Chapter One: Into the Shadows
“So what do you got planned for tomorrow?” Lina asked, leaning forward on the cold train seat as she awaited Kiyoshi’s answer. An annoyed look spread across her face when she looked at Kiyoshi bobbing her head back and forth aimlessly. Sometimes she hated taking the train home with Kiyoshi; it was exactly like going home with no one. Lina understood that it was only a habit, but people did travel together for a reason. She hated being in silence for too long, it made her feel uncomfortable.
Lina’s fingers appeared right under Kiyoshi’s nose, and suddenly they snapped. Kiyoshi jumped a bit as she lifted herself out of the daze she always put herself in. The bothered expression on her friend’s face told Kiyoshi that she had did something wrong. Most likely, it had something to do with her headphones. This was something that usually happened between the two, but Kiyoshi assumed Lina was already used to it.
“I’d think someone like you would already be used to this?” Kiyoshi said with a smirk as she pulled off her headphones. The music began fade from her mind like the waves residing from the shore. Her dark brown hair fell upon the empty spaces left by the earpieces; it did a good job of covering the redness of her ears.
“You do know I’m not the one who’s ignoring their friend.” Lina hissed back, her nose turning up in a certain way that made her look as if she was smelled something foul.
Kiyoshi only responded with a small smile, and asked, “So what were you asking?”
The soiled expression that was once on Lina’s face disappeared instantly, and soon she was back to her quick-lipped and energetic self, “I asked, what you have plan for tomorrow?” She said her eyes wide and enthusiastic. She waited impatiently for an answer from Kiyoshi.
Kiyoshi placed a finger on her chin as she thought the question over. The ringing of her the train bells interrupted her instant daydream as the doors slid open. People of all shapes and sizes rushed in and soon Kiyoshi’s view of Lina was blocked. She sighed as an old woman plopped down next to her and rummaged in the seat for a few minutes forcing Kiyoshi to move over to her right. This was actually a good thing, no, not being seated next to an old plump woman who smelled strongly of onions, but the fact that she didn’t have to answer Lina’s question. The truth was Kiyoshi didn’t really have an answer.
Tomorrow would be the 28th of November, and Kiyoshi would finally be turning fourteen. The reason for such enthusiasm was that Kiyoshi felt as if she were younger than her peers. Sometimes she was younger than those who were in lower grades. It was highly unfair in her perspective, though not many saw a problem in it. There was always that thought that when everyone else was in their late 30’s, she would be just a few months behind. Of course she hadn’t considered thinking that way yet.
Besides, Kiyoshi wasn’t a birthday person so it wouldn’t make sense to throw such a big party. The day was nothing but a reminder that one was growing older and would soon need to buy new clothes to fit in, and begin to watch his/her diet.
“HOUSTON.” The static infrared voice said in a glum tone. The word echoed throughout Kiyoshi’s ears, and in an instant she was up.
“Lina, call me.” She said hurriedly as she weaved through the crowd. From the corner of her eye, she saw Lina cross her arms and nod. Kiyoshi thought she saw her pout but that could have been her imagination. Lina didn’t like being held up, especially when it came to questions.
Finally, Kiyoshi hopped off the train just in time to listen to the doors slide, and clasp shut. The train began to move away slowly, and finally it escaped into the darkness, its horn blaring out into the distance. By then, Kiyoshi was already making her way up the steps and towards the city streets. She exhaled deeply when she finally reached the top step, letting the foul air of the train station escape her lungs.
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Mrs. Igerashi was the type of person to let the door go unattended for a long period of time, but this time there was an exception since there were guests pounding on the door’s metal surface repeatedly, “We DO have a doorbell.” She hissed as she placed her pen behind her ear, she then wiped her hands clean of the black ink and began to make her way towards the door. “You know Arthur it would be very much appreciated if someone else were generous enough to answer the door!” Isabelle yelled as she walked rapidly towards the door. The pounding began to grow louder, and at this point sounded more desperate.
