“What happened!” Kaoru asked worried.
“I got text from Toshiya calling for help and went to the club he was at. The staff said he was found unconscious in the restroom next to a puddle of blood and rushed him into the emergency room,” said Die briskly. “The doctors thought he had a severe case of alcohol poisoning, but they also found other toxins in his bloodstream.”
“So how is he doing right now?” continued Kaoru.
“He’s still unconscious,” replied Die.
Kaoru slammed his fist on the hospital wall.
“What the hell is going on! He was fine a few hours ago when we just met!” Kaoru shouted in anger.
Behind the glass, Toshiya slept with a monitor and IV drip attached to his arm. His chest heaved up and down slowly as he breathed through the oxygen mask. His face was in a sickly shade of grayish green.
“I talked to one of his friends who was at the scene. He said he saw something unnatural,” said Die uncomfortably.
“Unnatural?” asked Kaoru. His gut was releasing the same feeling he got when Kyo first appeared.
“There wasn’t just blood next to Toshiya. He said he saw something red with many legs crawling in the blood,” said Die.
“Damn it. He struck again,” cursed Kaoru.
“It’s not just toxins in Toshiya,” Die said gravely. “Look at his stomach.”
Kaoru noticed the bump under the blankets. At first he thought he had seen a ruffle of sheets, but now it became clear that Toshiya’s abdomen was swollen. Under the blankets, it gave a sudden jerk.
“What the hell was that!” Kaoru shouted.
“The doctors said something is growing inside and it’s feeding on Toshiya like a parasite,” repulsed Die.
“This is not good,” said Kaoru.
“Do you know what it is?” asked Die.
“This is kodoku, otherwise known as gu poison in Chinese black magic. Variations of it become gong tau, Southeast Asian black magic. I’ve heard about it before that people use it as revenge,” said Kaoru with disgust. “The poison is made by sealing poisonous creatures like centipedes, snakes, and scorpions into a container. They will consume each other until one is left and that one will contain the venom of all the creatures.”
Die shuddered at the thought. “What happens after you feed the poison to someone?”
“It is to ensure that the person ... dies a slow and painful death,” said Kaoru. “It will eat away that person from the inside.”
Die put his hand to his mouth. “Is there a cure to all this?”
“The antidote lies with the caster.”
“Why did it have to end up like this? He wants to see us all suffer.”
They both looked at Toshiya through the window.
“We can’t let him die,” said Die bearing a pained expression. “That thing inside him is growing and is eating at his life as we speak.”
“I don’t have time to look for some witch doctor,” said Kaoru.
“Damn. The tabloids got a hold of it so quickly,” said Die.
He scrolled on his phone and read aloud.
“Bassist T of a well known metal band was hospitalized. He was found unconscious on the floor of a club restroom. Members of the same band, D and S, have been rumored to have suffered from an alleged house break in and abnormal assailants. Has the bad luck streak continued for them since their hiatus? Management has not spoken yet about the happening, but strange incidents have kept afloat around the members.”
“The last thing I want to see is to have it all publicized,” said Kaoru shaking his head.
A doctor and a nurse came to check on Toshiya. Kaoru rushed to intercept the doctor. He wore thick glasses and gray streaks in his hair.
“Please tell me there’s a way to cure Toshiya,” he said.
“You two are family of the patient?” asked the doctor.
“We are in the same band,” answered Die. “I was the one who checked him to the hospital.”
“I am Yamaguchi. We are working on an antidote for the patient. What he has in his blood is a complex venom we have never seen before. It appears to be composited from a number of toxins. We need a formula to combat each of the individual toxins in this composited venom. When we examined his body, we found no puncture wounds of any sorts. It looks like something was consumed by the patient,” explained the doctor.
“The drinks,” said Die. “Someone must have slipped something.”
“Excuse me? Someone?”
“Uh ... nothing,” Die said quickly.
“I need to know what is going on.”
Die exchanged Kaoru a glance.
“I heard rumors of a supposedly famous band whose members are being attacked. It’s not my business to pry into personal affairs, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my patient is also a musician of a famous band. This concerns his life, I need to know so I can help him,” Yamaguchi said sternly.
“Sensei, there’s someone bearing a grudge. We don’t know who it is, but we know he’s going after each of us. I didn’t think that Toshiya would fall victim so quickly after seeing us just a few hours before,” Kaoru confided in the doctor.
He prayed that he could trust this man to save Toshiya’s life.
The doctor turned to asked Die.
“You said something about drinks?”
“He went out drinking tonight. His drinking buddy said they were having a few beers and mixed drinks. If it wasn’t the bartender, it was the staff.”
“If I can get a sample of the drink, our lab can possibly determine more about the venom. It might even explain the worms in his blood.”
“W-worms! I thought it was just that thing!” exclaimed Die.
“Unfortunately that parasite in his stomach has also spawned some other things. It’s not only the poison we have to worry about. Knowing the source of the poison would help us determine a better antidote. The patient is somewhat stabilized with the anti-venoms we injected him with, but the other venoms are wearing down his body.”
“Could it have been ... that thing?” Die said to himself.
“What thing? There’s something else?” inquired Yamaguchi.
“Toshiya’s friend said something strange. He thought he saw something red crawl from the ... remains,” said Die.
“Whoever this person has plotted against my patient has been well versed in toxicology. The complex venom can very likely be a concentration of various extracts of poisonous plants and animals. Once we get the lab results on further testing, there’s hope to discover a solution behind this puzzle,” said the doctor. “I assure you we are all working on it.”
*****
“Is it ok leaving him in the hospital? With no one watching him?”
