"Who do you think you are?"
The words the priest said to me back then filled my head but I couldn't tell why. I slowly opened my eyes and I was standing in the middle of what seemed to be a corridor of an abandoned hospital. The walls were cracked and stained, the lights flickered weakly and buzzing.
Suddenly, an overwhelming stench of demonic bloodlust hit me. I didn't know how I'd gotten here but a primal urge to help took over. My body started running before my mind could question anything.
As I got closer, the stronger the bloodlust became until it changed into the salty scent of fresh blood. I reached the second-floor landing and vaulted over the railing, dropping to the floor below.
Takeo was lying on his back, his eyes were open but lifeless. There was a hole on his stomach like something had punched straight through him. Blood pooled beneath his body, spreading across the cracked tiles. Suzuki and Miyu were kneeling beside him.
Miyu's hands were shaking as she pressed down uselessly on the wound. Suzuki looked up first to find me and she was furious.
"Where were you? Where were you when this happened?" She screamed at me and Miyu turned too. "You were supposed to be here! It's your fault, wherever you go death follows."
I took two steps back, my vision blurring with tears I couldn't control. A hand gripped my shoulder, I didn't need to see the face but I recognised the voice that followed.
"Sorry, Detective."
I spun around and instantly a massive shadow-draped demon lunged forward and swallowed me whole.
I jolted upright in bed, gasping like I'd been drowning. My scanned the room I was in and the memory kicked in later, the morning sun was streaming through the hotel window. – Oh... that was just a dream.
I let out a shaky breath, trying to steady my hands but as I looked down at my lap, the relief vanished as red droplets were hitting my white blankets.
I touched my face and felt wetness under my nose. When I pulled my fingers away, they were stained in blood. –
A nosebleed?
I wiped it quickly but more blood streamed down. I then scrambled out of bed and into the bathroom, leaning over the sink. The blood kept coming from both nostrils. I turned on the shower, letting the cold water run over me as I tried to piece everything together. –
Was that a vision or is my mind finally snapping under the pressure? But that guy who bumped into me yesterday was the centerpiece of the nightmare and now this. I've never had a nosebleed like this in my life.
When the bleeding finally stopped, I stepped out wrapping a towel around my waist and went to sit on the edge of the bed. My mind felt strangely blank now, like whatever had shown me that vision had also taken something in return. I slapped my own cheeks hard and yelled at the empty room.
"What the fuck is going on!?"
A knock came at the door. I stood up, cinching the towel tighter and pulled the door open. Miyu was standing there, holding a long black garment bag. She took one look at me and froze in place. Her face turning a shade of red that rivaled my nosebleed.
"Can I help you with something?" I asked.
She slammed the bag into my chest and sprinted down the hallway without saying a word. I rubbed the back of my head, closing the door. – She's really weird.
I unzipped the bag to find a simple black suit. I dressed quickly and headed down the stairs, instinctively reaching into my pockets for a cigarette aloong the way. – Right, I forgot.
"Hey, man."
I startled, to find Takeo standing at the base of the stairs. "F*ck, man! Don't sneak up on me."
"I wasn't sneaking, we were just walking in the same direction. What's going on with you?"
Takeo said and I stared at him, my mind flashing back to the dream. – How do I even tell him that I saw him die? No, I can't say that but I need to answer him.
"Nothing's going on, I'm just not a morning person. Oh and if there's any mission today, let me know. I need something to do before I die of boredom." I said.
"Alright, but what are you doing now?"
Takeo said to me and I waved a dismissive hand, walking past him. "Come on, man. I can't tell you everything."
I walked straight to the spot where the man had bumped into me the previous evening. I couldn't call it a coincidence anymore, not after he showed up in my nightmare.
My eyes scanned the streets and I spotted a motel with a security camera angled directly at the sidewalk. I walked inside, approaching the receptionist. I didn't have my badge but I knew how to play the part.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Is that camera out front working?"
The woman who was aggressively chewing gum while scrolling through her phone, looked up. "Yeah. Why?"
"Yesterday, my... my brother was robbed and almost killed right there, so I was wondering if I could check the footage." I said.
The woman stopped chewing and looked at me, her eyes softening slightly. "I don't know, sir. If you're not a cop–"
"Look, I understand that you're only doing your job but someone almost killed my brother at that spot and his is still out there. Who knows how many others will fall victim to him? We can't leave this to the police, they're good for nothing."
The woman sighed, the gum popping one last time. "Fine. Follow me."
She led me to a cramped surveillance room in the back and she stepped inside first, placing a hand on my chest to stop me. "Wait here."
After a minute, she came back out. "Go in, Craig will help you."
I stepped inside and Craig was a massive guy, who was currently halfway through a box of takeout. He offered me a greasy hand and I pretended not to see it. – How utterly disgusting.
"So, what time was your brother out there?" Craig asked me, his voice muffled by food.
"Let's look at the time frame when the sun was setting, maybe around five pm." I said.
Craig clicked through the files, we watched the screen as Miyu and I appeared on the sidewalk. "There." I pointed.
Craig paused the footage. "Wait... is that you? I thought we were looking for your brother."
"Shut up, Craig and keep playing."
As the footage rolled, I saw the man in the hood walk straight toward me and bumped my shoulder but as I turned to him, the footage glitched with a static ripple. And when the image cleared, the man was gone.
"Rewind it."