“Oh for heaven’s sake!” Isabelle hissed as she swiftly unlocked the door, and pulled the door open. “What do you want!?” She said in an exasperated tone. The last syllable in her sentence faded away as her eyes met with two very tall men. The first man was at least 6ft tall, and was actually smaller in width than the man next to him. He wore a very expensive looking 3 piece suit that was a dull gray, and stood in a very orderly fashion that made him look highly important. The second man next to him was a bit shorter, but was massive. His muscles certainly weighed more than him if put together and his face even looked as if it had some muscular value within it. He also wore the same gray 3 piece suit, but carried himself in a way that made him look more rough than important.
Without Isabelle’s invite, the two men walked into the doorway and made their way towards the living room. Isabelle still stood at the entrance, gripping the doorknob tightly as she tried to imagine who these men could be.
Suddenly, Arthur’s voice rang throughout the room, causing Isabelle to shut the door, and rush into the now fully occupied living room.
“Are you from the office?” Arthur said with a quirked brow as he looked the two of them up and down suspiciously. “You’ll have to tell Mr. Snider that I haven’t finished organizing the documents yet.” He added as she walked closer to the two men. Arthur was shorter than the two of them, so any bold notion he was trying to make was certainly not getting across.
Isabelle appeared at the doorway, and quickly rushed to her husband’s side, “Arthur who are they?” She hissed as she wrapped her arm around his, and watched the slender man examine the mantel piece.
“I’m not sure yet…” Arthur answered, ignoring Isabelle’s confused look. There was no way he could resolve his statement, he was just as lost himself. Finally, he pushed forward, and decided to confront the men. They had no right to just barge in and begin looking through their items as if they belonged to the family.
“Listen! I demand to know what business you have here?! And what makes you think you have the right to just wander into our-“Arthur was not able to finish for the very tall man began to speak.
“I recommend you and our wife stay quiet for a few minutes. We need you to use that energy on thinking rather than talking.” He said with a snicker as he walked forward, and pushed Isabelle and Arthur to the floor. He lifted his right hand, and snapped his fingers together. Instantly, the second men opened his briefcase, and pulled out a few documents. He held the files out, and pulled back after the tall man had taken hold of them.
“My name is Julius… and I’m here for a very important reason. My only advice for you is to listen to what I have to say, and accept it.” The tall man, now known as Julius hissed as he leaned his head forward, and stared down at both Isabelle’s and Arthur’s terrified faces.
“Now from what I have gathered you are Arthur and Isabelle Igerashi? I’m right aren’t I?” He said nodded his hand, as if telling them to nod as well. They followed the notion, knowing that this would be their only way out. “And you also have a wonderful 14 year old daughter… Kiyoshi Igerashi?” He said, once again nodding his head.
“She-she’s 13…” Isabelle said, her voice quivering drastically.
Julius flicked one of the files open with a gnarly finger and sighed, “Right 13, her birthday is tomorrow, lovely.” He said his tone not all that pleasing. “Well, we’ve gotten that part over with, now I need to tell you something, you’re daughter has been chosen to be part of a project that the government is sponsoring. Nothing drastic but I can’t ensure that you’ll ever see her again.
Isabelle whimpered when she heard the very words that escaped Julius’ lips. “You’re going to take my daughter away…” She said, her voice sounded like a whining child, “You can’t do that…” She added in a whisper as she noted Julius’ cold stare.
“On a contrary I can, I just said that this project was funded by the government. And whatever they say goes.” Julius said with a laugh as he flicked his finger in her face. “Now, be a doll and tell me where you’re daughter is at the very moment.” Isabelle shivered when he placed his finger under his chin. The moment they made contact, Isabelle felt a cold feeling slither down her spine. The feeling could have triggered her human instinct, or most likely the fear that resided deep within her.
Isabelle shook her head from side to side as she tried to pull away from Julius, “And what happens if I don’t?” she finally said, forcing the words out of her body. Isabelle instantly knew the answer just by staring at Julius’ callous gaze. His eyes pierced through her body, and made her feel as if thousands of needles had forced their way into her skin. The next few seconds happened so quickly, Julius wrapped his hand around Isabelle’s face, and lifted her off the ground. The man’s grip was far too strong for Isabelle to escape from, but that wasn’t the worst of her problems. Julius released his grip on her head, and flung her across the room.
