How I was Murdered by a Fox Monster (23 page)
Read How I was Murdered by a Fox Monster Online
Authors: M.C Queen
Tags: #love, #horror, #humor, #fantasy, #hot, #teen, #free, #monsters, #guys, #free download
these guys will be a big help," I said to reassure her. I picked up
another which she'd just placed on the ground (a small metal disk)
and brushed away the flaking paint. I once mistook them as Akito's
junk collection and I was subjected to a three hour lecture about
the importance of every one. They acted a bit like charms, but they
didn't burn like paper. Some were easy to understand and had
already been inscribed with insignias such as fire, water, or
lightning. There were more which Akito had displayed in a glass
cabinet, but they were all so old that most people had forgotten
what they did. I occasionally tapped the glass and stared at them,
but Akito refused to hand over the key and let me take a closer
look.
I was quite
content with talking to the others in order to forget my fear, but
Akito said this ruined the effectiveness of his plan and tried to
make me stand outside in the open. I protested, so eventually he
allowed me to sit on the verandah while Taisei kept watch.
Kiyori wanted to paint a giant sign
proclaiming
eat me,
but even Akito thought that was a bit excessive.
feet and crossed them, then uncrossed them, then I sat facing the
forest until I couldn't take it anymore and had to turn around. I
would poke my head into the next room every once in a while and
stare at Mana and Itsuki who were frantically writing out paper
charms. Kurumi, Nina, Souta, and Kiyori had been assigned different
tasks, and Akito was in his study keeping the branch in Kansai
updated. I stared into the forest in fear, and scanned the trees
for the fox monster which could suddenly pop up at any given
moment.
“
Nervous much?” Asked Taisei.
“
Shut up,” I hissed. Unlike me Taisei was sitting
lethargically against the wall and appeared as cool as a cucumber.
Maybe it was the confidence he had in his own abilities, or the gun
stashed behind the wall, but I was envious of his
attitude.
always known, maybe since Grandpa showed me the picture in that
book, that the fox monster was eventually going to come and rip my
heart out. I always had a feeling that my life would end by her
hands, right here, right now. I decided to voice these thoughts to
Taisei. Maybe then he could finally understand the terror which was
threatening to consume me.
“
That's the most ridiculous piece of crap I've ever heard,” he
said after I had finished. “Now you're just being
dramatic!”
“
It's true!” I yelled back. “I know I can't explain how, but I
have this psychic feeling deep down inside.”
“
No one knows when they're going to die.”
“
But maybe it's my special exorcist power!” I was going to
tell him about how Obake made Itsuki want to puke, but then I
remembered my promise not to tell the others.
silent for another few minutes until he opened his mouth again.
“The reason why guys die is because they think they're talking to a
hot chick and then she catches them off guard. We already know what
she is and she's lost the element of surprise. The rest shouldn't
be too hard to take care off.”
“
I supposed,” I muttered. For the first time that evening I
felt like I might survive to see the sunrise. Unfortunately that
feeling didn't last for long. I glanced back to find the fox
monster smiling manically while staring out at us from amongst the
trees. She must have returned home to take a bath and change her
outfit, because her long hair was flawlessly groomed, and she was
dressed in a blood-red summer Kimono.
lunged at Taisei. “She's come to rip my heart out!” I cried.
Taisei
attempted to pry my grip from his neck. “You don't know what you're
doing, you're panicking!”
“
I'm not panicking, this is justified terror!”
“
Look, you saw it with your own eyes right? Nothing can get
past the fence, not even her!”
back and screamed in terror. She had moved another few feet closer
while I wasn't watching.
“
Don't pay any attention to her, she's just messing with your
head,” he hissed.
“
OK,” I looked away and fixed my eyes firmly on Taisei. All I
had to do was sit there and keep her preoccupied until the
reinforcements came. I could sit there and chat while pretending
that there wasn't a vicious monster coming to rip my insides
out.
