How I was Murdered by a Fox Monster (12 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
the obvious spots listed in the textbook. Caves, empty houses, and
I even hung outside a bar in case someone suspicious emerged. I
tried to be extra cautious not to run into the others as well. If
our paths crossed, I was planning to tell them that I was out on my
evening jog.
“
Hmm,
if I was a wolf Obake, where
would I be?” I asked myself. I tried to get my mind into the zone
like Taisei had once advised me. I had attempted it before with
cat, raccoon, and pry-mantas, but I'd failed up until now and
apparently wolves weren't any different. After searching the town
for a least three hours I still had nothing.
I
was beginning to wish I had brought a detector charm along to help
me, but I never imagined it would be so difficult to find an Obake,
my ordinary and mundane classmate had managed it after
all.
“
That's it! The school!” I said to myself. If Yuto had seen a
wolf Obake on his way home, it meant they had to be hiding out
somewhere near his commute to school. I began jogging in the
direction of my high school with a renewed sense of hope. I felt
like I was a master exorcist stalking his prey. I was ready to take
down monsters and free the world from evil.
only halfway to school when I spotted a house which caught my
attention. The plot of land was bigger than the houses beside it,
and it was surrounded by overgrown trees which blocked out the sun.
The grass was overgrown, but the house was still in good condition,
so I assumed the owner was just a lousy gardener.
I couldn't
help thinking that if I were a man eating Obake, this was where I
would want to hide. All I had to do was knock on the door and
confirm that the people behind it were human.
I ran my
fingers over the wooden fence nervously. I was suddenly unsure if I
wanted to plunge headfirst into a potential Obake infestation.
As eager as I
was, I still had no experience when it came to eliminating Obake,
and the only charm I knew wasn't anymore useful than a candle. I
was beginning to doubt my plan. Maybe it was best just to call it a
day and go home. I continued staring at the house with no idea what
to do. If I had just returned straight home instead of lingering to
mull over my inner torment, things wouldn't have ended so
badly.
“
Hey kid what are you doing?”
made be jump. I spun around to see a short stocky man carrying a
pair of hedge trimmers over his shoulder. He must have been the
house owner who had finally given in and decided to tame the
garden.
He must have
thought I appeared suspicious and looked me up and down. “What are
you doing here kid?” He asked.
“
I..I,” I stuttered. I wasn't sure how
to
voice my intentions in a way that wouldn't sound strange, so I
just bowed by head and attempted to quickly walk away.
“
Hey kid wait up,” he put his arm in front of me to prevent me
from fleeing. “I suppose you'll do.”
to ask what he was talking about before I felt a sudden pain in the
right side of my head, and everything went black.
Chapter
13
Cling.
Cling.
Cling.
Was the first
sound that reached my ears when I finally fazed back into
consciousness. It sounded like someone was repetitively throwing
coins at the ground, and it reminded me of the time I dropped all
my change as a child, and I could do nothing more but watch as my
pocket money rolled into the drain.
Cling.
Cling.
Cling.
Cling.
It continued
until all of a sudden the noise finally came to a halt. I became
aware that my head was throbbing, but as hard as I tried, I
couldn't remember why. Had I fallen? Had someone hit me? I could
remember staring anxiously at a large house amongst the trees, but
after that everything became hazy. I had a feeling I'd been talking
to someone, but I couldn't remember who. A face didn't come to
mind.
I moaned and
cracked my eyes open, but everything was a blur. The room was pitch
black so a few hours must have passed since I remembered being
conscious. Indistinguishable shadows moved around the room before
me.
One of the
blurry shadows spoke.“Have you found anything over there?” It
asked.
“
Sorry boss,” replied another.
“
What are we dealing with, an orphan?” Asked the first shadow.
“This is why I told you not to target children.”
“
Oi! He looks like he's coming to!” Yelled someone I couldn't
see.
everything swirled and came into focus. I was sitting in what
appeared to be a living room. The only light was from a TV in the
corner which cast a blue glow. It was playing some sort of game
show, but no one was watching except for a large dog lying on the
carpet before it.
The was a
banging sound in the corner, and I turned to see a short stocky guy
(who I instantly recognized as the man I met outside) going through
a duffel bag. He was throwing its content all over the room. Books,
pencils, and gym clothes all went flying. I was wondering who the
poor sucker was who got his bag stolen until I realized it was my
own. I attempted to dash over and save my belongings, but it was
only then that I realized my hands had been tightly bound behind my
back. I tried my best to set them free, but they had been strapped
together with tape.
“
Hey you, human child,” said another guy who I suddenly
noticed was standing before me. It was hard to see his face in the
darkness, but he was waving what looked like my wallet in my face.
“What is this, no credit cards, nothing of value, only 700 yen? How
poor are you?” He asked.
“
I'm in high school, I don't have a credit card,” I
moaned.
“
Students,” he spat. He dropped the wallet to the ground and
kicked it.
“
That last girl had a credit card, the one with the fancy
socks,” said the short stocky guy. “We partied for a week, do you
still remember that boss.”
“
I wasn't talking to you,” he hissed.
conscious enough to get a good look at the guy before me. His hair
was bleached blonde, and half his face was covered in a spider
tattoo. I spent a good minute wondering what terrible deeds I'd
ever done to deserve this sort of mugging, before I came to the
terrible realization that I was standing face to face with Yuto
Murakami's werewolf.
