Chapter Six

A pale face, so white with death...

Her mouth opened, in a wail of high-pitched laughter as she walked along the empty road. She was laughing so maliciously, her expression so devilish. Villagers ran out of sight in the mere sense of her around them. They stumbled out of her path, away from her, away from Malice. The dark, dark fog seeped from an erupting abyss, shadowed from sight, slowly crawling out and over the small village. Screams sounded in the dead night and over those was a ring of evil laughter.

Blood, on walls, on the wooden floors, on the bodies and on the girl. She was covered in it, loving it. The red, red rope dangling from her middle swayed as she near-floated through the sea of bodies. Her twisted face drank in the fear of the overrunned village, my fear as well.

She drew near, almost arms' length from me. I was frozen, immobilized from terror as she looked upon me. Her face came into view and she smiled, a wicked one. Her shadowed eyes gazed at me face, watching as my lip quivered in fear of her. She reached a white hand to me, to my face, with her smile worn on her face like a carefully painted porcelain mask, capturing every crease and line in her face. I drew back a little and she giggled.

"D-don't touch me!" I squealed. My voice was coated in a fear so evident that you could almost feel it. Her head tilted a little and her mouth widened and formed an "o" of curiousity. I winced as she lowered her hand from my face a bit. My heart was trying to escape from its place in my chest and my breath seized in my throat. The girl lowered her head. I let out a breath and her hand snatched at my face before I had time to think of screaming.

I sat up screaming, grabbing rapidly at the air, still blinded by sleep. Arms held me but I fought them. Then a voice came and shattered the nightmare. Reality kicked in and Masumi was there, at my side with his arms around me and rocking me slowly. I was damp with sweat from head to foot. My eyes were unfocused in the darkness and still fuzzy with sleep that was unsettled throughout my body.

"I'm here, I'm right here..." He whispered in my ear. I tried to swallow but my mouth was dry and my throat also. I breathed through my nose to conseal moisture in my mouth to use to clear my throat. The feel of my heart pounding in my chest had let me know that I was still alive as well as Masumi's arms wrapped around my body.

"I want to get out of here, Masumi. I want to leave this damned place!" I clutched his arms and he squeezed me against him. I couldn't even cry I was so tired and frustrated. I eased in his arms and sat back taking in my surroundings. It looked familiar, too familiar...

I had dozed off in his arms and regained a good deal of strength back. I didn't feel so drained and sleepy as we wandered on the village roads. The towering houses looked somber in the dim light of the shaded moon. The plants and shrubs looked dead yet they grew healthily throughout the area. We came across a house just on the far left of the village, hidden in the shadows.
"You think this place has an exit?" Masumi stood in front of the doors of the house observing them and peeping through the holes of the tattered and weathered rice paper. I stood just behind him, watching the woods behind me. I leaned out and saw a path that ended further into the woods, just past a small wooden bridge. A deity statue stared at me at the corner of the road. The beheaded twin engraved in the cold stone made me turn away and focus back on Masumi.

"Maybe, but I don't really want to find out..."

"What do you mean? This house could be the way outta here! We need to check just in case-"

"Masumi, let's not...please. I don't want to wander too much through these houses...They look so creepy..." I looked around us. "Maybe we can try the way we came in...Maybe we can get out through there instead."

"...Alright, let's go." He took my hand and we backtracked back to the hill where our expeditions first took place. I gripped the leather straps of my bag, which had turned into a frequent but calming habit, as we passed the house where I'd first searched. We trekked up the slope and arrived at the top of Misono Hill.

"It looks so old...Like we've been in the village for a very long time..." I let go of Masumi's arm and searched the hilltop. It was still dead, like before. Masumi was talking but I couldn't hear the words that were coming out of his mouth. Probably rambling on, as usual.

"Look at this." I turned and saw him kick something on the ground.

"What is it?" I stood looking over his shoulder, not to get too close.

"It's just some old torches. Wonder if we can use them, since your flashlight doesn't work anymore..."

I'd forgotten about my busted flashlight I tucked away in my backpack long ago. I looked at the torch on the ground and picked it up.

"I assume you have some matches somewhere in that jacket." He dug around in his many pockets of his beige jacket and came up with nothing. I dropped the torch back on the ground and walked around. The stone pillars off the left of me were stalking over Masumi and I, casting weird shadows in the dim light. "Maybe we can..." I whispered to myself.

"Look!" Masumi was behind me pointing in through the dark trees at something. "It's the gate we came through." I smiled a little. As I stepped to join Masumi, I felt someone snatch my wrist.

"Ouch...Ma-" I peered over my shoulder to meet Masumi's eyes. Instead, they met with a blank, dead pair of eyes. My words died in my throat as I stared at the ghost. His mouth was open as if he were yelling at me, a mouth set agape without a sound coming from it. In his other hand was a torch with a bright white flame but it looked just as dead as the man. I screamed, letting it rip through the hilltop and the woods. Masumi ran to me but stopped short. I swung my bag to hit the man but I couldn't hit him. His grip made my fingers tingle and my throat was getting sore from screaming. I swung my bag against him and something made him let go. I grabbed for Masumi and we dashed through the shrubs, tearing through the branches and hanging brush refusing to look back.

My bare legs and face were stinging from the whips I'd gotten. I didn't stop, though I became so tired. I was disgusted in myself from how quickly I became tired. My breath wheezed from my chest heavy and dry. My feet refused to stop even though my body was about to shut down from exhaustion. My steps eventually became slower and my breathing became raspy. I tripped over a large root and fell into the dry leaves and twigs. I sat there for a moment in the leaves and tried to catch my breath. The feeling of relief passed over me when I rested my tense body against the leafy soil. The firm surface against my body felt good but uncomfortable at the same time.

Masumi caught up and he helped me to my feet. He took the lead and guided me through the woods. The dark sky held an orange-gold halo over an area beyond a few trees. I kept running, running even though my body ached and was close to giving in. I felt my feet start to drag and my body get heavier. It felt like I was running through a sandy beach, my feet sinking into the ground, taking so much strength to pull them up and into the next step.

"C'mon Miyako, we can get outta here!" Under the loud huff of my chest taking in air with trouble, I heard Masumi encourage me. He pushed and pulled me while I lagged behind, struggling to catch my breath.

"Masumi, I hear water..." My voice was barely heard even by myself. We ran through a clearing of the dead woods. I slowed and we trampled through a stream, hopping onto the other side of the shallow bank then more woods.

"We're almost out, Miyako." He said to me. I closed my eyes and continued to run, hoping this was the end. "C'mon, I see something ahead!"