Chapter 4: Darkness Falls
Summary: Mai finds herself in a place that has her doubting if she is awake or asleep and having a vision. If she is asleep then Gene is nowhere in sight!
While Mai takes in her surroundings, Naru and the gang from Japan arrive at the Kalani Estate. Only to find out Mai's vision was correct. She has joined the missing students, somewhere on the campus of the University of Hawaii. What will they do? What can they do to save the missing students?
Author's Notes: I felt so bad about leaving you on that cliff, I had to start writing the new chapter right away. Even though it was the logical spot to stop the last chapter!
I'm really excited by the support I've received! Thank you for all the Favorites, Follows and reviews! I'm grateful for each and everyone! I also appreciate and answer every review that is left! Thank you's go out to Shunakoo25, Sleonard, and pennYnnep! Your reviews made my day!
Case File 1: The Blood Soaked Dorm - Part 3
Somewhere in the dark...
Am I floating? Mai wondered. It's so peaceful and quiet. Another voice seems to say to her, 'And dark. Are you going to stay in the dark forever? You'll never see the idiot scientist again, if you remain as you are!
Suddenly Mai snaps awake, looking around in a deep panic. She cries out, "Gene! Naru!" Her eyes begin to actually register her surroundings. The cold stone floor seems soaked in a dark reddish black substance. The walls and ceiling are splashed with the stuff too! I think I'm going to be sick. She thought as she fought her gage reflex. Sounds within this blood soaked room finally registered, a girl's sobbing presented itself. Looking around Mai finally saw her. A young woman with strawberry blonde hair was huddled in the far corner.
Getting up Mai hobbled over to her and asked, "Are you alright? My name is Mai Taniyama."
The young woman sniffed mightily, "Dominique Vienna." She looked at Mai. "Are you real?"
Mai smiled and reached out gently touching her arm. "We are both real. See?"
Dominique broke down sobbing in relief. "I'm no longer alone!" Dominique threw her arms around Mai weeping into her sundress.
Mai held Dominique, letting her cry. She just knew it had to be terribly frightening to be in this place, utterly alone. Mai shivered as the temperature dropped dramatically in their cell, her sundress did not make for adequate protection. Mai looked around trying to determine the cause of the sudden temperature drop.
That is when she saw the apparition, it looked like a wisened old Hawaiian. His skin heavily folded by deep wrinkles. As it he had lost a lot of weight quickly. He had feathered ankle wraps made of some dark feather that was edged in a pale grey. His grass skirt looked to have been dripped in old blood. He was bare chested, all except for the extensive tattooing covering his torso, arms and face. He wore an animal bone necklace. It looked as though a dried bat of some kind was the focal point of his necklace. On his head he wore an animal skull of some kind that had been decorated with more feathers similar to the ones he wore on his ankles. His hair, what was left of it, was pure white and worn in straggly dreadlocks. His eyes filled her with dread... They were sunken deep into his skull and seemed to be mere pin pricks of glowing blood red light. And they screamed HUNGER to her!
He was chanting gibberish that reminded Mai of Monk's Buddhist exorcism chants, yet they were obviously in a language she had never heard before! Suddenly Dominique was ripped from her grasp and thrown across the room! She slumped to the floor holding her throbbing head.
Soon other spirits rose up from the stone floor. Four, female(?), spirits surrounded her and four more surrounded Dominique. Though these spirits had well developed forms, they felt empty in a way Hollow Spirits did not. After all a Hollow Spirit still had it's own memories and feelings that the 'Master' could manipulate to its own ends. These poor spirits had nothing! No feelings, no memories. It's like what made them who they were in life had been completely sucked away.
As Mai could stand and walk, the four surrounding her forced her out of the cell and into a narrow curving corridor. At this point she did not know that would be the last time she would see Dominique alive.
Mai was forced down the corridor to another cell. Part way there she was passed by a haggard male that reminded her of Trey Reeds. However they were not given a chance to talk. The four Empty Spirits escorted Mai into another blood soaked cell, in which the other missing male lay unmoving. The cell door slammed shut with a resounding clank of the lock falling into place. Then the Empty Spirits sunk back into the cold stone floor and the room's temperature began to slowly normalize.
All Mai really wanted to do was lay down and weep. Yet she could not break, someone was hurt and needed aid. So Mai made her way across the cell to Marcus's side. She checked his vitals, finding his pulse strong and steady. His breathing was slow but not dangerously so. It's like he is deeply asleep. She carefully felt the back of his skull for a wound. She found none. Maybe a bruise. I'll have to keep a close eye on him. I just hope he wakes on his own! Another thought hit her, one that brought her tears dangerously close to the surface. I hope Aria is okay and that she doesn't panic and assume I'm already dead!
Hale Aloha Lehu...
Aria fell forward, her arms barely supporting her as tears flooded her green eyes. Mai is gone! A victim of whatever spirit is behind this particular haunting. Have I lost the last person I truly count as family? Is she already dead? Or is she even now being tortured for some as yet unknown purpose?
She could not concentrate on anything else, finally the Dean grabs her shoulders and gives her a sharp shake. "Miss McLoughlin! Get yourself together! You are our only hope of finding the missing students! Which now includes your young friend!"
He's right! Get it together Aria! Maybe Seb's heard from Dr. Davis and knows when SPR Japan will arrive in Hawaii! Aria stands, picking up the discarded file on her way up. "Yes, your right. It's past time to get serious about solving this case. I'll need access to all records pertaining to Hale Aloha Lehu, in order to figure out what is happening and more importantly why!"
