**Here it is, Chapter Sixteen! Please let me know what you think! I love seeing everyone's comments and theories. I had a lot of fun writing this whole case, I hope you all enjoy.**
Chapter Sixteen
Go away!
Mai jolted awake, eyes wide and breathing heavily. She quickly sat up and placed a hand over her face. That dream. What the hell was that? Her hand fell from her face and she heaved a sigh before feeling a chill in the air. Someone was watching her again. Chestnut eyes snapped towards the doorway of the bedroom. The door was slightly askew and Mai froze as she saw that shadow of someone staring in at her. She immediately knew it was no one from her team.
I said get out!
Mai blinked and by the time her eyes reopened the shadow was gone.
The doctor sleeping next to her stirred and groggily opened her eyes. "Hey, you good? Did you have one of those dreams?" she stifled a yawn and sat up, rubbing her eyes.
Mai turned to face the woman. "Huh?" she said absentmindedly, still thinking about the ghost that was just there and thankful that Ayako had made that protection charm. "Dream?"
Her eyes grew wide again and her cheeks grew bright red before she covered her face in embarrassment.
Ayako raised a perfectly shaped brow at her odd reaction and suddenly something clicked. "Oh ho ho, did someone have a naughty little dream?" the woman teased. "What happened? Tell me!"
Mai shook her head in embarrassment.
"Was it about that blue-eyed boss of yours?" the woman winked.
Mai's face grew even more red.
"Wait, seriously?" Ayako gasped in shock.
Mai groaned. "No. Well, I mean, yes, but no."
"Well okay then, back it up. Tell me what happened," the woman whispered excitedly.
Mai bit her lip and looked over at the slightly open door. She quickly got up and closed it. "Whenever I have a dream I'm supposed to tell Naru about it and write it down in this dream journal I have."
"Okay," Ayako coaxed. "And?"
Mai sat back on the bed and looked at the woman mortified. "I don't think I can tell him about this dream."
"Hit me with your best shot," Ayako challenged.
Mai nervously looked back at the door before turning back to the doctor. "It was a very inappropriate dream," she hushed in a whisper.
"How many times do I have to tell you, just tell me the dream," the woman complained.
The brunette had an inner struggle for a moment before twirling a strand of her hair between her fingers nervously. "Well, it started off normal. It was of a woman and she was...well let's just say she got around." Ayako circled her hand, motioning for the woman to continue. "There were a few intimate moments I saw between her and some men."
"Okay, that would definitely be awkward to watch but how does this have anything to do with Naru?" Ayako asked bluntly.
Mai looked down at her fiddling hands. "Um...well...after a while it changed from being her and these other men to...me and...well…"
Ayako stared at her incredulously before breaking out in laughter. "Must have turned into a pretty nice dream," the woman teased, wiggling her shoulders suggestively.
Mai sank her head back into her hands in embarrassment. "It's embarrassing enough that I had the dream, but now you know and on top of that I'm going to have to tell him about it."
Ayako tamed her laughter and placed a comforting hand on Mai's shoulder. "You don't have to tell him everything. Just tell him about the part of the other woman and omit the rest."
Mai groaned. "Even if I leave it out, it's going to be in the back of my mind. How can I look him in the eye? He's going to know I'm hiding something."
"If he pesters you I'll help you out. We girls have to stick together, right?" the woman smiled kindly. "But what else happened?"
Mai looked at her curiously.
"When I woke up you looked rather startled. Scared even."
Mai's eyes widened. "Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. When I was dreaming about that, I heard a woman yelling at me to go away. When I woke up there was a shadow of someone watching me from the otherside of the door and it told me to get out again."
Ayako shivered. "Creepy. So I'm guessing the spirit was the woman from your dream. That's helpful. You can tell Naru that we're dealing with the spirit of a woman and you know a little about her."
"What, that she liked the company of men?" Mai asked sarcastically.
"Yeah," Ayako shrugged. "Any detail helps when we know nothing at all. We're all adults, there's nothing to be embarrassed about."
Mai thought about it and nodded. "I guess you're right."
"Good. There we go. Let's get ready shall we?" Ayako clapped her hands and stood from the bed.
Even with the threat of thunderstorms looming in the distance, it was supposed to be a rather hot day; hotter than the previous. Mai chose to wear a pair of navy blue culotte shorts that tied into a bow at the front with a grey and white striped tee tucked into it. She kept her hair down but plaited her fringe and pinned it in place.