A bellowing sound resonated throughout the room, soon followed by Isabelle’s whimpering. Arthur cried out as he watched his wife fall to the ground, his body was in too much shock to actually stand up so he quickly crawled towards her body. He was only a few feet away from her, when suddenly Julius stomped on Arthur’s leg. The pain shot through Arthur like a bullet and soon her lay crippled on the ground gasping wildly as he tried to ignore the pain.
Julius paid no attention to their cries of pains, he wasn’t interested. The plan was to take the girl; if the parents became a problem then they were allowed to take care of them anyway necessary. He cocked his head towards the doorway, and stared at the short, pudgy, muscular man. “Edd! Get the girl.” Julius barked.
The short man, now known as Edd began to hobble towards Isabelle. With each step he took, his weight shifted to that side, then bounced to the center, soon followed by sliding to the other side. Edd eyed Isabelle as she rubbed her hands over her face, his face was pudgy, but his eyes stood out so distinctively. They were like diamonds on a black rock, sharp and forever piercing. When he finally towered over Isabelle, he grabbed her by the collar with his pudgy and hairy arm, and threw her into the couch. Isabelle’s body drooped off it, and once again, she was situated on the floor, weak and hopeless.
Julius nodded his head as he watched Edd’s actions, the man was brute, a bit dense but he was the muscle in the duo. He averted his attention back upon Arthur who was now breathing in normally, rapidly, but normally. Julius bent down, his knees protruding out revealing his boney features. He grasped Arthur’s hair, and pulled his head back so that both their eyes could make contact.
“Now now now… I didn’t really mean to do that…” Julius said in a playful tone, “But you two are so passive… it’s time that I teach you to just get to the point!” Julius added his eyes flaming as he pulled on Arthur’s hair. Arthur yelled as the strain was placed upon his head, it wasn’t normal to have a man’s hair pulled. But now Arthur understood that the feeling of a burning needle shifting it’s way into his head. Tears began to sprawl down Arthur’s eyes, and before he could whimper out in defeat, Julius released his grip, causing his face to come in contact with the ground. Arthur’s nose throbbed as he shifted his head so that he could stare at Julius’ feet. The pain was beginning to gather up inside of him, but somehow he knew that this wasn’t the worst.
“Please… just tell us... what do you want?” Arthur gasped as she ignored Isabelle’s cries as Edd wrapped a wire around her wrists and ankles. “What could the American government possibly want from a 13 year old?” The question seemed to be inquiring him, but somehow the words had escaped his mind.
Julius placed a finger on his chin as he gazed up towards the ceiling. It seemed that this required a lot of thought.
“Well… your daughter is a very special girl… you see.” Julius paused wondering if he was phrasing this correctly. “She has one of the best body matches, physically and mentally for a project that we need to undergo.” Julius said, pausing yet again as he thought hard for ways to state this the right way, “After she’s done with this procedure, she’ll be even better than she is now.” He finally said with a snicker.
Arthur was still confused, ‘Special? Body match? Procedure? What is this guy talking about?’ he thought to himself as his brain tried to make sense of the words. “I- I still don’t understand where this is going…” Arthur said.
Julius sighed deeply as he rubbed his temples. A grin became visible behind his hand, and soon Julius was laughing. It was a mixture of his hiss like tone, with a slight pause at times when he inhaled air in. “ I know what you’re trying to do…” he said when he finally calmed down, “I know exactly what you’re tying to do… you’re trying to stall.. Why? Because you’re hoping that my visit here will expire, and I’ll just leave without saying a word.” Julius finally finished, kicking Arthur’s side. “Well you know what genius… you’re wrong!” Julius said, his tone of voice growing higher at each syllable.
“And you want to know why, it’s because I’m not leaving until I get what I want, and that’s the girl!” Julius screamed as he pulled a metallic object from his waist.