The Dean nodded, "Whatever you need. I'll prepare copies of all the records for you. Though if memory serves Hale Aloha Lehu actually served as the home of a Kahuna'ana'ana named Kekipi. At least that is what one of the Grandmother's used to say when my Father was a boy. It is a very old story which goes back hundreds of years. Long before the University was founded."
Aria got a thoughtful look on her face. "It will be worth checking out. Thank you Dean Kaimi. I need to go now and contact my associates. We have a lot of work to do."
The Dean parted ways from Miss McLoughlin, he quietly shook his head. A small knowing smile curved his thin lips as he thought, Even with those clues you will be far too late to save them! The great Kekipi needs to be fed!
The Next Day 5:30 P.M. Local Time...
Oliver Davis stood on the deck of the cabin cruiser 'Paranormal Peragatives' which was carrying him and the rest of the SPR crew to the Kalani Estate, on the Island of O'ahu. The beauty of the Islands total blew past his senses. Nothing registered. I have to see Mai! I am almost certain something is wrong! He thought desperately.
As 'Paranormal Prerogatives' pulled into its slip at the Kalani Estate's private dock, Naru could only see one woman waiting at the end of the dock. That woman was not his former assistant, Mai Taniyama. Something icy bloomed in his gut, this unexpected icy feeling soon painfully gripped his heart. As soon as the boat was tied off he jumped onto the dock, taking long strides up to the woman with long deeply black hair and crisp clear green eyes. He saw fear and sadness in her eyes. The only thing he could get out was, "Where is Mai?" His voice sounded odd even to his own ears. Nothing prepared him for what she had to tell them...
The Kalani Estate's Library...
Naru sat in an overstuffed chair while Monk, Ayako and Father Brown sat on the couch to his right. Lin, Yasu and Miss Hara sat on the couch to his left while Miss McLoughlin sat in the other overstuffed chair directly across from Naru.
Monk looked sick as he recapped what they had just been told. "Mai had a dream she would be taken. She talked to you. Together you called the old SPR number Mai had and talked to us. The next morning you went to the University and signed Jou-chan up for a few classes. Then you went to the Dean accepting the case and then checked out the Hale Aloha Lehu Dorm just to have Jou-chan mysteriously disappear from a fourth floor room you were standing in the doorway of...With no sign of how she got out?" He could feel his stomach knot up.
"Yes, for me the worst part is whatever is behind this told Mai, in a secondary vision, that she would be his greatest accomplishment and join his legion of blood." Aria stared at her hands that were folded in her lap. "I'll never forgive myself if we don't find her in time. The Dean spoke about a legend concerning a Kahuna'ana'ana . That is Hawaiian for a master dark magic user, named Kekipi. The story goes back a couple of hundred years." She glanced up making eye contact with Naru. "I went through the records the University sent, it appears that every 15 to 20 years four students go missing. Two males and two females. Mai just completed the set. They are usually found six months after the last one is taken. I have a feeling this Kekipi might have more to do with it. We will need to talk with the old ones who keep the verbal histories to see if we can make any further connections."
Yasu looked at her, "Miss Aria, if you can give me the addresses of the lore keepers, I'm willing to go talk to them. I'll also need the date of the oldest record you have so I can make sure to go back far enough."
Aria nodded. "I'll have Sebastian go with you. He usually helps me delve deeper into the oral traditions of the Hawaiian people. Some of the lore keepers actually prefer talking to him anyway." Aria paused biting her bottom lip, before her doubts burst forth. "I should never have let Mai go in there! She looked so pale. Or better yet I should have made her tell me what she was sensing." Aria sighed. With a rueful grin she said, "Now you probably hate me Dr. Davis. You've been glaring at me this whole time."
Masako interjected, "I do not think he hates you, it is the situation. I believe Naru is just very worried about Mai. I mean we all are, she is definitely a trouble magnet." Masako had brought her kimono sleeve up to cover her mouth as she spoke.
Naru finally snapped out of his funk. "Tomorrow morning we start in earnest. Yasu you will go with Sebastian and gather as much information from the Hawaiian's oral traditions as you can. The rest of us will head to the University of Hawaii Manoa Campus and start setting up to monitor the Hale Aloha Lehu Dorm. Though I think it will be better to monitor remotely."
"I have wireless converters that should allow us to set up a base here. I really don't trust setting up a base anywhere on the campus. The whole campus is a hotbed of paranormal activity, and right now what is happening with the dorm is top priority." Aria said looking determined.
Naru nodded, "Agreed. Lin, you may want to try to find out as much as you can about the Kahuna'ana'ana. You may be the only one with the correct skill set to fight one IF we are facing the ghost of one."
"Right." Lin said in his usual monotone.
"Oh, and Yasu, try to find out as much as possible about Kekipi as you can." Naru added.
"Got it, Big Boss!" Yasu furiously scribbled notes down in his notebook.
With another sigh Aria stood. "Dinner should be ready. Let's go eat and then try to get some rest."
Everyone nodded, each deep in thought. Each having their own worries about Mai. Monk's thoughts were mirrored by all. Hang on Mai! We are coming for you!
Author's Notes: Okay, what do you all think is really going on at the Dorm? And just how powerful is the apparition that separated Mai from Dominique? Any thoughts, concerns or suppositions? Please review!
Edited 6-7-2017: Corrected misused words. Added needed words to complete thoughts and in general made the story flow a bit better.