Sakura and the other girls helped Yumi onto the sofa, making her as comfy as possible. Sakura shook her head. “I... I don’t get this. We were in the grip of a powerful curse... a grudge... and she was telling us to recruit more girls—to get them to bring us the men who had done them wrong and sacrifice them. Why would your mum do that?”
Tadashi shook his head. “It wasn’t my mother. Kayako had her in her grip—had... possessed her. When she saw me, she must have fought with her last breath to break the curse—freeing it and her. You are no longer under the grudge or Kayako’s control. You are free.”
Sakura sighed with relief and placed a comforting hand on Tadashi’s shoulder. “For what it’s worth—Yua loved you very much. And I am so sorry for your loss.”
Tadashi smiled. “Thank you, Sakura. If you can spread the word—stop these cults from taking place. They are far too dangerous.”
Sakura nodded. “We will do our best.”
Tadashi left—with his mum and gave her a proper burial. As far as family and the police were concerned, his mother had died several years before. The little they knew about the case, the less he would look crazy.
The next few days went by uneventful...until Tadashi’s phone started to ring. He jumped, pulling back the bed covers and checking the time. It was 2.30 in the morning. Whoever this was... Tadashi felt like his heart had jumped into his throat. The caller ID came up as Kayako...
He answered and immediately wished he hadn’t. The low creaky groan came down the phone and then the line went dead. He got up and started to shake. Tadashi’s body began to jerk in unnatural fashion, and his head cracked from side to side. His once blonde hair turned to black as his hair grew black and long, covering his face. His skin crackled and turned white. Sharp, black nails grew out of his fingers. He fell to the floor, getting on all fours and start to breathe heavily.
His bedroom door opened, and Sakura stood there, with the other three girls, and more behind her. “See girls,” Sakura grinned. I touched his mother, touched him and past the curse onto him. Now Kayako is able rise again. The cult of Kayako will live on!”
Tadashi’s body crumpled to a heap below and Kayako’s hair parted. Her eyes were horribly wide, and her mouth groaned, stretching downwards unnaturally. Kayako, arms outstretched, lunged forward.
Case Notes: It was unclear how the girls were able to conjure the spirit of Kayako in the first place, or how the cult was formed in the first place. By now, almost every young girl between 16 and 21 wears white and has long, black hair. I have determined that it is best to avoid them if you see them on the streets. Lock the doors at night and only go out when you need food. Kayako’s grip is strong—but one day I hope to break the curse. I plan to visit Sakura, one of the girls involved to find out more. Be strong. Be brave. This is not over. Hiro Mako.
Kevin S. Hall
Kevin Hall is 35 and lives in Haddington, East Lothian in Scotland. He is a sci-fi, fantasy and horror fan, his
biggest loves being Stephen King and Doctor Who. He has written Thirteen: A Collection Of Horror Stories, and Thirteen Vol. 2: The Horror Continues and is beavering away on Vol. 3: The Never-Ending Horror at the moment.
He is currently writing his first full horror novel Ravens
Edge, and is working on several anthologies - a High Fliers superhero one, a fantasy one and a Halloween one. Submissions are always welcome for short stories too. In his spare time, he loves to read, is doing a Games Designer Course, and does a Radio Show on a Sunday on Radio Saltire too.
‘The One’
Samie Sands
He is the one.
I never thought I would be able to say that. I didn’t think I was the sort of person who’d fall in love. Especially at the tender age of nineteen.
Now, I know what people will say to me, ‘Juliet, you are so young, you don’t need to fall in love right now, you still have so much life to live’, but if I turn down this man, the one for me, then I might never find it again, and this feeling is too much. I can’t turn my back on it.
Especially not now. He’s taking me to meet his friends! This is the most exciting day in our relationship so far. I can’t wait, but I definitely need to impress them all.
“How do I look?”
There’s no one to answer me, but I ask anyway. I ask myself more than anyone else. Not that I have any answer. I mean, is this dress friendly enough? Sexy enough? Will Alex like me in it? I suppose that’s the main thing. I need him to like me even more than anyone else. It’s his opinion that matters most of all.
Is it weird that I’m meeting his friends before he’s seen what I got going on underneath this dress? It’s unusual, sure, but I think tonight might be the night. I’m staying with him anyway because he lives out in the sticks, so I have my best underwear on in preparation.
“Oh God...was that the door?”
My heart hammers in my throat, my pulse speeds too quickly, I can hardly contain myself. But I don’t let any of that free. I make my way to the front door with my cool, calm, collected face on.
I know Alex is the one for me. He tells me the same, but I don’t want to give him any reason to think otherwise. If he sees me panicking, it might put him off.
“Coming.”
The door swings open and there he is, in all his glory. The talk, dark, and handsome man who I get to wrap my arms around and hold forever more.
God damn, I’m so damn lucky.
“Hey there, Alex.” I swing my hips, drawing his attention downwards. If I catch him staring down my body then I know it’s on. “How’s it going?”
“You excited?” His eyes remain firmly on my face, gentleman that he is. He’s bound to be a freak in the sheets though, the quiet ones normally are. “My friends are all really happy to meet you. They’ve heard all about you...”
“All good? You haven’t told them anything bad about me have you?”
He tosses his head back and laughs. “There’s nothing bad to tell.”
“Hmm, you might be right about that one!”
And then...we’re on the way.
Alex has an old car, he doesn’t have much need for new things, so it takes us a while. I spend that time trying to gather myself up so I’m on top form. I want to portray the best of myself to these people.
I’ve never cared before, meeting the friends of partners, it’s never bothered me. I always thought I was just too confident to give a damn about the opinions of other people but now I know the boyfriends weren’t important enough to me.
Alex is...he’s the one.
“IT’S LOVELY HERE.”
I don’t know how to describe it, even to myself. It’s like a commune or something. Tents surround me, they are as far as the eyes can see, and judging by the fact washing lines hang outside a lot of them, people seem to lived here fulltime.
“I know, I love it.”
Alex’s face lights up like a Christmas tree. I haven’t ever seen him like this before. I’ve seen him happy, but here, he’s shining.
“Yeah, I can see that.” I squeeze his hand tighter. “And I can understand why. Your friends have a great way of life. It’s all so free and casual.”