Legends Come True

     Ghosts became a common occurrence for Izumi since the wedding incident. Usually he'd see the majority around expected areas, like cemeteries or accident prone locations, but sometimes he'd see them casually walking down the street. He would always point them out to his mother in excitement and only a few ghosts would antagonize him, causing him to cry. Nonetheless, Kanae always comforted him and told him that she wouldn't let any ghosts hurt him.

When Izumi finally started elementary school, he met an energetic boy named Eiji, who would quickly earn the title of his best friend as he loved to hear about the ghosts Izumi had seen, especially the fabled revenant. Despite being an athletic person, he would never have anything more than the build of a runner. In addition, he kept his blueish black hair in an ivy league cut since childhood. On their walks home, Eiji would listen with large brown glossy eyes as Izumi told him the story about the red robed stranger.

     By eighth grade the boys decided to bring some other friends along and visit their first abandoned building, which was rumored to be haunted. They went at night to make the experience more thrilling, but the entire time Izumi was on edge, hoping that no ghosts would be in the complex. 

Most ghosts don't intervene with human affairs, yet on rare occasions Izumi would run into villainous ghosts which try their best to instill fear into human hearts. Hence, eventually Izumi stopped pointing out ghosts like he used to when he was younger, and he would try his best to not catch their attention. The chances of one being in the building was at least half, since people have reported hearing strange noises coming from the building as they pass by. Due to the complaints, the city scheduled the demolition of the building, hence the boys rushed to see if the rumors were true before then. 

The abandoned office was only five stories tall, but the age was clear as the structure was primarily made out of cracked and decayed concrete. Broken windows, cobwebs, and dust decorated the worn establishment, but what really added to its unsettling charm was the variety of crawling insects and vermin. 

While the thought of seeing a spirit frightened the other boys, Izumi stuck by Eiji's side, not for the same reason as he was already accustomed to the poltergeists, but because the one thing he never became comfortable with were critters. Faint hoarse groans could be heard as they traversed and some began to wonder if it was a wise idea to enter. 

They went one floor at a time, with the goal of exploring all five stories, yet several of the rooms had unstable flooring which was ready to cave in beneath their feet, causing their resolve to waver. Through the chattering of their teeth, a sudden thunderous crash could be heard from the floor above them–the third floor–which shook the building to its core. The roar was akin to a boulder being shot through, and the boys, finally convinced the building had seen its last, screamed as they ran towards the exit, Eiji included. However, Izumi held tightly to his best friend as he heard something else the other boys didn’t hear, a bloodcurdling scream...and voices.

Eiji tried to furiously shake off his friend's hand, already growing exceedingly frantic. “What are you doing Izumi??!! Didn’t you hear that, what if the building collapses!”

Izumi continued to hold on and his face was unwavering. “I hear something, like someone is up there.”

“Are you crazy?! There’s no one up there and even if there is we're better off not finding out!”

Izumi couldn’t shake the feeling that he needed to find out what the source of the scream and the voices were. Since Eiji doesn’t seem to hear it, it’s probably a ghost, he thought to himself, but ghosts usually don’t fight each other...Maybe it’s him, the revenant… 

More determined than ever, Izumi began to make his way to the third floor with Eiji yelling at him to come back all the while running after him in the process.

“Dude what the hell are you doing!”

“I’m gonna go see what it was.”

“Did you not hear what I just said!! What if the building just caves in?! Your mom’s gonna kill me if you don’t come back!”

“That’s why you’re coming with me, right?” Izumi continues on ahead as fast as possible in hopes to catch the ghost before they retreat.

“Wai- ughhhh!” Eiji messies his hair in frustration before hurriedly trying to catch up to his best friend.

     The third floor’s main hallway was adorned with splatters of blood and large holes in the walls, as though someone swung another person repeatedly as they walked past. A putrid scent accompanied the scene that grew in distortion the closer they encroached until they reached a dilapidated wooden door that hung on by a mere half a hinge. With the slight usher open, the frame breathed its last and clattered to the floor, revealing the grotesque image it once tried to cloak from the innocent eyes of others. An indescribable remnant of a carcass unknown to be human or animal or other instantly wrought a toil of Izumi’s gut and evoked a vomit.

Shaking him in worry, his best friend’s voice quivered, “Izumi, are you alright?! What is it?!!”

The boy continued to hack and spit out all he could, avoiding another confrontation with the sight while Eiji continued to panic. It took him until after he regurgitated all he could to process the words that had been said to him.

He can’t see it, he remembered.

And for the first time since he was a child, Izumi felt a strange sense of loneliness in the world. This feeling was accompanied by a newfound fear. A fear for the unknown being known as the revenant.