廃墟
*** (Ume POV) ***
I froze for a moment at the sound of the voice demanding to know why we were trespassing in the hospital. This was not good. Getting arrested or even thrown out of Himekawa Hospital wasn’t on my agenda. Frankly, it surprised me anyone patrolled the debris-filled corridors. Ghosts I expected; security guards I hadn’t.
A second voice replied muffled by the distance.
“Good, they were too far away to have seen us,” I thought.
I considered hiding behind the ruined furniture we had moved. “Too risky,” I thought. We wouldn’t be hard to spot in the dim light filtering in from side rooms.
I whispered to Shishi, “Up the stairs. Third floor. We’ll disappear through a door and hide.”
She wordlessly dashed through the door, nimbly dodging the wreckage still lying in front of it.
As we passed the second floor, a voice called up the steps, “You can’t be here, kids,” dashing our hopes they would pass by the stairwell.
We kept going, heading up with the sound of our footsteps bouncing off the walls. Below, I heard cursing as one of our pursuers stumbled in the ruins we had left behind. They still hadn’t entered the stairwell when we reached the third floor and dashed into the hall, jumping over a small heap of fallen sheetrock.
Indirect sunlight lit the area. We would need to find a good hiding place. Since our pursuers wouldn’t know which floor we were on, our chances of staying hidden were excellent if we got under cover before they arrived.
Where should we hide? I only had seconds to decide. Who knew what might lurk in a room? I hadn’t seen any ghosts yet, but like Shishi, I could feel their presence pressing in on me. Instead, I ducked into the nurses’ station next to the stairwell.
A glance revealed a room cluttered with chairs, desks, a round white table, and paperwork still in vertical files. I scrambled around the table, knocking small objects flying as I went, and finally squeezed under the counter.
Shishi was so close her mouth was only inches from my ear and I could feel her warm breath tickle it. My breath caught for a second and I turned toward her. My lips almost met hers. Only one thing stopped me from kissing her: fear of discovery.
She met my stare with a strained smile and wide eyes. Then the moment was over as we heard heavy boots in the hallway outside the station. I was relieved it sounded like only one person. They must have split up.
I jumped when a deep growling male shouted down the hallway, “Okay, kids, I know you’re hiding here. Let’s make this easy.”
We could hear room doors sliding open as he advanced down the hall. Muttering as he went.
The tread drew near, and I held my breath. As he passed the desk, I heard a snatch of what he was muttering, “…kawa-sama is going to be upset…”
Yabai, it had seemed funny that there were security guards. No one guarded a derelict building like this.
Next to me, Shishi whispered, “What are guards doing here?”
I whispered, “Watchers, not guards. Mikawa.” I didn’t dare say more, afraid our voices would carry.
She huddled closer, and I put my arm around her, wishing I could do more. Together we huddled, listening to the person search the floor. Occasionally jumping when he stepped on debris and it popped. Gradually, the sounds faded and then things grew silent.
Eventually, we could hear him returning. There was something odd about the sound. Then I had it; clicking had replaced the heavy tread of boots. Was this the infamous high-heeled lady I had read about? No, the sound wasn’t quite right for that. I could imagine others mistaking it for high-heels. It was more like the click of taloned feet; a cat or dog with untrimmed nails. Or a bird. Yes, that was it, like a bird. It sounded just like my mother’s parrot walking on a table.
As the steps approached, the mysterious presence muttered in a thin, reedy voice, unlike the bass growl from before. Again, I could only make out a snatch of what it was saying as it passed. “…Kyūso. Must be Kyūso. Mangy…”
Did it mean kyūso as in ‘cornered rat’ or kyūso as in ‘old rat?’ With a shake of my head, I thought, “It didn’t matter.” Both sounded appropriate to our setting, and neither sounded like something we wanted to run into.
The clicking and muttering receded, and then an echoey sound revealed they had entered the stairwell. That too receded and finally vanished entirely.
To be safe, we remained hidden, waiting in case it was a trick, which was fortunate because, after a minute, the tapping resumed. At first, I thought the “security guard” had returned, but the sound had changed yet again. This time, it sounded like high-heels; a steady tapping that grew closer and closer. As the sound drew near the nurse’s station, I thought I could faintly hear the rustle of silk.
