Chapter 5:

REMNANTS

UZUME | Whispering: Files


     There was shock… panic… inhibition. Some rushed to Mai’s aid; others failed to acknowledge what was going on.

     “Misa! What the hell!” Yano screamed, tearing through her vocal cords. An angered Misa quickly bit back, “Something ran by me!”

     “I warned you about rats before we got here!”

     “That wasn’t a damn rat!”

     Amongst the two’s furious bickering, Azamu attempted to lift Mai up, but Uzu frantically demanded him not to. “We can’t just leave her here,” he claimed. Then in the midst of all the commotion, Mai startlingly sought to save the group members from disarray.

“I’m fine!” she unexpectedly called out. With an immediate sense of relief coloring the atmosphere, everyone’s attitude suddenly relaxed.

     Attempting to reassure her classmates she informed them, “I can get up and walk on my own.”

     The group managed to gather their senses and help Mai to the nearest classroom.

     “We need to get her a bandage or something. Maybe even ice,” Yukio suggested. “Well, I’m sure there’s no ice around here, but maybe the nurse’s office has a few bandages left behind,” Yano proposed. As if their thoughts were in unison, everyone looked towards Misa.

Staring back at them, she resolutely objected, “What? I’m not gonna go get it.”

     Taking it upon herself to challenge Misa as usual, Yano accused, “You knocked her down the stairs the least you can do is get her a bandage.”

     “Technically I knocked Uzu down the stairs.”

     Yano looked towards her with a disheartened gawk, but before she could open her mouth any further, Azamu stepped forth. “I’ll go with you, just… everyone stop arguing. I need to be home before 6pm”

     “Guys, I’m fine!” Mai once again tried to insert, but Yano chided, “No, you’re not. You’re bleeding.” Looking back at Misa again, Yano tiredly urged, “Go!”

     With growing animosity as she spoke, Misa stepped forward. “You’re gonna stop talking down to me.”

     Yano then stood straight up, ready to face Misa head on. The aura of their usual bickering felt lathered with animosity, and the air felt thick. Uzu stood to the side quietly loathing the tension in the room.

     Without wasting a moment’s time, Azamu stepped in front of Misa and shoved her towards the door. Let’s just get going!

     As they both exited the room, Yano took a deep breath and turned back to tend to Mai.

     “She’s so damn selfish,” she complained while shaking her head. “We should leave.” Uzu sobbed. Yano took a glance towards Yukio before inserting, “And we will.”

     “No, I mean like right now. This is stupid.”

     Sensing the panic growing in her tone, Yukio moved to console her, “Uzu, calm down. We’re not gonna hang around here searching for ghosts and dead people while Mai slips into a coma. We’ll leave. We just have to wait for Misa and Azamu to come back.”

     Down on the first floor while on their way to the Nurse’s Office Misa rambled on, “She’s so frickin’ annoying when she wants to be, it makes me sick!”

     “At this point I don’t know if you’re talking about Yano, or Mai.”

     “What?”

     “You tend to find anything that derails your plans as a nuisance. Even if it’s someone suffering from injury.”

     She squinted her eyes at him before turning around and continuing forward in silence.

     They approached the nurse’s office entrance and made their way inside.

     “Did you really see something run by you at the top of the stairs?

     Frustrated, she turned towards Azamu. “Oh, so now I’m a liar?”

     “No, It’s an honest question. I really want to know what you saw.”

     Shaking her head as she walked over to a cabinet, “Something ran by me. And no, it wasn’t a damn rat.

     “It was bigger. And ran on two feet. It even sounded like it chuckled as it passed me by… I damn near had a heart attack, but all everyone cares about is Mai.”

     Irritated, she dragged the items out the cabinet, spilling them to the floor. “All of this is either crumbling to dust or covered in mold!” she hollered out.

     Taking a moment to breathe, she continued. “If it’s something that they want for her head, I’ll wrap my shirt around it. How about that?” Jabbingly, Azamu replied, “As much as you taking your shirt off would be a sight to see, I’m sure a tie would do just fine.”

     “It’s the middle of the summer, nobody is wearing a tie you idiot!”

     “Says the girl with a sweater around her waist. I’m pretty sure Uzu is wearing a tie.”

     Misa then glanced off into the distance as she dug through her memory. “You’re right… what a weirdo. So then why the hell did we come down here to begin with? Ahh! This is all so stupid!”

     As she began violently marching towards the exit, the door unexpectedly slid open. Covered mostly in shadow, save for the light passing through the window from the hallway, illuminating its contour, the figure yelled, “What the hell are you kids doing in here!?”

     Back in room 5-4 Yano grew impatient while awaiting the two’s arrival. “Where the hell are they?” Chiming in, Mai suggested they all head back downstairs and meet with the two at the lobby, “that way we can leave right away.” Yano looked at Mai before peeking at the back of her head. “Yea, the bleeding has mostly stopped anyways, so, I guess we can just go for now.”

     Looking out the window towards the front of the school, Yukio then made an astonishing announcement.

     “Someone's here!”

     Yano approached the window, and while staring through the glass diligently, spoke out in a subtle voice, “Have you ever seen a car like that before?” She looked towards him and with a frightened stare as he slowly nodded his head. “That’s Azamu’s dad!”

