The dim light from his phone revealed a long passageway. Pitch black, with a damp odour wafting through the cold air. He walked forward, knife in hand. His footsteps echoing throughout. He suddenly heard a crunch beneath his foot. He looked down and saw that he was now walking on a dirt floor. As he looked back up he saw a faint light ahead of him. He continued moving forward at a brisk pace. He got closer to the light, he felt a warm wind brush against his face. Then, a soft, chirping sound was heard from the same direction.

"Birdsong?" He thought to himself. "Does this lead outside?"

By this time Simon knew that being outside in the sun did in no way guarantee his safety. He eventually arrived at an old wooden door. Sunlight beamed from between the gaps. The warm air blew in strongly and the sound of birds was near clear. Simon opened the door, and was shocked by what he saw.

It was a clear, sunny sky above an idyllic, modern suburb. When he walked forward onto the street, it didn't take him long to realize something was very, very wrong. The sky above was just "too" blue, an unnatural dark colour that didn't match with the blazing noon sun. The houses were near identical, the only thing that set the square, white modern homes apart were the strips of pink and yellow and other bright colours painted across the walls. Every structure was too perfect, there was nary a crack in the walls or street or road. Everything looked like it a smooth, clean-cut texture to it. Then Simon noticed that there were a few trees in the road. He walked up to one and saw that the white bark had a clear, repeated pattern. The branches and twigs separated in even numbers. The leaves were flat and identical, not a single curl or tear. He put his hand on the trunk and felt the smooth, unnatural plastic-like skin of the bark. There was an overwhelming sense of unwholesomeness to the entire place. His hand caused bits of "bark" to flake off and fall onto the street. As soon as they touched the ground, Simon heard what sounded like a teenage boy screaming in the distance. He turned and saw something shambling out of an alley between two houses.

Out onto the street walked a figure wearing a black school uniform, Holding in its right hand a small black sledgehammer. Simon raised his knife. As the figure approached, Simon saw that it's face seemed very human, with clear features such as a nose, lips, and even a clean cut head of hair. Then the figure looked directly at Simon and he saw that it wasn't a face at all. It was some strange mask that encompassed the being's entire head. It was some disturbing cross between a store mannequin and a porcelain doll with its white skin, sharp features and painted face. Then it uttered a muffled screech from under its mask and raised its hammer to the sky. Simon dived to his right as the hammer flew under him. As he hit the ground he heard a great slam as the hammer crashed into something. Simon got up and saw the creature bent over, pulling its hammer out of a crater in small stone wall separating a front garden from the street. He took his chance and lunged on the creature, taking a few quick stabs to its back. The creature then turned back and hit Simon in the belly with back of the hammer. As he recoiled, the creature grabbed him by the neck with his free hand and pushed him to the floor next to the wall. He heard the creature's heavy breathing from under the mask as it kneeled on top of him. Simon quickly drew his knife and swung it at the creature, hoping to get it in its neck. But he aimed too high, and managed to get the knife stuck in the mask. The creature stared at with empty, hollow eyes as it raised its hammer above his head, frantically grunting as it did so. Simon looked about him for something he could use. He saw bits of rubble from the wall next to his head made by the creature's hammer previously. He quickly grabbed a large chunk of stone and slammed it into the being's head. The strike hurt his hand but managed to send the creature recoiling back as shards of stone and mask fell to the floor as it dropped its hammer and clung to its face with both hands.

As the creature emitted a horrible wail of pain, Simon quickly got up and grabbed the hammer. He saw dark liquid poring from between the creature's fingers. Suddenly a series of black, slimy tongue like appendages erupted from the creature's head and coiled about rapidly, flinging small bits of brown spit as it did so. The creature had a bald head with charred brown skin that looked peeling and pus-ridden in some areas. It's face consisted of a single, large mouth which overtook most of the front of the head from which the tongues spew forth. The being then rushed at Simon with both hands stretched forward. The creature attempted to push him down again and used it's foul smelling tongues to try and constrain him. Luckily, before they could fully envelope him, Simon took a swing at the creature's head with the hammer, causing it to cave into the side of the skull and send the creature falling on its back, shaking at the limbs. Simon quickly knelt over it and gave several more hard slams to the creature's head, splattering himself with black gunk all the while until its skull was nothing but a brown pile of bone shards and wet meat. Panting, Simon rose up and retrieved his knife from amongst the mask shards on the road, it was still in one piece, fortunately.

