Kiji Mitsuba found his gaze pulling upward when he heard the scream, towards the source. Someone upstairs. He took a step towards the door, but didn't leave. A scream like that, when the inmates were scattered all over the place and his own two were god only knew where, was something that definitely needed to be investigated. Well, a scream like that was something that needed to be investigated anyway, someone could be in big trouble, but he couldn't help but think that the voice seemed familiar. If his radio was working, he could at least contact one of the other guards, but every time he had tried to use the damn thing, he'd been met with static and strange, garbled transmissions from unfamiliar sources. Something must have been messing with the signal. He wondered if he would get a better signal from another area. He glanced back over to the two inmates now under his care. They'd woken up in this room together, and he remembered ushering the two minors into a hiding place together during the earthquake before, so he had been with them when they'd fallen. Numbers 25 and 58, if he recalled correctly, were both inmates with significant medical concerns. Their supervisors had to bring the two teenagers to the infirmary on a regular basis and they were both on medication. Kiji didn't know if either of them had any of their needed medicine on them or not, but if not, it would be a big problem.
Number 25 was sat against the teacher's podium, knees drawn to his chest and hands over his ears. He hadn't reacted well to the fall, waking up in a strange place, the screaming or the dead body in the room with them. Number 58 didn't seem as bothered, and was crouched beside him, making sure he was okay. Kiji could already tell getting them to come with him to investigate might be difficult.
"Number 25, are you okay to stand?"
The inmates both looked up at him. "I...think so." The older of the two answered. "I'm not hurt."
"That's good. We need to go check out that scream, make sure whoever it came from is okay."
"No!"
Well, that response wasn't too surprising. "Number 25, we can't stay here. We need to work out where we are, how we got here and how we are going to get out of here. We also need to find everyone else."
"No, we can't go out there!" Kiji looked over at the body in the room, then back to the inmate. It was no wonder he was freaked out. This scene was unnerving to the guard as well. The body in the corner was a teenager themselves, in a school uniform. Obviously murdered. Another thing on his list of tasks would be to alert the proper authorities and ensure a thorough investigation was implemented.
"You don't have to be afraid. I will be with you, and as a Nanba prison guard I'm sure I can face whatever dangers are lurking out there."
58 spoke up, supporting the guard's words. "He's right, Nico. It will be better for us to get moving and get to know our surroundings. We can check the area for any traps or clues as we go, and sticking together is safer than splitting up."
25 shook his head adamantly. He seemed pretty set with the idea that he wouldn't be going.
"Well, I can't leave the two of you here." Kiji told him. "I have a duty towards the two of you, but I also have a duty towards the inmate we heard scream."
58 stood up. "I can go investigate the scream while you stay here with Nico."
"Absolutely not!" Sighing, he just about managed to resist the urge to rub the bridge of his nose in frustration - rubbing off his make-up wouldn't help - and tried to think. The scream had come from just upstairs. If he just took a quick look outside this classroom, he could see if there were stairs leading up nearby. If there was a quick path to the source of the scream, and he could pinpoint it fast enough, he wouldn't leave the inmates alone for that long at all. It would also give him some information about what he was about to face and possibly reassure 25 that they would be fine. "I'll take a look outside." He told the inmates. "I won't go far, and I'll be back in just a few minutes, okay? Stay right here. Do not leave this room unless it's a matter of life or death. Do you understand?"
"We understand, sir." 58 answered obediently. Kiji walked to the door and heard 25 yelling for him to stop as he went. He ignored it and stepped out.
What a gloomy, unattractive place, he thought as he walked through the halls, for now ignoring more dead bodies, all of young people, and walking toward the door at the end of the hall. It was covered in talismans and charms, and wouldn't open when Kiji pulled it. Also at the end of the hall, though, was a corner turn into another hallway. At the end of this one, he could see a staircase leading upwards. Exactly what he needed. There was a large hole in the floor between him and the staircase, but it looked like he could get around it by just entering through the back door of a nearby classroom and exiting out the front. So in the classroom he went, walking a little faster, conscious of how much time this might take and how long those inmates would be left alone in classroom 1-A. As he crossed through the classroom, which was just as unpleasant as 1-A - desks and chairs knocked askew, dust, bugs and dead bodies littering the place - something flared up in the middle of the room. It looked like a floating flame, like demon's fire from ghost legends.
"What on earth...?"
"Earth..." A voice from the flame echoed. "I think this place is far removed from earth. More like hell. A place where we are doomed to suffer until death, and even then..." It, or he, took a shaky breath before continuing in a spiteful tone of voice. "Finally decided to stop shivering with the other two back there, did you? Typical of a grown-up, to go forth on your own and leave the kids behind."
"I will have you know that I left that room to investigate a scream from someone I have a duty of care towards!" Kiji scolded the spirit, frankly offended by what it was implying. "I intend to return to those children as soon as I'm sure he's okay."
"Of course you do." Sneered the spirit. "People like you are so high and mighty, acting like they know what's best and are absolute angels. Well, newsflash, you're not shit! You're just like every other piece of filth who's spent too many years living in our shitty, worthless society! You only look out for number one."
