(A/N): Again, I did not like writing this chapter very much. Not because of research, just because it was not pleasant.

One of my biggest regrets with this story was killing Kazuki. I love him as an OC, and I really regret that he died. If I could go back, I might change it, so that he survived, because I find his death just so sad. You could argue, the sadness adds to the story, but I just find it so sad. I guess, writing more about him and writing about his relationship with John has just made his death more tragic. Also, when you write about a character so much, like I have with John in this story, sometimes you tend to relate to them more than you normally would, especially if it happens to be your favourite character. So, since John is sad, I am sad. Since I am sad, John is sad. It kind of works that way when you write, and even though it might make your writing better, it also makes it much, much harder, because you feel so upset.

It would be nice to write an au where Kazuki lives, perhaps, but it's kind of hard to write aus about your own OC on fanfic. Actually, I'd love to write about all my OCs and their pasts, like Chosovi and Sinead, but then it isn't strictly speaking an au, so I wouldn't be able to post it on . Oh well.

To answer Ananas's question, the reason I wrote John's hallucination in the anechoic chamber as I did was because I wanted to write what would scare him the most: the person who had really hurt him, speaking the words of what he feared the most - abandonment and loneliness. Sorry, John. I love you really.

Oh yeah, there is one instance where the language is stronger than it normally is in this story, so for anyone who may be offended, I apologise in advance. It won't be a frequent thing.

There's a song that I've talked about before called Shiver by Lucy Rose, and it really reminds me of Kazuki, and now I can't listen to it because I think of Kazuki and it makes me too sad.

Ok, review answer time!
To 14AmyChan: I'm really sorry
To CatMaz: I'm really sorry (and thank you!)
To DanceWithAGinger: I think I might just send you a message talking about this because eeeeeeeehhh! :DD I'm so glad you're shipping it! And thank you!
To NaginiFay: ...Sorry...
To Good Anonymous: When you wrote that I got really worried, I thought I had ruined Ghost Hunt for you and I thought "AAAaaaarrrghhh I'm so stupid aarrghghhg" and thanks for reminding me to put that warning in my author's note. And thank you! :)
To Raven's Shadow: Sorry about it being disturbing, and yeah, the bodies were there when SPR investigated. And thank you, I hope the GCSEs go well (about 10 weeks left eeeek!)
To WhisperToTheWolves: Sorry this took a little while :)
To Lizzy: I'm really sorry

Thank you for reading, favouriting, following and reviewing this story! I love you, my readers! :)

So, with that, chapter 39 begins! (Almost at our 40th Chapter Anniversary!)

The house was just as barren and cold as it had always been. When we arrived, though, there was something different about it. Before, it had just been an abandoned house. A place where spirits were trapped, but a place with no meaning or attachment to me. Now, just looking at it filled me with dread. Thinking about what was in there…What had once been a simple structure seemed ominous and malicious. The jagged scraps of metal strewn about in the empty field, the tiles and boarding that hung hazardously from the walls, they all made it feel like a death trap. The broken windows and clinging ivy, before it had all been standard details. Now, it gripped me with such a sinister presence, I wanted to turn around and run away. Knowing what was in there. Knowing how they had come to be in there.

I thought about how all the sightings and behaviour linked together. When we were first in the abandoned house, Houshou and Ayako had been fighting. Soon after, Masako had told us we had upset the spirits there. Now it made sense; they didn't like violence. What exactly had those teenagers reported hearing? Scratches across the walls. People pleading for help. The spirits trying to escape from their mass grave. And the strange silences that came about and left me desperate for noise, or the constant dripping noise that had been reported…all torture methods. Was this their way of recreating what had happened at Mattaku? Trying to get someone to understand?

Sinead told me I didn't have to come, if I didn't want to. That I could just try and recuperate from the hypnotic suggestion. But I came anyway. I needed to see it, for reasons I couldn't explain. It wouldn't be easy. It would be very, very difficult to face. But I needed to see it. It felt…insensitive, almost, not to. Selfish. Ignorant. Arrogant. Because I had survived and they hadn't. But, in a way, we were on similar levels. They were trapped in this place, dragged down by their deaths and the ill-treatment of them, even after death. And I was trapped, too. Unable to move on from the situation. Caught in a loop, like them. I had to either win and live, or lose and get killed. There was no giving in, no resigning. But each moment I played this sick, sick game the colleague had designed, the longer the torture was played out, just like how the longer they stayed in this location, the spirits of those dead would slowly lose all sense of their selves.