Taking a deep breath she made her way downstairs with Ayako tow, trying to calm her embarrassment before having to retell her dream to the two men.
Oliver was sitting on the settee on his laptop. Her cheeks flushed when she saw him, quickly being reminded of her dream. It didn't help her heart that he was wearing a pair of fitted grey trousers, a slim white button up, and a pair of brown suede loafers. She hadn't seen him wear anything other than black and navy the whole time she had known him and she gulped. Why did he have to choose today of all days to look like the cover page of a catalogue?
Piercing blue eyes looked up from his laptop as she entered the room.
"Good morning," she muttered in greeting to him and Lin who was at the monitors, reviewing footage from the previous night.
"Did you have one of your dreams?" he questioned while crossing an ankle over his knee.
"Yeah, Mai, did you have any good dreams last night?" Ayako asked in feign ignorance, but Mai could see the teasing glint in her eye.
Smiling awkwardly she sent Ayako a look. "I thought us girls were supposed to stick together?" she whispered through gritted teeth.
"You've got this," Ayako grinned with a wink before going to sit in one of the dining room chairs.
Mai turned towards her boss and nervously twirled a strand of hair between her fingers, trying to remember what she planned on telling him. "Um, yes, but I wrote it in the journal if you'd rather read i-"
"-You're here and can explain in person, why should I read it?" Oliver interrupted. His tone sounded clipped today for some reason and Mai knew she shouldn't push her luck.
"Okay," she muttered dejectedly, submitting to her fate, and sat on the other end of the settee.
Oliver closed his laptop and looked over at her. She could feel her heart begin to race even faster and gulped.
"T-there wasn't much to the dream," she began hesitantly. Oliver sent her an impatient look and she gulped once again, regaining her composure. "It was actually more like little snippets. I, um, well it's actually rather embarrassing, are you sure you don't want to read- right, of course you don't. I'll just say it. We're all adults. It's fine. It's fine. I saw a woman being...intimate...on many occasions...with different men. T-that's pretty much it aside from her yelling at me to 'get out.'"
"Don't forget to mention the part about the spirit watching you from the doorway when you woke up," Ayako piped in.
"Oh yeah," Mai laughed nervously. "That too. Good thing Ayako made that charm last night, huh?"
Oliver pensively stared at the wall. "That makes sense," he muttered to himself and Mai sent him a questioning look. He turned to look at the group. "It would appear our spirit is most likely the woman in your dreams. It is also safe to assume that she's more fond of the company of men. This may be why women have been bearing the brunt of her aggression. I think it is safe to say Mrs. Miller was just a target of circumstance for the spirit. It may see women as a threat in some way."
"Great," Ayako replied sarcastically.
"Mai, I need you and Ayako to go record the temperatures around the house," the man instructed. "Stay together at all times. So far she has only made contact when we're alone and an easier target."
Mai nodded and jumped from her seat. She hastily grabbed the clipboard they used to record the temperatures and ushered Ayako out of the room.
"Way to have my back," the brunette whispered accusingly towards the older woman as they left the base.
Oliver watched as the two disappeared out of sight and turned to Lin. His friend was staring at him expectantly.
"Something's on your mind," the man stated. "And you've been more irritable than usual this morning. Did you get any sleep?"
Oliver rubbed his forehead. "Last night, when you stayed in the base and I went to bed, the spirit made contact with me."
Lin quickly went on alert and stood from his seat. "Noll, why didn't you tell me?"
Oliver waved off the man's concern. "Calm down, Lin. It didn't harm me."
The taller man relaxed slightly and sat back down, though still cautious. "Okay, but what happened?"
"Mai's dream definitely shed some light on things. This ghost is definitely fond of men."
Lin quirked a brow.
Oliver sighed. "I had fallen asleep but not long after I had awoken to the feeling of someone sitting on the foot of the bed. I felt the chill in the air and had the feeling it wasn't human so I pretended to remain sleeping. After a while it began to crawl up the bed. I was ready to deflect it in the case that it was about to harm me but I was curious as to what it was attempting to do."
Lin rolled his eyes. "You feigned sleep in order to study an aggressive spirit's motives?"
Oliver sent Lin a look for interrupting and continued. "After a moment, I believed the spirit had left but I was wrong. Let's just say it attempted to touch certain areas."