"Get out of my way."
"Why should I? You won't find the man who screamed anyway."
"What do you mean by that?"
The spirit gave a gleeful chuckle. "You don't know how this place works yet, do you? You may all be in the same building, you may all be in the same room, but this hell is separated into different dimensions layered over each other. My friends and I...we could leave notes for each other, but we could never see each other again...and time is warped here. That scream you heard could have happened just now, or it could have happened hours, days or even weeks ago. Or it might not have even happened yet!"
Kiji disliked this spirit. He was getting frustrated, and more time was passing since he had heard that scream. He tried to step around the spirit, but it moved to block his way again. "Move it! I don't care what you say, I have to help my kids!"
"Your 'kids'? Please, your screaming prison inmates are hardly kids. You work at a juvenile detention centre?" It seemed the spirit was only fully aware of the two in classroom 1-A with him. "You're not dressed very appropriately for a prison guard, you know."
"Commenting on my appearance? How petty. My flawless appearance couldn't possibly have a negative impact on my work, however you right now are obstructing a prison officer from performing his duties."
"So arrest me, officer!" The spirit laughed, clearly messing with him. "But okay, I give, I give. I'm being just plain nasty right now, aren't I? I'm sorry. Post-traumatic bitchiness. Here, you know what? Before I died, my friends and I managed to work out some vital information about this place and a possible escape route. I could share that with you."
"You could?" Kiji asked, interested. That would certainly be helpful.
"Sure. Just take a seat and I'll explain everything."
"Why didn't you and your friends use this information to escape?"
"We'd already been here too long. We were starved almost to death, and badly injured. We were too weak to use this information to our best advantage, but you are strong and healthy still."
"Okay. I'll gather the other three here."
"The other three?"
"The two kids in the classroom and the one upstairs."
"No! This is a one time offer!" The spirit insisted. "I don't know how long I can stay manifested for. So make your choice, Mister Guard. Listen now and save yourself, or go on a fruitless search for a man who won't even be there. We all know what would be better for you."
"Are you seriously suggesting I abandon these people?"
"Don't play dumb, Mister Guard. We all know you'd rather survive this ordeal than protect them."
Kiji had had enough. He walked through the spirit, since it wouldn't move aside to let him pass. He hurried to the front door, no longer bothering to keep from looking worried. It had been too long since he heard that scream, so running was completely appropriate at this stage. It very well could have been an emergency, and in an emergency no pace was too fast. Besides, it wasn't like he would slip or stumble. Kiji was an expert at running in stiletto heels without even the slightest wobble, no matter how uneven the ground.
Just as he reached the door, a force hit him straight in the centre of the chest and he was thrown back. He hit the ground hard and rolled gracelessly, landing sprawled out on his front with his head towards the door, one arm trapped under his torso. He gasped for breath, and felt a stabbing pain through his chest. His ribs were shattered from the impact, he was sure of it, and he was sure it wasn't the only fracture that he had sustained. How hard was he just hit? He coughed, and tasted blood. And then the spirit appeared before him again. It was red in colour now. It was forming into something other than fire. A body. A teenage boy.
"You damn corporeals piss me off. Get out of your way? Who the hell do you think you are, you selfish son of a bitch?" Kiji heard an ominous creak, and looked over just in time to see a large cabinet fall on him. He cried out in pain. The cabinet itself was heavy, much heavier than it looked. The weight on his body...he actually doubted Hajime would be able to lift this thing by himself, and people often said he was the strongest guard. Additional to that, it felt like a lot of sharp objects had been on those shelves, and they were now embedded in his back. He could feel himself bleeding badly. "You're a liar." The spirit continued. "You don't care about anyone but yourself. None of you do, and you know what? I'm glad I never got to your age." He saw the spirit move and sit on the cabinet, and felt the pressure increase. He was coughing again, and this time the blood he brought up made it past his lips. God, it hurt so much...he couldn't move, couldn't even struggle against it. "Well, how about this? Each and every one of the inmates you pretend to care so much for, each and every one of your 'kids' is going to die here. They're going to die a painful, horrible death, just like me and all my friends, and they're going to feel the pain of that death for the rest of eternity. They will panic, they will struggle, and they will all die meaningless deaths that no-one, especially not you, could ever do anything about." The spirit was rocking back and forth, shifting his weight on the cabinet as he spoke, and each shift worsened the pain and the damage. "And they won't give you a thought as they die. And that's that." He was kicking one leg cheerfully, happy to see the guard suffer. Kiji gave one last groan as his vision began to grow dark and he felt his consciousness fading. He just hoped the inmates would be okay.
Time passed, and back in classroom 1-A, things had been quiet for a little too long. Nico decided it was time to fill that silence. "That big bird guard's been gone a really long time. I'm getting worried. Should we go looking for him?"
Upa had been meditating by this point, but opened an eye to acknowledge the older boy's words. "He told us to wait here."