The colleague. Even after learning of his name, I still thought of him as this. His name made no difference to me, really. After all this evil he had committed, I could not really think of him as human. Not even a name would change that.

We arrived at the house, and parked in the field, like all those days ago when I had first encountered the building, during the case for SPR. When I got out of the car, my eye fell on the figure standing in front of the house.

"Sayomi-san." I called to her, not knowing if anyone else could see her. Not caring, really.

She glanced briefly at the others – Sinead, Conor, Chosovi. Lin, Kazuya, Houshou. Like me, their presence made no difference to her.

As I walked closer, she observed me carefully. She stared at me with an unwavering gaze.

Finally, she spoke up. "…You remembered, didn't you?"

I paused. "…How did you know?"

"Your eyes." Her stare drilled into me, right through me. "They're different. Older. But haunted. Scared."

I glanced inside the house, where the bodies were, and told her,

"Your body. It's here. That's why you can't move on."

At this, she was quiet for a while. I asked her if she had known this.

"…No. I didn't."

How long had everyone been here? It varied, I think. From what I heard from that phone call, the Ward had used this house for a while, but mainly I guessed it was mainly after the fire that is was used. Apparently, they didn't buy it initially – maybe because they thought it would be a waste of money. A waste of money for a grave. It made me sick. It was only when the owner wanted to start renovation and called on some ghost hunters…Shibuya Psychic Research... that they must have panicked and bought the house.

"My body is here?" Sayomi repeated what I had said, as if still digesting the information.

I nodded. "Your grandfather…he's at a burial site. At least his body was laid to rest properly. But I think they couldn't use the burial site too frequently, or people would start getting suspicious, so this was used as back up. Until the fire. Then it became a mass grave."

But where were the bodies? "Do you know where they might be?"

She tilted her head as she thought about it. "…Actually…there is one place where they might be. It would make sense." She jerked her head towards the house, then walked inside. Without a thought, I followed her. Behind me, I heard Sinead beckon the others to follow, but I did not linger and wait for them to catch up.

Sayomi led me to the room with the lumber piled on the floor, where we found the trap door.

"I don't understand." I frowned. "We looked in that trap door. There was nothing down there, apart from the duffle bag."

"Think about it. Why would there be a duffle bag down there to begin with?"

I paused. "…I hadn't thought about that."

"It was left behind. Saburou Osaki forgot it, and left it down there. But…why would he be down the trap door anyway? I never actually knew why he would go down there. But surely it's not just the one, small room down there he was visiting."

A noise came from behind me, and I turned to see Sinead entering the room, followed closely by Chosovi and Kazuya.

"Here?" Kazuya asked me, and I nodded.

"We need to move this lumber. There's a trap door beneath it."

Chosovi turned to Sayomi and I realised, with surprise, that she could see her.

"What is in the trap door?" She asked calmly.

"I don't know. A door to another room, perhaps. I can't be sure."

"And…" Sinead addressed her, obviously able to see and hear her as well, "…if it does lead to another room, then that's where you'll be?"

Sayomi nodded nonchalantly. Sinead turned to Conor. "Go call the local police and forensics."

"What should I say?" Conor asked.

"That we have reason to believe there are bodies here. Say a witness remembered." He didn't need to be told not to mention the presence of spirits.

As he left the room, taking out his phone, we turned back to the lumber pile. This time, it was Lin who moved the lumber, since Houshou was still using his crutches. The rest of us offered to help, but he said it didn't matter. He then proceeded to move all the lumber in half the time it had taken me and Houshou.

Finally, the trap door came into view. Sayomi didn't react in any way, although I inhaled sharply as it was uncovered. Carefully, Sinead pulled on a rubber glove, and opened up the trap door.

