And then something grabs on to my foot, and I really do lose my balance. The doll slips out of my grasp and drops into the darkness below. I lash out and succeed in latching on to the edge of the floor. I glance down and nearly faint at what I see.
A girl, clearly dead, has her hands wrapped around my ankle. She is covered from head to toe in dirt and slick, green slime, and her clothing is ragged beyond recognition. Her hair slicks down her face, and her wide, staring eyes are framed with the customary teardrop-shaped brows. The sudden smell of death and decay is overpowering. I gag and try to kick my way free, but she hisses and clings.
Okiku flies past me, catching the other ghost unaware and sending both of them tumbling into the black pit.
“Ki!” I scramble for safety, then turn and shine my light down, frantically searching for a glimpse of her. “Okiku!”
Fear seizes my heart. Weakened as she was by the miasma surrounding us, I know neither of us will have much of a chance if we are separated. But I don’t see her anywhere.
I grab my backpack and steel myself.
“This is a stupid idea,” I murmur to myself—and I jump.
Chapter Thirteen
The Caves
Don’t let those action heroes in movies fool you—falling twenty feet onto a stone floor is a bitch.
I have enough sense to tuck and roll when I make impact, but it forces the air from my lungs all the same, and I don’t stop rolling until I plant my face into the opposite wall. I lie there for a few more moments, wheezing like an old man and regretting the day I thumbed my nose at my local gym’s annual membership.
There aren’t any creatures lying in wait for me, but the downside is that neither is Okiku. I do see the doll lying a few feet away, dirty but intact.
“Ki?” I call, coughing but finding the strength to pick myself up off the cave floor. My right foot sends twinges of pain up the length of my leg, and I wince. “Ki?” I call out again. My voice echoes faintly down the passageway, but nobody answers.
I clamp the flashlight in my mouth and splay the light into the tunnel ahead of me, the spike raised in one hand and the doll in the other. If there are passages hidden underneath this house, then the same must hold true for many of the others. I’m no expert, but while I assume the caves are natural, some of these connecting passages look like they were dug by hand. How many people must have labored to do this? And for what purpose?
“Okiku?” It’s not going to do much good to panic, but without her, I don’t stand much of a chance at getting out of this village alive, much less spearheading a rescue. I close my eyes and try to sense where she went, ignoring the mild nausea of my fright. I can walk despite the pain, though I know I can’t put too much pressure on my right foot.
“Better than breaking my ankle,” I console myself.
Okiku has been weak, and I start to worry that the reason she hasn’t returned is because she’s in trouble herself. I start off down the passage, walking as quickly as I can.
Something scratches at the rock behind me.
It’s probably nothing.
Just to be sure, I speed up, forcing down the increased discomfort in my leg.
Scuffling noises pick up behind me.
Don’t look. Don’t look. It’s the mantra in my head as I quicken my pace even more. It’s nothing. It’s probably the sound water makes when it’s trickling through rock. Or some small insects buzzing. It’s definitely not something following you. Fingernails are too brittle to make that clawing sound.
Aren’t they?
Crap. Now I can’t get that image out of my head.
Don’t look behind you. Don’t look behind you. That’s how people die in movies. Don’t look behind you.
I look behind me.
The long-haired girl slithering toward me makes me forget about my foot. I run, eyes focused on the path ahead because falling now would be very bad. I can feel Okiku’s presence growing stronger, as if she’s sensed me too and is heading my way.
I run faster. The scratching behind me has increased in volume, but I can’t tell whether it’s gaining on me or whether it’s just getting angrier.
There’s a strange hissing next to me.
The glow of my flashlight catches Okiku bearing down on me, hollow eyes all afire and mouth stretched wider than possible for a normal human. I’m accustomed to how Okiku looks but not to encountering her in an abandoned tunnel with another ghost at my heels.
I throw myself to the ground as Okiku launches herself at the spirit dogging at my tail, the force of the crash sending them both tumbling into the wall.
The flashlight rolls away, but I spring to my feet, fumbling for the tape recorder. Shrieks ring out around me, but I can’t place where the sounds are coming from. “Hey!” I yell, lifting the recorder, and soon, the sounds of chants intertwine with the horrific cries.
It doesn’t always work like this. If a spirit’s too strong, it won’t take to the chants immediately, and then a fair amount of wrestling is needed to get it down and docile.