A/N:FINALLY, I HAVE RETURNED TO THIS ONCE-FORSAKEN STORY OF MINE! Umm...yeah. Let's get off the sugar rush, okay? Anyhoo, this chapter is something I've been wanting to do for a while. It's been too long since I did this story.

Chapter 8 Doubts

Last time...

"The last thing he heard was the sound of a taser as he fell unconscious."

"Hey, wake up."

That was the first thing Heiji heard. A voice. That voice sounded very familiar. In fact, it sounded like one he'd met a few days ago. Questions drifted through his mind. Who had been wielding that taser? And just what were those things that he and Kazuha had seen rising out of the swamp?

However, his questions were not to be answered just yet. As soon as he opened his eyes, he found himself looking into the eyes of one Sonozaki Shion.

"Good thing you're up, Hattori-kun." Shion said, sounding relieved and cheerful. However, there was something a little off about her. There seemed to be more of a suspicious air about her now. Heiji flinched. Was he just deluding himself, or did she look a little less friendly?

"Well. We managed to save you." Shion said again.

"Where's Kazuha?" Heiji asked quietly. Suddenly the only thing he heard was his voice, loud and demanding. "Where did you take Kazuha? Is she all right?" His voice quavered in trepidation.

"Um, we don't have to do that right away. Right, Satoshi-kun?" Shion's voice sounded malicious. Her gaze moved over to the other side of the fire...wait, a fire? He might be able to signal to someone with that!

He wondered whether he still had his whistle on him. No, he was being paranoid. These were ordinary people, they had just been through a lot.

Then, Satoshi came out, his pink eyes looking rather eerie in the blackness of the night. The stars were twinkling above his head as well, casting a faint glow around his features.

"How'd you guys get here? What were those things?" Heiji said, speaking all at once. He was too disoriented to think straight.

"What things?" Shion and Satoshi said in unison, both full of honest confusion.

'You know...those things that rose out of the swamp?"

Both of them shook their heads.

"The only thing we found...was you two." Shion said.

"Who did you taser? Kazuha?" Heiji asked.

Satoshi nodded. "She's over here."

Srue enough, behind Satoshi, lay Kazuha. She was still unconscious, but she seemed to be fine. The only thing that worried Heiji was how she was tied...up. From arm to leg.

"Why did you tie her up?" Heiji questioned, again. He was becoming afraid...and a tad wary at how these two were avoiding his questions, and seemed to be acting odd.

"Oh, that? We just didn't want you to find her. In the state she was in-" Satoshi began.

"Satoshi!" Shion said sharply, casting a reproachful glance at Satoshi, who was silenced. Shion turned to face Heiji, a kind smile on her lips.

I wish Kudou was here. It makes me feel scared to be alone with just these two. Wait, where's Ryuuguu-san?

"Why are we locked down here?" Shinichi asked.

"Obviously, we were too preoccupied with what we were doing down here." Shiho answered, examining her surroundings carefully as they walked on in the tunnel.

"But, Shinichi, who did this? How are we going to get out of this?" Ran asked, her blue eyes full of concern.

Shinichi turned to face her. "Ran..."

"What? What is it?" She asked.

His blue eyes were mysterious pools full of sadness. "Don't worry, Ran. I'll do whatever it takes to get us out of here. We will definitely find a way out. Now, this underground passage ought to lead us somewhere, right Kuroba? Kuroba?"

Instead of paying attention, Kaito was fooling around with one of his magic tricks. The blue eyed magician was too busy to listen.

"Kuroba? Unless you want to take a bath in a puddle full of fish, you better pay attention." Shinichi snapped sharply.

"UWAHHHH!" Kaito jumped back, and his trick fell out of his hands. "What?"

"Don't act all nonchalant. I saw you fooling around." Shinichi said darkly.

"Kudou-kun, is now really the time to engage in light-hearted banter?" Shiho said, with an undertone of amusement.

"You're right. Time to be serious. Now, it couldn't have been Toyama-san and Hattori, since they're on the other side of town." Shinichi said.

"Besides, they wouldn't do a thing like that." Ran interjected, sticking up for her friend. She hoped that Shinichi wouldn't accuse his best friend of something as heinous as locking them up.