"Hm." She peered into the darkness. "…We should probably go down there at some point. But we don't want to contaminate the crime scene. What do you think?" She turned to Chosovi.

"We should wait until forensics arrive, I think." She decided after some hesitation. "If we're dealing with R.M, we need the evidence to be as solid as possible in court."

Sinead nodded in agreement. "Right. We'll wait for forensics."

Slowly, I wandered through the abandoned house while we waited for forensics to arrive. The rooms were empty, and I found myself feeling disappointed. I walked alone, after refusing company from the others, who sensed my need for some space.

Exhaling, I noticed my breath condense and tumble out in front of me in wisps of water vapour, and a chill set upon me. The temperature was dropping. Someone was going to appear soon.

As I entered an old bedroom, the temperature decreased even further. The floor boards were silent beneath my weight as I moved forwards, and the door made no noise as it drifted shut towards the frame. This was where I had first met him, I realised. Well, the first time we had spoken since I remembered him.

"You've brought quite a crowd with you."

I turned to face him. "Yeah. I did."

He gave me a long, searching look. "…You're safe. I'm glad to hear that."

I shrugged noncommittally. "I guess."

He went on earnestly. "The last time I saw you…I didn't even know if you had escaped form Saburou or not."

"I did. Just about. We caught him, by the way. He's in custody right now."

Sheer relief crossed his face. "Oh, thank God. A-And…'the colleague', as you call him?"

"Still out there. Don't know where."

His face fell slightly, but he shrugged it off. "Well…what brings you here?"

"We're looking for bodies."

He stared at me in shock, and it occurred to me that Kazuki did not actually know his body had been discarded here. "B-Bodies?"

"Yes."

"Is mine…?"

I nodded, and he looked away for a long time, composing himself. When he finally looked back, he still had not removed the disgusted look from his face.

"…How did you find that out?"

"From the office." My voice suddenly clammed up, and this time I looked away, trying to push away the terrible memories of solitary isolation.

The coldness increased, and I realised Kazuki had moved closer. When I finally looked at him, he was much closer than I originally thought.

"…I'm so sorry that happened to you." He whispered.

"How did I even escape?" I asked. "Why…why didn't I go mad? Like the others?"

"I got you out in time."

"You…got me out?"

He nodded. "I tried to help you. But…things went a little wrong."

The fire. "How…how did the Ward burn down? Why did you have to die?" My voice choked up a little at the last sentence.

He sighed, and looked away. "…You'll remember. If you remembered solitary…if you remembered that atrocity," he corrected himself, "then you'll remember the rest soon. It's better if you remember yourself, than just for me to tell you."

The sound of cars interrupted us.

"Who's that?" Kazuki asked, looking out of the window.

"That must be forensics." I watched as a van pulled up outside the house, and people clad in white overalls, carrying boxes of equipment, all piled out. "I should go back to the others."

"Can I come with you?" He asked hesitantly.

"Sure." I shrugged. "If you want. My cousin will be able to see you, though, along with Houshou, an some others."

He nodded, and followed behind me closely as I returned to the room. At his presence, Sinead glanced at him questioningly, but said nothing. She could see him now, and gave me a look, as if asking if this was Kazuki, and I nodded. Kazuki squirmed slightly under her thoughtful gaze.

Soon, the room was filled with forensic scientists and police officers, as they began to climb down the ladder into the trap door. We were instructed to wait at the top while they searched.

It was a small while before one of the forensic scientists climbed back up the ladder. Through the mask, I caught a glimpse of pale skin and, from the height and accent, I realised it was Winter.

He turned to Sinead and told her, very quietly, "…They're down there. Lots of them. I think we're going to need more people here…and more body bags."

Sinead closed her eyes, and exhaled. "…How many, exactly?"

"Thirty. Maybe more."

She swore softly. "…Go call for some more teams. As many as you deem appropriate."

Winter nodded and left the room, giving one long, uneasy glance at Kazuki and Sayomi before he exited.

