(A/N): Merry Christmas! My present to you, my wonderful readers :)
A twitch.
Then he was coughing, retching up water, heaving, gasping air.
I turned him over and helped him as he coughed and spluttered, emptying the water from his lungs. When he stopped, out of sheer exhaustion, he slumped back onto the ground, lying on his back. His chest rose up and down rapidly. Droplets of water rolled down his face as he moved. His hands twitched, and his eye lids flickered a few times before they opened. Still gasping, he stared at me. I could feel his breath against my face. My hand, on his chest, moved up and down with the rhythm of his breathing. And, beneath his skin and his breast plate, I could feel the steady beating of his heart.
He was alive.
I reached down and touched his face, in disbelief, trying to assure myself that it was real. That he really was alive.
His skin was cold, but I could feel the warmth coming back.
Swallowing, he coughed and tried to speak, but could not manage it. Finally, he spoke up hoarsely,
"…R-remind me…to never…do that again."
I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly. I did not want to let go. He had been dead. He wasn't breathing. Now he was. He was alive again. Thank God. Thank God. Relief washed over me in a powerful wave, and though I was still shaking, joy coursed through me. Houshou was alive.
Weakly, he attempted to wrap his uninjured arm around me, although he barely had the strength. His hand was trembling.
"Y-you were dead." I whispered, trying to contain my emotions. "You weren't breathing."
"I am now." He hugged me tighter. "We're ok. We're not dead." The realisation came over us both. We had escaped. Despite everything, we had escaped. Regardless of the guns, of the colleague, of the cliff and of the river, we had escaped.
We stayed there for a few minutes, embracing each other. It was cold, and the wind stole heat from my sodden body, but I did nothing. Neither of us cared, and neither of us wanted to let go.
Finally, I removed myself. Houshou's arm was bleeding, so I examined it. Although it looked like it had begun to clot, it was still bleeding. Ripping off a sleeve with difficulty, as my hands were numb and lifeless, I wound it around Houshou's shoulder tightly, cutting off the blood flow to the wound. It was not ideal, but it would have to do.
"C-can you move?" I asked him anxiously. "Do you feel ok?" We were not out of the woods yet. Houshou had lost a lot of blood, and had just been revived from death. He needed medical treatment.
Gritting his teeth, he tried to move into an upright position. He had barely moved when he cried out in pain, and stopped.
"I…don't think so…" He grabbed my hand, squeezing it painfully hard as he tried to contain his pain. "Let me…let me just rest for a little while."
I remained by his side while he held my hand, eyes closed, pursing his lips and taking deep breaths.
"I think…I think my ribs are broken…" He grimaced. "And my sh-shoulder…" He tried to move it, and cried out again.
"It's ok. You don't have to move anywhere. Just stay still." He groaned and nodded, his grip on my hand vice-like. I moved some soaked hair from his eyes, and discovered a bruise on his forehead. What if he had concussion? What if he had lost too much blood? What if he got hyperthermia? The thoughts raced through me, and the years of medical practice left me in an instant.
"…Are they…are they following us?" Houshou's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
I scanned the area. No one was here.
"I don't know."
He took a breath and closed his eyes, before asking, "…Sh-should we move from here?"
"I think that might be a good idea. I'll help you."
"Ok." Inhaling, he forced himself into an upright position, hardly making a sound. From there, I helped him to his feet slowly, and let him lean his weight on me.
He was swaying precariously, and I knew that if he hadn't been clutching onto me, he would have fallen.
"We'll go to the trees. We'll have more cover there." I explained, although there wasn't really a need. "We don't have to walk far."
He nodded silently, and when we took a step, he almost fell. Gasping out in pain, he tried to right himself. I was terrified of two things, and one was that Houshou wouldn't make it, even after everything we had been through.
"Do you…" He asked me quietly, his tone filled with pain. "…do you think…they'll find us again?"
"No. I don't think so." That was the second thing I was terrified of.
Sinead gathered her officers. No injuries, no fatalities – good. But John was nowhere to be seen.
"Any sign of them?" She asked them immediately. When they shook their heads, she swallowed her disappointment and growing fear.
"Ok. We'll have to keep on looking. Did you catch the other hostilities?"
"Sorry, chief. The ones we were pursuing got away." One reported.