The sound stopped there, just outside the station window. I felt Shishi trembling. She was gripping my hand so tightly it hurt. I squeezed back. There wasn’t anything else I could do, but it seemed enough and her grip relaxed a little and she stopped shaking.
In the meantime, the hospital had fallen silent. I could tell the woman was still in front of the station by the chill she emanated. It was palpable, like a heavy fog enveloping us, draining all the heat from my body. Shishi had gone still, and I attempted to look at her but found I couldn’t move; I was paralyzed, unable to even shiver. All I could do was listen and stare out from under the counter.
We huddled for what seemed hours but was probably only minutes till suddenly all the phones in the station started ringing. I could see a phone across the room, the buttons blinking madly. My shriek of surprise and terror was stillborn. The paralysis had affected my vocal cords. A blessing in disguise. Shishi remained silent, too. It was just as well, because one or the other of us would have surely revealed our location.
There was the rustle of silk, and almost inaudible over the ringing, a middle-aged woman spoke in a Niigata accent. “Himekawa Hospital, Nurse Uguisu speaking.” If I had been able, I would have shuddered at that lovely but icy voice.
The phone continued ringing, but Uguisu continued her one-sided response. “Takahashi-san, you honor us with your dreams.”
“They’re scheduled for a procedure sometime today.”
“My patient, my mercy.”
The phones gave one last long ring and fell silent.
The woman laughed, saying, “Konnichiwa, Kaicho. Beware your nightmares.”
Again there was silence and finally the sound of high-heels retreating. As the sound faded, the paralyzation faded as well, and I began shaking. I heard Shishi whimper and her head came to rest against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her shivering body. It was as much for my comfort as for hers.
We sat there for several minutes shivering, waiting for further footsteps, but none came. Eventually, our combined body heat thawed the chill that had seeped into our souls, and I broke my embrace to stretch.
“‘Takahashi’ that’s the cult leader, right?” Shishi asked, referring back to the conversation. Her voice was unsteady.
“Yeah,” my voice wasn’t any steadier.
“Was she talking about us?” she asked.
“Maybe, I hope not.” I wasn’t very hopeful, though.
We fell silent again, and after a moment, she resumed cuddling. Her hands were still cold when I took them. We stayed that way until I heard her say softly, “I’m sorry. I know you don’t like my clinging, but I’m scared.”
“It’s okay. It helps me too.” I held her tighter and said, “Shishi, thanks. I was terrified.” Releasing one of her hands, I tentatively stroked her hair. I was going to have to tell her how I felt soon, but this wasn’t the place.
Instead of confessing, I added after we both settled, “Tell me when you’re ready to go on. We need to find the surgery.”
We both tensed at the thought, but that’s where Sensei had instructed us to go.
“I’m ready,” she replied.
We got stiffly out from under the counter and crept out into the hall.
Shishi stopped outside the nurses’ station and looked around. “Ume, you sure this is the right floor?”
“That’s what I read.”
She pointed to a sign that said “ICU.” “You sure?” she asked again.
“Just a second,” I said and dug in my pack for my notebook. After a moment, I found the reference. “This American reported it was on the third floor.”
“Did Sensei say anything?”
“Oh right,” I said and flipped to earlier in the book. “Yabai, he said the second floor!”
“Tomo warned me.”
“What?” Tomo warned her I would get the wrong floor?
“He said someone had to look after you.”
That stung, especially from this girl. But I had to admit there was more than a grain of truth in the statement. So, I did what I always do when Tomo scores a good point. I smiled and moved on. “Shall we go?”
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Note:
Haikyo who visits Himekawa Hospital frequently reports hearing mysterious high-heels. No one has seen who or what is making them, though. Unless it is the bloody woman seen in the surgery.
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Story by Nara Moore
Twitter/X:@nara_moore
Mastodon: sakurajima.moe
WordPress: Josei Yuri and Paranormal Romance
Art by Mai-sensei
Twitter: @Maiisheree
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