Chapter 8 - Satsujinki: Chain of Tragedy

1

I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Naoki.

His head buried deep between his knees, Takeshi apologized over and over.

It wasn’t my fault. It was all Takuro. I was just following his orders.

He was sobbing so uncontrollably that the thighs of his pants were soaked from tears, snot, and drool.

You know that no one can defy Takuro, don’t you? I didn’t really want to do it. Why would I? I didn’t want to hurt a classmate. But I had no choice. He’d do the same thing to me if I disobeyed.

Takeshi lifted his head slightly when he thought he heard a sound in the room. The inside of the wardrobe was pitch black. Even with his eyes open, he couldn’t see anything. He hated the dark but couldn’t bring himself to leave. The moment he opened the wardrobe door, the monster Naoki had become would attack him.

After the scare with the suit of armor, he’d run to the second floor. It was there he saw the blue giant. He could still remember how his whole body went cold upon seeing that grotesque thing. It was a miracle he hadn’t fainted right then and there. At least, that’s what he tried to tell himself.

At first he thought it was someone in a costume. Maybe Takuro was wearing it to try and scare him. But it was soon obvious that wasn’t the case. The giant’s bright red, bloodshot eyes gave him one look before its whole body lurched forward aggressively, growling strangely. Its face, unmoving but full of anger, looked a lot like Naoki’s dead expression in the picture Takuro had taken right after the accident.

“Came out well, didn’t it?”

Unbelievably, Takuro was smiling when he showed him the photo. The intense contrast of the blue liquid from the truck staining his face and his eyes red with anger still haunted Takeshi. It was enough that he still had nightmares about it sometimes.

That monster is Naoki.

That’s what Takeshi’s gut told him.

Naoki’s trying to get revenge on us.

When Takeshi saw the blue figure, he’d screamed and run. Leaping through the first unlocked door he could find, he jumped into the wardrobe to hide. Soon after, he heard the door to the room open.

Stay away. Stay away.

He repeated the same words to himself over and over like a prayer. His knees wouldn’t stop shaking. A scream sat deep in his throat trying to claw its way out, but he knew he’d be found the moment he made a sound. He hugged his knees with his right arm and used his left hand to cover his mouth.

Stay away! Stay away! Stay away! Stay away! Stay away!

Finally, he heard the sound of the door opening and closing again. He sighed in relief, thinking it had given up. He fearfully tried to leave the wardrobe, but his legs wouldn’t move. The muscles in the lower half of his body had all gone limp like he’d been paralyzed.

Mika and the others arrived soon after, but Takeshi was in no condition to answer their questions. His nerves were shot from the fear. In truth, he wanted to leave with them more than anything. He couldn’t walk on his own, so he’d need to lean on someone’s shoulder. But the words wouldn’t come out. Only begging and pleading. The more he struggled, the less he was able to convey. And so they’d disappeared, leaving him on his own again.

Those heartless jerks.

He was angry at the time, but when he heard Mika scream after they left, he silently thanked them for not dragging him along. Naoki’s ghost must have attacked them too. It may have even killed them. If he’d run out with them, he likely would have been caught too. There was no telling where that thing was lying in wait. It might be safer just to hide in the wardrobe forever.

Takeshi disassembled a coat hanger in the wardrobe and wrapped one end of the wire bit around the closet rod and the other end tightly around the necktie hook on the back of the wardrobe door. Now even if Naoki found him, he couldn’t open the door without a fight.

Their parents would surely be concerned that they hadn’t come home yet. Once the fact that Takuro had stolen the mansion key from his father came to light, they’d automatically figure out where they had gone.

I just have to wait right here for the grown-ups to rescue us.

Ever since he was a kid, Takeshi had been good at hide-and-seek. With his small and flexible body, he could hide in almost any cramped space. He was also a bit of a braggart and a loudmouth, so he had a nasty habit of getting into spats with the local punks and older delinquents. It was times like that that his ability to run and hide had really come in handy.

This is no different. Things will work out just fine.

Suddenly he heard the door to the room open.

Who was that?

Holding his breath, Takeshi strained his ears. He could hear large, plodding footsteps approaching the wardrobe. He was sure the giant was just on the other side of the door. Takeshi shut his eyes and mouth tightly, patiently waiting for the loitering monster to leave.

How long had he been there now?

Knock, knock, knock...

Suddenly there was a rapping at the wardrobe door. Takeshi nearly screamed but quickly covered his mouth.

Have I been found?

His heart was playing a beat of thirty-second notes. If that door opened, it was all over. Takeshi picked up the wooden piece of the coat hanger at his feet and raised it, ready to strike. It was hardly an effective weapon, but it was better than being barehanded.

Knock, knock, knock...

The rapping started up again, this time much louder. Takeshi bit his lip, trying to keep a lid on the fear bubbling up inside him like nothing he’d ever felt before.

If it knows I’m in here, why doesn’t it just try to open the door? Maybe... because it can’t?