Arthur’s eyes widened as his he caught a glimpse of the object. The clicking of the object justified his assumption. It was a gun. The thing in Julius’ hand was a gun, and by the looks of him, he wasn’t going to hold back on using it.
Julius understood the look on Arthur’s face. It was called fear, and human instinct would soon kick in and force Arthur to fall into Julius’s words like water through rocks. There were those who ignored this instinct and acted as if they were doing something noble. In the end however, they lived up only to be fools.
“Now Arthur… I was hoping that this could be simple… I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to go through all this.” Julius said, beginning to pace around Arthur’s body like a vulture encircling its’ prey. Arthur lay huddled on the floor, knowing that his life would come to an end soon, but nevertheless, he was unwilling to give his daughter to some stranger.
Suddenly another voice pitched in, and added to the tension that ran between Julius and Arthur.
“Plea-please… just take me instead. Leave Kiyoshi.” Isabelle cried. Edd stared at her coldly, and tightened the wire that was wrapped around her wrist. She yelped in pain as the metallic string no bigger that one millimeter pierced her skin causing blood to spurt out.
Once again, Julius’ cold laugh resonated throughout the room; clearly he found this absolutely amusing. Then, in an instant his humorous gaze transformed into a frightening glare. “DON’T YOU THINK WE WOULD HAVE DONE THAT ALREADY?!” He screamed as he raised his gun towards Isabelle.
Isabelle shook her head furiously as she tried to curl up into a ball, hoping against all hope that it would somehow protect her body from the bullet.
“BANG!” was the sound that escaped from the gun. However the bullet did not hit Isabelle, but missed her by at least one centimeter. Instead, it crashed through the wall causing bits of paint the plaster to fly off.
“I’m beginning to get VERY aggravated by all of your games!” Julius yelled as he shot a few more rounds around the room.
“Look!” Arthur suddenly said his body now off the ground. He was gripping the wall in order to sustain his balance. “We’re not giving up our child… you’re stupid to think we would even consider this!” He barked, apparently very disturbed by the shot that Julius had made towards his wife. “Either you leave… or… or I’ll call the police.” He added firmly as he pulled out a cell phone in his pocket. Arthur had already dialed the 911 number, and now his finger lay suspended over the call button, ready to make his move.
Julius raised his pistol, clearly unnerved by Arthur’s threat. This meant that the man was clearly out of his league, there was no way the Arthur could stop Julius and Edd now. Julius swirled the revolver, getting a bullet ready. He closed his left eye, and then fired.
By that moment, Arthur had already pressed the call button; maybe the gunshot would be heard through the phone if it got through in time. Even if he did die, at least someone would know about their situation. It was too bad though that this night was obviously not his night. The bullet that left the barrel of Julius’ gun cut through the air, and made its way towards Arthur’s hand. However that wasn’t its initial target.
Arthur sucked in air through his teeth as he grabbed his bleeding hand. Next to him was the phone, blown into bits and pieces. He bent over, and felt tears well up in his eyes. No sound escaped his lips; he wasn’t ready to admit defeat just yet. Julius on the other hand walked forward and bent down and stared at him. Arthur breathed in deeply, gritting his teeth together as the warm barrel of the gun made contact with his forehead.
“God Damn it JUST SHOOT ME!” Arthur screamed as she placed his hands on Julius’s and placed pressure on it. “KILL ME!” He screamed.
“ARTHUR NO!” Isabelle screamed as she watched him. Edd stared at her, and slammed his foot on her face. She whimpered as the pain flowed through her, “Please no…” She cried her voice was muffled, both my Edd’s foot, and by her crying.
“DO IT!” Arthur screamed once more, pushing on the gun harder.
Julius only laughed towards his actions, and pulled his hand away from Arthur’s grip. “Now now… let’s not get so rash…” He said with a sly smile as he stood back up. “No… I want to ke-”.
Suddenly, he flicked his head towards the doorway and listened intently. The sound of the door unlocking echoed throughout room. He glared at Edd, telling him to shut Isabelle up. Edd nodded, and lifted her, and placed his hand over her mouth.