"Including the man in the suit?"
"Yes."
Sinead nodded, comprehending this. Their efforts hadn't been entirely fruitless, though – Conor and her newest officer had managed to capture one of the targets. He was kneeling on the ground, hand cuffed and scowling.
"Right." She addressed him. "Your name?"
"Bitch." He spat.
"Ok, Bitch-san," she said, much to his irritation, "I'm going to make a deal with you. Tell me what I need to know, and in return, we'll try and make sure your boss doesn't kill you."
She had been bluffing, to see how he would react. And although he laughed scornfully, there was a trace of panic in the man's face he couldn't quite hide.
"He won't kill me." He used a false bravado.
"You and I both know that's a lie."
The man scowled and looked away, but he was scared.
"Where is the foreigner?" Sinead asked.
He said nothing, but remained tight lipped.
Sinead examined his face, and guessed, "Ah…you let him escape, and now you're doubly scared that your boss is going to kill you."
He blinked a few times and shifted ever so slightly, then froze as he realised that Sinead was watching his body movements intently, and moved back to his original position.
This was all the answer Sinead needed. "Move out and search for them. The other four hostilities are long gone; we've already searched for them. Conor will stay here with Bitch-san."
"My name's Kyou Hokama, ok?!" The man shouted, defeated. It seemed to be sinking in that he had no choice but to co-operate, and that his best chance of living was to do this.
Ignoring him, Sinead began to search, picking her way through debris. The site was nightmarish. A reek of disinfectant hit her, and the walls sent shivers across her body. Something was very wrong about this place. Something very bad had happened here.
Around the corner, she heard her newest officer try to stifle a gasp.
"Everything ok?" She called over.
She found the officer staring down the corridor, standing as still as a statue and pointing. At the end was a woman, with blood all down her arms.
"A spirit…" Sinead muttered. The new officer had not spent much time with Sinead, so this was all new and strange for him. "Tread carefully. I don't know how they'll react to us."
Sinead turned her attention to the forest. One of the officers was kneeling by the trees.
"What've you found?"
"Blood. Two injured."
Biting her lip, Sinead peered into the forest. How useful it would be if one of those spirits turned up again, but unfortunately, she hadn't seen it.
"Chosovi." She spoke to the officer. "Help me track where they were going."
"Of course." She nodded and stood up. Quickly, Sinead added,
"What do you think of the area? Anything different, like sacred ground?"
"The trees. They seem to be alive. That's only natural in Japan, I suppose. There are countless sacred groves all over the country."
"So, would tree elders be around here?"
Chosovi frowned. "Yes. But elders rarely interfere, unless asked to. And people who can communicate with sacred trees…well, no one's seen them for a long, long time."
"Strange. Someone summoned an elder to help me…" She turned her attention back on the blood. "Did they go this way?" She pointed in a direction, in which she could hear a river flowing.
"I think so."
The two walked cautiously, examining the drops of blood that appeared frequently.
When they reached the cliff, Sinead's heart sank.
"The blood is right next to the edge." Chosovi observed. "I think they jumped."
Sinead could almost picture it. But surely they survived the currents? Was it possible? Her mind refused to think otherwise.
"…We'll head down there and follow it."
Once we had reached the trees, Houshou looked on the point of collapse. He needed to rest again. We were both freezing; the sun was hiding behind a cloud, as if it were refusing to come out and shine on the hideous events that happened at Mattaku. Hyperthermia was becoming a serious risk.
In the undergrowth, I saw a large, fallen tree. The roots were still caked with crumbling dirt; the base was white with dust, and between each root, cobwebs had been repeatedly cast and broken, until there was just a thick tangle of silver that latched from root to root. The rest of the tree was covered in fine, springy moss, and even a few weeds had begun to grow on the bark.
"Come on. We're almost there." I reassured him, and he nodded, panting with exhaustion.
When we reached the fallen tree, I lowered Housou down, his back resting against the tree trunk.
"How do you feel?" I asked him gently.
He looked pale. "Hot. M-My shoulder…It…"
Trying to contain any panic, I examined his shoulder once more. The bullet was still in there. Oh God, what if he got gangrene? What if it was infected?
It was inflamed and red, but nothing that showed signs of gangrene. I needed to take off the bandage, though, or the risk would increase. As I undid it – since the bleeding had stopped and the wound had clotted – Houshou moaned.