Takeshi recalled the crucifix hanging from the wardrobe handle and opened his eyes. That must be it. The cross must have the ability to ward off evil. That’s why Naoki couldn’t touch the handle and open the door.

Thank god. As long as I stay in here, I’ll be okay.

He sighed in relief, but then...

Bam, bam!

The banging on the door picked up.

It’s pointless. I’m never coming out. I’m not going to let you kill me!

Bam! Bam!

The intensity of the banging only increased. It got so loud and violent that Takeshi began to worry the creature would just beat down the door.

Disappear, disappear, disappear!

Covering his ears, he prayed with all his might.

Disappear, disappear, disappear, disappear, disappear!

Fear gave way to desperation, and Takeshi did his best to comfort himself.

I’m not going to die here. I’m going home alive. I’m going home. I’m going home...

And then everything went quiet like his prayers had been answered.

Did it give up?

Wiping away his tears, Takeshi did his best to focus all of his will on his ears.

“Takeshi? It’s Takeshi, isn’t it?”

He heard a familiar voice on the other side of the door.

“Mom?”

“Thank goodness, Takeshi! So this is where you were hiding...”

Hearing his mother’s soft voice made his lower lip quiver.

I’m saved!

“Hold on. I’ll open the door right now.”

He excitedly unwound the wire he’d rigged to hold the door shut.

“I’m surprised you found me. What about the restaurant? We had a lot of reservations tonight, didn’t we?”

In his hurry, he accidentally pricked his finger on the end of the wire. A bright red bead of blood formed, but this was no time to be squabbling about a little finger prick.

“Just give me a second. I’m almost done untying this. There, I’m done.”

As he spoke, the door slowly started to open. The light from the room poured into the dark wardrobe.

“Let’s get out of here. This place is full of monsters. Mom—”

Through the narrow gap of the open door, he could see a giant, bloodshot eye staring at him.

“Aaahhhhh!”

As he screamed, a fierce blow struck him on the forehead. There, his consciousness faded as everything went black.

2

How many times had Takeshi screamed now? The more it happened, the more tiresome the sound became. It wasn’t unlike the boy who cried wolf.

“I wish he’d just stop,” Mika said in a low voice.

She must have felt the same way Shun did. She looked like she’d just been forced to eat a bug.

“No, listen closer,” Hiroshi interjected. “It’s a little different from his earlier screams.”

Shun cupped his hand to his ear at Hiroshi’s request. As he did, Takeshi’s screaming suddenly cut off. It was followed by a strange grinding noise that resonated sickly against his eardrums. He’d heard something similar once when he visited a soba restaurant with his mother. It was just like the sound of a millstone turning. But it only lasted for a few moments. Then a bestial howl thundered through the halls.

“...What was that?” Mika’s asked, her large eyes opening wide.

“Let’s check it out.”

The three of them headed up the stairs, bumping shoulders roughly along the way as they went in search of what they knew would be nothing good.

“What is that smell?” Mika asked as she wrinkled her shapely nose and frowned.

A strange stench was wafting through the halls of the second floor. One that hadn’t been there before. Shun could swear he’d smelled something similar recently. But what was it? He tried to remember, but a piercing pain shot through his temple.

Before long, they found themselves in front of the room with the rats. The strange sound had ceased. So had Takeshi’s screams. An ominous silence fell over the area.

“Hold on,” Mika called out as they were about to open the door. “What if that ghost is in there?”

“That’s actually what I’m hoping for,” Hiroshi replied quite seriously.

“Huh? Don’t be stupid. I don’t want to be chased by that creepy thing again.”

“But if we don’t get some kind of information from it, we won’t be able to escape from here.”

“What? Are you saying it’s what locked us in here?”

“Most likely.”

Mika’s tone became panicked at his suggestion.

“Are you serious? We can’t talk to that thing. I doubt it even understands words.”

“You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. In most cases, that only leads to misjudging the subject’s true nature,” Hiroshi explained calmly, then turned the doorknob without hesitation and pushed.

Even with the door only cracked open, a great stench escaped the room. It was just like rusted iron... Shun finally realized it was the smell of blood.

“Wait!”

He quickly tried to stop Hiroshi, but it was too late. The door swung wide open to reveal a giant horde of the strange rats chowing down on something with gusto. Numbers-wise, it dwarfed the mass of them they saw earlier. There were so many of them now that Shun first thought it looked like a blue rug had been laid in the room. A chill went down his spine.

The stench only grew stronger and fouler. Shun could barely stand to look at the scene before him. Mika covered her mouth with both hands and ran into the hall without saying a word.

“This is amazing.”

Instead of recoiling in horror, however, Hiroshi stepped into the room. The proliferation of the mutant rats seemed to catch his interest. Hundreds of bloodshot eyes swiveled to glare at him, and menacing squeaking could be heard from the collective mass. Their front teeth bared, the rats looked ready to attack at any moment. One of the larger rats broke away from the horde and darted for Hiroshi.

