Five days ago, on a warm night filled with the cries of a million cicadas, Takashi Ito woke up in a pool of sweat. He breathed heavily as if woken up from a terrible nightmare and looked around the room. Nothing out of place, nothing out of the ordinary. His windows were locked as he’d left them; his bedroom light was off; he was alone in his room, no ghosts or demons. A few minutes later he wasn’t even sure whether or not he saw a nightmare anymore. He couldn’t remember. So he got out of bed and put on his glasses, opening the door and walking towards the kitchen. Going down the stairs agitated him a little. The last time he’d gone out of his room and down the stairs in the middle of the night was when he’d seen the bird creature.

The occasional creak of the old steps mixed with the dancing of numerous shadows on the walls created the perfect horror movie. What would he run into this time? He anticipated the worst. When he reached the bottom of the stairs he noticed that the kitchen was empty this time. 

“Thank God”, he whispered and walked slowly over to the fridge. There was still the slightest anxiety in his heart. It beat fast but silent. Every deliberate step he took seemed to awaken a new shadow that danced on the wall. Any second, anyone can jump out from any corner,  he thought. A howling breeze blew through the backyard and entered the kitchen through small openings in the wall. Takashi opened the fridge and picked up a can of melon soda. A chill ran through his body, possibly brought on by the cold drink, and made the hairs stand up behind his neck. 

It felt weird – standing there in the kitchen. The sense of someone lingering behind him as he stood with his back turned to the kitchen’s entrance overwhelmed Takashi. That feeling that if you turn around any second, you might end up seeing something terrifying staring back at you took over him. In his imagination, it was the bird creature.

Tick tock tick tock, came a familiar sound. Just as he’d anticipated. Takashi turned around to face the dark, fully expecting to see the piercing gaze behind the large beak that was familiar to him. But relief soon followed. It was only the clock. Thinking back, Takashi had associated the ticking sound with the clock as he’d climbed down the stairs but growing anticipation and dread had managed to fool his ears for a second. 

It was warm – irritatingly warm. Takashi chugged the melon soda and picked up another from the fridge to take up to the bedroom. As he was halfway up the stairs, the familiar ticking sound returned. It was very faint but Takashi could discern it. Automatically, he turned towards the clock in the hallway but no; this time it was coming from upstairs – from his bedroom. And there was no clock in his bedroom. 

Takashi stood frozen, as the soda can dropped to the floor. The loud clang it made sent a chill up his spine. He eagerly looked around to see if it woke his family, praying that the bird creature didn’t hear it from his bedroom. It’s here, he thought, it’s in my room. 

Not a second to waste. He hurried back down the stairs and began opening the kitchen drawers. Knives, forks, screwdrivers; Takashi turned back to find a giant rolling pin placed on a hanger on the wall. Grabbing one of each kitchen weapon he’d found, he walked over to the foot of the stairs and hesitated. Can he even fight it? Would these weapons even help? What kind of a monster was it?

The ticking sound was persistent. It wasn’t all that loud but Takashi attributed the reduced volume to being due to coming from behind closed doors. What should I do?? What does this thing want with me??? Then it suddenly hit him. He didn’t have to face the bird creature at all. He just had to avoid it until it got tired of looking for him and flew away. But what if it then attacks his family? Also how could a bird that giant fly in from his relatively small windows?? Can it penetrate through walls? Takashi tried to think straight through the utter confusion in his brain. 

He had a plan. Slowly but steadily, Takashi sneaked up the stairs, with the giant rolling pin in hand – in case he had no choice but to fight it. He fished out the spare key to his room from under a vase and locked it from outside. There, let’s see you attack anyone now, Takashi thought to himself and hurried down the stairs. He gathered the weapons and waited in hiding. The time was around 8:30 PM, one and a half hours past lights out. Takashi planned to hide out for an hour and go back into the room after he’d given the creature enough time to get tired and leave. In case it could actually penetrate through walls and come down to find him, he kept the weapons ready as a last resort. 

