[One Shot] The Tale of the Secret Beast

The Tale of the Secret Beast

By: Janrae Mendoza

My name is Reiko Anagasaki. I am now entering the second week of my senior high school. The worst part is that I’m new in this school. My mother insisted me to transfer school and live here in our province. I hated our province. They say people here are gloomy and don’t always go out. I noticed when I stopped by the bus; the people I saw as I walked by never even lifted their face to see me when I was there. It was something as if they are hiding at someone, always looking down and rushing everything. I saw the kids playing, but as if happiness was stolen away from them. The teens like me are gloomy, although I met some with a positive aura. They instantly became my friends in this town. Eri, Sachiko, Yuuto, Ken and Ami. I started to love the place soon as I met these friends. They are cool to be with, unlike the others who stayed silent and even never say word to me, even though we are classmates.


“Have you heard the latest news?” said Ami, speaking to me. I never heard the news yet, I was least interested in knowing what’s happening to this world.

“Nope, not yet. Is there anything interesting in it?” I answered and shook my head. Ami’s face turned serious with a tone of voice like storytellers of horror in a J-Horror film.

“You see, a couple of days ago, they found another corpse thrown on the mountain. The police have been investigating it and they said the form of killing is from the same killer they are looking for.”

I was caught by the word ‘another’ she just said to me. I turned my face to her and closed the book I was reading. I focused my seat to Ami and asked her.

“What do you mean another? Was there someone killed before?” I asked. She nodded.

“Well it is because you are not from here so you haven’t been able to hear about it. Yeah, there are ten people who were murdered. They suspect that the killer is only one.”

I shook my head once more. I was a little bit scared and cautious. What if the next victim would be a classmate? A friend? A relative? What if it’s me? I’d rather be careful these days. This is what I was talking about before with mom. I’ve heard stories from my classmates back in Tokyo that there is something weird going on in this place, but she never listened. She hated me for that. Mother said I should not say something to the place where I was originally born. Yes, I was born here, but I was raised in Tokyo.

As we were talking about it, Eri and Sachiko came and sat beside us. They seem not to care about the news and asked us about our teacher’s assignment he gave us instead. I was glad about that. I don’t want to talk about killing and victims anymore. The class soon began to start. It became a normal high school day, where I insisted not to think of what Ami told me.

“Let’s walk together…” I asked Ami, but she refused and stayed in the school to work for her group research. I wanted to stay too, but after hearing Ami’s story, I felt scared. I walked after than anyone else as I went home. I have to cross two bridged before home. It was already dark, but nevertheless I walked as quickly as I can. I felt there was someone behind me following me. I tried to think of a way if I was imagining or not. I stepped forward thrice. I noticed that the footsteps I make are strange. I heard footsteps behind me. Was it the killer’s? I quickly looked back but there was no one there. Perhaps I was just imagining things. I am happy I am able to go home safely.

—

Saturday morning, I woke up early. I was rather surprised that I was awake at that kind of time. I rose from my bed and opened my window. I let the rays of sunlight pass through to my room and lit the dark portions inside.

Several days after I heard Ami’s story, I’ve witnessed different consecutive stories from my friends, newspapers and even the radio news. The first one I heard was from Eri, who told about the news of one of their classmates who was totally beaten to death; his head was dismembered from his body. The victim is from the other class next to us. I heard he was a bully. Yuuto told me another one. It was about a teacher in our school. I heard from Sachiko and Ken that the teacher who was killed is rumored to have been raping his students and if the students ever tell about it, the teacher would surely not let them pass the upcoming exams. The students valued their education so they never spoke about it. I was wondering if the killings are good since they are all the bad guys.

I stood up and turned on my coffee maker and placed water on the container. I went out and noticed that the newspaper has already been placed on my door. I picked it up and started to read the front page as I went back inside.

“FOUR STUDENTS OF MINAMI HIGH KILLED, CORPSE FOUND COMPLETELY WITHOUT BLOOD, IS IT DONE BY VAMPIRES?”

I smiled and laughed at the front news. Minami High is the school I am attending. After the police investigating and haven’t found the killer, rumors starts to spread that the killings were done by a vampire. Yesterday, I heard it is some form of a demon. People tend to blame these superstitious creatures to something they cannot define. I threw the newspaper on my couch and started to pour the hot coffee on a cup.

Monday. Ami didn’t show up. I tried to reach her phone but she was not answering back. I decided to visit her at their house. It is not that far from mine so I walked. As I reached their house and knocked the door, it was her mother who opened the door and bowed as greeting.

“Good afternoon, is Ami in?” I asked politely.

“Well yes, but she seems to be acting strange and doesn’t want to talk to anybody except from me and my husband…” answered Ami’s mother worriedly.

“Strange?”

“Yes. She keeps telling me that she saw something. I always ask her what she saw but she just refuses to answer. Her face seems like she’s totally scared…”

“Pardon me but, can I try to talk to her? I’m her best friend from Minami High…”

Ami’s mother could have understood my intention. I want to know what happened. I want to cheer Ami up. Whatever she is scared for, I will work it out. That is what’s in my thought. Her mother welcomed me inside and led me to Ami’s room. I opened the door and saw Ami looking at the window. I noticed her scared face.