Another lock clicked, and the ringing of keys echoed throughout the silence. Julius smiled, and quickly walked back towards Arthur, and covered his mouth, that way nothing could be heard. “Now… who could this be?” He asked rather slyly as he placed his lips close to Arthur’s ear.
Arthur struggled, but found that his strength was great. He was surprised by this, since Julius was a lean man.
Suddenly, the door creaked open. Tension filled the room, and mix of the beating of both excited and frightened hearts filled everyone’s ears.
“Mom… Dad… I’m home.” It said, the voice seemed to belong to a girl. The tone of the voice seemed to be unnerved and no enthusiasm. It sounded as if this were a daily routine that one would get bored of.
Julius tightened his grip on Arthur through excitement. His heart beat wildly as the footsteps came closer.
“Mom? Dad?” The voice said again. Suddenly and girl appeared in the doorway to the living room, and stared down the hall. She seemed to not notice the four people in the living room. She gripped the handle of her book bag with her right arm, and turned to face the living room.
The expression on her face was blank, her eyes showed no sign of fear, or confusion. Her dark brown hair hung off the sides of her head, and ended lightly on the blades of her shoulders. She did however grip the strap of her book bag tighter, and stared blankly into the room. Her eyes scanned over to her bleeding mother who was held by a squat fat man. His plump fingers seemed to consume the woman’s head. Then there was her father who was being held by a tall lean man who had the face of a cunning snake. He too held his hand over her father’s mouth. A grin was planted across his face as he stared back at the girl.
Kiyoshi brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and began to back away, gripping her book bag even tighter.
“And so the girl of the moment has arrived.” He said with a smile as he pulled out his silver gun. Edd did the same, and pushed Isabelle to the floor.
“RUN Kiyoshi!” Arthur screamed as he was pushed to the floor as well. Both men clicked their guns, and aimed.
Kiyoshi stared into the living room; it almost looked as if she was oblivious to the whole situation. She blinked, and then opened her eyes again. Suddenly, her heart began to beat faster, and her breath was beginning to quicken. A mixture of shock and horror painted across her face, and all the color was drained from it. She felt tears well up in her eyes, but they wouldn’t fall. She bit her lip, and stood frozen in the middle of the doorway. Thoughts raced through her head as her eyes scanned the room.
Then suddenly two gunshots were heard, and Kiyoshi stared at the headless figures that were once her parents. A maroon color was spread across the white carpet, and the bodies went limp, excreting a red substance. The men put their guns away, and kicked the bodies away, and began to walk slowly towards the doorway.
Kiyoshi began to feel something tighten in her chest. A little voice said run, and something pounded at her forehead continuously. Her legs wobbled. She couldn’t find any strength at all. Where was that human instinct so many believed in? Where was that spirit that people said shone through the darkest of times?
She searched everywhere for it, but didn’t find anything. Then, as her eyes fell into the pools that were placed upon Julius’s face, she found something. She found anger, hate, and despair. The brown eyes that were placed upon her face turned into daggers, and her hand pulled her book bag off her back swiftly.
“MONSTERS!” She screamed as she threw her bag towards the two men. As the squat man caught it, she picked up a vase from the table, and threw it at the men once again with as much for as she could muster. It struck the tall man in the middle of his forehead. He yelled, and placed a hand over his bleeding forehead.
“YOU MONSTERS!” Kiyoshi screamed once again, then turned around and quickly rushed down the hall. Before the men could react, the sound of a heavy door slamming closed filled the empty house.
“AFTER HER!” Julius screamed as he wiped the blood off his forehead with his hand, and rushed out of the room. Edd pulled the door open, and the two ran out into the cold night air. They spotted a distant figure running down a flight of stairs, and quickly rushed out of it.
Kiyoshi felt a cooling sensation fall upon her face as the tears in her eyes fell down her cheeks. The images of her headless bleeding parents flashed throughout her mind. She gripped the sides of her head, and forced them out. The only thing she wanted to think about was running, getting away, escaping. That way she could let her body fall into sorrow.