As he sat and waited in a corner of the living room, he could see the night unravel through the windows. Far away there were street lights which flickered, trees illuminated by them swayed in the breeze, the incessant cries of cicadas filled his ears along with the loud thumping of his own heart. There was some sense of impending doom and mystery. Who are these creatures? What do they want with us? What did they do with the townspeople that went missing?, he thought. Horrifying images flashed around in his mind of people being murdered, torn apart, and eaten deep in the miserable corners of the dark forest. And the inescapable probability of the same thing happening to him lingered in his mind as he waited. Takashi shut his eyes tight and fought the thoughts, trying to suppress the images of him being dragged somewhere abandoned deep in the mountains, and torn apart by hungry demons. 

He felt vulnerable. The memories of his close run-ins with these creatures gave him chills. The idea that he could have so easily been snatched away on two occasions already brought him so much anxiety. But the fact that he was now facing a third run-in with their kind drove him insane with fear. After all, the third time's the charm. Were they never going to leave him alone?? 

Takashi sat and waited to calm down. Even though it seemed impossible he knew that he had to calm down in order to analyze the situation if anything went out of plan. After a good while of trying to suppress his anxious emotions and ease into the cold floor he was sitting on, he noticed something. The ticking sound – maybe because it was faint even when he was much closer to his room, or probably because the creature had already flown away – was now inaudible. It was almost dead silent. Takashi mustered up the courage to go check. He picked up the giant rolling pin and knife and stepped slowly and steadily up the stairs. No ticking sound, as far as he could hear. It’s okay. It’s gone now, he thought, I can go back to sleep. He kept pausing deliberately every two seconds to hear if there was even the slightest ticking noise muffled by his quiet footsteps. But no. No ticking sound whatsoever. Eventually he found himself facing the closed door. 

“Phew”, he breathed and put his ear against the door to check for the ticking noise, one last time. Nothing. “Phew okay here goes”, he whispered to himself and opened the door. 

For a second – just a second – Takashi was surprised; not scared, not relieved, but surprised. He stared into the room, at the figure standing near his desk, leaning against the chair in an almost bored stance, arms and legs crossed. The figure staring back at him was not the bird creature. It was another old friend. 

“He..llooo”, the thing from Yua Fujisaki’s backyard now stood in his room, tall and dark, shrouded in the shadows and momentarily lit by the moon light and distant street lights. He stumbled forward awkwardly, unable to carry his own height under the low roof of the house.

“Y-you!”, Takashi exclaimed, backing up. His eyes fixated on the giant figure moving slowly towards him. What is happening??, he thought. He’d expected the room to be empty, but even if it wasn’t, it was the bird creature that he’d anticipated to see. What about the ticking noise?? Takashi thought frantically, Doesn't that belong to the bird creature?? 

“W-what are you doing h-here??”, he mumbled. Takashi could see a side of the creature’s face faintly lit up. Contorted features seemed to pop out of its gnarly face and Takashi could have sworn that there was a menacing smile there. His heart pounded in his chest and his limbs went numb. There was something about this creature that was somehow even scarier than the bird creature. 

“He..lloooo”, it said again and reached out to touch Takashi with its twisted finger. 

“S-stay back!”, Takashi hissed and waved the knife at its lowered giant face, “One more step and I’ll k-kill you!”

The creature moved its head back and Takashi could see it smile wider at his threat. For a minute there was no movement. The thing stared at Takashi and he stared right back at it, albeit fearfully. Then suddenly, without warning, without leaving room for reflexes, the thing extended its arm in a flash, and tapped Takashi on the forehead. Takashi stumbled back, trying helplessly to gain balance but soon everything went dark and he collapsed to the floor. 

….

“Where are we going??”, Daiki demanded restlessly as he followed Zakuvo and Nolowi along a dark tunnel. They’ve stepped out of the building where Daiki was kept, into the breathtaking meadow that Daiki saw through the window with its apple trees, the gentle stream, and the green grass that extended beyond sight, only to enter a dark and endless tunnel overrun with strange bugs that Daiki had never seen in his entire life – not just in person, but even on the internet. 

He shuddered as some of the critters fell on his shoulders. “Yuuck”, he said, pulling them off his skin. Then he looked up at the other two, who also seemed to be struggling with the bugs. Nolowi shrieked and whined every time a bug came in contact with so much as a hair on her head. Zakuvo carried a weird torch on one hand and swatted the bugs rather quietly with the other, but there was this one time where a much larger bug fell on him and he screamed his lungs out, scaring the other two and making them scream as well. 