“Be careful, Hiroshi.”

It took all Shun had just to say that much. He felt completely frozen otherwise. He couldn’t even move a single step from the doorway.

“I found this in the dining hall. It should help.”

As straight-faced as ever, Hiroshi pulled out a lighter from his pants pocket. He ignited the flame and flashed it at the approaching rat. Frightened by the sudden display, it turned tail and scampered under the bed. The other rats, sensing danger from their leader’s actions, scattered simultaneously. A few passed by Shun’s feet and dashed into the hall.

When the rats dispersed, it revealed the mysterious lump of meat they’d been chewing on. It was somewhat cylindrical, but the underside was smashed to a bloody pulp. If they tried to lift it up, it looked like it would just fall apart. The floor beneath it was bright red, and red rat footprints radiated outward from it. But what jumped out at them above all else was the difference in size between this mass and the arm they’d found under the bed. It appeared to be a human leg.

Hiroshi picked up a sneaker that was lying near what was probably the foot of the leg. He wiped away the blood on it with his palm, revealing a familiar logo. This had to be Takeshi’s other shoe.

“No way...”

Shun’s imagination jumped to the worst possible conclusion, but he couldn’t voice it. He was afraid that the moment he did, it would become reality. Surely that piece of meat on the ground wasn’t Takeshi or any part of him. There was just no way, right? It just wasn’t possible.

Shun desperately tried to chase away the terrifying thoughts lurking in the back of his mind. Rationally speaking, the fleshy mass on the floor before them had to be from the same person the arm had come from. The rats were just eating the corpse of someone else that had been left here long ago. Or perhaps what Shun saw before wasn’t really an arm after all. There was a possibility that he’d been mistaken. Maybe the rats were just eating the corpse of some creature that had wandered into the mansion and gotten trapped here. What he’d seen was just a trick of the light, or maybe it was his fearful imagination playing tricks on him that just made it look like it was human...

Thud.

Shun looked up when he heard something from inside the wardrobe. Hiroshi looked over too, tightly gripping the sneaker in his hands.

“...Takeshi?”

Summoning his courage, Shun stepped into the room and cautiously called out to his classmate. But no answer came.

“We chased away the rats. There’s no need to worry now,” Hiroshi said as he opened the wardrobe door.

Frightened by the sudden light pouring in, a rat jumped out of it and scampered under the bed. When it did, a round object toppled out of the wardrobe and bounced on the floor.

“Takeshi...?”

Shun’s voice squeaked as the air in his lungs leaked out through his throat. He really wanted to scream, but his vocal chords seemed to be frozen.

It was indeed Takeshi that had fallen from the closet. Part of him, at least. His head lay on the floor. Everything below the neck was missing. His tongue, purple and hanging out from between his lips, looked like an escaping slug. There was a mocking look still lingering in his eyes, but no derisive comments or jokes to back it up. He just continued to stare up at Shun, a thin smile on his lips.

...What is this?

Shun himself began to smile, almost as if it was infectious. He leaned back against the wall and let out a small chuckle. He knew it wasn’t the right time, but it was like his body was acting on its own.

There’s no way this is reality. It has to be a dream. It’s all a dream.

That’s what Shun was desperate to believe.

“What in the world could have happened here?” Hiroshi, who had remained calm throughout everything so far, looked worried for the first time. “Am I dreaming?”

Shun answered, still smiling, “Yeah, this is a dream. Not yours, Hiroshi, but mine. Sorry. I didn’t mean for you to get mixed up in my craziness.”

“Why are things happening just like in the game? I don’t think it’s a simple coincidence.”

“...The game?”

Sharp pain shot from his right temple directly to his left. With a throb, a locked drawer in Shun’s memory bank suddenly flew open. He finally understood the sense of déjà vu he’d been getting from time to time while walking around the mansion. How could he have possibly forgotten? He was so disappointed in himself that his own patheticness made him angry.

A group of middle school students come to a mansion after hearing rumors that monsters live there. They get trapped inside, and as they search for a way to escape, a blue monster attacks them. Scrambling for an exit, they get eaten by the monster one by one... That was the story of the computer game Shun made.

“This must be a dream...” he whispered. “That’s the only possibility.”

What a nightmare. Please let me wake up already.

“This is a dream, a dream... It’s a dream... It has to be a dream... A dream...” he almost chanted, clutching at his head. “A dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream...”

A warm liquid dripped down his cheek. Wiping it away, he was surprised to see something bright red on his fingers. He’d been clawing his head so hard that his nails had broken his skin.

This isn’t a dream... It’s real.

Takeshi’s lifeless head was still looking up at him and grinning.

“Aaahhhhhhhh!”

Screaming as if he were possessed, Shun slapped his own cheeks. But he didn’t wake up. All he felt was a stinging pain. There was no denying it now. It was all real.