Chapter 3: Earth.

CHAPTER 3

IT'S NAO.

IT'S NAO.

IT'S NAO.

Like a repeated voice over, that text resonated through Shou's mind, the sight of it struck his body like a 2 ton truck, and the cold blood trickling down his wrist only made the experience worse.

"N-Nao, No-" He said, his speech dampened with every second, he'd spend half a dozen minutes recollecting the sense of the image ahead of him. "A-am I going crazy!?"

He arrived at his conclusion… rubbing his eyes, Shou tread carefully to the mirror and dabbed the blood with his index finger, "It's real," He announced, stepping back until he tripped over his weak knees. "It's mine…" he stared at his bloody wrist… and the door opened slightly, soon a foot was in view- (NO!).

*BaNg!*

Shou arrived at the door as quickly as his body would allow him, he banged it shut, not caring about who was at the other side of it.

"W-what, hey!Who's in there?" It was Martha; Shou's mother, the voice was shallow but he could tell it was her's.

"Hello!"

"..Mom, i-it's me." Shou was quick to answer but his fear made him hesitant to continue speaking.

"Shou?" She seized pulling on the knob and took a step back from the door. "I didn't know you were in there… Can I come in?"

"No!" He fired. "Sorry.. I mean not yet, i…" He paused not knowing what next to say-

"It's okay," Martha interjected. "..I'd be in there too… in fact, that's what I came here to do as well... I miss her too, I really do." Martha had a peckerd expression, her lips quivered, her eyes glazed up as she tried to open the door again.

"Mom!" He pushed onto the door, still insisting to leave it closed.

"*sniff* I see,"said Martha, stepping away. "I'll be in the office.. I want you to come join me when you're there."

"... Al-alright, I'll just be just a minute…"

"Je vous aime Shoú (I love you shou.)." She whispered, and her high heel' clicks reduced as she walked away from Nao's bedroom.

"(I love you too, Mom...)" He responded in thought, leaning his forehead onto the door. The pain began to sting; he held his wrist tight as he trudged to the bathroom.

"Ah!" He yelled, digging through the cabinets for a first aid kit.

"There!" He was relieved when he opened the drawer by the bathroom sink. Shou sat by the tube with the clear kit by his side, his arm bleeding profusely. His eyes became watery as he treated the wound, but the ointments and bandages did little to reduce the pain. "Agghhh!"

Shou stepped out of the bathroom with a roughly adjusted bandage, standing by the doorway. When he looked ahead, his skin crawled with goosebumps. "Where's the blood?" Everything had vanished – the dry blood stains on the mirror and walls were gone. "Am I going crazy?" He held his head in disbelief, feeling lightheaded from the heavy blood loss.

Staggering a few steps forward, his eyes widened with each step, reaching the centre.

"... NO, STOP!" A husky voice bellowed, and laughter filled the room like an echo from a hollow cave.

"Who's there!?" Shou's mind swirled, tumbling around the room to catch the laughter's whereabouts, his stomach twisting. "Hello!" There was no response; just a deafening silence that disrupted the bedroom's previous comfort.

"Am I hallucinating?" Shou whispered as he rubbed his head. "*sigh* I have to get out of here.."

He quickly left the room, closing the door behind him. As soon as the door closed, four squid-like tentacles emerged from the room's center.

"LET US GO NOW!" said a husky voice, met with another series of laughter.

**

Stepping outside the house, Shou faced an expansive sky that bestowed elegance upon the front yard. The decorated stone-paved tiles led to the gate, surrounded by a light collection of grass and flowers. Despite the mandatory addition of a black hoodie and sneakers, Shou's suspiciously sweaty demeanor raised questions.

"Open the gate!" He yelled, striding towards it with rapid determination. A guard stepped out the booth at the gate's right side, his out-of-shape attire and wrinkled face only intensifying Shou's irritation.

"Sir, is everything okay?" The guard inquired gently. "Should I call-"

"No!" Shou interjected sharply, restless and uninterested in explanations. "Just open the freaking gate!"

"Sir, I can't allow you to-" Shou roughly brushed past the guard, leaving him speechless. The gate opened with the push of a button under a tiny desk, and Shou expressed his frustration, jogging further away until he vanished from sight.

As Shou walked down the sidewalk, his legs felt paralyzed, bloodshot eyes framed by dark bags. He stumbled into the crowd, grappling with his disorienting thoughts. "(What's happening to me?)" he pondered, accidentally bumping into a chubby man.

"Hey, watch it, kid!" the man bellowed, but Shou walked past him, apologizing in a whisper. Everything blurred, movements failed, and Shou aimlessly walked forward.

