Chapter 12 - Kiseki: Miracle

1

Shun took a few deep breaths to settle himself.

Stay calm.

He repeated that mantra in his head as he tapped on the number pad to the master clock. He’d been in worse danger many times before. And more than once, he’d completely given up hope. But each and every time, he’d survived by working together with his friends. This time would be no different. It would all work out, he was sure.

Operating the master clock wasn’t all that difficult. It was basically the same as setting up a wrist watch. With the push of a few buttons, the words “time settings” flashed on the LCD screen.

There.

A sigh of relief slipped his lips. This menu should allow him to turn back time.

“I don’t really understand what’s going on, but is this really going to save everyone?” Kazuya asked from beside Shun as he worked.

Shun nodded silently and pressed the enter key in the center of the keypad. The screen then changed. He’d assumed a digital clock would show up, but instead four underscores appeared. With some trepidation, he punched in “0615.” In other words, a quarter past six—two hours ago. Once all four digits read on the display as he’d input them, his shaking finger pressed the enter key again. The whole screen flashed red and began blinking the word “error” at him. Seeing that, Shun realized what was going on.

“What happened?”

“It’s asking for a password,” he explained to the confused Kazuya. “It seems you have to enter the correct four-digit code in order to change the settings.”

As he spoke, Shun tried punching in “0000.” That was the standard factory-default code for most devices like this. He was hoping he’d get lucky and no one had ever changed it, but the display flashed red again.

What now?

He pressed his hand to his chest and took a deep breath.

Don’t lose your cool. Think.

Shun closed his eyes and turned his brain to full throttle. The passcode was four digits, meaning there were about ten thousand possibilities. If he started from 0001 and worked his way up from there, he would eventually stumble across the right combination. But that would take too much time. No matter how quickly he might be able to enter each sequence, he only had five minutes; there were only so many he could try. It was also possible that repeatedly entering incorrect passcodes might lock him out. It was too dangerous to start entering numbers at random. Shun closed his eyes tighter.

The monster jumped down from its perch on the water tower. Hiroshi instinctively grabbed on to the rooftop handrail. The floor creaked as the shock wave rippled by, shaking the whole building. Dust billowed into the air, clouding his vision.

“Now, let’s enjoy one final game,” said a giant, blue silhouette through the haze. “But don’t worry. I won’t ask you to do something as ridiculous as defeat me. The rules are simple: if you two can escape from here safely, you clear the game. I’ll spare everyone.”

A cold wind began to blow. It whipped away the clouds of dust, revealing the monster standing not even a meter away from the boys. It was such a sudden surprise that Hiroshi froze in place, unable to move. He and Takuro were easy prey just standing there, but for some reason, the monster didn’t move either. It simply continued to leer at them, as though it was in no hurry to break its new toys.

“You have four minutes left. Good luck.”

The monster’s eyes shifted slightly. Following its gaze, Hiroshi spotted a red box labeled “escape chute” identical to the ones he’d seen in the art room. Opening it would instantly trigger the chute to inflate, giving them a way to get down to the ground below. It would be an easy escape. Takuro must have realized the same thing, because he was already on the move. He quickly slipped past the monster, heading straight for the box.

Something didn’t feel right. Hiroshi cocked his head to the side. Would using the chute to get down really count as clearing the game? It seemed all too easy. The fact that the monster wasn’t even trying to attack them was also making Hiroshi nervous. Was this a trap?

“Takuro, wait a sec—”

The monster made its move before he could finish the thought. Its thick right arm reached out for Takuro.

“Takuro, look out!”

Hiroshi shouted to him, but it was too late. The monster had Takuro by the shoulder. Except rather than instantly crushing him in its grip, it just stood there with its hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t...” A familiar voice pleaded. “Don’t open that... box...”

Takuro looked up over his shoulder at the monster in shock.

“Is that you, Naoki?” he asked.

But instead of answering, the monster continued, its speech labored, “Everyone will die... If you open that, the water tower will break... and blue insects will burrow into all of the students... STOP INTERFERING!”

The monster’s tone suddenly changed. It bared its fangs vehemently, spraying saliva everywhere. Takuro jumped back, grabbed Hiroshi, and carried them both to the far corner of the roof. The monster was still flailing about over by the red box as if its arms had a mind of their own.

“You’re still around? What a cockroach. Just disappear already! No, I can’t... I have to save everyone...”