Simon continued walking up the street, passing more of the copy-paste houses along the way. The more he looked at this place, the more confused and revolted he felt. He had never seen a place like this before. There were bird sounds but no birds, the wind only seemed to blow in one direction, and the heat seemed to be coming around him, not from the sun. He had tried to search some houses only to find that the doorknobs had been painted on. When he tried to break through a window by flinging a rock at it, the shards fell to reveal a red brick wall. Its blatant fakeness and simultaneous attempt to be an ideal home made him feel sick to the core of his gut.

A large pink shape caught his attention. At the end of the road stood a large house. It had pink walls and white arches that loomed over the doorways and balconies. It had two sharp, pointed roofs and elegant curved windows. It reminded him of the "dream homes" that were featured in his mother's magazines that she brought home after work. He noticed that the cul-de-sac was fenced off and that this was the only building there.

"Of course." Simon thought to himself.

The brief annoyance was quickly washed over by fear as he approached the house. The finely carved white wooden door stood before him. As he placed his hand on the round doorknob, he felt nausea overtake him. His vision blurred, it felt as if he was being pulled into the house as he entered. He caught a brief glimpse of a clean, carpeted hallway with some fancy cabinets on either side before the lights suddenly went out.

The light suddenly returned as his head cleared and Simon found himself in a wrecked and ruined hallway. The wallpaper had its white flora patterns faded and was peeling off in some places. The wooden cabinets were dusty and had piles of litter and rubbish such as torn papers and empty medicine bottles piled on its surface. The dark green carpet was pulled and dirty, with large tears and rips in the sides. He noticed a picture frame on one of the cabinets amongst the trash. The glass was dirty, but a family could be seen posing in the frame. It showed a couple and a small child standing in front of the house. The father, a large and imposing man in a black suit stood next to his wife, a small, slender woman in a yellow dress. A little girl in a pink dress, around ten years old, stood between them. The father's face was completely scratched out, and the dirt on the glass made it difficult to determine the faces of the mother and daughter.

Simon continued to walk down the hallway. He passed a living room with an old aerial television and a fuzzy white sofa with a large stuffed bear sitting on the far end. It was missing an ear and an eye and was coming apart at the seams. At the back of the room was a makeshift barricade made from metal sheets and an old glass cabinet, completely blocking the exit to the back garden. Simon could see that even the windows to the garden were painted over. Next to that was a door that was slightly ajar. He slowly walked towards it and peered in.

The light from the living room shone into the darkness. It was a large kitchen. The tables were completely covered bits of rotting food. There was a large table in the centre where black bananas and bowls of rotten berries with a troupe of flies hovering over them stood. The stench was atrocious. The stove by the wall was coated in grease and the fridge next to it was open. There was nothing recognizable inside, just foul piles of brown mush that spilled and leaked out onto the floor. There were utensils and bits of broken plates strewn about the mouldy floor, with ants and roaches crawling about. He suddenly heard some rustling coming from the other side of the kitchen. He slowly peered in and saw the back of a figure in front of the sink. Simon slowly opened the door and walked in a few steps. The bottom of figure was obscured by the table, but he could make a familiar cut of pink hair in the faint light.

"Natsuki..?"

The figure gasped then grabbed the sides of the sink with long arms outstretched. The skin was thin and had red veins visible underneath. It looked like there were patches of skin missing from the elbows.

"You!" Said the figure in a shrill voice, keeping its head forward.

"This not for you! This is for them! When they come back!" The figure's arms began to shake as it held onto the sides of the sink. It sounded only slightly like Natsuki, but deeper and twisted.

"But they won't come back. They don't come back." The figure said in a weepy voice. Simon's face was white. Was this Natsuki? What happened to her?

"Left me alone. Left me all alone with *him!*" The figure's raised its arms high and slammed them down on the sink, breaking it off the wall with a crash. The splutter of water could be heard. Simon's heart was racing, but he was frozen with fear.

"They didn't care. They wanted me gone. They wanted to hurt me. Just like he hurt me and mum."

The figure dragged its hands down the wall and made a painful scratching sound as it did so. Simon then noticed those weren't hands at all. They were these balls of swollen flesh at the end of its arms with long sharp spikes grazing the wall.

