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V10 Story I – Part 08

The tanks shattered. Countless fragments scattered at our feet. Hands emerged from within the wreckage and crawled forward, glass cutting its skin. Blood stained the floor red.

“Ah… Ah…”

I stared in disbelief at the surreal scene. Hands resembling grotesque creatures approached from all directions, using their fingers as legs to crawl towards us. Mayuzumi, tilting her parasol, continued her haunting narration.

“Those women hold a grudge against you, and you inadvertently prodded them. What happens next is not hard to imagine. Those who bear grudges and possess flesh always have only one wish.”

Mayuzumi smiled and pressed her index finger against her red, twisted lips. She then released her finger.

“They want their murderer to suffer the same fate,” she said softly, as if sharing a secret.

Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch!

In an instant, the fingers accelerated, their nails digging into the floor as they crawled towards us at an alarming speed. Regaining my senses, I grabbed Azuma’s hand and started running, stepping on the wet hands, feeling the unpleasant sensation of crushing living things beneath my feet. One by one, the hands chased after us.

I can’t let those things catch us.

A gruesome fate awaited us if they did. Despite stumbling, Azuma kept moving his legs, casting a surprised glance my way.

“Why are you running away too? I think I’m the one being chased.”

“Because you won’t make it out alone!” I shouted.

I kicked away the hands in our path, leaving red handprints on the walls. The hallway, too, was crawling with hands. We raced through them.

“You said you would turn yourself in. I’m not gonna let them catch you.”

The hands hounded us tenaciously. I understood how they felt; resentment does not go away that easily. But I couldn’t approve of their urge to kill. He said he would face his crimes.

“You need to acknowledge what you’ve done and be judged by humans.”

I dodged the hand reaching for my leg. Just a little more to the entrance. At the end of the dim corridor stood a faintly lit door with shining frosted glass. There were no tanks beyond that point.

Gripping Azuma’s hand tight, I attempted to run outside, when suddenly our hands came apart. Azuma’s fingers slipped from my palm. I stumbled forward, hitting the door. I turned around to see Azuma standing stock still, watching the hallway behind him.

Something was squirming at his feet. Orange nail polish gleamed. A decaying hand desperately pulled at the bottom of his pants, as if begging him to stay, crying out not to leave it behind.

“Oh, right… I almost forgot. I have to take you with me,” Azuma mumbled absentmindedly, extending his hand.

I reacted quickly, grabbing his shoulder and forcefully pulling him towards me. But it was too late. Rotten palm rested on his own hand. He was holding hands with decayed flesh.

There was a sickening squelch. Crimson blood sprayed out like a macabre fountain. The fingers, with protruding bones, mercilessly gripped and crushed his palm, twisting it in the air.

Arteries snapped. His hand fell to the floor, drenching the hallway in a horrifying amount of blood. Azuma displayed no reaction.

Staring at his fallen hand, he muttered, “Ah, I should put this in the tank too.”

His body leaned forward, and he collapsed into a pool of blood. Motionless, he was swarmed by hands with sharp nails, tearing off his cheeks, piercing eyeballs, pulling out optic nerves. As the gruesome chaos unfolded, I opened and closed my empty palm. I raised my head slowly.

Snap.

Mayuzumi was standing in front of me with a bewitching smile, leisurely nibbling on chocolate. When did she move to the hallway? She seemed to be relishing the madness, her lips curled up into a disturbing smile. She was enjoying the spectacle. Realization slowly dawned on me. She took the case, hoping for this to happen.

Staring at her sweet smile, I clenched my fist, feeling the flesh of my left hand twist softly.

My skull creaked in pain. I squinted, and the cruel, irrevocable sight became blurry. An intense sense of unease burned through my brain. My mind screamed that something was wrong, something was off. My head groaned, and tears blurred my vision. The red of the blood on the floor seeped into my retinas.

The world was painted in vibrant crimson. It felt like my eyes had been crushed, or I peeked into an illusionary, red space. Suppressed laughter echoed near my ears, and a hand gently touched my cheek. Noise filled my vision as I desperately tried to brush it off. Then, I effortlessly forgot everything.

I opened my eyes.

“…Huh?”

I found myself standing in the kitchen, facing a blood-soaked refrigerator with strands of hair sticking out. Azuma and I were holding each other’s right hands. A living human’s hand was soft. I could feel it even through the leather gloves.

I quickly examined my left hand, finding nothing unusual. No massive bloodstains on the floor, and this wasn’t the entrance. Wait, why was I concerned about the entrance? Confused, I released his hand.

Azuma took a deep breath and headed towards the phone installed on the kitchen wall.

“Before I see any more hands I want to cut, I’ll call the police. You might want to go home. Staying here will surely lead to trouble.”

“No, I…”

“Don’t worry,” he said gently. “I promise. I’ll make the call. Just wait outside.”

He didn’t seem to be lying. I opened and closed my left hand. It was hidden from sight with a leather glove. Azuma was waiting for me to leave.

Hesitating between staying and leaving, I finally chose to walk away. There was someone in the house Azuma should avoid encountering. I needed to find her before he did, as her hand had the potential to set off his destructive frenzy.

But who was she?

With an unanswered question swirling in my mind, I cautiously peeked into the living room. There, a familiar figure caught my eye.

Mayuzumi tilted her head and regarded me with curiosity.

“Oh… Are you alone, Odagiri-kun?” she asked. “What happened to Azuma-kun?”

“He wants to turn himself in. Let’s go, Mayu-san. Please stop seeking such vile entertainment just because you’re bored. I’ll get angry sooner or later,” I said matter-of-factly.

I grabbed her arm, pulling her along. Fish tanks dotted the corridor. I gazed inside them, and my breath caught.

The hands inside the fish tanks had vanished. The illusion had dissipated, as if comprehending his intentions. Only the fish tank near the living room would have a decayed hand.

Navigating the dim corridor, I opened the door and stepped outside. It was still snowing. My breath formed a white mist as I quickly walked on the snow-covered ground, dragging Mayuzumi with me.

A car was parked in an alley some distance away from the house, likely the hired vehicle Mayuzumi arrived in. The driver might be waiting somewhere, but I didn’t care. Without saying a word, I pushed her into the car.

“It’s cold, Odagiri-kun,” Mayuzumi said with a shrug. “Could you at least turn on the heating?”

I ignored her. I couldn’t bring myself to do as she asked. Mayuzumi produced a piece of chocolate and began nibbling on it, seemingly bored.

Abruptly, her voice cut through the quiet. “By the way, Odagiri-kun,” she said in a cold tone. “You did not seem surprised at all to see me. Why was that?”

I did not reply. The exact reason eluded me.

Silently, I continued watching the entrance to Azuma’s house. Snow fell quietly. From the outside, hidden corpses and any unsettling feeling were completely imperceptible.

I let out a white breath and quietly responded to Mayuzumi’s question.

“I’m wondering the same thing.”

There was no reply. Soon, sirens sounded in the distance.