The two personalities residing within the monster seemed to be fighting, making this the perfect opportunity for the boys to escape.

“Takuro, I’ll leave everything to you,” Hiroshi said, still in Takuro’s arms. “Once time begins to turn back, jump off the roof immediately.”

“But it said we have to get out of here safely. I might survive that fall if I transform, but you’re just a normal human. From this height, you’d definitely—”

“So carry me when you take the plunge.”

Takuro’s eyes went wide at the thought.

“Don’t be stupid! I can’t put you in danger like that. We’re way too high up. I’m not even sure I’ll land safely. If I’m carrying you—”

“It’s our only option. Though regrettable, we haven’t the time to concoct any other plan,” Hiroshi said, looking Takuro square in the eye. “Doing nothing will guarantee a bad ending. So however slim the odds may be, we need to place our bets on doing something.”

“...Fine.”

Reluctantly, Takuro nodded in agreement. Hiroshi leaned over the bent fence and looked at the giant clock. It read 8:16, the correct time. That meant Shun and Kazuya hadn’t yet figured out how to turn back the master clock.

“Let’s jump as soon as we see the hands on that clock start to move backward. Until then, we’ll just have to keep running for our lives.”

“Okay. But what if—”

Takuro stopped himself and swallowed his words, but Hiroshi knew what he’d been about to ask: “What if time doesn’t reverse before the limit?” In that case, they’d just have to jump and forget about the plan. They wouldn’t be able to bring back the dead, but it would at least put them in a position to help save anyone they could in the courtyard. That was the worst-case scenario, however. The monster was still fighting with itself. If they could elude its clutches for another four minutes, victory would be theirs.

“This way!”

Hiroshi beckoned to Takuro, circling around to the shady side of the structure built behind the great clock. From here, they could hide while keeping one eye on the clock and one eye on the monster. The monster was still moving about strangely. Naoki must have been doing his very best. If he kept it up, they just might make it. All that was left was for Shun to reverse time.

“I need a minute,” Takuro said as he leaned back against the wall.

His face was pale. He was probably still suffering from Naoki’s smackdown earlier, not to mention Mika’s loss. Of course he was exhausted. But they would need him to transform soon, which undoubtedly took a considerable amount of strength and energy. Hiroshi agreed that it would be a wise use of their scant remaining time to let Takuro recharge, but he sighed and shook his head when he caught a flash of something blue out of the corner of his eye.

“Takuro, I’m sorry, but it looks like there’s no rest for the weary.”

The small, blue creature now perched atop the fence turned its giant eyes on them. Wriggling its beak-like nose, it let out a high-pitched shriek. It couldn’t be more obvious this was no normal bird. In the shadow of its nose glinted sharp fangs.

“What the hell is that?” Takuro asked as he slowly, quietly stood up.

“I don’t know,” Hiroshi answered with a shake of his head.

It was conspicuously the same blueberry color as the other monsters, but he’d never seen this particular type before.

Kreee!

The small monster let out an unpleasant, ear-splitting cry and took off. It then extended its wing-like protuberances, halting in midair. Scientifically speaking, that should be impossible. What sort of ingenious trick was it employing in order to float? Hiroshi pushed up his glasses frames and leaned in closer for a better look at the bird-like monster.

“Look out!” Takuro shouted as he gave Hiroshi’s shoulder a hard shove.

Hiroshi lost his balance, toppling forward and to the left just as the avian monster swept past him at incredible speed. Its pointed, beak-like nose drove straight into the concrete wall. Cracks radiated outward from the point of impact. A slight chill went up Hiroshi’s spine. If Takuro hadn’t pushed him out of the way, it would have impaled him in the side instead of the wall.

“Th-Thank you... You saved me.”

“That thing’s bad news. Let’s move,” Takuro said as he started running.

The avian monster’s beak appeared to be embedded quite deep in the concrete, as it was having trouble pulling itself out. Hiroshi was curious, but had no interest in waiting around to be attacked again. He hurriedly took after Takuro.

The two boys headed for the stairs. It was too dangerous to stay out on the open roof, which was sincerely lacking in cover. Hiroshi had no qualms with retreating back to the third floor for now. There was no telling when the avian monster might free itself. They’d have to find something that might serve as a shield to keep it at bay.

Running along, Takuro suddenly stopped in the middle of the staircase. Caught unawares, Hiroshi smacked right into his back.

“What is it?”