His friend nearly choked on the water he had been drinking. "What?"
Oliver huffed in irritation. "It's not as if I allowed it to do anything. I made it known I was awake and it should think twice before attempting to continue."
Lin shook his head and stared at his friend dumbfoundedly. "You were propositioned by a ghost?"
"Yes. Anyway, I clearly angered her by rejecting it. She disappeared for a while but any time I would begin to fall asleep it would knock something off of the wall or the dresser and wake me up, like an immature child," he growled in irritation. "Quite frankly, I'm rather tired and want to be done with this as soon as possible. Has Yasuhara gotten back about information on the building or the grounds?"
Lin smirked at his friend and shook his head again. "I haven't heard back from him yet. I will give him a call shortly."
Oliver nodded and opened up his computer again, attempting to ignore Lin's snickering.
The rest of the morning went smoothly other than an angry thunderstorm that had just rolled through. Mai sat curled up against the back of the settee reading the fourth book in Oliver's collection. The window behind the couch was open, wafting the fragrant smell of fresh rain and wet grass as the wind blew her hair softly.
The group had been sitting in a comfortable silence while they awaited Yasuhara's call for any updates on the grounds and history of the property. From her left she heard an irritated huff come from her boss.
"Lin," the man called. "The storm dislodged Camera Four overlooking the cliffs."
The older man nodded in understanding and stood to his feet. Mai quickly closed her book and hopped off of the settee, making her way to the man.
"I'll join you," she smiled brightly causing him to stare at her. "We need to stay in pairs, right?"
"Take her with you," Oliver called from his seat at the computers.
Mai looked up at the tall man and smiled again in victory before following him out of the room. She reveled in the feeling of the refreshing post-storm breeze that greeted her upon exiting the house. Once the door to the house closed Mai cleared her throat.
"So," she began hesitantly, stepping around one of the large puddles that had formed on the ground. "When will I be able to learn how to control my dreams?"
Lin looked back at her curiously from the corner of his eye. "That will take some time. Every step we are taking in our training is vital in your growth. You don't yet have the control needed in order to succeed in such a task so if you were to try you would become a beacon. Like a moth drawn to a flame, spirits would soon be drawn to you."
Mai sighed softly in disappointment, looking towards the ground. "I was afraid of that," she whispered to herself.
"That displeases you? Is there a reason for your inquiry?" he asked inquisitively.
A memory of her dream from the previous night flashed through her mind and she blushed lightly before shaking her head innocently. "N-no reason. Just curious that's all."
Lin hummed softly, letting it drop. They had made their way to the camera that needed tending and Lin skillfully began to reattach it into place.
A light breeze blew across the yard, bringing flower pedals as it went. Following their path, Mai watched as they flew out over the ocean. She smiled as she took in the beautiful view. The backyard was covered in a flourishing garden and it overlooked the dark blue waters. Happily she walked towards the edge of the yard.
Her eyes widened as she reached the edge. She knew the house sat atop a seaside cliff but the view of the crashing waves on the sand and rocks below was mesmerizing. There was a large plant vining up the cliff, adorned with small white flowers. The sound of the crashing waves on the rocky sands sounded almost like a rain stick. It wasn't an extremely tall cliff, perhaps six meteres in height, but the rocks below didn't look particularly inviting. The stretch of sand and rock was very short and looked near impossible to reach since the cliff bordered the area.
A sinking feeling in her chest began to make her feel trapped and scared as she stared at the ground below in a trance. The air began to grow colder and she couldn't drag her eyes away as a familiar feeling of being watched began to fill her.
"Mai."
She startled and spun upon hearing Lin call out to her. The feeling of watchful eyes faded as well and she quickly stepped away from the edge of the cliff.
"All done?" she asked.
He nodded silently before motioning towards the house. They began their walk back to base but halfway through the garden Mai froze.
Go away!
Before she could react, she felt something, or rather someone, pushing her from behind. Losing her footing, she lost her balance and fell into one of the large muddy puddles in the pathway.
Mai laid there in shock momentarily as the cold gritty mud soaked into her clothes and hair.
"Are you alright?" Lin asked as he came up to her, holding out a hand to help her to her feet.
Mai straightened up and tried to muster up as much dignity as she could as she attempted to wipe the mud off but only smeared it more.
"Okay. I think it's safe to say I'm not too fond of this ghost," she ground out through gritted teeth.
