<span style="font-weight: bold">CHAPTER 1.2:</span><span style="color: #BF0000"><span style="font-weight: bold">Of Whispers and Death</span></span><br/><br/><br/>"Kawahara-san, leaving so early?" said the kind inn owner with a bright smile.<br/><br/>Kei shook his head a few times and smiled back at the old man. "Yes. I don't want to waste a fine morning. I'm off to the beach!"<br/><br/>Surprised at the man's enthusiasm, the inn owner simply nodded in approval. "Very well then. We shall await your return Kawahara-san. Please have safe trip."<br/><br/>"Thank you, I'll be heading out then."<br/><br/>It was a fine morning indeed. The sun was high up, the skies are clear and the breeze is cool. There were a lot of people out and about, each seemed to have planned out their Saturday. As Kei walked his way out of Res B as the locals call it, he came across all sorts of people out in the streets. Most of them looked like they were headed for the Shopping District, while others appear to have the same plans he does for the day.<br/><br/>There were a group of guys who seemed like they were still in high school, several families getting ready just outside their houses, and two people who stuck out like sore thumbs. Perhaps it was because their hair was blonde, or maybe because they were just so... tall. Kei knew it was rude to stare however, he couldn't help but keep looking at them. A fairly loud<span style="font-style: italic">Clonk!</span>sounded as Kei's stride suddenly came to an abrupt halt; a stinging sensation immediately filling his forehead. He just face-hugged a pole and several people were already laughing at his stupidity.<br/><br/>"Ow! This wasn't here yesterday!" he said out loud to alleviate some of the embarrassment he felt.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">My bad for staring geez!</span>he thought to himself and grudgingly skirted around the pole. Several minutes later, he came across a store cleverly or stupidly named 24/7/365.<span style="font-style: italic">They might as well added the decimals too</span>, he thought. Kei grabbed a few things from the convenience store, mostly stuff he would need at the beach. Shampoo, sunblock, some drinks, it was nice of them to sell packed lunches too. Though they were not as good as the home-made ones, they can still get the job done. Once shopping is out of the way, he hailed a cab and directed the driver to drive him to the famous Beach Front.<br/><br/>About fifteen minutes later, Kei arrived at the entrance to the Beach Front. Breathing in the salty air, hearing the waves crashing on the shores, imagining all that under the hot sun, it was going to be a fantastic getaway. Kei hurried down to the beach, only to be surprised by the sheer amount of people already enjoying the place.<span style="font-style: italic">Woah! Never expected it to be this packed!</span>he thought as he weaved through pockets of people.<br/><br/>Kei made his way towards the public changing room and got into his swimwear. He put on sunblock, wore sunglasses and looked around the beach for a few minutes. Soon, he laid claim to a shade under one of many coconut trees that stood tall. Looking at the people enjoying the waters, Kei thought it would probably be best if he went at a later time. He didn't want to have to watch where he swam so instead, he popped open a bottle of soda and rested his back on the tree. Several more minutes later, Kei somehow dozed off.<br/><br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</div><br/><br/>"<span style="font-style: italic">Come to me...</span>"<br/><br/>"<span style="font-style: italic">I need you...</span>"<br/><br/>"<span style="font-style: italic">Come to me..</span>"<br/><br/>The voice rang inside his head, it felt like a whisper, calling to him. Kei snapped his eyes open and the first thing he realized was that the chatter from the people came to a stop. Frantically looking around, Kei saw that the people were still there, only they were motionless, staring at something. Following the people's gaze right into the middle of the beach sands, Kei could not believe what he saw."W-what the..." he trailed off, eyes locked onto what the people were looking at.<br/><br/>In the middle of all that people, there she stood, a little girl, probably six years old. She wore frilly clothing, tattered and soiled by dirt in most parts. She was barefoot, carried a barely recognizable stuffed animal and much of her pale skin showing stained with dirt and grime. Her long hair fell freely into a tangled, curly, and greasy mess. It covered almost the entirety of her face and the only thing visible was her lips; it held a crooked smile that betrayed her yellowish, stained teeth. But much to his disbelief was the fact that a lining of thin, smoke-like essence was permeating the entirety of the little girl's body.<br/><br/>Kei began to slowly crawl back, fear grasping tightly at his heart that felt like it was about to explode at any given moment. Despite the hot sun, chills ran down Kei's spine in waves just at the sight of the little girl. This was no prank, nor was it a movie shoot for a cheap horror flick. This was real.<br/><br/>Then came the whispers again. This time, it brought with it a terrible headache that stung Kei's temples in tune with his heartbeat. Despite being a few meters away from the girl, he could tell that she was the source of the whispers. Struggling to compose himself, he watched the girl slowly walk the sands heading to the ocean. What he saw next shattered everything he thought he knew and believed about the supernatural. As the little girl drew closer to the ocean, the once calm waves suddenly began to grow bigger, more violent, threatening to swallow anyone and everyone that comes near them. But there she was, the little girl, walking safely on top of the waves. She stopped only when she was but a small speck in the distance and the whispers came once more.<br/><br/>"<span style="font-style: italic">Come to me...</span>"<br/><br/>"<span style="font-style: italic">I need you...</span>"<br/><br/>"<span style="font-style: italic">Come to me...</span>"<br/><br/>This time, the people began to move. Kei didn't understand at first but soon realized that they were somehow locked in a trance, beckoned by the whispers they were no doubt hearing. Then it hit him, he could hear the whispers but unlike all these people, he was somehow unaffected, he could move freely.<span style="font-style: italic">What to do?! What to do?! What to do?!</span>he grilled his mind, panic threatening to consume him at any second.<span style="font-style: italic">Deep breaths Kei! Deep breaths!</span>he silently yelled at himself. Taking in gulps of air, Kei closed his eyes. His brain mentally calculating the options he had; there weren't too many. Run away to get help? No! People will die if he did! There was no time for that!<br/><br/>"Hey! Get a hold of yourself!" he yelled at the nearest person that was headed to the waters.<br/><br/>He didn't know how he managed it, but Kei somehow found courage to muster strength back into his legs. He got up and tried to stop the person from walking into certain death. But alas, with all these people to save, there's only so much he alone could accomplish.<br/><br/>"Snap out of it! Hey! Wake up!" he yelled, frustrated and desperately trying to push back two people at once.<br/><br/>He had tried everything he could think of at the moment to break their trance. Yelling, pushing, even slapping the people in their faces. None of them seemed to work. Their eyes stared blankly into the violent waters, drawn to it like moths to a light source. With his head throbbing in pain as the whispers continued to come, Kei quickly glanced at the shoreline. Some people have already made it close to the waters and there was hardly anything else he could do but watch helplessly as they got swallowed and drawn out to sea by the crashing waves.<br/><br/>"No... this can't be happening!" he cried out, panic cracking another shell of his calm.<br/><br/>He didn't want to do it but he was left with no choice. Curling his right hand into a fist, Kei threw a strong punch to the mid-section of the man he was trying to push back. He felt his fist dig in just above the stomach and watched the man fall down to his knees then plop to the sands. He then looked around and caught a glimpse of a few more people swallowed by the waves. He was contemplating on just how many people could possibly take a punch that strong without getting seriously hurt.<span style="font-style: italic">This isn't going to work</span>, he thought.<br/><br/>In his desperation, he looked at the woman floating far into the waters one more time. Then it hit him. That's right, the source of the whispers! If only there was a way for him to go after the source!