Rubbing his nose, Hiroshi peered over Takuro’s shoulder. His eyes were fixated on the base of the stairs. His lips were trembling.

What is going on?

Hiroshi followed Takuro’s gaze and caught his breath. The entire floor was dyed blue. Upon closer inspection, he could see it was pulsating slightly. There were amoeba-like creatures covering it completely, merging and splitting as they crawled this way and that.

“Crap... We can’t go back down,” Takuro said, biting his lip. “Those are the things that attacked Mika. They emit some kind of acid or something. If you touch them, they’ll melt you instantly.”

“Then we’re trapped, are we?”

Hiroshi glanced up at the wall clock toward the bottom of the staircase. They had three minutes left now. He then turned around and looked at the door to the control room where Shun and Kazuya were. He wanted to call out and see how they were doing, but he resisted the urge. He didn’t have any useful advice or groundbreaking clues for them. He would only be distracting them.

“Takuro, let’s get ready to make the jump,” Hiroshi said, patting him on the shoulder.

“But there’s still that bird thing—”

“If it tries to attack again, we’ll just jump then. Now let’s move,” he said, turning on his heels.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t scared, but they couldn’t keep running forever. This was the time to stand and fight.

2

Turning away from the master clock, Shun looked over at Kazuya.

“Huh? What is it?”

Noticing the puzzled look on Kazuya’s face at the sudden attention, Shun leaned in closer and quickly asked, “You said Mr. Inoue told you a lot about the clock system, right? Do you know which teacher was in charge of the master clock?”

“He only ever told me that the principal was the only one who could access it, so it must have been him.”

“The principal...” Shun mused, stroking his chin pensively in much the same fashion Hiroshi would.

The principal was, all in all, a rather simple, straightforward man. He probably hadn’t thought all that hard about coming up with the passcode. It had to be something that was easy to remember.

“Do you happen to know when the principal’s birthday is?” Shun asked, turning back to the master clock display.

“No, but... I think the safe in the principal’s office took a four-digit code too.”

Safe? Four-digit code...?

“That has to be it!” Shun turned and grabbed Kazuya by the shoulders. “Do you remember the numbers?”

“Uh, it started with a one and a seven... Sorry, that’s all I remember. It was Hiroshi who cracked the safe, not me.”

“Thanks. I’ll ask him, then.”

His blood pumping, Shun leaped up and went straight for the control room door. When he opened it, however, he unwittingly gasped. The floor and walls just outside were completely blue. Amoeba-like monsters carpeted the concrete, pulsating disturbingly. Countless eyes all swiveled in Shun’s direction at once. His instincts screaming panic and danger, he quickly slammed the door.

There goes that... We’re trapped in here.

He gritted his teeth bitterly.

Hiroshi carefully scanned the rooftop. The avian monster must have freed itself; it was no longer impaled in the cracked circle of concrete. Keeping his eyes peeled in 360 degrees, he clung to the fence. But when he glanced over the railing, he caught sight of the tragedy unfolding below.

“What in the...” muttered Takuro, who walked up behind him.

Blood was splattered across the freshly melting snow. Countless muddy footprints were tracked this way and that. A crowd of students was rushing toward the school gates.

What on earth was happening? As Hiroshi stared down at the gruesome scene in shock, he caught a glimpse of something blue out of the corner of his eye. His head instinctively snapped that way. There was a monster standing next to the gym, but it wasn’t Naoki. The monster that his consciousness resided in was still flailing about by the water tower.

Was it Anna, then? No. The monster Anna had become wasn’t nearly that large. And this one... This monster was covered in fresh, red blood. It let out a terrible howl before advancing toward some students huddled in a corner of the courtyard.

No! They’re all going to be killed! Run!

Hiroshi started to shout at the top of his lungs, but suddenly a second blue figure appeared and lunged for the bloody monster. It bared its fangs and sunk them deep into the attacking monster’s throat before it could reach the students. Blue fluid sprayed everywhere, and the horrid creature wailed in apparent agony.

“Run! Now!” the smaller monster yelled at the students.

It was Anna. It seemed she’d been fighting her own battle while the rest of them were wandering the school.

“Heads up, Hiroshi! Here it comes again!” Takuro bellowed.

Suddenly reminded of the danger he himself was in, Hiroshi’s attention returned to the rooftop. The avian monster was now circling the water tower, its giant eyes locked on the two boys. Hiroshi could only assume it was waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

The bird-like monster’s speed was beyond comprehension. Perhaps Takuro with his superhuman abilities might stand a chance of dodging it, but a normal human like Hiroshi was helpless. Especially here on the roof with no cover.

