Devil's Wonderland

Escape

Halo Twelve: Escape:

Chiharu lay shaking on her bedroom floor. How long was the last time she tasted blood? Junko's taunting made it that much worse.

"How long do you think you can keep this up?" she asked. The angel panted wildly.

"Shut up!" she growled.

"Why? Because you know I'm right?" Junko asked. "Look, just feed. It's better than fighting it in pain." Her words only served to remind her how bad things were turning. The past few days turned into a case of why she should feed.

Tatsuya kept her locked in her room. For the most part, she scratched on the door in the earlier days. Her screaming didn't even sound human. Her brother ignored her.

"What do you expect me to do with her?" he asked. Mikado and Masaomi didn't have an answer. What do you do when your friend has turned into an angel?

Pretty soon, the scratching stopped. Same with the screaming. But in its place came something worse.

-Eight Days Earlier-

Masaomi and Mikado stood outside of the Hashimoto apartment. Neither boy spoke about what they needed to do. The tadpole knocked on the door.

"Coming," a tired voice said. Mikado stepped back as the door opened. Tatsuya looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"What's the problem?" Masaomi asked. At first, the man didn't answer.

"It's gotten worse," he said in hoarse voice.

"What happened?" Mikado asked. Tatsuya backed up from the doorway. The boys followed him inside. They found Chiharu sitting in the living room. She looked like she was out in a daze. She hadn't combed her hair in days. Her clothes hadn't been washed either. The boys covered their mouths in shock.

"Hashi... moto.... -san?" Mikado asked. Chiharu didn't look up. Instead, she opened her mouth and let out a string of screaming gibberish.

"What did you say?" the tadpole boy asked. The angel girl started screaming out again. Her voice got louder the more she tried to speak.

"What was that?" Mikado asked again. Chiharu still kept screaming like a wild animal. Her two friends turned to her brother.

"How long had she been like this?" Masaomi asked.

"It started last night," Tatsuya said. "She only screams like that if you take to talk to her." Mikado's stomach turned.

"Anything else changed?" he asked. The man shook his head. The boys turned back to their angel friend.

The regression plowed forward. Within days, Chiharu couldn't walk on two legs anymore. She had to crawl around to move. Chiharu still wouldn't eat. Human food just made her vomit. Tatsuya looked like he was about to pass out by this point.

"Let me take over," Mizuho offered. He didn't even bother to try and argue with her.

"Whatever," Tatsuya said.

"Tatsuya," she said. She knew as much about the situation as he did. Mikado and Masaomi couldn't/wouldn't explain what was going on.

"Tell us the truth," Mizuho demanded on a Sunday.

"I'm sorry," Mikado said, bowing. "You wouldn't understand it. I don't understand it either." Mizuho wrinkled her nose.

"That is not good enough," she said.

"Stop, Mizuho," Tatsuya said. "They don't know." She sat back, frowning.

"How are you holding up?" Masaomi asked.