Chapter 6: The Gate

The hours passed like slow drips of water. No one could sleep. The adrenaline had left their bodies, leaving behind a cold, aching exhaustion.

The teacher’s condition was getting worse. His skin was pale, and he began to shake with a sudden fever. "It’s the magic," Hana whispered, touching his forehead. "The burn is making him sick."

Hiro reached into his backpack and found a small bottle of painkillers. He helped the teacher swallow one with a sip of bottled water. "Rest, Professor," Hiro said quietly. "We’re watching over you."

The rest of the students sat in a circle in the main room. They were silent, listening to the wind howl against the rotting wood of the house.

Rei was the furthest away. He sat on the cold floor in the corner, his back against the peeling wallpaper. He wasn't moving. He wasn't checking his watch. He just stared at a single crack in the opposite wall like a clueless man who had lost his way home.

Hiro and Kenji looked at him many times. They wanted to go over, to put a hand on his shoulder and tell him it was okay. Hana kept biting her lip, her heart breaking for the boy she had known as a gentle student. But no one moved. They didn't want to bother him. They could see that Rei wasn't just tired—he was in a different world, a world where the "Law" no longer existed.

In the back room, the silence was broken by a raspy, hateful voice.

"You think you’ve won? You’re just sheep in a cage!"

It was Sora, the gang leader. Daichi had dragged him to a heavy wooden chair and was finishing the knots on the rope. Sora’s head was still bleeding from the glass vase, but he was awake and full of venom.

"Shut up," Daichi snapped, pulling the rope so tight it bit into Sora’s skin.

"Or what? You'll hit me with another vase?" Sora laughed, coughing up a bit of blood. "You kids have no idea where you are. King was a weakling. The Master is going to find you. He’s going to peel the skin off that boy with the bat first."

Daichi didn't reply. He stood up, his hands covered in dried blood and dust. He looked at Sora with a coldness that matched the island’s fog. Without a word, he took a piece of cloth and gagged the man, silencing the bad-mouthing for good.

Daichi walked back into the main room. He saw his friends huddled together, and then he saw Rei, sitting alone in the dark.

"The sun is coming," Daichi whispered to the room.

Everyone looked toward the cracked window. The pink fog was starting to glow with a pale, orange light. The night was finally ending.

When the orange light of the sun finally broke through the trees, the students stood up. Their legs were stiff, and their muscles were aching, but the apprehension of staying in that house was more powerful than their fatigue.

"We have to go back to the bus," Kaito said, helping Yumi up. "Perhaps the radio will be working now that it is morning."

The pink fog faded away.

They walked in a group, with Kenji, who was recovering rapidly but still had the bandage on his forehead, running ahead of everyone else. Kenji was the first to arrive at the bus, hoping to find the driver to take them home.

"Driver! Hey, wake up!" Kenji shouted, banging on the metal door.

But the driver’s seat was empty. The bus was cold and quiet.

"He’s not here!" Kenji yelled back to the group. "The driver is gone!"

Panic started to rise again. Was he captured? Was he dead? But then, they saw a figure walking slowly up the dirt path—the same path the bus was supposed to take deeper into the island. It was the driver. He looked calm, stretching his arms as if he had just woken up from a nap in a park.

Hana stepped forward, her face red with anger and confusion. "Where have you been?!" she demanded. "We were attacked! Gangs came into the house! They hurt the teacher! They almost killed us!"

The driver stopped and blinked at her. He looked at their bruised faces and blood-stained clothes. He didn't look shocked. He just looked bored.

"Attacked?" the driver asked, scratching his head. "I didn't hear anything. I went for a walk to clear my head, and then I fell into a sound sleep in the grass. I must have been really tired from the drive."

Kaito stepped forward, his eyes narrowing. "A sound sleep? There were explosions! The teacher was screaming! Sora’s gang was shouting right outside this bus! How could you sleep through that?"

The driver just shrugged. "The air on this island is heavy. Once you fall asleep, you don't wake up easily. Sorry, kids."

Kaito turned away, his face twisted in disappointment. "Unbelievable," he muttered to Yumi. "We were fighting for our lives, and the one adult who was supposed to protect us was 'napping' in the woods. He's useless."

Rei stood at the back of the group, watching the driver. He didn't say anything, but his mind started to count again.

The sound of the bus engine roaring to life felt like a miracle. The driver had tinkered with the engine for only a few minutes before it started humming.

"It's fixed," the driver called out, his voice flat. "Get in."

Daichi took charge. He helped the injured teacher into the front seat. "We’re going back," Daichi said firmly to the group. "The trip is over. We’re heading straight to Tokyo. We need a hospital, and we need the police."

Everyone nodded, feeling a massive wave of relief. Hiro and Kenji dragged Sora out of the house. The gang leader’s hands were tied tightly, and his mouth was no longer gagged, but he looked weak. They tossed him into the back of the bus like a sack of trash.

"You’re going to rot in prison for this," Hiro hissed at him. "The law is going to catch up to you."

Sora leaned his head against the bus window and began to laugh. It wasn't a loud laugh; it was a dry, scary giggle that made the hair on Rei's neck stand up.

"Prison?" Sora mocked, looking at the students with pity. "You think there is a 'back' to go to? You think the law exists here?"

"Shut up," Daichi warned, but Sora kept talking.

"Look at the road, kids," Sora sneered. "No one leaves the Island of Sins. You can drive for a hundred years, but you’ll never see a city again. Whoever comes here is trapped. The ocean doesn't lead to Japan anymore. It leads to him."

"What are you talking about?" Hana asked, her voice trembling.

"There is only one way out," Sora whispered, his eyes turning dark. "But you won't find it on a map. You have to find the Gate, and the Gate is guarded by things much worse than me."

The driver didn't say a word. He just shifted the gear into drive and pressed the gas.

The bus began to move down the path. Everyone looked out the back window, watching the house disappear into the trees. They waited to see the main highway. They waited to see the ocean or a bridge.

But as the bus drove, the road didn't change. The trees became taller, their leaves turning a strange, deep purple. The sky didn't turn blue; it stayed a hazy, golden orange. After thirty minutes of driving, they realized they were passing the exact same rotten house they had just left.

The driver stopped the bus. The road had looped back.

"I told you," Sora laughed from the back of the bus. "Welcome to your new home. Hope you like the view."