As the various teams arrived, and the room got more and more crowded, Kazuki and Sayomi left quietly, not giving a reason why. Perhaps they didn't like all the noise and crowdedness. I was told to leave, as was Houshou, Lin, and Kazuya. Reluctantly, we obliged, and retreated to the room that had been our base. Now, it was being used as a base again, except for a throng of forensic teams, setting up equipment to be taken down the trap door, bringing back evidence in plastic wallets and in large bags. A few began to question our presence, but I ignored them, and instead walked to the corner and sat down, withdrawing my knees to myself. The room was cold, and I had no energy to stand anymore. Fatigue seemed to come out of nowhere, although in reality I had just been ignoring it since the hypnotic suggestion. Now, it demanded to make its presence known.

I felt a warmth next to me, and heard the clatter of clutches falling to the floor.

"You know, if you were tired, you could have stayed back at the apartment."

I shook my head. "No."

A hesitation. "…Do you want to rest? I know this will be…"

"It could be me down there. Rotting. Being put into the body bags. It almost was me. It still might be."

"John –"

"One day, I might go missing, and the next time you see me is in a body bag –"

"Don't talk like that." He took a breath, and added, "…Please."

I swallowed. "…I'm sorry."

"Just…it's not going to end up that way."

Nodding, I leant against him, and closed my eyes. A rest didn't sound too bad.

After a while, the forensic scientists allowed Sinead to go down the trap door, and enter the hidden room. They had just about finished collecting evidence and photographing everything.

The room was dark, and a few lamps had been placed there to cast some light. Even so, Sinead still needed a torch.

Winter led her carefully to where a larger group of forensic gatherers were standing, taking a few last photographs.

When she saw them, lying there, she had to look away initially. Finally, she forced herself to look back.

Many of them had not deteriorated, although some had rotted past the state of recognition. Others had been wrapped in some kind of sheet, packed with ice, and as a forensic scientist pulled a sheet off one of the bodies, she realised the body was untouched.

"They used some kind of chemical," Winter was saying, "and packed a lot of ice inside the sheets. They brought down a cooler, and installed some kind of air con. We think it's so that the smell would be less, and no one would notice."

Sinead wasn't listening, though. She was staring down at the body that had been uncovered.

"Oh God." She muttered. "I need to go find John."

The door opens suddenly.

Someone runs in. They are talking, and it makes my head hurt. Everything slips away from me.

I wake up in a panic. Where am I? What happened…Oh, God…am I still in solitary isolation?

"Don't move." Someone tells me. "You need to rest."

Groaning, I try and figure out what's going on. I'm lying on my back, trying to peer through blood that obscures my eyesight. My entire body hurts, and my ears are ringing.

I try to speak, but find I can't. My throat is raw. Someone wipes the blood from my eyes carefully, and I blink a few times, focusing my vision.

"How are you feeling?" I recognise the voice, but I don't ask why or what is happening.

"…Hurts." I mumble. "What…"

I look to my left, and see Kazuki sitting next to me, holding a wet cloth in his hand. He forces a smile at me.

"Well, at least you're awake now." He begins to dab at the wounds on my chest, and I inhale sharply.

"Sorry. I don't have much I can use. I tried the best I could with your back. I've had to numb it."

He falls quiet after that, and I don't speak. It requires too much effort. Instead, he continues cleaning up my wounds as best as he can.

Finally, I attempt to speak. "…How…how did you get…me out?"

He looks down for a long time. "I went in, and said that I'd been told there was a fire, and that they all needed to go and sort it out. When they left, I opened up the chamber."

"Kazuki." Painfully, I sit up. He looks at me. "Kazuki, I'm scared. I'm really scared. They're…they're going to p-put me back in there, aren't they? I-I don't want to go back in there."

"John, they're not going to put you back in there."

I don't listen. "Please, d-don't let them take me away. Don't let them put me back in there." I find I can't stop shaking. "I don't want to go back in there."

He pulls me into a tight embrace, and I cling to him, terrified.

"Don't let them take me away again." I whisper frantically. "Please."

"I won't. I promise."

After that, I dissolve into tears, and he holds me comfortingly. "I-It was…it was terrible." I tell him. "It was so…Oh, God…it was horrible…I couldn't stop s-screaming…" The only thing stopping me from screaming now is a feeling of shock, suppressing everything like a heavy blanket.

