Escaping Death
Note- Hey! It seems like you guys are enjoying it so far. That's great.
Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha. Duh! I wish I did, though.
Summary- Kagome is an average girl with average friends. But after a strange online conversation, horrible attacks start happening all around the city she once known to be safe. Someone wants something from her and they are scaring her and torturing her. But who is it and what do they want? Can she really escape death?
I hope you all enjoy. Please review and thanks for reading. Here it goes.
Escaping Death
Chapter Seven
Kagome screamed as she read the instant message over and over again. She slapped her fists against the sides of her head and closed her eyes tightly. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening! Koga was not dead. He was alive and well. He was going to ask her to the dance again like he did every year. He was going to offer to carry her books and he was going to ask her on dates. He was not going to die! He couldn't die!
"No!" She shrieked. This guy was taking it too far! She had hardly known the young schoolteacher, and she had only known Kikyo and Kagura by name and gossip. But Koga…He was another story. He was closer to her than a lot of people. Maybe not as close as Sango or Miroku, but she had considered him close.
"Koga…" She tried to stand, but only succeeded in collapsing to the floor on her knees. "You're supposed to be here," she sobbed. "You can't leave. You were supposed to fight!"
Sango suddenly instant messaged her and she got back into her chair shakily.
Slayer258: Hey. You ok? You haven't talked to me…well to any of us lately. What's wrong?
Kagome typed a message with trembling fingers.
Miko17: Koga's dead.
Slayer258: What? What do you mean?
Miko17: Come over here and I'll show you.
Slayer258: Um, ok. Be there in a little bit.
Kagome sighed in relief, knowing that she wasn't going to be alone anymore. It seemed like Sango hadn't believed her, but she would see. Once she saw the instant messages, then she'd realize that she wasn't lying. She would bring the truth into the light and put this freak where he belonged -- in jail.
The doorbell scared her and she jumped, but went downstairs and opened it. Sango walked in and Kagome led her upstairs. "Come on. It's right there." She pointed to the screen.
Sango examined it for a long while and finally sighed in exasperation. "That jerk--"
Kagome thought she was talking about the killer. She interrupted with, "See? Told you guys!"
"--Messing with you that way!" Sango finished.
Kagome's shoulders slumped. Sango still wasn't convinced! Instead of showing her that there was a killer on the loose -- a killer who was torturing and threatening her -- Kagome had made Sango think that Koga was messing with her!
"Come on," Sango said angrily, going down the stairs, fuming.
Kagome's heart began to beat wildly. "Where to?" Even though she knew, she had to ask. She reluctantly followed, holding onto the banister uneasily.
"To Koga's," came Sango's hasty reply. "I'm going to make him stop messing with you."
"But--"
"No buts, come on." Sango walked outside and Kagome, with a thudding heart, quick breath, and trembling hands, followed her and closed the door.
Koga's house wasn't far away -- big surprise, it seemed everyone lived near each other -- but the walk there seemed to take only a few seconds. Kagome was so anxious that she continually fidgeted and rubbed her sweating palms together. Sango noticed and smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry. He's not going to hurt you. I'll hurt him if he tries."
Kagome forced a meek smile, hoping that it appeared grateful and relieved -- the opposite of what she was feeling. She was endangering both herself as well as Sango by following her to Koga's house. Either 'Death986' was still lurking there in the house, examining and enjoying all he had done to Koga, or he was somewhere nearby, watching them. If he were doing either, Sango would probably end up dead -- as well as Inuyasha and Miroku -- and Kagome could be in a lot of trouble.
Gazing at the sky, Kagome managed to momentarily escape into a world less dangerous. It helped her relax, calm her nerves.
This peace, this wonderful serenity that she hadn't seen in weeks, vanished as they approached the house. The waning moonlight helped them to find their way up the steps and the front door. Once there, however, the two girls noticed the crimson stains that obscured the doorknob. Sango gave a bemused and worried glance toward Kagome, who continued to gape at the doorknob. "Kagome…" she breathed.
Kagome had enough courage to reach out and take hold of the knob, cringing in disgust as the still warm liquid oozed through her fingers. She didn't falter and she gave the knob a slow and gentle twist.
Unlocked.
"Sango…" Kagome choked through numb lips.
"Let's go," was Sango's response.
"Sango," Kagome practically cried.
Sango looked at her in befuddlement. "What?"
"There's blood on the doorknob!" Kagome exclaimed, as if Sango hadn't noticed. She probably just didn't care. "The door is unlocked and there's blood on the knob!"
"Well we have to go see if he's all right!" Sango yelled back, pushing the door open. It was dark inside and Kagome feared stepping inside. She could end up stepping into a death trap. Sango, however, wasn't as deterred. She stepped inside cautiously, looking around before proceeding into the kitchen. There was an open drink bottle on the counter -- half its contents gone -- and its cap a few feet away. "Koga?" She called. "Koga, we need to talk!"
Kagome managed to muster up enough courage to head down a dark, narrow hallway. She saw pictures hanging on the walls of Koga and his family. Some showed him when he was younger and some were pictures of him at the present time. Despite the fact that she never really took a good liking to him, he was pretty good looking.
