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It is very early in the morning. In the scene where the demon ate those people, there was yellow tape around it to prevent people from going there except authorized personnels.
Police secured the place. While some other police officers went there to inspect it and also take photos of what they found. It was just blood splashed everywhere and then torn clothes of the victims. There wasn't a trace of the victims' flesh or body.
Sato was carried in an ambulance. He was still unconscious. The ambulance moved with great speed accompanied with a loud siren.
Two police officers were standing together, a little distance from where the yellow tape was, but their eyes were fixed on the scene. They were female Police Inspector Ayaka and male Police Officer Mori.
"This is not the first time this is happening," Officer Ayaka observed. She was in a senior rank, higher than Officer Mori.
"You're right, Inspector Ayaka. The only difference is that we have a survivor who we can talk to."
"Yes. He will be the one who can tell us what really happened. And the suspect in this crime." The suspect could be a wild animal, he shrugged, "with the way the victims were killed, it was like they were eaten."
"What if it was something worse than an animal? Something more scary and dangerous? You never can tell. When a wild animal eats a human, you can see some fragments of bone, flesh, at least a fragment of the human can be seen. But in this case, there is none. Something is really wrong, and we can't seem to put our finger on it." She ran her hand through her hair and let out a harsh breath
"Inspector Ayaka, I know you can deal with this," he assured her.
"Yes. We will deal with it." She clapped her hands together nodding
A young female police officer approached them.
"What is it, Aoi?" Inspector Ayaka gestured at her
Her brow drew together. There was an hint of alarm in her voice,"I found something, Inspector Ayaka."
"Ok, lead the way, Aoi. Officer Mori, come with us," Inspector Ayaka ordered
"Copy that," Officer Mori and Officer Aoi said in unison.
Officer Aoi led the way. They got to the scene. Officer Aoi showed them a small, thick liquid on the ground.
"What could that be?" she pointed at it.
"We don't know yet," Inspector Ayaka shrugged. She smacked her lips. She squat and wore nitrile gloves and then picked up what she could and put it into an exhibit bag.
Inspector Ayaka stood, she turned to Officer Mori who just folded his arms over his chest and his eyes bore to the thick liquid on the ground and Officer Aoi. Officer Mori eyes fell back to Inspect Ayaka.?"Both of you continue checking to see if you would find anything else," she commanded. Her voice sparked with authority.
"Copy that," they left.
Inspector Ayaka turned back to the liquid substance on the ground, but she couldn't find any. The thick liquid substance was already drying up since the sun was out, but she was able to save the one she put inside the exhibit bag before it finally dried off.
She gave a puzzled look. It was here, so what happened? Did it dry off within a few seconds? Where could it have gone? What was the liquid? Questions like that rang in her head. She checked the one in her exhibit bag; it was still there. She heaved a sigh of relief.
***
Sato's father, Chiyo, was wailing loudly, looking everywhere in the house for Sato. He couldn't find him. He cried in grief. He went outside the house also but still didn't find him.
Sato was not the kind of son that spent the night outside. It'd never happened before. Chiyo knew something was definitely wrong. He was crying and walking round the house again and again, screaming Sato's name. At last, he stopped walking around and slumped on the ground. He couldn't stop crying.
His friend approached him, looking worried.
"Chiyo, is it about your son?" Chiyo's friend asked knowingly.
"My sonnnnnnn," he wailed loudly.
"He's been taken to the hospital."
Chiyo stood up at once and held his friend, shaking him like a strong wind would do to a tree. "Which hospital did they take him to?"
"I was going to have my morning soju when I saw them carrying him in an ambulance. He could be dead, who knows." He shrugged.
"Dead?" He shook him once more. Both of them fell to the ground. "What did you say!"
"Why not go to the hospital and see for yourself!" he screamed.
"Which hospital did they take him to?" Chiyo screamed.
"I don't know!" he screamed back.
"What are you talking aboutttttttt?"
"I don't know!"
"What is 'you don't know'?"
"I don't know, Chiyo!"
Chiyo punched him hard in the face.
***
Chiyo was in the hospital with Sota. He was sitting on a chair beside Sota. He was still crying. Sota was also crying. Now it was a competition of crying. Nobody wanted to stop.
Other patients in the room now felt it was a nuisance. They were okay with it at first, but it continued on and on. They were screaming and crying. But nobody was dead; they should have stopped sooner.
In the other bed, a man was with his sick mother. She was disturbed by Chiyo and Sota's cries. When the doctor came to meet them, the man had to speak with the doctor.
