Mai was perplexed, to say the least. Not only was it the police chief that had followed them, but now she was separated from the team and… with him. In a creepy forest! She wasn’t even sure how it had happened.
‘What luck.’ She cursed under her breathe, regretting having only gone out with John and Masako. ‘If only I stayed to help Monk. Stupid! Stupid Mai! Why can’t I ever listen to my head?’
She flinched from a protruding branch, ignoring the annoyed grunt Dazo released as said branch hit him in the face. She couldn’t help the little devious smile that slipped its’ way onto her face; The mild satisfaction helping her through the awkward situation…
Just a little.
“Hey!” Dazo called, huffing as he caught up to her, “Do you even know the way back? It seems you’re leading us in circles.”
“I’m not…” He pause caused a chill to run down his spine, “But he is.” The cryptic meaning made him gaff.
“Nonsense! There is nothing paranormal about this. No matter what you think. This is just a typical case of estranged fellow who needs to be brought to justice before anyone, especially those missing kids, are hurt.”
The determination in his voice gave Mai the impression that the police chief wasn’t as bad as she first thought. But with a sigh, she brushed the thought aside and looked up. With a sudden gasp, the brunette came to an abrupt halt, causing Dazo to stumble into her, jolting the young woman out of her stupor and back into reality. Her eyes widened, body ridged as her head whipped from side to side, panic evident in her urgent mumbles.
“Hey girl?” Dazo asked, sighing when she ignored him, “Stop!” He grabbed her shoulders and made her look at him, causing her to glare at him, the glint of fear that shone in her eyes easily making a mark on the police chief, “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” Her voice was incredulous as she looked at him, “Are you serious! Look at the sky!” She quickly pointed to the sky, making sure he saw what she wanted him to see what she wanted him to see. The sky was rapidly darkening, the first few stars of the night pooping into existence in the velvet background faster and faster. Soon, they would be stuck in an unfamiliar forest, in the dark, with no food, water or any idea where to go. “Do you see that? Soon we’ll be completely lost, in the dark in some strange place with some… thing that’s meant to be most active at night. And out here we’re even easier targets than the children were!”
He blinked down at her, for the first time letting the severity of the situation sink in as she explained to him everything they had discovered earlier that day.
-Case Day 1-
The SPR team burst into the lobby with Mai at the lead as they frantically searched for the source of the scream. A woman was on the ground, desperately screaming and motioning to something outside the door.
“Yumi! Yumi! Give me back my Yumi!
Monk was the first out the front doors, chasing something he had seen amongst the trees. Police chased after him in seconds, stopping the team from following. Mai took the chance of confusion to talk to the couple in distress. The woman that had been screaming was being held in the arms of an older man, the matching rings on their fingers showing they were married. The sorrow on the womans’ face tore at Mai’s heart and the brunette leant down to them. She waited for them to notice her.
“My name is Mai. What’s your name?” It was all she could do to try calm the couple down enough to get the answers she needed. The elderly woman, with silver hair and pale grey eyes, stared straight into hers, almost as if she was trying to pierce right through her.