“I’m coming inside…” said I and entered the room. The mother bowed and stayed looking at her daughter worriedly.

“Ami…?” said I, calling my friend. I sat on one of the tatami and waited for her response. She looked to me scared, eyes worried, as if she is telling me something. I could see her lips moving, whether she is telling something or not, I can’t understand. She moved and quickly embraced me tightly, like a scared little girl hiding in a corner. She started to cry but she never told anything to me. I saw the worried face on her mother again.

“Ami…what happened? Did something happen?”

“F-Friday…Friday…it was them…” she said, twice. I wondered what she meant.

“What do you mean? I don’t understand…” said I, comforting her. She did not answer me after that. I tried to remember what could have happened the past Fridays. It hit my memory; it was the time I left her because she said she must work for her group project.

“Was it at that time I left you…?”

I felt her hands tightened its grip from my hand. I was right. It was at that time. Whatever it is though, she won’t tell me. I started to get annoyed of it. I just stopped asking her and let her be. I just thought that maybe she’ll tell me one day when she gets better. Before I left, she whispered to me the words: “It’s not the way the other people thinks about it.”

—

Two weeks later, I was surprised of the news that just came to me. Ami is found on the street, severely battered to death and her eyes gouged. She was murdered and tortured to death. My body stiffened with fear and wonder. I wasn’t able to know the whole story. Was there some big problem she faced? But when she was alive, a week after she was murdered, she was so cheerful and alive. But now…this happens.

Days passed after her burial, I found something strange. The normality of the school never crumbled and continued as if Ami was just some news. Eri, Sachiko, Yuuto and Ken were still the same, as if they were not shaken with the loss of their friend. Perhaps they are just acting strong, but I don’t feel such emotion in them.

That was the time I had the doubts of Ami’s death. My juice of interests inside my body runs again. I trust my friends basically, but the way they act, perhaps there was another side of the story. A story that Ami failed to tell me before she died.

I waited until the night came. I stayed in a hidden shade and waited for something to happen. I noticed a bunch of senior students entering the school. It is already past nine, but these students are still here. There were at least 26 of them entering the school. I followed them secretly and hid to places I can see. Before my eyes I saw a male junior student being forcedly carried by some of the other students. The student was crying and begging them to release him, but the others acted deaf and continued. They dragged him into the backroom. I followed them and hid under a large and tall tree nearby. I am saved by the bushes that are planted around it. A good place to hide and see what’s happening.

“Hey, we all hate this guy! Let us do to him to what we did to Ami!” shouted a classmate of mine from the crowd. I saw some of the students holding baseball bats and metal pipes afterwards and started beating the male student. His plea for mercy was head by deaf evil students who continued to kill him.

I felt that there was someone walking behind me. I tried to regain my composure and tried to look back, but it was quick, someone covered my mouth and pulled me from the dark place I was hiding.

“Ssshh! It’s me, Yuuto!” whispered Yuuto as he looked at me. I was so shocked I thought I’d be the next to die. I took a deep sigh and looked at him.

“What are you doing here? Have you seen what is happening? That explains how Ami died!” I explained with a whispering voice.

“I know! But we must first get evidence and give it to the police!”

“Y-you’re right…”

“Come with me! Eri, Sachiko and Ken is waiting for me to come back to where we are hiding. Now that you’re with us, we can find some way to find evidence!” he said and took me to the other side of the school un-noticed.

We passed a dark alley and entered a room away from those other students. I took another sigh when I saw Eri, Sachiko and Ken waiting for me. It was just us in that room.

“Now you know the secret of this place…” said Eri.

“What secret? All I know is that our classmates are killing innocent people.”

“Not really…” defended Sachiko.

“All our classmates are killing those they dislike, people who know their secrets and people who must not live…”

Now I understood everything. All those other killings were their doings. The rumors of the superstitious creatures killing them are just created to feign the suspicion about them.

“Did…Ami knew the secret?”

“Probably. She might have seen what you have seen today, and that’s the reason why she is dead now…” answered Ken.

“Don’t tell me…we are also in danger!” I exclaimed. I was worried for myself and for them.

Ken shook his head and looked at Eri, Yuuto and Sachiko, who coldly looked at me and smiled. They had the unusual look, as if they are sorry for me. Eri looked to me as if she feels sorry for me, as if I am dying and there is nothing she can do for me. I turned to Yuuto and Sachiko, I saw the same expression.

“Not really…don’t worry for us. Worry for yourself. Why are you interested knowing all of these? Now that you do, we have no choice…” says Ken. He opened the door and the students I saw a while ago entered. I realized the whole truth as I saw all of them. The same expression, smile and eyes…I knew that from that day on it is my time to die. This place is not cursed by some vampire or flesh eating beast or a serial killer who kills for justice. It is a place of a sick room, full of humans covered with killing madness dementia…a place where no one will leaves alive if their secret is revealed.

Source : Infinity Dreams