"I know. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have…I shouldn't have let them take you away. I'm so sorry, John."

Finally, I stop crying. "…Kazuki…why was there…blood…in there?"

Kazuki stiffens. "…You don't want to know. But, listen."

He lifts my head, and looks me in the eye. The grey, assuring colour of his irises calms me a little.

"I'm going to get you out of here. I promise."

After that, I think I was slipping in and out of consciousness a lot, and I hallucinated a little. I saw a blurry figure of who I think was called Bjelland, and who I never saw again. I see Ritsuka Amane as well, and a much more vivid hallucination of Matthew. All people who are dead and gone. They're never coming back.

"John." Someone is calling me.

"John."

I woke up, to find Sinead gently shaking me awake.

Immediately, I was alert. "W-What is it?"

"…There's something you need to see. Only if you want to." The quietness of her voice and the way she didn't look me in the eye scared me slightly.

"What is it?"

"…The bodies. There's one…do you…"

Somehow, I knew what she had found. "Yes. I need to see it."

She led me to the room where the trap door was. Houshou stayed where he was, since he would not be able to go down with his crutches.

As she passed me a torch, I mentioned, "I thought we weren't allowed down there."

"The forensic team says we can now." Sinead told me, and began to head down. I followed her wearily.

In the room at the bottom of the trap door, I was immediately overcome with panic. It was too small. Too dark. Hastily, I fumbled with the torch, the panic making my fingers shake. When I turned on the bulb, my fear only lessened a little.

"Are you ok?" Sinead asked beside me, flicking on her own torch.

"Y-Yeah. It just…reminds me. Of…it."

She knew what 'it' meant, and didn't ask anymore. Instead, she pushed open a door I had not noticed, and gestured forwards with her head.

"This way."

I began to walk forwards, when a chill made me shiver.

"…Where are you going?" Kazuki's voice sounded…scared.

"They've been found." I told him softly.

Even in the dark, with only the torch to see, I saw his deathly face pale even further. "Y-you mean…the bodies?"

I nodded, and he just shut his eyes, distressed. "I…I-I mean…what do I do?"

Gently, I held out my hand for him. His own hand trembled as he took it. When I enclosed my hand around his, I couldn't feel anything. Just a coldness. But it was close enough.

Together, we walked into the next room. As we saw it, I heard Kazuki let out a sad, enraged cry.

There were so many of them. Piled on top of one another. Discarded carelessly. Some were covered in white sheets. Others had not, and had rotted down to a nauseating level.

In the room, Sinead was crouching by one of the bodies, whose white cover had been lifted from their face. Winter was with her. The others had left. As she saw us, her face stiffened.

"…Over here." She called.

Hesitantly, we walked over to where she was. I saw just whose body she was crouching by.

Apart from the bruises and cuts on his face, his face was so pale. Shockingly pale. His eyes were closed. Those beautiful, grey eyes.

Beside me, his spirit was silent. I glanced at him. He was in complete shock. The look in his eyes was agonised, like he wanted to look away but couldn't.

Finally, he backed away. "No…" He whispered. "No…that's my…no…no!" He turned away. "No! I…"

Carefully, I reached out to him. He turned back around and hugged me. The coldness shocked me, and I was unable to respond initially. After a moment, I pulled together my scrambled thoughts, and hugged back, as much as I could, while he cried on my shoulder.

Outside, the last of the bodies were being wheeled away into vans. The night had arrived, and we watched solemnly as the forensic teams got ready to leave. But there was a larger audience at play.

The spirits of the house waited outside, some standing unnervingly close to us, and watched as the final body was wheeled into a van on a stretcher, in a black bag. There was no relief among them that their mass grave had finally been uncovered, and their bodies laid to rest with respect. They only watched. No emotion. Just a silent regard. Still as death.

As the last van left, the spirits turned and, one by one, began to walk back into the house.

Puzzled, I turned to Kazuki, who had been standing behind me. "Kazuki, where is everyone going?"

"Back." He told me simply.

"I don't understand. Why? Are you still trapped here?"

