Chapter 4

Other than the cabin being filled with a slew of horrific statues- the building is safe and secure.

Everybody gathers in the living room and sets up their sleeping bags. Many are forced to share sleeping bags due to a limited amount of equipment, while others (like myself) sleep without one due to the nights not being that cold.

"Hey-" I ask Shikamaru as he passes. "How did you guys find all this equipment?"

His voice takes on a haunting note. "We found packs and gear abandoned in the woods...no bodies to be found. It's as if people are disappearing when they enter this place."

I assume this is the end of our conversation. But he stays still as a statue. The others are busy talking to one another and enjoying their company. I'm tucked in the corner of the room- so it's easy for Shikamaru to crouch down and glare.

"So." He begins. "Where are you from?"

I hesitate. "What do you mean?"

"You're backstory. We're all a team here, Sasuke, and if you want me to trust you... you gotta' be honest with me. Get it?"

My face tightens. "I don't have a backstory. I'm just a regular teenager…" The lie slides off my tongue with ease. Afterall, I can hardly conjure up the memory of my family let alone tell somebody about it...Shikamaru doesn't like my response.

"Listen closely, Sasuke-" his keen gaze scans the room before continuing. "You're not helping your case at all by being dis-honest."

He gestures at Ino sitting in the corner with her hands tucked in her pockets.

"See Ino over there? Her parents hate her. She's always out drinking and partying, typical bad-girl type. Before she woke up here, she was shit-faced at a friends house. A total flooze."

Shikamaru points at Naruto.

"-and him? He's a prankster, and an orphan. His parents died in a car crash when he was ten…"

His piercing gaze settles back on me.

"And Shino? That guy who was killed by the two-tailed beast? He was a bug fanatic. Accidentally killed his parents one night when his swarm of poisonous insects broke loose from their cages."

Shikamaru hisses between clenched teeth.

"All of us have a dark past, or a flaw- that separates us from the rest; and over these last two weeks we've managed to form a bond."

He reaches over and tightens the rope around my wrists. I flinch as the scritchy fabric digs into my skin.

"So, Sasuke, when you tell me that you're some "regular teenager" who just "happened" to appear in this forest after the rest of us-" He snickers. "-well, you'll forgive me for keeping you tied up in a corner."

He pauses. Assumably to let his point sink in. My response is cold as ice.

"Ya? Whatever."

Shikamaru's fists ball. Is he going to punch me? His grip loosens.

"One last chance...wanna' tell me the truth?"

The memory of my family's dead corpses is a punch in the gut. My eyes waver and I stare off into the distance avoiding Shikamaru's presence all-together.

"Well-" He shrugs. "-can't blame me for trying."

With that. Night settles upon the forest. Outside the dirty windows I can see finger shaped branches clawing at the sky. Leaves colored blood-red, orange, and brown flutter to the forest floor obscuring our tracks.

Fuck, we really are in the middle of nowhere…

Despite being in a state of paranoia, my body is weak and needs rest. Rock-Lee and Kiba are staying up all night to keep watch over their slumbering friends. So I close my eyes...and doze off into another nightmare.

…

In this dream, I'm standing in my elder brother's bedroom. The room is warped and stretched like playdoh. He's sitting on the bed with his hands in his lap. Itachi has long black hair that is usually tied in a ponytail. Now, though; it's sprawled across his bare shoulders. He gives a violent cough, doubling over on the mattress before covering his mouth. Blood trickles from between his fingers. Itachi's skin is pale and cold. He shivers, and curls into a ball on his side.

Instinctively I rush to his side. I fall onto my knees. "Nii-san…" I mumble. "...is your sickness acting up again?"

His eyes remain shut. My elder brother's face is contorted with pain. His cheeks are gaunt and his lips tremble. His hands go limp by his side.

"No." Panic makes my heart hammer. "You need more medicine...i'll go to the drug mart and pick some up!"

Now, I'm a man on a mission. I turn to leave, but the door disappears. I blink and spin on my heels to face the distant window; the pane is trickling with dark-red blood. Utterly confused, I look back down at Itachi...his ribs are showing, and his eyes are wide open. Dull. Grey. Dead.

"What? N- no!"

I fall onto my knees. My insides twist together. Once again, it's like a pair of ghostly hands is mixing up my innards. I double over coughing and wheezing. My hand flies to shield my mouth. I vomit, my palm is coated in dark-red blood.

"I was going to get his medication...when, when did he die?!"

In the blink of an eye. My dad appears as a ghostly apparition in the center of the room. The rays of ebony light envelop his figure in haunting shadows.

"Sasuke." My father growls. "We told you to look after him while we were gone...how could you let Itachi die?!" He lunges at me. His hands wrap around my throat and pin me to the wall. His eyes are bloodshot with rage. Tears stain his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry...d- dad!" I sputter out.

Everything..is fading..

"Please stop." I choke. "You'll kill me!"

I don't want to die!

"You'll die-" My father roars. "-that's your punishment, for killing Itachi!"

My scream rips from my throat. "Stop! I don't want to die!"

A swift kick in the shin sends my father toppling over to the floor. His head hits the corner of the wall with a sickening- crack! He falls over. His neck is twisted and wrong. His mouth is wide and loose with shock.

"This isn't real…" I mumble while falling onto the floor. "This is a dream. A nightmare!"

A disembodied voice whispers from every corner of the room.

" e"

Suddenly a pair of rotten hands appear from the floorboards and grip me by the ankle.

" d"

I scream bloody murder and fall face first into the floor. Fifteen more pairs of zombie hands snatch my arms, legs, and throat.

" e... a!"

The claw tipped fingers begin digging into my skin; tearing me apart piece by piece. As my flesh peels away to reveal layers of darkened muscles, an unbearable burning sensation erupts from the base of my neck. My screams are intermixed with the gut twisting sound of gushing blood.

" k!"

My body jolts into the waking world. Except, the pain is still with me. My eyes are pinned to the roof and my screams fill the cabin. I feel blood trickling down my neck. My wrists jerk against the ropes until the skin is bloody and raw.

Rock-lee and Kiba are still on guard duty. They are the first to arrive to my aid. Kiba scoops me up in his arms while Rock-lee undoes my bondage. As soon as my hands are free, I grip my neck and hold onto Kiba's hand with the other.

"Agh!" I'm choking on my own spit and fear. Rock-lee holds me down by my shoulders as I thrash to-and-fro.

That's when Sakura shouts in alarm.

"Naruto! What are you doing!?"

Through my blurry vision, I spot Sakura run across the room towards Naruto. The Uzumaki is crouched in front of the nine-tailed statue in the far right corner of the room. He's unconscious on his hands and knees.

It looks like...he's worshiping the nine tails statue!

Sakura lifts his head. Whisker marks have been clawed across his cheeks and blood trickles down the front of his neck.

"What the hell?" She mumbles. That's when Naruto's eyes flicked open. He begins to panic just as I am. He falls into Sakura's arms, whipping the blood away from his face.

"What the hell happened to me?"

Naruto's shrill voice is filled with terror.

"I- I was dreaming about my parents. When this damn fox-lookin' monster clawed me into pieces!"

Finally the pain ebbs away. Rock-lee and Kiba let me rest on the floor for a few minutes longer. Everybody else has awoken to stare at us.

Now we both look like freaks!