Yasuhara passed Mai his phone while Noll was staring at the screens again. Mai read the text and felt her body visibly relax. She passed the phone back and drank some tea.
They were on their way.
True, they were hours away, as they'd chosen to visit Kyoto on their week off. But they were coming, and somehow that made Mai feel a million times better.
Noll did not notice the change in her posture.
From Mai's observations, she'd gather that Noll was thoroughly distracted by something. He had been pacing around and disappearing from the base with little explanation only to return a minute or two later. Mai supposed that drinking all of that tea had finally caught up with his bladder.
If only the buzzing noise would go away.
After a limited dinner - of which Noll ate very little - they settled in for another night of watching the screens. Yasuhara slept first, leaving Mai and Noll in silence.
"How much longer are we planning on staying here?" Mai asked quietly, so she did not disturb Yasuhara's sleep.
"Not long," Noll replied.
"How long?"
"Once we have enough evidence," he said curtly. Mai rolled her eyes and slumped backwards. She glanced across the monitors again.
Noll flicked to the thermal cameras for a minute, before switching back.
"It's slowing down," Mai pointed out. "Ever since this afternoon, we've had nothing."
"Hmm," Noll agreed. His eyes darted from screen to screen.
And then, as if on cue, doors began slamming upstairs. The cameras fell over. Two of the feeds broke off.
Yasuhara was on his feet and ready before Mai had even reacted.
"Did I cause that?" Mai mumbled. "Is it listening?"
And as quickly as the racket had started, it stopped.
"Should we go and fix it the cameras?"
"Yes, both of you go," Noll said without glancing at them. "I will remain here."
He sounded almost mechanical. Mai wondered if Noll was finally being affected by what had been going on.
Yasuhara picked up a torch and a walkie-talkie. Mai followed him from the room, glancing back over her shoulder at Noll as she did so. Her boss was leant over the desk with his head in his hands. Was he tired? Or stressed?
Mai shook her head and bounded up the stairs after Yasuhara. The righted the camera at the top of the stairs before headed down to the two bedrooms that they'd previously had problems with.
"Could you hold the torch? The cable has come out here…" Yasuhara said. He handed Mai the torch and he reconnected the cable on the camera at the other end of the corridor. "Shall we?"
He indicated one of the bedrooms and Mai stepped in first. She picked up the knocked over camera and looked around the room. The buzzing had grown louder. Maybe there was something at this end of the house?
Sighing, she led the way to the other bedroom where the camera had been disconnected.
However, they had no sooner crossed the threshold of the bedroom than the door slammed behind them. Yasuhara rushed to push it open again. Mai pointed the light at the door.
She tried to flick on the lights. But to no avail.
"Don't!"
Yasuhara fell away from the door as if he'd been pushed.
"That was Naru's voice…"
Yasuhara pulled the walkie-talkie from his belt and was about to attempt contacting the base when it was pulled from his hands.
"Don't!"
"Naru? Is that you? Is this a prank?" Mai questioned the room.
She pulled Yasuhara to his feet and spun the light around.
"Boss wouldn't prank us," Yasuhara muttered. "Maybe it's the-"
Mai screamed.
Yasuhara spun around to where she was looking. Noll was standing by the door, holding it shut.
They blinked.
And Naru was gone.
"You saw that too right?" Mai said. Her entire body was shaking. She gripped Yasuhara's arm for comfort.
"Yeah," he replied.
"It's blocking the door," Mai whispered. "How are we going to get out?"
"Boss will come and save us," Yasuhara replied confidently. "He will have heard that scream. See if you can connect the camera up."
Mai pulled Yasuhara over to the camera and handed him the torch while she worked.
"It hasn't hurt us yet," Yasuhara added. "No reason for it to start now. Madoka and Lin are on their way. It's going to be fine."
"It won't connect. The connector is broken," Mai muttered. "And it just threw you to the floor, I wouldn't call that not hurting us!"