"P-Please…don't touch it…" He whispered.
Frowning, I examined the shoulder again – not just the wound this time, but the surrounding area. It was swollen, and rather than being rounded, it looked square. I had a bad feeling about this.
"Ok. I'm going to touch you shoulder very gently, and I want you to tell me if it hurts." I gently touched the top of his shoulder, near his collar bone.
Houshou cried out. "Please. I-It hurts."
"Ok…your shoulder is dislocated." I told him. "I'm going to try and out it back very gently. Will you let me do that?"
He looked unsure. "Are-are you sure?"
"We should try and get it back as soon as possible." He was going to have to get a scan, to make sure he hadn't damaged anything else from falling. All I could do was hope his nerves hadn't been damaged.
"…Ok…" He agreed quietly.
"Sinead!"
It was Conor. A moment later, she heard the new officer calling her. "Chief! Please, come quick!"
Sinead checked her chamber quickly, before she hurried back to the site, with Chosovi following closely behind. As they neared the site, they slowed to a halt.
"W-What are they?!" She could hear the new officer – Lukas, his name was – sounding panicked.
"Sh. Just wait for Sinead to come. She'll know what to do."
Frowning, Sinead glanced at Chosovi. "Spirits?" She whispered.
Chosovi shrugged. Together, they cautiously approached the site.
Conor, Lukas, and the other officers had regrouped. The man they had captured was still handcuffed, but this time staring, terrified, at what was before him. There were about fifteen of them, some fainter than the rest, and all of them were afflicted with some sort of injury.
"They're spirits." Sinead confirmed. As she neared, Conor saw her, and a look of relief crossed his face. He never liked this part of Sinead's line of work, and was glad that Sinead was here to deal with it.
"Everyone." Sinead called softly to her comrades. "Move back slowly. Lower your guns. There's no point in using them, and I think we'll just spook them." She lowered her own, and everyone else did the same.
One of the spirits turned around and faced her. It was the woman with the blood down her arms again.
"We mean no harm." Sinead assured her. "We're not going to hurt you."
The woman remained silent for a minute, staring at Sinead as if she recognised her. Then she said,
"It's not you. It's him."
"It's who?"
She pointed to the handcuffed man. "He hurt me." She said, her tone containing a dangerous edge. "He hurt us all. He has to pay."
Well shit, Sinead thought. Angry spirits were never good. Unless they were sorted out and given closure, their anger would grow, until they lashed out at anyone and everyone.
"Ok. I understand. You have every right to be angry." Sinead agreed. "But if you kill him, you will just grow angrier. And it will eat away at you, until you lose all sense of self. You'll become a site-bound spirit. And trust me, it's not a nice thing to become."
The woman said nothing.
"There are much better, safer, and surer ways to get closure. I can help you. But killing this man will only condemn you and everyone here. Trust me."
The woman glanced at the man, who was pale and trembling. "How do we know he will be punished? And the others who made us suffer."
"Oh, believe me. They will be punished. I guarantee it."
The woman looked at Sinead. Then she moved forwards, so close to Sinead that her skin was buffeted with a cold pulse, and she shivered. But other than that, she did not move, or break eye contact with the spirit.
"…I know you." The woman whispered in her ear. "You are related to the one who came earlier? Who was here?"
Sinead's face darkened. "Yes."
"And you will want revenge on what they did to him. I can guarantee it." She moved in even closer. "The ones you really want to punish…Saburou Osaki. And the man who ran the place. I trust you will make them pay."
Sinead gave a slight smile. "Oh, yes. They will all pay for whatever atrocities they have committed here. I give you my word."
The woman moved back, satisfied. "Good." Then she turned to the other spirits, and beckoned them. They moved past Sinead and Chosovi, and back into the ward. Soon, they had disappeared from sight.
Sinead let out a breath. "Wow. That was a little intense." She saw that the man looked as pale as the spirits. So did her other officers, especially Lukas.
Chosovi seemed less concerned. "Why did they not show themselves before? When all five hostilities were here?"
Sinead thought about it. "Maybe…well, there were five of them, and four had guns. Maybe they were scared."
"B-But," Lukas spluttered, "they were dead! Why would they be scared?"