“
Daisuke
Matsumoto,”
her voice blew through the trees like the wind.
wet myself. “Why, why me!” I moaned in fear.
“
It's OK,” said Taisei nervously as he locked eyes with her.
“Nothing can get past our defenses.”
predicted I heard a familiar crackling noise as the monster hit the
invisible fence. I turned around, smiled, and expected to be
greeted with the sight of her withering in fear (like my hand which
still felt numb) but she just stood there like it was nothing. Her
face was blank and expressionless as the electricity crackled
around her. I was certain that today was going to be our victory
until she took a step forward, then another. At long last it
appeared that the pull of the fence was beginning to push her back,
but she scrunched up her flawless face in concentration and
attempted to step through. It looked like it took a decent amount
of effort, but within half a minute she finally managed to get her
right foot through the barricade and safely on to our side. I felt
the bottom drop out of my stomach when I realized that my fate was
sealed.
There was
nothing more we could do, she was already through.
Chapter
23
Taisei cried. I was still trying to comprehend how my approaching
death managed to break through the impenetrable fence, when Taisei
grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into the next room. He opened
and slammed the sliding door with so much force that I was certain
it would shatter. Mana and Itsuki both jumped in shock and looked
up from the charms they were painting.
“
Taisei," said Mana. “Don't slam the door like that I... Hey,
is there something wrong?” She asked when she noticed the panic on
his face.
me at Itsuki who had to put his hands up to prevent our heads from
colliding.
“
It's too late she's through!” Taisei yelled. “You guys need
to get out of here now. Find Akito, make him take down the fence,
and run. I'll hold her off.”
and her mouth opened and shut like she didn't know what to say.
Itsuki also looked at Taisei blankly like he too had confidence in
the fence and couldn't comprehend its failure.
“
What are you waiting for!” Taisei yelled.
and pushed me towards the other door. Mana was still frozen to the
spot, so he was forced to grab her by the arm and drag her off the
ground. “Come on Mana, we have to go now,” he said. It was the
first time I could detect hints of panic in Itsuki's voice.
“
Taisei,” was the last thing Mana said before we were out of
there and through to the next room.
last time we saw Taisei. I'm still unsure what happened, and I'd
like to hope that the fox monster knocked him out of the way (and
he's peacefully laying in a bush somewhere) but he may have been
the appetizer.
Itsuki, Mana,
and I began our dash towards Akito and freedom. Usually it would
have taken less than a minute to reach his study, but to my
surprise the main room was suddenly filled with sliding doors. Most
of them appeared to be made from wood, but there were also a few
fashioned from steel and glass. There were also a couple with
mirrors attached which reminded me of being at a carnival. Each
door opened in a different direction, so it sometimes took almost a
minute to get it open. I was at a loss at how the system worked, so
I left Itsuki and Mana to push them open before securely locking
them again once more.
“
I don't get it!” I yelled as I helped Mana slide another one
shut. “Wouldn't this be easier without so many doors in our
way?!”
“
They're here to help us!” Itsuki yelled back. All three of us
were clearly panicking and there was a lot of yelling going on.
“They act as a maze, hopefully we can buy some time by trapping her
in here!”
“
I see. Take that fox monster!” I yelled out behind us as I
rushed to open another door. I felt more confident when I thought
she was going to get lost or become distracted by her own
reflection. “Prepare to fall by the all mighty power of the
Exor-!”
that I slammed into something in the middle of the next room. At
first I could feel nothing but long hair and I screamed in fear
(thinking that she had finally caught us) until I realized I'd run
face first into Kurumi.
“
Hey watch it!” Kurumi scolded as she picked up a spanner from
the ground.“Can't you see we have important work to do.”
also standing behind her with a screwdriver in his hand. I can only
guess that they'd been fixing all the doors into place.
“
Hey Daisuke!” He said enthusiastically while screwing another
panel. “Shouldn't you guys be on the verandah?”
other hand was quick to notice the panic on our faces. “Hey,
where's Taisei?” She asked nervously. “Shouldn't he be with you
guys?”