He watched everyone else heading back inside. "I think so. It feels better. But…there's still something else that's preventing us from leaving."

"What is it?"

"…The colleague." He told me bitterly. "He's come here a few times. Everyone knows that he is responsible for all this. We can't move on until he's been dealt with."

An anger, a determination, overcame me suddenly. "We'll find him." I assured Kazuki. "We'll find him and make sure he gets the punishment he deserves. I promise."

Kazuki explains to me thoroughly the extent of his plans.

"When I told them about a fire, I wasn't lying. Actually, it was a fire that prevented me from telling you earlier." He began.

"Fire? What are you talking about?"

"There's a section in the Ward, where there's a lot of high tech equipment, and a whole lot of ethanol. I don't know what they're making, just that it involves ethanol. But they're storing it dangerously, and now and again, a fire breaks loose. When that happens, all the orderlies have to go and help put it out, and make sure everything's under control. There's always at least one member of staff present there. If the fire is controlled and put out, then everything is fine. None of the patients even notice. But if it were to get too big…this entire place could go up in flames. There's a storage room at the back of this lab, but the walls aren't very thick. And inside is a lot of ethanol. If the fire were to reach it, you can imagine what would happen."

"If there are fires frequently, how come I haven't heard any alarms going off before?"

"The smoke doesn't actually trigger the alarms. We have some, but they have to be activated directly, and they'll only be used if the fires ever get really out of control."

"Why don't they just store it more safely?" I ask.

"I hear it's because that would involve a lot of money and renovation, and the person running the place doesn't want to catch attention." He explains. "But tomorrow, it's Saburou's turn to watch the place and keep a look out for fires. Without him around, it will be easier to smuggle you out."

"And how will you do that?"

He takes a breath. "…I'm not entirely sure, but…I've seen Saburou do this a lot. He…" Kazuki sounds disgusted. "…he takes a patient out. Says he's 'going for a walk'. Then he comes back without the patient."

Sickened, I nod. "…I heard about that."

"If I say I'm taking you 'for a walk', I don't think anyone will question it. So when you don't come back, no one will be suspicious, when really you'll be getting the hell away from here."

A thought occurs to me. "…Why…why have you never done this before? Why has nobody ever done this before?"

He looks down for a while. When he finally looks up, there is shame on his face. "I was just like the others. The only reason people stay here is either because they're evil like Saburou, or they're scared. The people who are scared…we kid ourselves. We try to ignore what is going on, pretend nothing is happening. So of course, it never occurred to me before. But then…this happened. And I can't ignore it anymore."

"What about the others?"

"The best chance they have is if we tell someone. But I'll be watched by the orderlies here, even outside of work hours. The only way we can even talk now is because they're too distracted with the fire this second. But if I get you out, then they won't be looking out for you."

Because they'll think I'm dead. "The police wouldn't listen beforehand. Why would they listen now?"

"You have your cousin, right? I heard Saburou mention your cousin being a liaison officer. She'll believe you."

"…Ok…" It makes sense. I have nothing to lose. If I stay…

My mind flashes back to solitary isolation, and I shut my eyes, trying to rid myself of the images.

"Let's do it."

The next day comes quicker than I expected. I spent the night with Kazuki, in his work room, neither of us sleeping, but staying close to each other, watching the door. Praying that no one would come in. Every now and again, Kazuki would have to leave and report to his superiors, and during that time I retreat to the corner, feeling overwhelmed with the intense vulnerability that tries to drown me, all while trying not to think about solitary isolation.

It turned out, no one bothered to look for me. Kazuki tells me that no one had even gone to solitary isolation after the fire had been controlled. Although it should have been a relief, it makes me want to throw up. What if Kazuki hadn't been here, and I had been left in solitary isolation? In the…silent room? I would still be in it now. Still clawing at the walls, driven over the edge of sanity. Maybe I would have found a way to kill myself. A death so terrible, it makes me shake to think about it. Dying in that place. In the silence.

"Hey." Kazuki places his hand on mine. "Are you ok?"

"Y-Yeah." I lie. Trying to cover up my fear, I look out of the small window, one of the few windows in the entire building. Dawn is filtering slowly through the glass. We should be leaving soon.