Shinichi cast her a reassuring glance, and she smiled in relief.

"What about Hojo-san, Sonozaki-san, and Ryuuguu-san?" Shiho suggested.

"That doesn't sound like something Ryuuguu-san would do. What about Sonozaki-san?" Shinichi said, deep in thought now.

"Why would Sonozaki-san want to do that?" Ran asked.

"I don't know. Mouri-san, there was something a little off about Sonozaki-san. And Hojo-san, too. Remember how Hojo-san acted when we first met him? He started clawing at his throat. And the words we heard were "I must scratch." Then, Sonozaki-san took him out of the room." Shiho said.

"Why would they lock us up down here?" Ran asked.

"Who knows? The least we can do is try to figure a way out of here. What kind of motive would Sonozaki-san and Hojo-san have? The least I can say is this: someone doesn't want us to figure out too much about Hinamizawa, or about what really happened here..." Shinichi stated.

"It's quite obvious. They all died in a gas explosion." Ran said.

"Ran. Do you remember the trash that was lying on the ground? In Hinamizawa, a village that's supposed to be abandoned for twenty years or more. That's evidence that someone has been hiding out here. Or that people are still living here." Shinichi said.

"You mean...people like the living dead?" Ran said, her face pale with terror.

"Mouri-san, please remember that this village is known for the impossible. Remember the old legend? Of Onigafuchi?" Kaito said.

"Yes. Where the villagers were demons, and they would drag their victims down to the swamps, and to the pits of hell. But they wouldn't do that before they tore them to pieces. They also let their guts float down the stream." Shiho said darkly.

"Guts? Watanagashi? That thing that Sonozaki-san told us about? That's cotton..." Shinichi said, puzzled.

"Kudou, please remember that wata is also another word for guts. Tell me, I thought they were good, honest people. But it seems like they're trying to hide something from us, Kudou." Shiho stated.

"I dunno. Maybe it's someone else." Kaito said.

"Ryuuguu-san seems too nice to do that." Ran added.

"Well, then who could have shut the door on us? Someone must have been following us, and they were watching what we were doing. So they knew that now would be best for them to get rid of us. It's obvious that whoever did this had no idea that an underground passage existed." Shinichi explained.

"What if they come back here again?" Ran asked.

"Don't worry. I still have this." He took his tranquilizer dart out of his pocket.

"You still have it?" Shiho asked in amusement.

"Yeah. I needed it most when I was Conan, but now that I'm back to normal, I still carry it with me just in case. Now, let's continue on." Shinichi stated.

"What about Hattori-san, Kudou-kun?" Shiho asked.

"Oh, I'm sure he's fine." Shinichi said dismissively. Secretly, though, he was concerned.

"Why did I hear that whistle sound earlier?" Shiho said.

"What whistle? I didn't hear it at all." Shinichi said in confusion.

"I heard it about half an hour ago. There was a clear whistle sound, and then...silence." Shiho explained bluntly.

"You must have really good hearing, Haibara. I didn't hear a thing." Shinichi admitted.

"Too much detective state for your brain, huh Kudou? I knew it!" Kaito taunted.

Shinichi frowned. "You say I'm a nerd, yet look at what you're wearing." He retorted. The two boys glared at each other.

"Now's not the time for fights." Ran said, stepping in between the two boys.

That was when they noticed Kuroba was staring at something in front of him. His eyes were wide with horror. "Hey...you guys had better check this out." He whispered.

"What's wrong?" Shinichi asked, then he stepped over to where Kaito was pointing an outstretched hand at. He gasped. There were at least half a dozen skeletons at the base of the cave. His eyes narrowed.

"What are these?" Ran said. "Victims of the Onigafuchi?"

"Judging from the amount of radiocarbon in them...I would say that these skeletons have been down here for over twenty years at the least." Shinichi said. "Who are these people who were thrust down here? I'm not quite sure who did this, but whoever did this obviously didn't want this to be discovered." Shinichi said, studying the bones intently.

They heard a voice behind them. "Thank god I found you." Rena said in relief. She looked relieved. "I thought they'd gotten you."

"Who's they?" Shinichi demanded.

Rena smiled sadly. "I thought you could figure it out. I'm not behind it...it's Hojo-san and Sonozaki-san." She said.