"And you…"

Then the figure stood up. It was at least two heads higher than Simon. It wore a stained pink dress, the straps of an apron were visible. Then the figure turned.

"You've come back to hurt me!"

The head and neck was covered in that same thin, veiny skin, whole patches of it were missing, revealing white bone below the neck. The face consisted of a single large gaping mouth, with many needle-like teeth protruding from the maw.

"Never again! Never Again!"

The figure then slammed its mace-like fists into the ground, destroying the corner of the table and smashing the tiles at its feet. Simon ran out of the kitchen and went back into the living room. He tried to make his way down another hallway but reached a dead end when his path was blocked by cabinet filled with empty bottles.

"What was that thing?" Simon thought to himself. "Was it Natsuki? If it was, what could I do? I can't kill her, please don't make me-" His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. He saw the monster crawling across the living room from the hallway. It was looking around the room, poking its head under the table and turning over chairs, clearing searching for him. Then it faced Simon from across the hall, its teeth grit. It just stood there for a few seconds, with Simon gripping his hammer. Then it just walked back into the living room. Simon realized the creature was blind.

It gave him slight respite to know that the creature couldn't see him, but he knew he was trapped. He had to find a way to past the creature before drawing attention. He noticed the cabinet behind him. There was an empty wine bottle sitting on the shelf. He had an idea. He picked up the bottle and slowly crept back up to the doorway leading to the living room. The creature had just emerged from the hallway and was heading towards Simon with its spikes raised. He quickly threw the bottle at the barricade by the window where it smashed and shattered against the metal sheets. The creature screeched and started running towards the source of the sound, swinging its arms about madly. It flung a table across the room and started battering the barricade with its maces, creating a chaotic sound and causing bits of debris to fly across the room. Simon took advantage of the noise and quickly crept back to the hallway. He ran across the old carpet and tried to open the front door, only for the handle to break off in his hand. The noise in the living room was starting to die down. He had to do something. He saw the staircase alongside the hallway. He quickly made his way up, trying as best he could to make as little noise as possible. He reached the landing and saw that aside from a single door, the rest of the corridor was blocked by another barricade, this one made from an old wardrobe and secured with chains and floor planks. He heard the beast slowly walking down the hallway downstairs. He nervously opened the door and went inside.

After gently closing the door, he looked at the room. It appeared to be a child's bedroom. It was rather barren, consisting of only a small bed and a desk. The walls were crudely painted pink, the coat seemed quite recent. There was a small window that was also painted over. Simon's thoughts returned to the creature. Was it Natsuki? He didn't want to kill her. He couldn't. It must be another "thought-mimic" or something. But it sounded so much like her. Simon swallowed. Whatever that thing was, he had to kill it before it killed him, and if it was Natsuki, he had to put her out of her misery. But how? There was nothing he had that could put an end to that creature.

Suddenly he felt the phone in his pocket vibrate. He was scared that the monster might hear it. He picked it up and saw a message.

"The secret is in her writings. - Monika"

He saw on the desk many torn scraps of paper, all with writing by scrawled hand. Alongside them were several pens and pencils strewn about. There was a single flat sheet laid out on the desk amongst the mess. He picked it up and read it.

You're still here, after all these years

"I'm alone" I tell myself, through the tears

But you won't let me be

Even after everyone has left me

I saw you lowered into the earth

And it filled me with macabre mirth

But I still hear your words

And I still feel your claws

And sometimes I swear I still see your face

Your heavy steps stalk this place

I took your curses and put them under your bed

Block the way, to keep you out of my head

But that didn't stop you, did it?