Kagome sighed heavily, her breath trembling. Her gaze flicked down to the floor and she froze when she saw the spots dotting the carpet.
Blood.
Kagome didn't scream -- her first reaction -- and simply followed them. Her stomach suddenly felt hallow as the spots of blood grew larger and larger until they were close to puddles, soaking the carpet. They led her to a room -- a very messy one, clothes scattered here and there -- and when she saw the source of the blood, she thought she would puke.
Koga's limp and lifeless body was sprawled across the floor in front of his computer desk, his neck slashed, multiple stabs wounds obscured him. His eyes were open in shock and fear -- maybe even sadness?
Kagome placed a hand to her heart. Koga was dead. 'Death986' had spoke the truth when he had talked to her under Koga's screen name. Everyone would see now. They would believe her. She would get some help.
In her dismay and despondency, she hadn't noticed the person sitting on the bed. Not until they spoke, "Kagome…"
She jumped, with a squeal, and turned to look at Miroku. He was looking at her woefully. "Miroku…W-What are you--?"
"I got a message. It was under Koga's screen name. Saying he was dead. I thought it was a prank and came over to see for myself. But…Kagome…"
Kagome nodded and stumbled over to him, giving him a hug. He returned the embrace -- tighter than she would have expected -- and began stroking her hair. Kagome had thought it odd, but said nothing. Both of them were suffering and he was simply trying to calm her, right?
Sango came in, saw the body, and let out a horrified cry. She sank to her knees and hugged her knees to her chest, sobbing.
"I told you, Sango," Kagome said. Her gaze had become blurry as unshed tears pooled in her eyes. "I told you…"
"Shh," Miroku whispered, hugging her even tighter. Why wasn't he going to comfort Sango? Sango was his direct target of affection, so why was he hugging her? "Shh, it's all right."
Kagome stood up, pulling herself free from his arms -- even though his embrace was warm and slightly comforting -- and knelt down to examine the body. There was a note on Koga's back, smudged with blood. Kagome reached out shakily and picked it up. It read:
Are you happy now, Kagome? You caused this. He wouldn't have died if you had only told me who you wanted dead. But you didn't and Koga's life is now over.
Good job.
Kagome screamed and threw the note down. Sango lifted it up and read it and gave her a stern, incredulous glower. "Kagome…what is this note…talking about?"
Kagome slammed her palms against her temples and cried harder. "It wasn't my fault! I swear!"
Sango jumped to her feet, still crying, and glared. "You were picking out victims?" She practically screeched. "You were telling some sicko who to kill and you didn't tell us?" She demanded, hurt filling her glossy eyes.
"I couldn't!" Kagome cried desperately. "He would've kill me, or you guys! I didn't want that to happen! Please, don't…do this to me!"
Kagome began weeping once again and Miroku got up and took her into his arms. "Sango, leave her alone. We'll talk more about this subject later. Call the police. We need to let them know about this."
Kagome hadn't wanted to call the cops in fear of being caught by 'Death986,' but she had no choice this time. After they had called the cops, Kagome called Inuyasha and told him. He had said he'd be right over.
Kagome stood by the door and stared out at the night. It seemed so peaceful on the outside. On the interior of this small town, however, it was something like a gruesome high school horror film. And she just happened to be the main character.
True to his word, like always, Inuyasha showed up before the police and when he entered the house, Sango showed him the body. He left the room, trying to hold down his dinner, and he found Kagome, sitting on the couch, crying. He sat beside of her. "Kagome?"
She turned and looked up at him woefully. "Inuyasha…I…" She broke down into hysterical sobbing once again and he -- much to her disclosure -- embraced her.
"Kagome," he began softly, running a hand up and down her back gingerly. "I'm sorry for not believing you in the first place. I'm sorry about everything."
"He was threatening me…" she confessed.
Inuyasha pulled away from her then. "Who?"
"The killer," she rasped, her lower lip trembling. "He threatened me…"
"Kagome, why didn't you tell us?" He demanded. He examined her face when she averted her eyes. Sighing, he pulled her back into his arms and leaned back into the couch. "All right. We'll talk about it later. Just calm down. Everything will be all right."
The police showed up a few minutes later. The examined Koga's body, inspected the house, and interrogated Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango.
Had they been there at all before he had been killed? Had they seen him before he had been killed? Did they know anyone who would want to kill him?
After all of the questions and a few phone calls to parents, they were able to leave. They had all agreed to stay with Kagome -- to keep her company as well as find out what the hell was going on -- and that's where they headed, ducking under the yellow police tape.
Once at Kagome's house, her mother asked them questions by the dozen and when they finally escaped her, they went up to her room. She was the last one there, and after she closed the door and turned to face her friends, they all had quizzical, curious, and angry expressions.
She had a lot of explaining to do.
Note- There! I feel bad for offing Koga, but it adds to the suspense. Who is the killer? Think you know? Let me know who you think. Also, tell me what you though of the chapter. Thanks!