Sinead sighed. "Do not underestimate the consequences of a scarred mind." She told him softly. Then she turned back to the others.
"Right. We'll head back to Andy, Winter and Eliot, and then we'll go to the river. We need to move fast. It is highly likely that the people we are searching for fell into the river from a cliff. If they have survived, then we need to find them as quickly as possible."
Houshou was lying across me now, exhausted and in pain. I had managed to clunk his shoulder back into place, but he had almost passed out from the pain. His hand lay over his face, and he was groaning softly.
"How are you?" I asked him gently.
"…I feel sick." He muttered. I put my hand over his forehead. It was hot.
"Tell me if you think you're going to throw up, so I can turn you over."
He nodded weakly. For a moment, he looked thoughtful and troubled. Then he spoke up.
"John?"
"Yeah?"
"…Can I call you John?"
I didn't know whether to cry or to smile. "Of course. And may I call you Houshou?"
"Mmhm." He sounded tired, and somewhat delirious. He reached out to touch my face, and I winced, remembering my own pains.
"John…" He continued. "I'm…really sorry."
"Why?"
"I let you down."
"Of course you haven't. You've done so much for me."
"…I…accused you of having schizophrenia. I hit you. I betrayed you."
I tried to speak up, but he carried on. "I broke my promise. I said I would help you, and I wouldn't let colleague-san hurt you. I failed. I'm sorry."
I thought back to Sayomi's words. "Sometimes…people make promises that can't be kept. And it's pointless to punish yourself for it."
Houshou didn't look so convinced. "…All I ever do is break promises."
"No, you don't."
He bit his lip. "A few years ago…I broke a promise…Remember I told you about…about cancer being hereditary in my family?"
I nodded, and he continued. "Well…my sister and I…we found out at the same time. Miyuki…she was terrified. And so was I. We were so scared we were going to get cancer."
I felt dread creep up on me. I had a very bad feeling about where this was going.
"…I promised her…" He went on, close to tears, "…I promised her that she wouldn't get it. That she'd be ok. But…" He closed his eyes. "…I failed." He whispered. "I gave her hope, and then it was even more painful for her when…" He broke off, his voice strangled. "…And she didn't…she didn't recover…"
How terrible…Poor, poor Houshou. Had he been blaming himself all this time? I understood now, why he reacted the way he did when promises were mentioned. And what I had said to him…
… Go and break someone else's promises…
What a horrible thing I had done.
"…I'm so sorry." I whispered, tightening my grip around him. I didn't know what else to say. "But you can't blame yourself. You can't control things like that."
"…But…I let her down…"
"You didn't. Don't blame yourself for something that you had no control over."
He nodded slowly. Once more, I felt his forehead. It was still hot. He needed rest.
Houshou muttered something incomprehensible, and reached out to wrap a strand of my hair around his finger.
"What was that?"
"…Kazuki. I saw him. At the abandoned house when I saw looking for you. He…why did he turn you in like that?"
"…I don't know." I fell into troubled silence. I still didn't understand why he had done it.
A noise caught my attention. I looked up – and recoiled in surprise.
Something was hovering in front of me. Something white and…snake-like in figure. It had to be a spirit, but I had never seen anything like it…unless…was it a tree elder? Like the ones Ayako communicated with?
Somehow, its presence calmed me. Without thinking, I reached out to touch it. A wave of warmth spread through me, and I shivered.
It uttered a strange, haunting cry, and drifted slowly around us.
"W-What is it?" Houshou whispered.
"…I think it's a tree elder." I breathed. It hovered down by Houshou, and brushed his shoulder. At first he inhaled sharply; then he seemed to relax. Pain left his face a little.
"Do you think Ayako-san sent it?" I wondered, as I marvelled at it in amazement while it danced in front of us, twisting and turning.
"Maybe…" I looked down at him. Even with the spirit here, he was so pale. He had lost blood, and he was weak. Not only that, but we were both cold. Our clothes were wet, and even with the shelter of the trees, hyperthermia was a risk. I needed to find help. Someone had sent this spirit to help us; its presence was not a coincidence. Maybe it was Ayako – I could not know for sure. And then the gun shots…someone had fired gun shots, knowing it would distract the colleague and his men, and give us time to escape. Someone knew we were here and, for once, I was certain they were not a foe.