     “And what happens if he catches us?

     “Suspension… maybe?”

     “Suspension? Why would we get suspended?” Uzu wept out from behind. Without giving an answer Yano and Yukio walked towards Uzu and Mai, urging that they all make a run for it.

     “Hey, is someone here looking for us?” Uzu contended as she fought against Yano’s sudden aggressive behavior. “Yes, the police are out there, and we need not get caught by them so let’s just go!”

     Assisting Mai to her feet, they hastily headed for the door while Uzu continued to frantically argue from behind. “You said anyone was free to roam this place. Azamu’s the one who stole the files from his dad! Why are we running?” Fed-up, Yano fought back, “People died here! Why would anyone just be allowed to come strolling through?” She shrugged Uzu’s hand off, and violently scoffed at her, “God!”

     As Yano stepped through the doorway, she surprisingly bumped into a passerby. “Gomennasai!” the person exclaimed before pausing and looking Yano in the face. “Are you from the nearby middle school?” she queried. Shocked, Yano turned back towards the classroom to find it filled with school children. With anxiety tipping at the edge, she looked around for her fellow classmates, only to feel her heart sink into the depths of her chest as they were nowhere to be found.

     Azamu and Misa darted out of the Nurse’s Office and collided with the rest of the group as they met in the main lobby.

     “There’s a teacher here!” Misa yelled.

     “Wait, I can’t find Yano,” Uzu chanted.

With her expression twisted, Misa uttered, “Huh?”

Struggling to keep her mind intact, Uzu babbled on, “She just disappeared. Where’d she go?”

     “Whatever!” Misa fanned, “She’ll be fine.” Gesturing to Uzu, Misa quickly shifted the concern to something more self-serving, “Give me my phone!”

     Uzu began checking her pockets and bag, only to end up frozen with a concern cloaked onto her face.

     “Uzu, give me my phone.”

     “I don’t have it.”

     “What do you mean you don’t have it?”

     “I think I left it upstairs.”

     “Arggg! All my stuff is on that phone you dummy. Why would you leave it?” she whined on as she began marching towards the stairs.

     “Going back up there is a mistake. Just leave it and we’ll come back when Azamu’s dad leaves.”

     Looking at Uzu in a cold sweat Azamu paused, “Wait, what do you mean my dad?”

     Dismissing Uzu’s plea, Misa retorted, “It was a mistake bringing you all here with me, that’s the only mistake I see here.”

     As she wrapped around the bend of the staircase and disappeared out of view, her footsteps ceased, soon to be replaced with a slow tempered step back downwards. Azamu, Yukio, Uzu, and Mai, all focused their attentions on the abrupt change in energy.

Suddenly the sound stopped, and after a moment, a quick patter could be heard marching back up the stairs.

     Azamu then interrupted Yukio, placing both his hands onto his shoulders in desperation, “Did you see my dad here?”

     Reaching the top of the stairs Misa watched as Yano’s figure, mostly cascaded by the dark shadows of the dated, murky building, casually walked its way into a classroom down the hall. “Yano! Did you get my phone?” she called out in a whisper. Frustrated by her lack of a response, Misa followed behind her, peering up at the room sign and reading it off to herself.

     “Room 6-2”

     “We saw his car in the back, on the school playground.” Yukio explained to Azamu.

     “Damn it! How did he know we would be here?” He rhetorically asked himself.

     Drowned in angst, Uzu succumbed to her lack of composure, “I can’t get caught here. So, I’ll wait for you all at the station,” she stated as she began striding towards the exit. Looking back at Yukio and Mai, Azamu also agreed that they should swiftly leave the school for now.

     Misa walked in through the doorway with just enough illumination passing through the windows from the setting sun to partially light the room with an ambient orange hue. Yano was oddly seated at a desk with her head in her hands. “Yano, what the fuck are you doing?” Misa asked as she stepped in closer. Slowly getting within earshot distance, she could hear Yano unusually chattering to herself. She then suddenly turned towards the window, startling Misa. Intrigued, Misa walked over to the window, looking out towards the front entrance of the school. She noticed Uzu racing towards the gate and immediately felt a wave of animosity, but also... concern. Just as she went to speak poorly of her out loud, her demeanor suddenly shifted. She fought with all her might as she attempted to force the window open in time.

     Yelling as loud as she could...

     “Don’t!”

     But it wasn’t in time...

     Uzu was struck by a car head on.

     Yano, Yukio, Misa, Azamu, and Mai all stood shoulder to shoulder as they peered down onto the ungodly sight before them. Her body perched up onto the windshield as blood crawled its way along the cracks in the glass. Seeping over the edge of the car frame and pooling onto the asphalt below.

The crackling as she attempted to shift her body.

The voiceless sounds failing to escape her mouth as she hoped to speak.

     Yano, Yukio, Misa, Azamu, and Mai all watched shoulder to shoulder, as their classmate slowly sank towards death’s door.

     In a cold shiver, Misa slowly turned her gaze to look upon Yano with a frightening stare. Watching as her lips mouthed the numbers, “35.014168, 135.747498 …”

Another drop of blood dripped onto the pavement below.

Time of death: Friday, March 26th 6:25pm