"Doc, please can you tell them to reduce their voices while crying. It's affecting my mum badly," he complained.
"I'll do that," the doctor looked cat him apologetically.
"Please do it before you attend to my mum," he said.
The doctor left to where Chiyo and Sota were. They were still crying. They didn't mind the doctor that was there; they continued crying.
"Um…. Pleas…." the doctor tried to talk, but it seemed they now increased their cries. "Please can you reduce your voice or maybe stop crying. Your son is awake now, and nothing serious is wrong with him. He will be discharged soon."
"Doctor, do you know what it means to lose a son and find the son again when you thought he could have been dead?" Chiyo screamed.
"I'm sorry, sir, I don't. But please, for the sake of other sick patients," he beseeched.
"Ok," they stopped crying. Chiyo embraced Sota.
The doctor left.
Just then, Taku, Jin, and Midori came. They were in their school uniform.
"Good afternoon, sir," they greeted Chiyo in unison.
"Good afternoon. Have you come to see your friend?"
"Yes, sir," they smiled.
"Ok. I'll leave you guys alone."
"Thank you, sir." They greeted.
Chiyo left. He walked with his head down and shoulders slumped. He was looking very pale and old, not old because of his age but because of his persistent alcohol use. Exhaustion plagued and consumed his body.
Midori sat on the chair. Taku and Jin stood.
"We heard in school that you fainted. So we took the excuse to come see you in the hospital," his voice was laced with concern.
"Hope you didn't feign the faint this time around ," Jin teased, and they all laughed except for Sota.
This time, there was a different expression on Sota's face. He wasn't crying again. He was looking very scared, like he'd seen a ghost. He just kept looking straight without looking at his friends even once. Fear lingered in his eyes, freezing his heart into nothingness. His mind was locked in the prison of a deadly fright.
"Sato, is anything wrong? What happened? Why did you faint?" Taku leaned towards him.
Sota didn't say anything.
"Did he turn deaf?" Midori joked. She stood up from the chair and touched Sota. "Hey, stop this and talk to us." She chuckled.
Sota didn't say anything to her.
"What must have happened to Sota?" she wondered out loud.
The police came. Officer Ayaka and Officer Mori.
"Good morning, kids," they greeted.
"Good morning, officers," Taku, Jin, and Midori greeted back.
"Is he your friend?" Ayaka pointed at Sota..
They nodded.
"Could you kids give us some minutes so we can talk to him? Officer Ayaka asked politely, "we want to interrogate him"
"Yes, officer," they left.
"How are you, Sota? How are you feeling?" Inspector Ayaka cast a look at Sota observing him.
Sota nodded.
"Ok, let's get straight to our questions so your friends can come back and stay with you. I want you to tell me everything you know until you were unconscious." She brought a jotter and a silver pen from her bag and poised to write.
Sota didn't say anything. He was only staring at her.
"Sota?" She called in a calm voice. "I'll need you to cooperate with us. So many people died, and you are the only survivor. If you can tell us what happened, we will be able to track the murderer. What happened, and what did the murderer look like?"
Sota remembered when the demon warned him not to tell anybody about it and then threatened to kill him and his father. He didn't want anything to happen to his father. His father was all he had. The only family he had.
Since the demon let him go, he should also keep his promise. He didn't care so much if anything happened to him; all he cared about was his father, and he knew that if anything were to happen to him, his father wouldn't be able to bear it. His father had grieved enough. Deep pain lingered in his heart.
"I can't remember." Tears streamed down Sota's face.
"Ok. We understand because you were frightened, it could make your memory blur. Can you tell us the slightest thing you can remember?"
He shook his head.
"Where were you going when you encountered what you saw?" Officer Mori asked.
"I was going home. That's all I could remember," Sota snorted
"What were you doing outside? Why did you leave the house?" "We talked to your father. He said he didn't know when you left the house. That he woke up and didn't see you."
"I just left the house. I wanted to stroll out. Is that a crime now?"
"No, no, no, it's not, Sota. Anything else? What else can you remember that you did?"
He shook his head. "That's the only thing I can remember for now."
"When you remember anything else, please let us know. Come to the police station. Ok?"
Sota nodded.
Officer Ayaka and Officer Mori left. Taku, Jin, and Midori were outside the hospital.
"You kids can go in now," Officer Ayaka gestured at the
They went in.
"Do you think the boy is telling the truth?" Officer Mori asked her.
"No. He is lying. He is scared," a subtle Freon on her face.
"Is he going to open up?"
"He will. Whatever killed those people will definitely come for him. So he will."
"I see," Officer Mori nodded slowly.
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