“
He's distracting the fox monster,” said Mana as she locked
another door.
“
No way,” Kurumi said. Her mouth opened and shut like a fish
as she struggled for words. “How is that possib-”
“
We don't have time!” Itsuki yelled. “We need to find Akito
now!”
like she had more to say, but she closed her mouth and nodded her
head. “Right, he should still be in his-”
Kurumi didn't
get to finish. The door behind us suddenly toppled forward before
we had the chance to brace ourselves. I found myself squashed flat
with my head resting against the tatami, and the weight of the door
threatening to crush me. Luckily it was made of wood so it wasn't
enough to kill us, but I heard Mana scream out in pain.
I could see
nothing but stars, but fortunately Itsuki and Kurumi quickly begin
pushing the door away. I crawled out from underneath only to
discover that every door between us and outside had toppled over
like dominoes. I felt despair when I realized there was nothing
standing between us and the heart eating monster.
“
No, how is this possible,” hissed Kurumi. “Those doors should
withstand any attack.”
“
Because it's the fox monster,” said Mana.
frozen towards the verandah and I followed her line of vision to
see the monster draped lethargically over the railing. She looked
at us like she was eying off her next meal, and I swore saliva was
dripping from her mouth. There was no sign of Taisei anywhere, but
at least he wasn't splattered all over the foyer like the exorcists
in my sister's horror stories.
I was certain
we had no choice but to run, but Kurumi stood her ground and didn't
show an ounce of fear.
“
So it's come to
this
huh,
”
she said while glaring at the
monster. “I never thought it would be you and I up against this fox
bitch Itsuki.”
“
You can say that again.” Itsuki pulled a handful of charms
out of his pocket and threw some over to Kurumi, who snatched them
up in her fist.
“
Where's Kiyori when you need him,” she muttered. “He
certainly picked a great time to be a scardy cat.”
managed to produce a collapsible pole which had been strapped to
her leg, and Souta pressed the on button of his screwdriver with so
much enthusiasm that it looked like a weapon. I felt like I should
also suddenly produce a mystic weapon, but Kurumi shoved me behind
them and out of the way.
All I could
see were their backs. Itsuki, Kurumi, Mana, and Souta were all
prepared to fight and die against a monster who was only after me.
It seemed so pointless when I knew we didn't stand a chance. I was
certain that if the monster had me, she'd probably leave everyone
else alone. We may have already lost Taisei, but there was no
reason for anymore of my friends to die. I decided to propose this
idea before it was too late.
“
Guys!” I yelled out to get their attention. “I'm the one she
wants, you should hand me over and save yourselves!”
“
Yeah maybe that's not such a bad idea,” Kurumi shrugged like
she was mulling it over. “Not,” she said with a wink.
“
Don't be ridiculous, we're all friends right,” said Mana. “As
if we would just run away and let you die.”
“
I don't want to watch anyone I like die again either,” added
Itsuki.
“
But she could kill you!” I shouted.
“
Whether we die or not is our own decision, it's not up to
you,” said Kurumi. “You can run if you want to, but I'm going to
stay and fight.”
convince them all to run for their lives, but I was overwhelmed by
their strength and dedication and the words died in my throat.
“Guys,” I mumbled.
I felt touched. I couldn't believe that these people who were
all strangers a few months ago, were all willing to give their
lives up for me. Until that moment I'd thought of them as nothing
more than a bunch of moody teens who constantly bickered with each
other, but my mind was suddenly flooded with positive memories of
our time together. I remembered studying in the library with Nina,
eating lunch with Mana and Itsuki, sun-baking with Souta, telling
jokes with Taisei and Kiyori, and
Kurumi..
....When I stopped and thought about it I realized I never
spent much time with Kurumi. I was certain we had nothing in
common, but her willingness to protect me raised my opinion of her
tenfold.