Chapter 7: Voices In The Dark

"Mio?"

"What?" Mio picked herself up from the ground. "Watch where you're going," she scoured as she brushed herself off. Mio offered her hand to Saiyuuri, who took it. She looked around to see if the strange person was there again. Mio noted the confused, frightened look on her face. Crap? I hope we didn't get snooked into a place like…No, not possible…

"What's wrong? Get spooked?" Mio teased her a bit.

"Erm," Saiyuuri looked away for a minute. "I saw something…very… strange." She spun around several times to see if anything was there.

"Really? Like wha-"

"Hey, Mio? Were you guys just talking about something upstairs?"

"No." They heard heavy footsteps running toward the door, and Saiyuuri latched onto Mio.

"Hey don' grab onta' me!" Mayu came through the door.

"What happened? I heard a scream, so I came as soon as- oh…" Mayu was out of breath and panting. "Playing tricks on the kid again?" Mayu put her hands on her sides. "Shoulda' known."

"No! I didn't do anything this time, I swear! I came for the same reason you did!" Mio pried the girl off her side. "Lose the death grip wouldja'! She just got spooked, that's all."

"Um, Mio? Mayu?" The twins looked at Saiyuuri as if to ask 'What?'. "Have you guys met my parents before this?" Mio scratched her head.

"No, can't say that I have. Mayu?"

"No." Mayu answered her and eyed her curiously. "Why?"

"No, never mind." She hid the pictures away in her notebook. Mayu and Mio started to look around the room. Apparently, they were also beginning to see that something wasn't right here.

"Wow. Mio, I think one of your friends was here not too long ago."

"Hm? Why's that?"

"Check this couch out!" Mayu laughed a bit.

"Ha ha, Mayu, that's hilarious," Mio said in an unimpressed voice. Mio walked around the sofa to the front. "DAMN! Anger management anyone? Saiyuuri?" Mio looked at her.

"NO! That wasn't me!" Saiyuuri didn't like the accusation obviously.

"Geez, relax, will ya'." Mio waved her hands in defense.

"You found it this way?" Mayu asked calmly, brushing her hand against it.

"Yes," Saiyuuri answered.

"Hmm, is this what made you scream?" Mayu picked up a spider and held it out toward her. Mio started to laugh, while Mayu grinned and stared at the sofa.

"Oh, not you, too, Mayu," Saiyuuri huffed and then stormed off through another door. Mayu looked at the door Saiyuuri had just left through.

"What do you think, Mio?"

"Huh? The kid? She's not a bad kid."

"No, not that. This." She pointed at the sofa.

"Ah, I wouldn't bother. It's probably nothing anyway. Here." Mio grabbed the sheet and pulled it back over the couch. "I wouldn't worry about it. Probably vandals." Mio dismissed the case a bit too quickly, but Mayu wasn't about to make something out of nothing. Mio quickly left and there was nothing more left for Mayu to do there. Again, it was Mio with the distancing. Mio never stayed with her any longer than she had too. The thought was nauseating, and made her feel unsure about herself.

She slowly made her way back up the stairs, continuing her path forward once she reached the second floor. The power in this place had been cut off after people had stopped living in the place. Mayu turned on the flashlight, which flickered, then went dead, followed by a cold chill. Mayu shivered, put her hands on the opposite arms they belonged to, and tried to warm herself. She hit the flashlight's handle until it flickered back to life. The beam landed on a strange mirror.

The mirror wasn't showing the proper distance in its reflection. Mayu was a lot farther away than it showed, so she went closer to inspect. Maybe it wasn't a mirror. It looked like it started moving when she had closed the distance between herself and the mirror thing. The reflection took a deep breath and attempted to jump at her, roaring angrily at her. Mayu fell back and slid herself across the floor in order to escape. She ran into a table, and knocked a few things down. She saw something on the floor next to her and grabbed it. Whatever was in the mirror seemed to be gone now, so she let it go. Maybe it was just her mind again. A lot of the time, she thought she saw Sae in a mirror or watching her, but nothing ever happened, which probably meant that, as a result of All God's Village, she was seeing things that weren't really there. She got up and looked around to be sure, but all was calm. Mayu grabbed the knob of the door she stood next to and entered the room.

Mio heard a loud thump and some rumbling and scrambling noises below her. It was probably the house settling or Mayu digging something out from somewhere. Mio shined a light through a hole she found in a wall. The room smelled terribly of mold, mildew, and wood rot, which became worse when she got closer to the hole. Something in the hole glinted in the light as the examined it. She pulled the strap to her bag over her head and put it down in the floor, then hopped onto a ledge that was in the hole. She put the flashlight in her mouth, and reached out to the glinting object. It was a small, light gold necklace. She examined the necklace carefully. It had a crest outline with a lighter shade of gold. It was shaped in the shape of a hollowed out cross.

"..uhh..uuuuhhhhh." Mio looked up from the necklace. She felt something like hair brush against her. She looked up into a woman's bloody face. "Whyyyyy….?" The flashlight fell out of Mio's mouth, and she threw herself out of the wall. She scrambled backwards across the floor and hit her head against something hard. The woman's cut, bloody face coming to her was the last thing she saw as she slipped into darkness.