“There’s not much we can do there. We’ll leave it to Yamaguchi to watch over now. We’re not the medical experts,” said Kaoru. “That sorcerer wants to see us watch Toshiya suffer. He wants us to feel helpless and pick us one by one.”
“Pretty arrogant if you ask me. Like we’re gonna stand by and do nothing,” said Die folding his arms. Then he stopped and let out a small yell.
“Kyo!”
“Hey guys,” Kyo said casually.
“What are you doing here?” said Die embarrassed at his brief outburst.
“I followed you guys and talked to the spirits around here. The hospital is swarming with them. Even here in the parking lot.”
Kaoru and Die couldn’t see a thing except Kyo standing in front of them.
“Have you figured out anything on Toshiya?” asked Kyo.
Kaoru explained the gu poison to Kyo.
“I noticed some of the patients in the hospital have this black mist around them. I think it’s what you call a shadow of death,” said Kyo.
“Can you see it on Toshiya?” asked Kaoru.
“Not yet, but the energy around him feels bad. I feel something dark inside of him,” related Kyo. “I suggest you both hurry up and find the answer before his condition worsens. I’ll keep an eye on him and let you know if something is up.”
“Thanks for the heads up.”
Kyo’s body was fading into translucency.
“Go back to the club ...”
At the club, people had deserted the area. Only a small handful of customers lounged around the bar. The men’s restroom was sealed off by tape. Kaoru and Die had white masks over their faces and scanned the perimeter. Very few staff were left on site. They decided to corner one of the waitresses.
“We have a few questions to ask you,” Kaoru began.
“I’m sorry I have work to attend to— wait a second, aren’t you two ...” the waitress said.
“We are in a rush,” interrupted Die. “We need to know who was the server for this table.”
He pointed to the table Toshiya was sitting in hours before.
“That would be Mari-chan.”
“Where is she right now?” demanded Die.
“S-she’s in the break room. I can go get her,” said the startled waitress.
“Usually you’re the flirty one,” noted Kaoru.
“Not tonight,” snapped Die.
Mari appeared in front of the two guitarists.
“Hi. How may I help you out?” she asked politely.
“Tell me what you did tonight. Did you spike Toshiya’s drink?” Die said rashly.
Kaoru squeezed Die’s shoulder as a warning.
“Absolutely not!” defended the waitress. “I have already talked to the police about this. I served my tables their orders and worked the register. If you don’t believe me, you are welcome to inspect CCTV footage.”
“How about the drinks? Do you remember what my friend ordered?” asked Kaoru in a more milder manner than Die.
“Toshiya’s table ordered two rounds of our happy hour special tonight. Then they decided to order some drinks which I had the bartender fix for them. I can check the machine to confirm,” said Mari.
She pulled up the information of the screen and printed out a long receipt. On it read two dozen bottles of beer, a whiskey sour, two Long Island Iced Teas, a martini, and Manhattan.
“Your friend ordered a Manhattan,” said Mari with her hands on her hip. “Is there anything else you need from me?”
She shot Die a death glare.
“Do you remember what happened after he drank? And who was the bartender that made their drinks tonight?” queried Kaoru.
“They drank for a long time. I saw your friend walk to the restroom, very drunk at this point. Then one of our guys, Tasuke, walked in to see him on the ground,” answered Mari.
“The bartender?” Kaoru pressed on.
“Ah, you mean Benjamin? He’s the new bartender we employed this week. He went home after the police talked to him. You’re not thinking he’s the one responsible? Your friend had severe alcohol poisoning. That’s what the paramedics told us.”
“No ... we were hoping Benjamin may have noticed something odd,” said Kaoru awkwardly.
“If anything Benjamin was honored to see Toshiya when he found out he was our customer,” said Mari. “He’s a very big fan of you guys. He told me he studied Japanese and came to Japan just to see you guys in person.”
“Wow. Talk about dedication,” said Die.
“Do you think we can take a look at the restroom?” asked Kaoru.
“Um ... I’m afraid it’s off limits for now,” said Mari.
“Why? The police have taken whatever they needed from the site,” said Die. “I was there when I got Toshiya.”
“Well ... it hasn’t been properly cleaned yet and we don’t want our customers to see it,” said Mari looking to the side.
“If it’s just a little blood, that’s nothing compared what Toshiya is going through now,” said Die.
He went ahead to inspect the restroom.
“Sorry about this. Die’s been really tense since Toshiya ... well you know,” explained Kaoru.
“Oh,” Mari replied.
“Normally he would probably be hitting on you, but ... never mind what I said!” said Kaoru. “He’s not the kind of guy you think he is!”
Mari raised an eyebrow.
“I’m not going to stop you from going in then. But mind the floor,” warned Mari. “It’s ... not such a great sight to see.”
Kaoru pushed open the door. Die held his nose and sprayed the entire restroom with a mist.
“What the hell are you doing?” said Kaoru.
“This shit is so nasty, I’m gonna puke,” said Die.
The congealed blood had not been cleaned up since Toshiya was carried out. Most of the dark liquid pooled under the sink. Flecks of it splattered onto the mirror and on the sink rim. A bloody hand print was left on the edge of the sink and on the wall. A slithering trail was leading away from the pool and into a toilet stall. Both Kaoru and Die gave each other an affirmative look.
They followed the trail and pushed open the door. The small trail of tiny footprints disappeared behind the toilet.
“I am NOT going to touch that thing,” Die stated.
“Neither am I,” said Kaoru.
The small creature poked its head out. Both Kaoru and Die wrinkled their faces in distaste. Very quickly their faces changed into horror. A large, red centipede with long yellow legs crawled out of its new residence.
*****
BGM: Repetition of Hatred by Dir en grey
I don't like centipedes. This particular one is nasty and I based it off an existing one that is really venomous. Leave your comments below.