"But he's been gone for ages!" There was a loud thump somewhere in the distance, and the unease on Nico's face increased. "What if he's in trouble?"
"Then it's more dangerous out there than he thought. He might be held up because whoever we heard scream has been badly injured, or trapped, and it's taking longer than he expected to help him."
"Then...he'll be right upstairs, right? We can go find him!"
Upa stood with a sigh. "The biggest problem with going to look for him is that he might come back here while we're gone. If he finds we left against his specific instructions, we'll be in big trouble, and if he goes to look for us again, we'll keep missing each other."
"But-"
"We can leave him a message explaining." Upa continued before Nico could argue. "It might not stop him from looking for us himself, but it can signal to others that we've been here. If we find people, we can designate this a meeting room. Others might wait for us or the supervisor here if we leave a message." As he said this, he walked to the chalkboard, looking for something to write with. Preferably chalk, but there wasn't any by the board. The supervisor may have had a pen on him, but obviously that wasn't much use to them now. The body on the other side of the room had a knife sticking out of her ribs, and as a last resort he supposed he could take the knife and carve a message into the teacher's podium. Then again, it was a school girl in a school uniform. There was a bag near the body, presumably her school bag, so there was probably a pen case in there. He opened the bag and started to rifle through the belongings within. Typical school supplies, he supposed. He didn't notice Nico opening the door behind him and step out. He picked out a pen, tore a page from a work book and scrawled a message.
Kiji
Nico was worried about you, so we've gone to find you. If we miss each other on the way back, and if any others from Nanba find this note, we should make this classroom our designated meeting point.
That seemed good enough, and he was pretty sure he got the supervisor's name right. Satisfied, he placed it on the podium and turned to look for Nico. That was when he'd noticed he'd wandered off. "Nico?" He called, stepping into the hall.
"Hey, Master! Come look at this!"
"Don't wander off! We have no idea what we'll be facing here!" Upa followed the voice and found Nico standing at the edge of a large hole in the floor. Down below, he could see the first floor. An entrance hall, with more dead bodies. To the left of the hall was a line of windows, suggesting a room on that side, but the nearest door was clearly not one that led to that room. It was on the same wall, but further behind them and covered in strange charms. It didn't look like there was any way into the side room at all.
"Wow...that's a long way down."
"The supervisor probably went to find another way around the hole."
"Where do you think we are?"
"I don't know. We'll need to figure that out." Upa went to turn away, deciding to head to the other end of the corridor when a scream pulled his attention back to the staircase on the other side of the hole. He looked over just in time to see a girl run down the stairs. She caught sight of Upa and Nico.
"Help me!" She screamed. "Please, help me!"
Nico stepped toward the hole, but Upa put a hand out to stop him.
"Master?"
There wasn't anything they could do to help from all the way over there. Plus, they didn't know for sure they could trust this girl. Upa didn't want to voice that thought though. She, for all appearances, was a scared teenage girl, about the same age as them, and she was wearing the same uniform as the dead girl back in classroom 1-A. That girl had been murdered, so the murderer was probably after that girl as well, by the looks of things. If, by some nasty twist, it turned out the girls had tried to kill each other, which at this stage he doubted, they could defend themselves from some dishevelled civilian. He pointed down the corridor and called across to the girl.
"We can't help you from here. If someone's chasing you, find somewhere to hide or try and get downstairs, we'll find a way over to you."
"Yeah, don't worry, girl! Injustice will meet my boot!"
The girl gave Nico a weird look, and hesitated for a moment, possibly because she'd noticed how the two boys were dressed. Finally, she nodded and turned to run, but someone else was standing behind her now.
He'd not noticed the little ghost girl appearing, but he assumed that had been what the teenager had been running from. The ghost girl had her hair in pigtails, and a pair of scissors in her hand, and only one eye. The other was just a bloodied socket. Before any of them could react, the ghost had plunged her scissors into the girl's own eye. The resulting scream was horrendously loud, a thing of pure agony as the spirit tried to dig the girl's eye out of its socket. Upa heard Nico gasp, and part of him expected him to run off again, but he didn't. Both of them stayed and helplessly watched the spirit pull the girl's eye out and try and place it in her own empty socket. After deciding the replacement wouldn't fit, it dropped the eye down and left the girl to bleed out.
"That was awful..." Nico breathed.
"The ghost knows where we are." He took Nico's hand and led him away. "Unless you happen to know some very good first aid, there's nothing we can do to help her."
"Could your old man friend help?"
"Qi? He specialises in medicines, not open wounds, but he does have some medical knowledge. He might be able to prolong her life. But he isn't here right now, and I doubt he could keep her alive and safe until we could find her a more qualified doctor."
"If he’s not here, where is he? He was with us back in the game room, with everyone else...where do you think everyone else is?" He didn't respond. He didn't know, after all. He didn't even know where they were. "We'll find them, right, Master?"
"...Right." It was probably wrong to say that, but Upa didn't doubt his words. They would at least find someone, whether they were alive or not. After all, they at least knew Kiji was in the building with them.
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