blue gaze admonishing.
Sara glanced up at him wildly with surprise and unspoken gratitude. She nodded mutely and quickly returned to the pit, more mindful of her footing now. She gazed into an old, deep well. Unable to see into its shadowy depths, she turned on her ear mount flashlight and leaned forward cautiously.
The small beam fell over Leon's body. He lay prostrate on the ground. "Oh, God… Leon! Can you hear me?!" Sara called down, careful not to speak too loudly.
Silence.
Jake squatted down beside her, shining his broader light beam into the well. He glanced up at her grimly. "He's not moving."