Because you didn't rise from the earth

Or hide in your room

Or haunt your hoards

You stayed with me

I carry you with me

And you won't let me go

There was some writing after that but they had become so scrawled that they were unreadable. Simon began to ponder, what was hidden in this poem? The first line that struck him was "under your bed". He quickly ducked his head under the bed only to find nothing. Then it struck him. "Block the way", "under your bed". Simon remembered the barricade in the corridor outside. It must lead to the master bedroom. But how could he get there? He heard the sound of footsteps walking up the stairs. He had to do something fast. He looked at the window. It was painted over but it looked loose and big enough to squeeze through. The footsteps grew louder. He jumped on the bed and grabbed the window handle. He pushed hard, bits of paint broke off as window slid open. The suburb was gone. All Simon could see were miles of wheat fields waving against the red sky with its sun setting in the distance. The sound of a mace hammering at the door brought him back to his senses. He looked down. Around the house was a dug-in filled with wooden stakes. A spike burst through the bedroom door. Dropping the hammer, Simon jumped out and hung onto the railing, he looked to his right and saw another window. This one wasn't painted over, and its worn edges looked loose enough to open. He began to carefully climb across the ridge, trying his best to not look down. He nearly lost his grip when a mace-hand appeared out of the bedroom window and began slamming itself against the wall. Holding on tight, with his heart pounding, Simon held on until the mace-hand slithered back into the bedroom. He sighed, and continued moving towards the other window. Now he was directly under it, and used one hand to try and push the window upwards. He pushed and pushed, feeling the frame lifting ever so slightly but just not going past a few centimetres. He felt the sweat on his other hand start to loosen his grip. With one last push the window suddenly jolted open. Without losing a second, Simon crawled inside.

He landed on a dusty wooden floor and sat down, trying to catch his breath. He was in a large bedroom. Everything in the room looked like it had not been touched in decades, with a thick layer of dust to every furnishing. There stood a large ornate wardrobe to the far side of the room, whilst an office desk with an early thousands' computer monitor standing above it. At the centre lay a large queen-sized bed, with its pillows and blankets neatly made. Simon crouched under the bed, trying not to couch too loudly as he pushed away the clumps of dust to find a small cardboard box. He pulled it out with him and examined it. It was held shut by a line of duct tape. He took out his switchblade and cut through the box open. Inside was the limb of a stuffed animal, an old leather belt, and a framed photo. This one was much clearer. It seemed to show the family from before, several years after the first photo had been taken. This one was taken indoors on the sofa in the living room. The father's face was clear to see here, a balding man with stern eyes. The mother could also be seen. She had curly blond hair and a charming smile, but her eyes showed weariness and stress. Simon's eyes stopped on the daughter. It was Natsuki. She was sitting between them in a white shirt and black skirt and had a bashful smile on her face. Simon's heart sank. It all came crashing down on him. The poem, the photos, what… "Natsuki" meant when he chased him. Holding back his sadness, he continued looking through the box. His fingers touched something metal. He pulled out a steel case that took half the box's space. He opened the fliplocks and lifted the lid. Inside lay a sawn-off shotgun with a letter attached by a string. The letter read:

"Mr. Kaneko, it's a shame you had to leave the business. You were the best at what you did. But I understand you have a family now, and they come first. Please take this as a memento of our first days on the job. Best wishes ~ A friend."

Simon picked up the gun and slowly opened the chambers. Two rounds. Two chances. He then jumped at the sudden sound of wood being crushed and chains rattling outside. The barricade was being destroyed. Simon readied his gun and aimed it at the door. He then heard heavy breathing coming from behind it.

"Not afraid anymore, not afraid anymore!" The beast screamed as it began battering the wall with its mace-hands.

Large planks of wood started flying out across the room as the spikes began to emerge. Then with one last great strike the crushed door flew off its hinges. Simon fired before the creature could enter the room. Smoke from the gun blocked his view as he heard the bullets ricochet off metal. The smoked cleared, and Simon saw the beast holding its hands in front of its face. Fresh bullet wounds bled from its arms and hands, yet soon enough it lowered them and revealed its sharp-toothed mouth. The beast screamed and ran at Simon, he jumped on the bed and ran across the room and out the door as the creature began slamming the ground where he stood. As Simon made his way to the landing he could already hear the creature running just a few feet away from him. He made it to the top of the stairs, he could feel its breath on his neck. He had to act fast. He jumped over the railing and landed flat on his back in the hallway. The pain shot up his body as he held the gun in his hand. The creature stood on the top of the stairs, then jumped right and landed right over Simon with a great crash. It crouched over him, its mace-hands embedded in the flood on either side of his face. The creature emitted a mighty roar as specs of spit landed on his face. Simon quickly jammed the gun into the creature's mouth and fired.