I said and Craig scrubbed back through the footage. We played it again, the man was there for a split second, his face partially visible under the hood.
"Zoom into that guy's face."
"Which one, man?" Craig asked.
"There's only one guy in the footage who looks suspicious! The guy with the hood!"
Craig looked at the screen, then back at me. "Uh... there's no one else there but you and the girl you're walking with."
"Wait, you can't see the guy who bumped into me? He's standing right there, three feet away!"
"No one bumped into you, man. You just seem to have tripped on... nothing. Are you okay?" Craig said.
I walked out of the room quickly, ignoring him calling after me. – Miyu didn't see that guy and Craig couldn't see him on the tape. Was it all in my head? But the dream – he was right there in the dream.
I stood on the sidewalk, staring at the crowd moving past me. I was honestly more pissed off than scared cause whatever was happening to me made me look crazy in front of the fat guy.
Across the street, I spotted Suzuki. She saw me too, waving a hand as she navigated the traffic toward me. I waited for her, trying to settle my breathing.
"Hey Kenichi, I'm so sorry for everything I put you through at the temple."
She said as she reached me and I walking toward a nearby street vendor. I bought a pack, tapped it against my palm and slid one between my lips before even thinking about it. "Takeo didn't tell you, did he? And where is he by the way? It's not so often to see you without him."
"He and Miyu were given an urgent mission." Suzuki said.
I froze before lighting it. "What kind of mission? Tell me it doesn't involve an abandoned hospital."
"No... it's about a series of disappearances in a town called Radcliffe. Wait... what's going on?"
I grabbed her hand without thinking and started dragging her down the sidewalk.
"Where's your car?"
"Near the temple gate! Kenichi, where are we going?"
We broke into a run. I didn't answer her because if I did, I'd have to admit that I was chasing a dream and I wasn't ready to say that out loud yet.
We reached her car and I slid into the driver's seat while she tossed me the keys without argument. I punched Radcliffe into the gps and the engine roared to life as I pulled out fast.
Suzuki turned at me. "Kenichi, the you could do is to tell me what's going on."
My hands tightened around the steering wheel before I realized I was doing it. "I had a dream or maybe a vision and on whatever it is, Takeo dies in an abandoned hospital. I didn't want to believe it but I woke up with a nosebleed."
"I never thought I'd see the day you were actually concerned about him." she said.
"I don't care about him. I just don't want to go on the rest of my week thinking I could've something to help that idiot survive."
Radcliffe appeared about forty minutes later and the first thing I noticed was how quiet it was.
"That's his car." Suzuki said, pointing at a gray SUV parked near a town square. We parked and jumped out, scanning the area. The locals turned to stared at us oddly, it was a hell of a warm welcome.
"Takeo!"
Suzuki spotted them first and started walking toward them, I followed from behind. Takeo and Miyu were standing near a group of villagers, looking frustrated.
"What are you guys doing here?" Takeo asked, looking at me.
"I told you I was bored but you didn't even think to call me for the mission." I said.
"You were nowhere to be found when I heard about it and you don't seem to have a phone." Takeo said.
An awkward chuckle escaped me before I could hold it."I actually do have one but just... not on me at moment."
A woman from down the road waved at us. "Right this way."
"What's the status?" Suzuki asked.
"The residents are useless, they won't answer anything and that woman says she'll take us to the Mayor." Takeo said.
We followed her to a large house on the hill. The Mayor was sitting in a dim office, sipping whiskey while his town was literally vanishing.
"So, there's four of you now? What trouble are you folks bringing to my town?" The Mayor asked.
"We aren't here for trouble, sir. We're here to stop the disappearances." Takeo said.
"We've tried handling it ourselves. So, what makes you think you'll make a difference from what we've already tried?" The Mayor said.
"If we can't handle it, we'll just be four more missing persons, won't we? And it won't be your problem because we aren't residents here." Takeo said.
The Mayor set his glass down. "We can't be certain about anything cause whatever is in there, it's playing mind games with us. When the first three people vanished, I sent officers there, they spent two nights inside and found nothing. A day later, the parents of one of the victims went in to search but they never came back. So what I'm saying is that, this things knows who to avoid and who to take."
"We understand. Thank you for your time, sir."
Takeo said with his head slightly bowed, he then nodded to us and we walked back outside.
"So, we're dealing with a demon smart enough to differentiate between civilians and authority?" Suzuki said.
"Oh and we forgot to ask where it's hiding." I said.
"We already knew." Takeo said, looking toward the north. "It's in an abandoned hospital right down that road."
Suzuki and I exchanged a glance. She nodded at me and I exhaled slowly.
"We should go back and get someone else for this." I said.
"What? No, this is my mission. If you're scared, you can go back to the hotel." Takeo said.
"You don't understand. Whatever is in there... it's dangerous."
I said stepping close to him and Takeo got right in my face. "Do I look scared to you?"
"You die in there!" Suzuki yelled.
Takeo turned to her. "What?"
"Kenichi had a dream and in the dream, you get killed in an abandoned hospital." Suzuki said.
Silence fell over the four of us.Takeo looked at me, then at Suzuki. And then he broke into an awkward laughter. He didn't look like a man who was afraid of death, he seemed ready.
"I get it. You guys want to protect me but I chose this job knowing that every mission might be my last. If I get killed in there, it means it was always my time. Don't ever think it was any of your fault, it's just fate. Now, let's go kick some demon a**."