Date: September 11
Place: Nagoya, Japan
[Rei]
There was no wonder they would react that way.
The freezer where a variety of ice creams once were was replaced by severed body parts of a person on the right side and a monster on the other side.
Despite not having electricity, someone still neatly piled the body parts and stored them here.
I snapped another picture from a different angle when I noticed blood-stained fingerprints down the machine. They extended all the way to the floors and the bottom of the shelves. I followed the trail, which led me behind the counter.
There was a lifeless body lying on the floor, it was too peculiar to not snap a photo.
"What the hell," the body was composed of different parts. The torso was of human flesh, but from the bottom and down, as replaced by an unOrdinary. It was stitched quite professionally. Its hands were placed beautifully on the chest, face left smiling but barely recognizable. The fingertips were skinned, hence the blood trail.
I moved the body with my foot when I noticed something written on the floor.
"Are you seeing this?" I say to Cedrick after giving him another snap of the drawing from different angles.
It was a logo of a cult activity—a symbol, a sign written in blood that was dried over time.
The circle was made of eight small loops, spaced out like marks on a clock and each line connected each loop to all the others, forming a web that looked too perfect. In the middle were two strange shapes, one looked like an eye, split down the middle, there was a singular straight line above it, and below it was a twisted shape that looked like the number '5' but on another angle, it looked like an 'S'.
"That is super disturbing," he comments, his voice barely making sense as if he was biting into something. "Did the others see it too?" his voice became clear.
"Not yet," I say, trying to look for anymore worth investigating around the counter. There were candles, eight to be precise— all of the wit was burnt down to half. "How's the electricity?"
"I'm going in all the staff rooms as fast as possible," groaning and out of breath, as I heard a clothe being ripped and tied.
"Are you alright?" I stepped out of the store.
"I'm all good, just ran into a teeny tiny trouble," he inhaled before his footstep's sounds intensified.
"I'm gonna head down there," as I was about to walk back to the escalator, I found no one nearby.
"No, don't, just focus on your end," I heard his silenced gun being shot from the call.
"Ok, good luck," I argued no further as I pointed my light to the hallways. "Noel? Kikoe?" I try and call out on the earpieces, walking a few distance where I see Noel waiting in front of a clothing store.
"Sorry, I needed some change," Kikoe walked out apologizing, my eyes glanced at the new pair of tight black jeans. "It's embarrassing, I know," Noel comforted him, patting his shoulders lightly.
[Kikoe]
She extended her arms to pat my head, "Don't scare me like that, report to me," her voice stern, scolding Noel.
"We'll move further up and I need you two to stick real close," she gave us a serious look before opening the map again to navigate the escalators leading up.
The mall was silent the moment we came in, but it felt more quiet than it ever was. The tension on my fingertips gripping the gun was becoming loose, my palms sweating, and my legs shaking.
I have a great memory and I was always fond of it. But remembering the dismembered parts made me loathe this talent.
The heads were clearly of a young person around the ages of three to fifteen. Eyes were contained in the jars, swimming in their own pool of scarlet liquid. Fingers were planned to be skewered as it was in a stick like a barbecue, and the other parts which I couldn't comprehend were only stacked above each other.
I held my mouth, shaking my head to shoo the thoughts away as I found myself in front of Rei who was trying to undo the tied fabric in a wire fence.
"They barricaded the third floor," she exclaimed while Noel was lighting the surrounding floor. Every inch of any gaps visible was covered in wires in random loops.
"That's a sign of life, right?" I nervously asked.
"As if the freezer earlier wasn't proof enough," Noel gritted his teeth at the sight of bodies scattered on the third floor, some even piled on top of each other on one side.
"Rei, I don't feel good," unknowingly gripping her hood as my other hand was holding onto my knees to keep my balance.
"Go sit down for a second," she guided me to a spot where there were few stains and bodies that could be seen.
I borrowed the help of the wall and exercised breathing slowly while I felt a gentle hand rubbing my back.
"I'm sorry," my guilty conscious blamed myself for being the reason we couldn't move forward.
"Don't be, this is the most gruesome field I have ever stepped on," she assured and took a few strolls not far away from us.
But the second I recovered from the sudden dizziness, everyone heard a loud thud.
Rei came dashing back to us and readied her knives, "That doesn't sound good"
"Should we go check?" Noel's serious voice was fresh in my ears.
"Let's hurry up," she says after giving us a disapproving look. "Can you walk?" her focus was shifted to me.
I nodded and we proceeded to the next escalator which was a few minutes walk. I ignored all the unpleasant views and only stared at Rei's tiny but straight posture while Noel kept following behind.
As it was my turn to take my first step on the broken escalator, an ear-piercing scream was heard which was only a few steps away from the thud's location.
Rei climbed down the stairs and went behind us, "Can you see anything?" she turned to me.
"No, it's too far," my glasses couldn't scan the perimeter around that area.
"Rei," Noel faced her, holding his katana's handle. "That was a kid's," his eyes full of worry, gripping his weapon tighter.
"Here, it's a teleportation device with three usages, make sure to get back as soon as you feel any danger," she says, putting the ring which we laughed around and teased Cedrick for. "Here's the bags," she then handed us both the folded bags inside a pouch.
"Stick to each other, get the supplies, and report everything to me," she then pushed us up when Noel tried to step down the stairs hesitantly.
"I'll go check it out," Noel was about to say something when she interrupted and gave us a strict look. "I'll follow as soon as I can," tying her lights using a dirty string she found on the ground beside her right ear and holding two knives in each hand.
She proceeded to run as we climbed the stairs, uttering no comforting words. Noel was now leading me. I looked back to see her light getting smaller with every step we took.
"Don't die," her words on the transmitter made my skin crawl.