The more immediate problem, however, came from below. Hiroshi had been so fixated on the threat overhead that he hadn’t even seen it coming. But when he felt a sudden, sharp pain in his right toe, he looked down immediately. A small amoeba monster had latched on to his foot. Wasting no time, Hiroshi quickly kicked off his shoe. The contact had been brief, a few seconds at most, but he could barely feel his toe anymore. There was only a faint, numb tingling.

“Look out!” Takuro shouted again.

Looking back up, Hiroshi spotted the avian monster racing toward him.

Shoot... I’m dead.

Hiroshi’s life flashed before his eyes, and then Takuro. Something warm and wet splashed on his face.

“Gahhhhh!”

Takuro had jumped in front of him to protect him, but now toppled forward. A geyser of blood spewed from his chest.

“Takuro!”

Hiroshi pressed down as hard as he could on Takuro’s chest with both hands, but the geyser didn’t stop. Blood welled up between his fingers uninhibited.

“Why...?”

“Hiroshi... You’ve saved me a bunch of times,” Takuro said between labored breaths. The light in his eyes was fading. “Sorry... This is game over for me. We might not be able to clear the game together, but... I know you’ll figure something out...”

“Please, don’t say any more. It’s not over yet. You can’t give up!” Hiroshi pleaded.

Takuro’s lips moved slightly in response, but there was no sound. He fell utterly silent. His chest was still actively bleeding, however, which meant his heart was still pumping. He wasn’t dead yet.

I have to do something quickly!

Gritting his teeth hard, Hiroshi got to his feet. Nearly the entire roof was blue now. The amoebas had been steadily creeping up from the third floor. If Hiroshi left Takuro where he was, they’d consume him the minute they got to him.

Hoisting the unconscious Takuro onto his back, Hiroshi set to climbing the fence. Supporting both his weight and Takuro’s was quite a task. He had no idea how long he would last, but there was only one thought coursing through his mind: he had to get down the side of the building to safety.

Undoing his scarf, Hiroshi threaded it through the fence. The tops of the windows on the third floor would afford him a small foothold. Using the scarf as a lifeline, that’s where he was aiming. He doubted the scarf was really strong enough to support two teenage boys, but this was do or die. He had to try his luck. Steeling himself, he gripped the scarf tightly with both hands.

Huh?

Sensing a dark presence, he looked down. Making its way up the wall from below was the bloody monster that had previously been rampaging in the courtyard. It was approaching in an unhurried fashion, as if just waiting for them to fall.

Where is Anna?

Hiroshi glanced over toward the gym and saw the other monster lying in a pool of blue blood seeping into the snow. The monster... Anna wasn’t moving.

No... Not you too, Anna...

Anger flared within Hiroshi as he watched the monster crawl up the wall. He’d never felt such a dark hatred before, and he directed it all at the bloody monster in a glare. Looking closer, however, he could see that it had grown bigger. No, it was growing bigger. It continued to enlarge as it worked its way up the building.

Hiroshi checked the giant clock. Two minutes left.

What do I do?

At this rate, it was just a matter of time before the monster reached him. And yet there was nowhere to run. The rooftop was overrun by the amoeba monsters, the avian monster was still circling overhead, and the bloody monster was now waiting below.

It’s no use. There’s nothing more I can do.

Back in the control room, Shun was bouncing ideas off of Kazuya as they came to mind.

“How did you figure out the code in the principal’s office?”

“Apparently you could get it by combining some numbers found on the piano keyboard in the music room with a strange shape drawn on the blackboard in the guidance counselor’s office. But like I said, it was Hiroshi that put it together, not me. I’m not sure how it worked.”

“Try to remember. What were the numbers on the keyboard?”

“I told you, I... Oh!” Kazuya, whose face had been agonizingly twisted in deep thought, suddenly opened his eyes wide.

“Did you remember?” Shun asked, leaning in excitedly.

“Not the numbers on the piano, no... But right before he opened the safe, Hiroshi looked at the wall in the principal’s office and said, ‘Oh, they put the answer here, too.’”

“What was on the wall?”

“A map of Kyushu,” Kazuya replied, pursing his lips. “There was a red line drawn from northern Kyushu to Kagoshima prefecture...”

I guess this is it.