Kazuki glances out of the window. "It's the first sunny day we've had in a while." He remarks. Then he pauses. "John…" He sounds unsure. "…If this doesn't work out…" He falters for a moment. I can see the hesitancy in his eyes. Finally, he speaks up.

"…I'm sorry. That this happened to you." I don't doubt the sincerity in his voice but somehow, I don't think that's what he wanted to say.

One last time, he embraces me, and I relish his warmth, his smell, his touch. Then it is over, and we part.

"…Ok. Let's go." Kazuki whispers, trying to conceal his shaking nerves.

"Yeah." I quietly agree.

Carefully, slowly, we leave the room. Kazuki exits first, looking nervously down the corridor, before leading me out as well. Each step hurts, but I don't make a noise. Instead, I repeat the thoughts in my head. I'm going to get out of here. We're going to leave this place or die trying. We'll get out, and they can't hurt you anymore.

Putting on a façade of confidence, Kazuki leads me down various corridors. Any orderly or doctor that sees him don't take any notice. Some of the few who speak up and ask where he is taking me suddenly avert their gaze and walk away when he tells them that 'he's taking me for a walk'. A few others smile, and tell me, "Enjoy your walk." It makes me want to throw up from utter disgust.

After a while, reach a heavy door with a code lock. Through it, I can see another corridor, splitting off in two directions.

"We have to be careful here." Kazuki tells me in a low voice. "Right leads to the entrance, and left leads to the lab where the fires have been breaking out."

I take a deep breath. "Where Saburou is."

Kazuki nods. Nervously, he puts in a number on the code lock. The door buzzes and opens.

I can barely stop myself from trembling as we step into the new corridor. The door shuts and clicks behind us. I notice that Kazuki has frozen.

"What's the matter?" I whisper. He doesn't reply.

I can hear footsteps. Suddenly, Kazuki grabs me and begins propelling me down the right hand corridor.

"Go. Run." He whispers. I cannot ask why before he begins walking down the left hand corridor.

I find myself not moving, like he told me. Instead, I listen.

"…Doctor Brooks." A honeyed voice asks. "What brings you here?"

The voice hurts me, like a physical shock, and I have to bite down on my hand to stop myself from crying out.

"Doctor Osaki." Kazuki replies, just as calm. "I was just about to take a patient for a walk."

Saburou chuckles, and again it seems to hurt me. I try to slow my breathing.

"Who is it? I just saw them with you now."

"A newcomer. He's from England. I was told by another doctor that the boss requested for him to be taken care of."

"Really? That's strange. They usually leave those jobs for me."

"Well, I assume it's because you're covering the lab today."

"How about we swap places?" My heart almost stops.

"No, I'll take care of it."

"Well, can you at least check something for me in the lab? I think the equipment might be playing up again."

"I really should be –"

"It will only take a moment."

Kazuki has no choice but to agree. I hear their footsteps fade away.

Uncertain, I remain in the corridor. What should I do? Leave? But…somehow, something stops me from leaving. Surely there's no way Saburou bought that. Maybe he saw me. Something in his voice was mocking. Taunting. Like he knew something that Kazuki didn't. Like…he knows we're trying to escape.

As I stand there, I notice something. Above the stench of disinfectant, there's something else. I can smell something.

Then I see it – there's smoke, trailing slowly from the corridor towards the main door that Kazuki and I entered. It starts off faint, but is getting darker and darker. The lab…has it caught fire?

Feeling a shred of panic, I rush my thoughts, trying to decide what to do. If there's a fire, then orderlies and doctors will be coming soon. Yet I see no one, even though the smoke is thick by the ceiling. I remember that there is no fire alarm. So it's up to the doctor or orderly on duty to go and warn someone. I wait for a minute for someone to go and raise the alarm. But neither Saburou nor Kazuki appear. What is going on?

Swallowing my dread, I return back to the door, and this time walk down the left hand corridor. As I near the door to what must be the lab, I can see much thicker, darker smoke billowing out of the room. It sounds like something is crashing inside.