Lin's eyes narrowed, understanding that it was the spirit that had caused her misfortune, and looked around the garden. When he found no signs of the spirit he motioned for Mai to start heading back to the building as he followed behind protectively.
Ayako looked up from her mobile when Mai walked into the base and snorted in her attempt to hold back her laughter. Oliver, on the other hand, didn't look as entertained.
"What happened?" he pressed.
Lin stepped around the small brunette with a slight frown. "It appears your assumption that the spirit has attached itself to Mai is true."
Oliver's eyes narrowed unhappily and turned to the computers, pulling up the footage to see if anything had been caught on camera.
Mai sighed and looked down at the mud covering her. "May I take shower?"
Oliver turned towards her and looked her up and down briefly before nodding. "Ayako," he called to the priestess as he turned back to the computers. "Go with her."
Ayako nodded and made her way over to the petite woman. "You know kid, you're a little old for puddle jumping but even I know you're supposed to jump in them, not lay in them," the woman teased.
Mai glared at the red haired woman and followed her out of the room. "It's not like I asked the ghost to push me."
They made their way upstairs to their room. Ayako tilted her head curiously when they entered the room.
"Did you open the window?" she wondered.
Mai frowned and shook her head before heading over to her handall. Her brows creased when her bag wasn't where she had left it.
"Did you move my bag?" she asked Ayako curiously.
Ayako shook her head and went to close the window but something caught her eye. "Mai..." the woman began cautiously causing the brunette to look at her. "I think I found your stuff, and you're right. This ghost hates you."
Mai groaned and walked to the window Ayako was staring out of. Their window overlooked the back yard she had just been in with Lin and her mood soured when she saw what Ayako was staring at. Right there, in the same puddle of mud she'd just been pushed into, was the contents of her bag.
"Son of a - How? We had the protection charm in the room!"
The two turned around and frowned when the charm was on the ground.
"It's okay, Mai. I'll seal it again. It isn't ripped or burnt so I'm pretty sure the ghost didn't knock the charm down. It must have fallen when we closed the door earlier," she reassured and placed the charm back on the wall. "I'll go get your things and throw them in the wash for you, just stay here," the woman directed before running out of the room.
Mai stood there for a moment and watched guiltily as Ayako scooped up all of her muddy clothes. The mud on her own skin began to dry even more. Nothing felt worse than drying caked on mud. Biting her lip she looked back out at Ayako and saw her coming back into the building to throw the clothes into the wash.
The itchiness of the drying mud was nearly unbearable. It wouldn't hurt to hop in the shower just for a moment, would it? Ayako would be back any minute.
Deciding it would be okay, Mai grabbed the towel she had set on the dresser the night before and made her way to the bathroom in the hallway, locking the door behind her. She was glad she had left her bag of travel toiletries in the bathroom the previous night. Turning to her left, she caught her reflection in the mirror above the sink and she felt the irritation rise in her. Mud was smeared across her face. Her hair looked matted from the mud that caked it. Growling, she carefully stripped herself of her dirt covered clothes and placed them in a small pile on the floor. She took her towel and hung it on the hook next to the shower.
She muttered angrily to herself as she turned the tap in the shower on and waited for it to reach a comfortable temperature. Stepping in, she sighed in relief as the warmth of the water rolled over her skin. She began to wash the mud off of her body and face before she focused on cleaning her hair. The scent of lavender and chamomile filled the room as she lathered her shampoo in her hair. Finally feeling relaxed, she closed her eyes and began to rinse her auburn locks. After she was clean she stood there and sighed, letting her stress wash away in the warmth of the shower.
Mai knit her brows together when she felt something tickling her leg. She quickly looked down but nothing was there. It was at that moment that she realized the air was growing unnaturally cold.
"Oh no, not again," she whispered pleadingly.
Hastily turning off the tap, Mai grabbed her towel and wrapped it around herself before jumping out of the shower. She ran to the door and attempted to leave but the lock wouldn't budge. Her breathing grew heavy, nervously anticipating whatever was about to happen. The room continued to grow colder and her hair stood on end as a shiver ran down her spine.
Mai slowly turned to face the foggy mirror and her heart froze at the sight. Even though it was hazy, she could see the shadow of someone standing behind her. She spun around with her hands raised to defend herself in a false sense of security. However, when she turned around no one was there.