Just as Hiroshi was about to give up, the door to the roof burst open. A blue figure came streaking out of it, making a beeline for the avian monster circling overhead. It was small enough that Hiroshi thought someone had kicked a ball or something, but the truth was even stranger than that. It was the short, blocky monster, which wailed a high-pitched screech as it leaped into the air.

“...Mika?” Takuro asked feebly.

Fwuffy’s cry must have woken him up, or perhaps he had just fallen into delirium. Fwuffy, reaching its stubby limbs out as far as they would stretch, latched on to the avian monster.

Takuro...

Takuro looked up to see Mika standing before him.

“Mika!”

He held his hand out for her cheek. She was right there, yet for some reason he couldn’t touch her.

The last thing I asked Fwuffy to do was to protect you. He’s so smart. And quick. I swear he’s just like you, right down to the short temper.

There, Mika’s figure began to fade.

“No, please don’t go...” Takuro moaned. “Mika, wait. I’m coming too.”

You can’t. You have to live. Live for my sake.

She was melting away right into empty air.

You still have something to do, don’t you?

And with that, she disappeared completely.

Hiroshi heard what sounded like nails scraping against glass overhead. Looking up, he gasped. The avian monster was coming down directly at him.

Shoot!

Hiroshi instinctively recoiled, but something seemed different this time. Something wasn’t right. One of the bird’s wings was missing. It looked like it had been torn off, blue blood dripping from its stump. So rather than flying, it was more like it was falling rapidly... For on its back was Fwuffy, who was also bleeding from several cuts as though it had been torn up by the avian monster’s fangs.

Both monsters crashed hard into the asphalt rooftop. The dull sound of breaking bones reverberated in Hiroshi’s ears. Blue blood spattered at his feet.

As the avian monster attempted to get up, Fwuffy—the right side of its body crushed—opened its jaws wide and closed them around the bird’s head. A spray of blue blood shot forth from its decapitated neck. The bird now dead, Fwuffy looked up at Hiroshi and mewed like a kitten before collapsing on its face, never to move again. The amoebas quickly swarmed, gathering around the two corpses. Unable to tell the difference between friend and foe, they consumed both.

While the amoebas were distracted and congregating elsewhere, the blue carpet that was covering the roof parted. Hiroshi saw it and realized this moment might be his chance to get back down to the third floor. Hopping off the fence, he darted for the door.

Just as he was about to reach it, a massive shadow loomed over him. Shaking with fear, he looked up. There stood the blueberry-colored giant. Hiroshi sprinted for all he was worth, but the monster was just too fast. It plucked Takuro right off his back, fangs gleaming eerily.

A line connecting northern Kyushu and Kagoshima... The numbers one and seven...

“Oh!” Shun gasped.

The scattered clues he’d gathered began coming together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle in his mind. He was on the verge of seeing the complete picture.

“I’ve got it. It’s National Route 3,” Shun muttered as he reached out for the master clock. “National Route 3 connects northern Kyushu and Kogashima... But then what? National Route 3... Where do the one and seven come from? Route 3, Route 3... Oh, the square root of 3 is 1.732! That’s the answer!”

Shun carefully input the numbers one at a time with a slow and steady hand to prevent making even the slightest mistake. He had absolute confidence in his answer. That had to be it. It checked out, right down to the founding date of their school: March 2nd, 1732. It was just like something the principal would pick.

With all four numbers showing on the display, Shun pressed the enter key. And unlike before, this time a digital clock appeared on the LCD screen. There was only one minute left, but everything would be fine. All he had to do now was turn the clock back two hours.

The giant blue monster held Takuro in its right hand. Hiroshi panicked, thinking it would crush him right then and there, but that wasn’t how things played out. For some reason, the monster remained still.

“Takuro...” it said with Naoki’s voice. “I admit... that you might have changed. But that doesn’t matter to me. It doesn’t change all the terrible things you did to me, and I’m never going to forgive you for those.”

Takuro’s eyelids twitched, as if Naoki’s words had reached him.

“So you can’t die yet.”

A soft light seemed to envelop the monster’s hand. Color began to return to Takuro’s pale face.

“The monster that ate you was born from my cells. I have the power to control them... So I’m going to give you my body. I won’t let you die. You have to keep living... Keep living and pay for your sins. That is my vengeance.”

The monster slowly kneeled down and laid Takuro gently on the asphalt. His eyes flickered open.