His guts twisted, inhaling led him closer to puking. People cast side-eyes, yet no one cared. Gazing at the park across the street, jaywalking became inconsequential. Hesitating at the crossing, Shou's world spiralled into disorientation.

Walking through the park felt demeaning, with almost nobody in sight. Noon struck, casting an orange hue across the linear landscape. Shou moved towards a bench near a playground, and ten feet away, a line of trees foreshadowed the fence. Closing his eyes, the exhaustion weighed visibly on him as he settled onto the bench.

*THRASH!*

The sound of flesh thrashing against metal began and the bloated vibrations got louder and louder by the second.

He couldn't open his eyes, he couldn't flinch, he couldn't speak or shout; he was paralyzed and the noise only increased.

Losing the ability to control the thing you're designed to control is… is an unbeatable type of pain that rivals even the hainest of punishments, and Shou felt every single second of it, his pulses racing was the only thing that determined his life was intact.

"WE'VE FOUND YOU!" The husky voice! The snapping sounds of twigs and leaves followed, the rapid sound of steps-NO, multiple steps- 'it's not clear!' it's coming, like an offbeat drum symbol-

*SWOOSH!*

A gust of wind stung Shou's face, still unable to see. He shivered in utter terror, a torrent of tears, mucus, and spittle streaming down his face, as his body succumbed to involuntary functions.

"*Slurp* HAKAHAHKAHA! *Slurp* YOUR BEAUTIFUL... AND UTTERLY!"

A sinister cackle echoed, followed by a command to calm down by another voice.

*Huff, Huff, Huff* Shou's muffled breaths persisted, gnashing teeth drowning out coherent thoughts until he wept aloud.

"WHY IS HE NOT DEAD YET!!!?"

*SCREECH!!*

The screeching intensified, sending shivers down Shou's spine. Suddenly, a profanity-laden outburst pierced the air.

..The cacophony of screams left Shou with goosebumps, and he felt a chilling touch on his right shoulder. *Blink, blink, blink* As his eyes slowly opened, darkness enveloped him, only for the bright park lights to illuminate the scene.

Shou's eyes darted, attempting to grasp the sensation of sight once more, and the chubby man proudly stood by his left. Suddenly, Shou's eyes widened, and he leaped from the bench, questioning, "What are those things!?" He recoiled slowly, a mix of fear and disgust etched on his face.

"Those are hentch men-" Their screams pierced the air as they wriggled into the light, their grotesque appearance causing Shou to struggle against the urge to vomit. "Disgusting, aren't they?"

Upon closer inspection, their lack of forelimbs and disproportionately large hind limbs created an eerie sight. Their entire bodies were coated in an unpleasant green hue, adorned with fish scales, while two squid-like tentacles sprouted from their shoulder blades.

"AHHH! STOP THIS BASTARD!!" The creatures scattered across the ground, their bodies now marred with black burns, leaving an unsettling scene in their wake.

"i knew something was strange when I bumped into you .. so I happened to follow you-"

"AHHHHH!" They screamed simultaneously.

As the creatures approached Shou, a sudden *whoosh* echoed through the air as the chubby figure swiftly jumped in front of him.

The creatures, taken by surprise, crashed to the ground with a resounding *thud*.

The man's swift manoeuvre was followed by a whispered command, "Die!" accompanied by the gritty sound of sand being forcefully blown onto their bodies. The gritty **shhh** The sand added an eerie quality to the confrontation and they vanished along with the sand that settled.

Shou couldn't help but fall to the ground, the utter deference of those creatures left him distraught and he slowly looked away from the ground to the man that stood above him.

"It's over… Praise be to God!!" The man turned to face Shou, a reassuring glint in his eyes. "You okay, fella?" His partially shaved head stood out, but not as much as the Hawaiian print T-shirt and brown cargo shorts.

Shou, utterly speechless, couldn't respond as his heart raced.

"Hey!" The man attempted to get Shou's attention. "How did you see those things anyway?"

"I-i I don't know," Shou stumbled, attempting to gather his thoughts. "Please, you have to-"

"SHOU, PLEASE HEAR ME!" Nao's voice echoed across the park grounds, catching both Shou and the chubby man off guard.

"You heard that?" Shou asked in disbelief.

The man squinted and responded, "Yeah, I did... But how did you hear that?"

Silent for a moment, Shou recollected. "... I thought I was crazy… but I now know that's her!"

"What!?" The chubby man walked towards Shou, confusion etched on his face. "Who are you talking about?"

Shou's eyes were calm, his conviction clear. "My sister, Nao…"