Her hazelnut eyes grew wide as she remembered the nine cuts that Ayako had taught her to keep herself safe. She held up her hands and was about to say the incantation but again she froze when something began to tickle her forehead.
Reaching a shaky hand up, she grabbed what was crawling on her and squeaked when she saw the spider in her hand. She quickly threw it across the room and nervously turned to face the mirror once again. Mai gulped, trying to build up the courage. Her hand couldn't stop quivering as she quickly reached out and wiped the mirror. Another featherlight tickle came from her hair and she leaned forward, holding her breath.
All at once a swarm of spiders and centipedes came crawling out of her hair and she let out a blood curdling scream that echoed through the small room. She tried to swat them away but they kept coming back. She looked down and saw more emerging from the drain in the sink and she fell backwards in a mixture of shock and fear as they scurried towards her. She fell against the hard tiled wall and heard a frenzied knocking at the door. She paid it no mind as she sobbed and tried to wipe the crawling terrors off of her.
She swiped at them again but this time, every spider she touched burst into blood and covered her skin. She screamed again as she watched in horror as all the spiders exploded and splattered her body with blood like paint on a canvas.
In the back of her mind she could hear someone desprately calling her name before a loud bang filled the room. She paid it no mind as she kept swatting at the spiders to no avail.
Two large hands covered her own and stilled her and instinctively she clung onto them.
"Mai!" Oliver's deep voice brought her back. He was kneeling in front of her with a look of genuine concern. His blue orbs watched her, unsure of what was scaring her and how to help. She stared at him wide-eyed in fear, tears building up in her eyes.
Ayako knelt down next to the man and placed a hand on Mai's face. "Mai, look at me!"
Mai gasped and blinked. It felt as if she was coming out of a dream. She frantically looked down but saw no sign of either the spiders or the blood that had just plagued her. She shakily looked up to the older woman, feeling lightheaded and confused and could feel the two hands holding hers pull away gently as Oliver stood and gave them space.
"Mai, listen to me, you're having a panic attack," she stated directly. "You need to control your breathing okay? Breath with me; in...and out...in...and out," the woman instructed as she coached her through it calmly.
The brunette did as she was asked and within a few minutes she was able to breathe normally again. She looked up at the woman with a combination of shock and trauma.
"A-are they really gone?" she breathily pleaded.
Ayako looked down at the younger woman sympathetically. "Honey, you're alright. There's nothing here. You're okay."
Mai could feel the relief coming and she nodded dumbly.
It wasn't real.
It was all in her head.
It wasn't real.
It wasn't real.
She looked up again and that's when she noticed the two men standing in the doorway, concern evident on their faces. She ducked her head, embarrassed that she had gotten into danger yet again. Ayako turned to the men.
"She's okay, but can use some privacy since she's only in a towel. I'll bring her down once she's changed," she informed them calmly and ushered them out of the small bathroom.
Finally getting her heart rate back to normal, Mai looked up at Ayako with a sad smile. "I tried to use the nine cuts, I really did, but I-"
Ayako reached out and pulled the woman into a hug. "Don't worry, kid. I bet you did everything you could. You're very brave," she said as she stroked Mai's hair. "Now, why don't we go get you dressed and out of this damp towel, hm? We can talk about this once you're feeling better."
Mai nodded slightly and got to her feet with Ayako's help, glad the woman was there. She looked at the door as they walked out and gasped when she noticed it was broken.
Ayako smirked, "That strong boss of yours broke it down to get to you."
Mai stared at the broken door frame and pulled her towel closer to her body. Ayako helped her to their bedroom and refused to leave the room even though it had a protection charm, for which Mai was grateful. Mai appreciated the comfort of knowing someone was there and quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and a large band t-shirt Ayako had loaned her.
The priestess looked at her new friend cautiously. "Are you ready to tell us what happened? Naru and Lin are waiting at the base for when you are."
Mai nodded. "Yes, thank you. I'm sorry about all of this."
Ayako shot Mai a look. "Don't be sorry! You were in shock, it is a very natural reaction to a traumatic event. Well, I'm assuming it was something traumatic judging by the look you had on your face."
"It was definitely shocking to say the least but I'm feeling a little better now. Let's go to the base and I'll tell you what happened."
She took a deep breath, preparing herself, unsure if she wanted to relive what just happened by telling the story. With an encouraging squeeze on the hand from Ayako, the two made their way downstairs.