04: That's Where The Truth Is

The kotatsu was cleared of snacks and tea. Kaoru lit a fat white candle and set it in the center of a metal dish. The compact guest room was cozy and tight. The wooden cabinets lined up against the walls. A small TV sat atop a tiny stand. The glass case nearby was enclosed with thousands of CDs. Kaoru dimmed the lights and sat across from Die.

“Do we have to use the candle? Can’t we just leave the lights one?” complained Die.

“No. We are sticking with the candle. The book says that spirits disrupt electricity flow because they are energy themselves,” ordered Kaoru. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the dark.”

Die rolled his eyes at Kaoru’s comment.

“C’mon let’s get this over with.”

Kaoru then placed a microphone on the table.

“It’s that ... Kyo’s mic?” asked Die.

“Having an item belonging to the ... departed ... allows for better communication,” said Kaoru.

The two stared at the table for a brief moment before holding hands. Kaoru closed his eyes and focused intently. Die glanced around the dark room before closing his eyes.

“Kyo if you can hear us, we want to talk to you. We need your help,” recited Kaoru.

Die took a peek at Kaoru and at the room before closing his eyes again.

“Kyo, I call upon you to reveal yourself to us,” said Kaoru again.

“There was only silence.

“I don’t think it’s working,” whispered Die.

“Shut up and concentrate,” Kaoru whispered back.

“We look stupid holding hands in a dark room.”

The candle flame flickered a little in the closed room. Kaoru continued to mutter under his breath while focusing on the image of Kyo. Kyo where are you? We need your help. Tell us, why did Die get attacked? How did you know to look for me? Die was slowly drifting into thought. Kaoru’s chanting was becoming faint as he began to see the memory from one year ago. The tour bus was passing through a field of cable lines and empty land. A large green sign read “Colorado”. Where ever the hell that was on the map. Kyo looked outside the passing trees. His black notebook sat on top a table along with a cup of cold Starbucks coffee. The bus was pulling up to a gas station. It meant a quick break to stretch their legs.

The sky was cloudy and gray for the most part. The air felt damp. A few of the roadies entered the mini-mart to replenish on water and supplies. Kyo stretched his arms and wiggled his shoulders.

“Kyo, do you need anything?” asked Die.

“Hn? Not really. Just some fresh air. I’m bored,” Kyo replied.

He shuffled across the asphalt in his thick, black hoodie. Die followed along. As he walked, the mini-mart came out of view. The asphalt beneath his feet was disappearing into white, Kyo’s figure got hazier and hazier.

Die’s memory was cut short by a glowing white screen. Kaoru released his hands and tapped Die. The TV had turned on by itself.

“Kyo?” Kaoru called out softly.

Kyo’s figure was slowly showing up on the screen. He was walking towards them in a blanket of white light.

“Guys? Is that you?” said Kyo.

Die clapped his hand over his mouth. Kaoru took a deep inhale. They both crawled in front of the TV and sat cross legged like children glued to morning cartoons.

“I heard you guys calling for help. I tried to reach out, but this is the best I can do,” apologized Kyo.

“No, no, Kyo. It’s great. We’re so glad to see you finally,” smiled Kaoru. “Thanks for the phone call.”

“Oh that was nothing,” said Kyo rubbing the back of his neck. “I tried to get Die out, but I couldn’t make it in time. Sorry about that. I couldn’t tap into your house for some reason.”

“Nah! Don’t take it too hard on yourself,” assured Die.

“I can’t appear for long periods of time. I’m kind of getting the hang of it now. Stuff like TVs are easy,” explained Kyo.

“So what happened a year ago that made you like ... this,” began Kaoru.

“We all looked everywhere for you. Believe me. Toshiya and I went as far as that forest,” said Die, “We tried everything. Even the local police gave up.”

“I’m sorry I caused all of this,” sighed Kyo.

“Don’t say that,” said Kaoru. “So tell us. What happened?”

Kyo looked at the bottom of the screen before making eye contact with Kaoru and Die.

“I think I’m dead, but I wasn’t exactly killed in a way,” Kyo began.

Kaoru and Die exchanged puzzled looks.

“When I left the diner that day, I was going to go to the bus, but I blacked out. When I woke up I was strapped down. The next thing you know I am floating next to my body.”

“You were what?” said Die.

“Floating. I saw myself strapped to the table. It was freaky. I didn’t even realize I was temporarily dead.”

“So are you even considered alive?” asked Kaoru.

“The person responsible for all this is one sick guy. He performed a soul extraction which forcefully removed my soul from my flesh body. So normally this should mean I’m dead. But ... ” said Kyo. “Something didn’t work out.”

“The ritual backfired?” guessed Die.

“Not exactly. Things didn’t go as he planned,” said Kyo. “He tried to transfer the rest of me into the body of a friggin’ toad, but we can clearly see that didn’t happen.”

“He what!” Die blurted out.

“I know. Hell, I don’t even know how I ended up here. My memories are all foggy from that day. My body’s probably rotting away someplace in America. So I guess that makes me officially dead,” said Kyo.

“This is all too much to take in,” said Die uneasily.

“He’s really delusional, but extremely dangerous. I barely escaped,” recounted Kyo.

“What do you mean?” asked Kaoru.

“This guy has been killing other people in his town using black magic. Then we rolled in and became his new target.”

“We?”

“He’s an accomplished dark arts practitioner from what I gather and he’s out for all of us. The entire band.”

*****

Shinya stared blankly at his ceiling. He was afraid to fall asleep tonight. The Cheburashka dolls in his room smiled at him. Sadly their empty smiles provided no comfort for him. He thought back to what happened two hours ago at his front door. Shinya had turned around to see blonde haired Kyo looking back at him. He was in a gray button up jacket and dark jeans, the same outfit Shinya had last seen him in one year ago.

“Kyo,” said a startled Shinya. “What are you doing here?”

“I have no time to explain. There’s something unclean in your house. Someone is after you just like he was after me,” said Kyo. “Look for Kaoru and Die.”

His translucent body flickered and faded into nothingness. Shinya turned to his side in his bed. What is going on? Is this house cursed? It never happened to me before. After much thinking, he dozed off into a deep sleep.

Oh no. The girl is back. She was in the same tattered white dress. Something about her was eerie as she looked at Shinya. The way she cocked her head to the side was at an unnatural angle. Shinya ran down a corridor. He opened doors upon doors to find more corridors. The girl would always be one step ahead. Today she was skipping lightly. Her feet seem to stay afloat from the ground. Her messy hair looked like angry black snakes.

“Stay away from me!” shouted Shinya.

His own running was slowing down. The girl’s footsteps were coming closer. Tap. Tap. Tap. The sounds had disappeared. The doors had also disappeared and the void was left with an unfamiliar brick road. There at the very end was a white clad girl waiting for Shinya.

Shinya froze in his steps, but he drawing closer to the girl.

“No. NO. STOP IT!” he shouted.

Shinya felt a tug at his sleeve. A heavily tattooed hand had gripped his arm pulling him away from the brick road. It was getting brighter and brighter as he ran. His legs wobbled like jelly unable to continue. He remembered at the very end of the dream that someone with a head full of blonde hair had pulled him away from the darkness.

*****

BGM: Vinushka by Dir en grey

What a turn of events we have reached ... thus far. We have bad dreams and a nasty spirit. What will be the new challenge for the band? If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment below.

#thedarknesspreys