A great red stain hit the ceiling above him. The creature twitched in silence for a few seconds before dropping on top him, the weight pushing the air out his gut. He quickly shoved the corpse off him and just laid there, panting. It was done. It was over. She was dead. Simon put his hands to his face, curled up into a ball, and started to sob. The first friend he ever had in such a long time. Someone who was so full of energy and bravery. A bravery that she no doubt made for herself during her childhood of suffering. And then Simon came along and ruined everything. Brought even more pain to their world. Would he have to do the same to the others? What horrid fates had befallen them?

The walls of the manor began to fade away, and Simon found himself in a dark room. He slowly got up, wiping the tears from his face. He was in the classroom again. The lights were off and the curtains were down. There was no door in sight. An old television on a wheel-stand stood in the front of the room. On the screen there seemed to be camera footage of a living room. In the corner of screen was a small text saying "live". Simon quickly realized that it was the room from the manor, but it seemed clean and lived-in. He suddenly saw a small figure run into the room form off-screen, it was Natsuki.

"She's alive?" Simon thought to himself, greatly relieved. "But how? Then that means-"

Simon's train of thought was stopped when she saw Natsuki look around the room with fear on her face. She suddenly dived under the table. A large shadow loomed from outside the room. A large, bloated humanoid creature lumbered into the room. It appeared to have the same thin skin from the last monster. Here its green and yellow guts could be seen stretching out its swollen belly. It had a similar head to the last creature too, but its jaw hung down to its neck, permanently displaying its needle-like teeth. It dragged behind it a large multi-tailed whip with bladed ends.

Simon's heart was racing. Natsuki was in danger. He had to do something. Suddenly he felt his phone vibrate again. It was another message from Monika.

"You've seen what she hides. Write down your words. Give her the strength. This is the only way."

Simon saw in front of the television a desk with a single sheet of paper and a pen. He was flabbergasted, how could this possibly help her?! Then he thought all that happened. Words seemed to have a direct affect in this world. If they could help Natsuki, then he must try. "Give her the strength." He focused on that. Simon sat down on the desk and did his best to calm himself, trying to ignore the beast now hunting his friend. He thought long and hard about that brave, spunky firebrand, and began to write without fear.

Whether storm brings you down

or flood sinks you to the ground

Nothing can douse that fire in you

I've seen it in you, flashing and sparking

When you return from those horrid wastes

Though you dislike my remarking

You cannot hide the smile it creates

You hide the wounds hailstones cause

Yet you do not ever kneel under their fall

Your strength alone holds the lion's jaws

And despite your pain, you still stand tall

But you hide your struggles always

Even from your allies, wanting to fight alone

I know you want to keep us away,

you do not wish for us bare the storm

or fear us becoming it's hail

I know you have the strength to handle yourself

Just know that in times of need,

do not hide your wounds,

do not fear our help,

For the fire that burns in you

Burns in me too

"A little clumsy." He thought to himself. "But… It came from the core. That's what matters."

Suddenly a loud humming noise came from the television as the picture changed. It showed Natsuki hiding under the table, her eyes frantic. A loud groaning could be heard near her. Her eyes widened. Then a soft glow began to appear under her and shone on her face. She looked down in amazement at the unseen object. The light faded and she lifted in her hands a short sword. It had a one-sided blade and an ornate handle with a pink finish. Her face became stern as she gripped the sword in her hands. Suddenly the table flew out from over her as the monster stood raised his whip. Natsuki leaped away from the whip's strike as it slammed into the floor. The camera then shifted back to the overhead view of the room.

"Dodge and strike, dodge and strike." Natsuki could be heard saying to herself.

The beast then flung its whip again, Natsuki tried to dodge but one of the tails managed to coil itself around her right leg. She dropped to the floor, still gripping her sword as she pulled in by the monster. Just before the monster struck her down with one of the bladed tail-ends in its free hand, Natsuki swung her sword across its belly, causing its putrid guts to fall out. It fell to the floor and dropped its weapon, desperately trying to hold its organs in. Natsuki stood before the kneeling monster, sword. It faced her with its gaping maw. She raised her sword behind her head. With a final great scream she sliced straight across the monster's fat neck, causing its head to spin before it fell to the floor. She stood there in silence as the monster's corpse slumped to the ground. She then dropped to her knees, panting. The screen then faded to static and suddenly cut out. Simon was in the dark again. He suddenly felt the floor beneath him give way and he started falling through the darkness. His body was then surrounded by the sting of cold water.