“Naoki...” Takuro quietly stammered with tears in his eyes. “Thanks... Naoki.”

The monster—no—Naoki nodded once, then turned and walked away. He was headed right for where Fwuffy and the avian monster had gone down.

“Stop it! What do you think you’re doing?” a shrill voice screamed.

Ignoring it completely, Naoki plunged himself into the teeming blue sea of amoebas.

“Are you crazy? You’ll die!”

“I died a long time ago. This is just to make it final.”

The amoebas instantly swarmed him too, covering his body.

“Nooooo!”

A shrill scream echoed across the rooftop. As Takuro and Hiroshi watched, the monster’s blue skin began burning and melting away.

“AHHHHH! IT’S HOT! IT’S HOT! IT’S HOOOT! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! AAAHHHHHHHH!”

The monster flailed about, scratching at its throat.

“Urgh, no... I can’t die... until I make this world ours...”

White smoke billowing from its body, it began crawling along the asphalt like a slug.

“I will... make this world ours...”

The monster’s eyes were glued on the red box containing the escape chute.

Oh, no!

Hiroshi immediately realized what it was trying to do.

Shun’s hand hesitated over the number pad. The master clock was now set back two hours. All that remained was to press the enter key, but a certain thought stopped him in his tracks.

Is this really for the best?

Even if they went back in time two hours, that wouldn’t change the fact that Takuro and the others had been eaten by monsters. So what if he went back a week instead, to right before they were all attacked? Could he save everyone then? No, he had to go further. If he went back to December of last year, he could make sure that terrible accident never happened. No, this had all started long before then. If he went back 20 years to when everything first began...

Hiroshi recalled Naoki’s earlier warning.

“Don’t open that box... Everyone will die... If you open that, the water tower will break... and blue insects will burrow into all of the students...”

His eyes shifted to the giant clock. He could see the minute hand quivering slightly. They only had a few seconds left. There wasn’t any time to hesitate.

“Let’s go, Takuro.”

“Right.”

Instantly picking up on what Hiroshi was thinking, Takuro nodded resolutely. The boys kicked off the asphalt and bolted forward. Grabbing the melting monster as they ran, they charged headlong for the section of broken fence.

“Idiots, what are you—”

The three of them—the two boys and the arguing monster—fell through the air.

“Too late,” said Takuro.

“We win,” gloated Hiroshi.

Then, just as the giant clock was about to strike 8:20, its hands suddenly began to spin backward. 8:10... 8:00... 7:50... Time was turning back.

Good job, Shun! Hiroshi smiled as his consciousness began to fade. Now everything will go back to as it was two hours ago...

6:30... 6:20... 6:10... Two hours passed, yet the spinning hands showed no signs of slowing down. If anything, they were speeding up. They were turning so fast that the long hand was hardly visible, and it wasn’t long before the short hand was doing the same.

At some point the eyeball statue had appeared atop the water tower. It seemed to float in the air before unleashing a bright flash of light. Unable to look at it directly, Hiroshi squinted. That was the last thing he remembered.

3

The girl wandered through the basement, her sister close behind. They stumbled across a statue of their god surrounded by stacks of boxes of various sizes. The girl slowly approached them. What could be inside?

She reached out for one that caught her eye—a small one sitting on top. It was just big enough to fit in her hands. She picked it up. It wasn’t that heavy. She shook it and heard something inside like the rustling of dry leaves. The box itself was sealed shut with ancient strips of paper. The girl hesitated for a moment before she gave in to curiosity and attempted to rip off the paper.

“Don’t open that!” someone shouted in her ear.

She jumped in surprise and turned around, but all she saw was her scared sister.

“Did you say something?”

She had to check, but her sister vehemently shook her head.

“This place is creepy. Can we go now? Please?” her sister begged, tugging on her sleeve.

She was right, of course. The girl could sense something cold over her shoulder. She got the feeling something bad would happen if they stayed here too long.

“Yeah... You’re right.”

The girl put the box back in its place, grabbed her sister’s hand, and quickly turned to leave.

“Thank goodness,” she heard a relieved voice say.

The girl turned around as she reached the door and scanned the dim basement once more.

“Who’s there?” she asked, but no one answered.

“What is it?” her sister questioned, looking at her suspiciously.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Let’s go.”

Shutting the heavy door behind them, the two girls headed upstairs.

“I hope you two find happiness,” said the voice.

But this time, the girl didn’t turn around.