I felt the
bottom drop out of my stomach and I had to suppress the urge to
faint. I hadn't been kidnapped by just anyone, I had been kidnapped
by a gang of murderous wolf Obake!
“
What about your parents brat?” The man with the tattoo
continued. “Do they have money. Maybe we can hold you
hostage?”
“
No,”
my voice began
shaking.
“They
don't, sir.”
He stared at me sceptically.
“You don't look like you're
lying. If your stupid parents had money you'd be better dressed and
wouldn't be carrying around this sad excuse for a cell phone,” he
picked my cell phone up off the ground and waved it in my
face.
“
I didn't think people still owned this hunk of crap, there's
no touch screen or internet, what do you use this for? Self
defense?” For dramatic purposes he through it at the dog who let
out a scream of pain.
“
Watch it,” said the dog.
shock. “That dog, it talked, it seriously talked,” I said in awe
before I could stop myself.
Tattoo man
glared at the dog (who let out a small whimper), before he quickly
glanced back at me and gritted his teeth. “I don't know what you're
talking about, you must be imagining things,” he said in an attempt
to cover up what happened. “After being knocked out your mind has
begun to play funny tricks.”
“
Don't lie to me, do you think I'm stupid?” I said. I must
have had the sense knocked out of me because what I said next was
nothing short of suicide. “I know what I just saw. I know what you
are, you're all wolf Obake!”
“
What did you say little
boy!
” He roared.
“
Nothing,” I squeaked. “The dimness of the
room.” I decided to use the same lame excuse he did,
“i
s playing ticks on your
mind?
”
angry that a vein almost burst out of his forehead, but luckily for
me, all his rage was directed at the dog. “What have I told you
about talking to the hostages in wolf form, Nao!”
“
Sorry Boss,” replied the dog as he attempted to bury his way
into the carpet and hide.
“
Looks like we have ourselves a smart one,” sighed the tattoo
man as he ran his fingers roughly through his hair. “You know too
much so it's impossible to let you go now.”
“
I suppose we could always eat him,” said the fat one going
through my bag.
“
I suppose, but I just ate,” said the tattoo man. “Are you
hungry Bozu?”
“
Maybe after we finish up here boss,” said the fat man. “They
usually keep for a few days. Maybe we can put him away and munch on
him later.”
“
I could do with a snack,” said the dog.
“
Shut up! I wasn't talking to you Nao!” The tattoo man
snapped before he looked me up and down like he was judging my
edibility. “I think this will do nicely, you don't look like a bad
breakfast.” He reached down to pick me up, but he suddenly froze
midway for a reason I couldn't explain. I looked up to see him
staring at my face intensely.
“
Your face looks familiar, “ he muttered. “Have I tried to
kill you before?”
“
No, no, I don't believe so, it's hard to forget a pack of
wolf Obake trying to extort you for money,” I said.
He held my chin between his fingers and turned my face from
side to side. “You look a bit like
that guy.
Hmmm
,” he stopped and shrugged his
shoulders. “Must be one of those strange coincidences. Now into the
pantry you go!”
was the next room which may have once been a bedroom. The bed and
couch had already been shredded to pieces, and the wallpaper was
ripped like someone had attempted to scratch their way to safety.
There were human bones lining the floor which must have been from
the original occupants, or some poor soul they dragged in. My only
escape route looked to be the window which had been conveniently
left open to crush my soul, because my arms and legs were too
tightly bound to give me any chance of escape.
I was as
manly as the next guy, but I seriously felt like crying. All I
could think about was how I could do nothing if one of the wolves
suddenly decided they were peckish? My life could be over within
the next hour and no one would ever know what happened to me.
I imagined
nothing but my bones being thrown hazardously amongst the pile in
the room, and no one would be able to tell which ones were mine. My
sister would have to morn the death of a Daisuke yet again, and I
would never see Hikaru grow up. She would probably never remember
me either, except for a few small memories like the way I
remembered my grandfather. I could never hang out with my friends
(who would be heartbroken and miserable about my death) again, and
my classmates would definitely break down into tears and leave
hordes of flowers all over my desk. My eyes began to burn and tears
welled up and flowed down my face. I was certain that I was going
to die and there was nothing I could do about it.
I was in the
middle of contemplating my death (which seems ridiculous now that I
know I was going to live) when a shadow slipped in through the
window. I thought it was the wolves coming to devourer me whole,
until I recognized the face in the moonlight.
“
Itsuki!” I cried.
“
Shhh
, keep
it down,” he hushed. “You don't want them to hear you.”
“
Thank god it's you,” I whispered. “Now you can go out there
and kill them all.”
“
What are you? Insane?” He said. “We can't take them alone, we
have to wait for the others to arrive.” He flipped open his cell
phone and began quickly pushing the buttons. “Now all we have to do
is wait.” He took a break from typing to glance at my face and the
tears still running down it. “Have you been crying?” He
asked.
“
No,” I protested. I attempted to move my arm to wipe the
tears away but it was impossible with the binds. I was exposed in
front of my nemesis and there was nothing I could do about it. I
thought Itsuki was going to use this opportunity to laugh and call
me names, but instead he sighed and sat down against the
wall.
“
They looked like they already ate their fair share tonight so
we should be safe for a while, we just need to keep our heads down
and the others can deal with them when they get here,” his voice
was softer than normal, and it sounded like he was attempting to be
nice.
baffled by his lack of obnoxiousness, but the tape binding my
wrists and ankles was a bigger concern. I shuffled to try and get
into a more comfortable position, but it was impossible.