Carefully, making sure not to hurt Houshou any further, I stood up. Pain jolted through me, but it was bearable.
"W-Where are you going?" Houshou sounded scared.
"Don't worry. I'm not going far. I just want to try and find help, and make sure we're safe here."
"Don't go far. Please." The spirit hovered by him, and somehow, I knew I could trust it to keep him safe.
As I wandered through, treading lightly yet desperate to find someone, worries flew through my head. Had the colleague and Saburou really left? And when would they strike again? Would Houshou be ok? Was anyone really here to help us? Or would we die out here, of hyperthermia? What if no one was here, and the colleague came back to finish us off? What if –
I froze. Something made me stop. A fear overcame me suddenly. I had to go back, go back to Houshou. Away from the danger…
But what was the danger? I listened carefully, trying to ignore the whispering of the trees and the bird calls.
Then I heard a voice: harsh and cruel.
"We need to find them." It was nearer than I realised, and coming closer. Somehow barely making a noise, I hid behind a thick tree. A large bush grew in front of it, acting as a screen, almost, between me and the voice.
"But…it's impossible. We've lost one man already. They'll have found those two by now, and taken them to safety." Another voice argued.
"Not necessarily. They jumped off the cliff, remember? So they might not have been found yet."
"Oh, come on. You saw the drop. They're probably dead."
"And if they're not?" The other voice snapped. "What will you explain to the boss?"
The other voice fell silent.
"…I thought so."
I peered around the tree, trying to squint through the bushes. It wasn't Saburou, but another one of the colleague's workers.
"And there's the case of what they might find out if Brown escapes." The voice went on. "Remember? He got into the office?"
What did they mean?
"Yeah, but…hasn't he got amnesia or something?"
"The boss says it's going to fade. He's already had flashbacks. It's only a matter of time before he finds out about Roku Monsuta."
"Or about the burial site."
Their words puzzled me. Roku Monsuta? That meant 'six monsters'…It rang a bell, and my mind struggled to remember what it was. And the burial site? What was…
Wait a minute. The writing that we found at the ward…
…"Hm…" I tilted my head. "The first part looks like initials…An R and an M."…
…"Then underneath it, it says…" This part was the least illegible. "…burial site?"…
Did I write that? What did it mean?
I came from around the tree, still given cover by the bush, and tried to get nearer.
A branch snapped behind me.
Lin clamped his hand around John's mouth and, before John could make so much as a noise, dragged him back around the tree, lifting him from the ground so he could not struggle. Then, he leant down and breathed in John's ear,
"Don't move. It's me: Lin."
Thankfully, John obeyed him, and did not move or make a sound. However, the sound of their feet against the leaves and branches of the undergrowth had caught one men's attention.
"Hey, did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"It sounded like…" He paused, listening. Lin tensed.
"…No. Never mind. Let's just find them, and get the hell out of here. This place is creepy."
To Lin's relief, they began to walk in the opposite direction. "Fine. Let's go back to the place where they fell in."
As soon as they left, Lin breathed a sigh of relief. That was close. He lowered John to his feet and looked at the priest, who was soaked to the bone, for some reason.
"Father Brown? Are you ok? Are you hurt?"
"How…How did you find me?"
"I listened to the sound of someone screaming and followed that. You're lucky, you know. Those men were searching for you. What if they had heard you? They had guns, they could have –"
He was cut off by John hugging him, like in the grave yard. Again, Lin wasn't really sure how to react, and went for the gently-pat-his-back approach. Judging from his battered appearance, the way he had been limping, the fact he was soaked and shivering, and the two armed men searching for him, he had probably been through quite a traumatic day.
John jerked away as if he had remembered something. "Lin-san. It's Houshou. He's…" He pursed his lips. "He's hurt. Can you help?"
"What happened to him?"
"Umm…we fell into the river and he…he almost drowned. He did drown." These words made Lin freeze. "But he's ok now. But his shoulder was dislocated, and he's been shot in the shoulder, and we're both going to get hyperthermia if we don't get out of the cold, and –"
"Father Brown." Lin put his hands on John's shoulders. "Calm down. Takigawa-san is going to be fine. I'm here now. I'll get you out of here. Show me where Takigawa-san is now."