I steel myself, and open the door, to see a mess of equipment and broken tables, covered in smashed test tubes and beakers. The glass litters the surfaces and the floor. But my eye is drawn to the flames that are quickly consuming a counter, melting the glass and chemicals that were on top. It is spreading rapidly, and some of it has seeped down the leg of the side of the counter onto the floor, like a liquid.

Just then, something crashes across the room. Kazuki hits the wall, and cannot recover before Saburou brings an iron bar crashing down on his chest. He walks away, laughing, while Kazuki tries to recover, gasping for breath.

"Kazuki!" I rush over to him, helping him to stand up. There's blood all over his chest and palms.

"John, you have to leave." He coughs. "Before…" Gasping in pain, he pulls a shard of glass out from his palm. "The fire…it's getting out of control…"

"The fire isn't the only thing you have to worry about." Saburou remarks, shifting the iron bar from hand to scarred hand. "What a surprise to see you here, John."

I cower slightly from him as he continues. "I thought I left you in the anechoic chamber. How did you get out? Unless…did your good doctor friend let you out?"

"Osaki." Kazuki spits out some blood. I can hear his breathing getting more and more ragged. Oh, God. His asthma. "If you let that fire get out of control, we won't be the only ones getting burnt to a crisp."

"I'll deal with it later." He assures us.

"For fuck's sake, Osaki!" Kazuki shouts. "What are you playing at?! Do you want this entire building to go up in flames?!"

Saburou ignores him. I can feel the fire getting hotter and hotter as it spreads. Another table goes up in flames.

"Go on. Get out of here." Kazuki begins to push me towards the door, but Saburou grabs his arm and yanks him back, throwing him against a table. It's a miracle the glass doesn't impale him.

"It's a shame you just didn't stay in that chamber, John." Saburou growls, walking over to Kazuki. "Or else this wouldn't be happening to your dear little friend." I see him grab a shard of the glass, and raise it above his head, like a knife.

"No!" I scream, and grab a sheet from one of the tables. The fire has spread to it, eating away at the fabric.

I throw it over Saburou's shoulders and back. At first, he does not realise the extent of what I have done. He touches the cloth and his fingers come into contact with the flames. He withdraws them slowly, as if it doesn't hurt but is merely a strange sensation. Finally, the realisation dawns on him, and he attempts to rip the cloth off him. But some of the flames remain on him.

I crouch beside Kazuki. "Come on, Kazuki, you have to get up."

He groans, spitting out more blood. "I don't think I can." He coughs violently. I can hear an alarm going off. Someone must have noticed the smoke.

"Please." I beg him. "I can't leave without you."

"John, there's a container at the back of the lab in a storage room." He tells me urgently. Somewhere in the Ward, an alarm is going off. Someone must have seen the smoke. I can hear panicked voices already. "Filled with containers of ethanol gas. The flames will eat through the walls of the storage room. We both know what will happen when the flames reach the ethanol."

"You won't get to see that happen." I am suddenly grabbed and lifted off my feet, then thrown across the room. I land a few inches away from a pile of exploded glass, but my head hits the wall. It stuns me completely, and I can't move as Saburou strides towards me.

"You should have never gotten involved." He spits, pulling me to my feet. His hand grips my neck.

Then he begins to apply pressure. I can't breathe. I struggle desperately, lashing out at his face, anything I can reach. I can feel my strength slipping away. I can't breathe. I need to breathe. My vision is going red. No…no…it hurts. It hurts. I need to breathe.

Then I can. The pressure lifts, and I take in a precious breath. My vision clears a little. I can see Kazuki behind Saburou, holding some wooden debris in his hands, striking it across Saburou's head again and again and again. Agitated, Saburou turns to deal with him, slamming me back against the wall.

Something jolts inside me. Everything begins to go black. I feel myself slowly slipping to the floor.

What…what is this?

Slowly, I open my eyes. My head hurts. I am on the floor, and I stagger to my feet. What is going on? Where am I?

There is a man in front of me. A strange man, all grease and dirt and blood. He's saying something, I think. But I can't hear over the alarms and the screaming people. I think he's saying...Run…Yes, that's it.

Run.

Run for your life.

That's what he's telling me.