"I'm fine," Yasuhara insisted. He pulled Mai closer to him in an attempt to shield her, just in case the being attacked again.
"We should try and get out of here," Mai whispered. "I'll try this time."
"Stop!"
Mai froze in her attempts to move to the door.
"What wasn't you, was it?" Mai whimpered.
"No. It sounded like…"
"That thing…" the being said again. "...not me!"
"I don't know who you are," Mai said calmly. "But we mean you no harm! We want to help you move on!"
Yasuhara let Mai speak, knowing she was much more experienced in these matters than he was.
"Please, let us talk to you," she went on gently.
"Stop, Mai," the voice said. "It's repl…"
"It's weak," Yasuhara muttered under his breath. "Can we help it speak to us?"
"I don't know," Mai replied.
The buzz grew angrily in her ears and she winced.
Then there was a large knocking sound from downstairs.
"Lin and Madoka," Yasuhara said. The tension in the room evaporated. He rushed to the door and it opened easily. "Come on Mai."
They all but ran down the stairs to the base. Lin and Madoka were inside and already rebuking Noll.
"We are leaving right now," Lin said. He sounded like he was refraining from shouting. Mai noticed his hands balled up in fists. Madoka was stood beside him with her arms crossed. "This was reckless and I cannot believe you would bring those two somewhere like this!"
"What? You know what it is?" Mai asked. Lin spun around.
"We have our suspicions," Madoka answered, looking over her shoulder.
"We've just been locked in a bedroom upstairs," Yasuhara spat, uncharacteristically angry. "I think we deserve more of an answer than that. Especially after he refused to give us a straight answer for two days!" Mai nodded her agreement.
"This idiot brought you here in the hope that he could get some evidence towards the existence of doppelgangers," Madoka said. "Despite them being death omens." She shot a nasty look in Noll's direction.
"Oh…" Mai mumbled.
"But," Lin went on. "Doppelgangers cannot speak."
"But it spoke to me…" Mai said.
"And upstairs," Yasuhara said. "It was weak, but it was definitely talking."
"Which is why we think it's something worse, possibly demonic," Madoka said. "I think it is imitating Noll in an attempt to get off of the property. Chances are it's bound here somehow."
"So we will be leaving before it gets any stronger," Lin insisted. "So grab your stuff. We are leaving now."
Mai blinked before rushing into action. They packed the equipment away in supernatural speed. She could not shake the buzzing sound from her ears as she worked, but now thought it might be the demon-thing protesting their choice of leaving.
It had been weak in the bedroom, she thought, must have used up too much energy at once…
"I'll take the van with Noll and Mai," Lin said. "Madoka, you take the car with Yasuhara."
They were ready to leave the property within twenty minutes of Lin and Madoka's arrival.
Mai stood on the driveway, looking up at the victorian house that was lit by the moonlight.
"Something's wrong," she whispered.
"Mai?" Yasuhara called.
"I forgot something," she lied quickly. "I'll be back in a minute."
"She'll be fine," Noll said. "As long as I do not return, there should be no issue."
Lin looked unhappy but didn't stop Mai from running up into the house.
"I don't think you're a demon," she said. "I want to help you move on."
She walked up the stairs.
"I don't have long, let me help you."
She entered the bedroom that they'd been trapped in only half an hour previously.
The buzzing grew around her so that it filled the room.
"Don't…"
"Don't what?" Mai asked eagerly.
"...not me…"
"I don't understand," Mai said. She frowned in frustration. She wanted to help.
"...don't let it…"
"Mai? Mai, have you found it?" It was Lin.
"Crap," she swore. "I'm sorry," she added to the room. "I hope you find peace."
And with that, she sprinted away.
Noll watched the two vehicles drive away from the property. He watched the imposter in his seat. He watched Mai's eyes as she looked back in anguish.
He had not tried to follow them. He knew there was no point.
He was trapped.
Author's note: The End.
Please review :)