I led Lin back to Houshou, still overjoyed by his presence and still shaken up by our close shave. He was armed, which made me feel much safer, and it was a relief to have someone taking control of the situation.
When we arrived, the spirit was still there. Lin stared at it briefly for a moment, before kneeling down by Houshou, who had fallen asleep, with me.
"Takigawa-san." He shook him gently. Houshou stirred, and opened his eyes.
"…Lin-san?"
"How are you feeling?"
Houshou just groaned.
"I'm going to get you out of here, but I'm afraid we're going to have to do a bit of walking."
Houshou pursed his lips, but answered quietly, "…Ok…"
Carefully, we helped him to his feet, supporting him, and helped him to stumble forwards as we headed out of the forest. The spirit behind us cried happily, and flew around us excitedly.
As we walked, Lin asked, "Is colleague-san here?"
"He was. But I think he's left."
Lin nodded solemnly. "Did you find the ward?"
"Yes." I shuddered at the memory. "We did."
We had almost left the cover of the trees when Lin suddenly froze. Halting, he listened carefully. I could not hear anything, but he seemed troubled.
"…Stay here." He whispered, taking out his gun. Creeping to the edge of the undergrowth, gun at the ready, he paused behind a tree. Houshou and I backed away slightly.
Something snapped on the other side.
Lin swung around, pointing his gun. At the same time, so did someone else.
The two stared at each other for a brief moment, both pointing their guns. Then Lin lowered his.
"…Chosovi?"
"…Lin?" The woman lowered her gun, and breathed a sigh of relief. "What are you doing here?" She looked at the spirit, which was hovering curiously by her. "And what is that?"
"No idea. And I was looking for some friends."
Chosovi peered behind him, and her dark eyes fell on us.
"You found them. Wait here." She darted away, quicker than a bird.
Lin came back to us. "Come on." He urged us on, helping me to support Houshou. We staggered out from the undergrowth, as the woman approached us, with someone familiar following behind her.
"John?" He stopped and stared, in both shock and relief.
"Conor?"
He hurried over. "Crap, are you ok? You're hurt, what happened?"
"I'm fine. But my friend, he needs medical attention." We did not bother speaking Japanese. "He's been shot in the shoulder, and it was dislocated."
"We've got a car ready. We'll get him to a hospital."
"No." I shook my head. "Not a hospital. They'll be expecting that. The colleague already has people there."
Conor frowned, but nodded slowly. "Ok. We'll treat him ourselves. What about you?"
"I'm alright."
"There's blood all down your face."
"Oh." I wiped it away. "It's nothing. I'm fine."
The woman, Chosovi, stepped forwards. "Here. Let me take a look at him." She examined his wound carefully. "…It looks like it might be infected. Nothing too serious. I don't see any sign of gangrene. Has he lost a lot of blood?"
I nodded worriedly. "Yeah. Is he going to be ok?"
"…I think he will. But he needs treatment and rest. Lin and Conor, take Takigawa-san here to the car. I'll give Brown-san a look over."
I anxiously watched them go, as Chosovi wiped the blood carefully from my face.
"You've got a bruise coming here." She touched the side of my head, where Saburou had hit me, and I winced.
Around me, I could see more officers, carrying guns, pulling up cars next to the river. There were a few Japanese police officers, but most were foreign and looked like they were part of a swat team or something similar. A lot were speaking in English and sounded American. Chosovi herself, who spoke both perfect English and Japanese, looked like she was of Native American descent. As she cleaned up my face, I asked,
"How did you find us?"
"Your cousin followed a tree elder."
"Wait. You mean…Sinead is here?" I asked hopefully.
"The one and only."
I spun around, and there she was. For a moment, she stared at me, as if determining whether or not she was really seeing me; that I was real, and not a mirage or illusion. Then she smiled, and embraced me, almost knocking me off my feet. Joy overcame me, and I hugged her tightly back.
"Thank God you're here. Thank God." Lin was here. Sinead was here. And she'd brought her whole crew of officers with her. Ever since entering this godforsaken situation, ever since I woke up in that hospital, I felt safe for the first time.
"I'm sorry I'm late." She whispered. Her voice sounded choked up, like she was on the verge of tears. It made me want to cry – Sinead almost never, ever cried.
"You're here. That's all that matters."
We were ok. Everything was going to be alright.
We were finally safe.