Slam Dunk is not mine…Reality is harsh.
Chapter 6: …But Fear Itself.
"Any luck at all?" asked Miyagi even though he knew the hopeless answer.
"No," Yoshiko sighed wearily. In her heart she was beginning to doubt this whole business. What if this way her mother had once taught her was not right at all? What if it was completely wrong and would not banish this evil contamination away? If this whole thing were wrong, everyone in Kanagawa would be in danger of a supernatural evil from another world.
"That was the fourth graveyard," said Kiyota to Jin. Jin did not say anything but just nodded silently and wearily tried to mumble something back in reply.
It was getting dark. All of them headed straight back to Sendoh's house without any dinner. All of a sudden they had all seemed to lose their appetites. Fujima picked up the newspaper and stared at the screaming headlines dully. The words printed in bold black printing were so big that even Maki across the room could see it clearly. KANAGAWA IN A STATE OF TERROR!
"What does it say?" asked Jin quietly even though he had already guessed what had happened.
"What else?" Fujima replied in a hollow voice. "More brutal murders, victims killed and mutilated in the most gruesome ways, police baffled, people afraid to leave their homes at night, some psycho murderer on strike again, etc."
There was a long, empty pause at this. The sudden silence was so eerie and sharp, cutting in a midst of all conversations that Mitsui began to feel uncomfortable. He was relieved when Miyagi's voice suddenly broke the long, heavy spell of that void-like silence.
"This is so stupid!" Miyagi burst out suddenly. Mitsui could clearly see anger and frustration mirrored in his eyes. But, he thought he saw something else, too. Fear. Miyagi was shielding his fear behind this mask of frustration. "What are we doing searching all the cemeteries in Kanagawa for one, single grave. For crying out loud, we don't even know who's grave it is, except some evil soul's, who's awoken from his slumber!"
"There is no alternative," Yoshiko said firmly but quietly. Mitsui noticed that she had been badly shaken up by the events of the past few days. "This is the only way we can get rid of this evil. By sending it back to where it belongs."
"We could run," suggested Miyagi rather desperately. "We could just flee from here and leave the thing behind, couldn't we?"
"I wish we could," Yoshiko sighed. "But, we in a way are responsible for setting this creature free. Besides, this thing will follow us. It has seen all our faces and it won't leave us be until it has killed all of us, because only we are the ones who can stop its evil work. If we run, we'll probably spend the rest of our lives running."
"She's right," Mitsui put in. "Sometimes, we can't always run away from our fears. This is one of those times. This is one of the times where we have to summon up every ounce of courage we have to turn around and face our fears headlong."
"I hope you know what you're talking about," muttered Sendoh to himself.
"Just remember one thing," said Mitsui again. "All of us have nothing to fear, but fear itself."
* * *
Miyagi headed downstairs for a drink. His throat felt surprisingly parched and sore, and he realized that he had hardly drunk anything for the whole day. Just as he reached the kitchen, he suddenly had an odd, tingling sensation. He knew what this sensation was; it was the feeling that he was not alone. At this sudden and terrible knowledge, he felt all his blood freeze. An icy chillness was creeping across his skin, his nerves were tingling in horror and his heart was pounding madly.
Change of plan, thought Miyagi grimly as he turned to go back upstairs. Strangely, he did not feel thirsty anymore. Too late. Suddenly, a nameless fear struck him. He suddenly felt afraid. Very afraid. The terror was overwhelming. It was muddling his thoughts, confusing his thinking and it confounded his brain. Just a few seconds ago, he could think clearly enough to try to go back upstairs, but now, here he was cowering in mindless terror unable to keep his thoughts straight.
He could not see that creature, but he felt its malicious presence chill him to the bone. He could hear its silent, mocking laughter echoing in the darkness and silence or the night. He could hear it in his head. And suddenly, the terror overcame him and seized his thoughts. He started to run. He did not know where he was going, but he just wanted to be run away from this abomination. He tripped and bumped into pieces of furniture. He did not know that he was heading out of the house, straight into the creature's arms.
The silence of the night was ripped and torn apart by a scream of mad terror. Then, all was silent.
Tbc.
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