“Umm g-guys”, Daiki called timidly once they’ve recovered from that scare and settled into their normal walk, “g-guys uhhh how much longer??” 

“Not much, Daiki-san”, Zakuvo assured, fixating on the path ahead, “We’re just closing in on the exit”

“The exit huh?”, Daiki looked around the tunnel. It was beginning to give him nausea. The crawling bugs, the strange smell coming off its walls, and Nolowi’s constant shrieking was going to make him sick. 

“Don’t worry, Daiki-san. You’ll get some fresh air soon”, Zakuvo said with what seemed to be a polite smile underneath the feathers on his face. 

“Daiki Daiki!!” Nolowi turned to face him and said playfully, “You wanna play a game?”

Not with her, ugh, Daiki thought. At this point Daiki had nothing but hatred for his loud, constantly shrieking companion. “No”, he said dismissively with a frown.

“Aw don’t be like thaaaat”, she pleaded, “hey, hey, are you mad at me because I screamed?”

Right on, miss annoying, Daiki answered in his head.

“Hey, hey, Daiki, it’s gonna be fun. It’s a guessing game!”

Daiki rolled his eyes and looked at her, “I’m nauseous. I’m gonna throw up on you if you don’t stop bothering me”

The words came out harsher than he’d expected – or wanted. He was confused and still scared, and the sick feeling the tunnel was giving him was not helping. He hadn’t eaten in four days and now that he was beginning to relax, he was getting hungry. “I-I’m sorr-”, he began to say but Nolowi was already pouting and her eyes were welling up. “Jeez.. you could have just.. said it nicer.. don’t need to yell at me”, she muttered in between faint sobs and brought her hand up to wipe the tears away. Daiki felt a hint of sympathy. 

“Nolowi stop being such a baby”, Zakuvo snapped. He held the torch higher and picked up the pace, “walk fast, you two, the exit is just ahead”.

Nolowi wiped her face, turning away from Daiki and picking up her pace as well. Daiki tried to get a glimpse of what was waiting for them on the other end of the dark and miserable tunnel. A few seconds later, he could see the light of day, creeping in from an opening above. 

Finally, he thought, finally I could see Takashi. Then something occurred to him. What if they’re just lying to me? What if Takashi is imprisoned somewhere and they’re taking me to imprison me as well?? What if their friendliness is just a façade to lure in more prisoners??? These thoughts swam around in Daiki’s head as they walked faster and faster to meet the exit of the tunnel. No matter what happens, just escape, just escape, just escape. Don’t die here, save Takashi, and just escape, he recited in his head. 

Soon, the three of them came up on the exit of the tunnel. A few rocky steps were carved under a grilled vent through which the daylight crept in. It was a dead end. The pathway didn’t divide into other lanes or anything like that. This was the end of the road. 

“Alright, Daiki-san, Nolowi will go up first and check if the coast is clear” Zakuvo said, “Nolowi, remember what we talked about? How would you indicate that we’re clear?”

“I’ll put my head down and yell ‘we’re clear!’”, she answered, beaming absently. Daiki laughed quietly. Nolowi seemed to have regained her mood. 

“No you idiot, you’re gonna get us all killed. Remember, slowly put your hand down and do this”, Zakuvo instructed, holding up a peace sign. 

Killed??? Daiki thought. This exchange completely threw Daiki off. Why are we being secretive? Who’s going to kill us?? Where’s Takashi?? Is he okay??? Out of nowhere his head began to hurt. Daiki held it with both hands and sat down on a random pile of dirt. 

“Are you okay?”, Nolowi asked.

“Yeah”, Daiki replied, straining himself, “my head just hurts”

Zakuvo looked at Daiki, genuinely concerned, and looked at his partner with a sharp gaze. They exchanged dutiful nods and Nolowi climbed up. Her movements were so graceful and agile that for a moment Daiki was neither scared nor confused, just amazed. Then quickly, down came Nolowi’s pink fingers showing a peace sign; their cue. Zakuvo looked at Daiki who looked back at him in pain, and nodded dutifully. It was his turn. Daiki wobbled on the rocky stairs and slowly climbed up. Nolowi guided him to roll over behind a row of giant barrel-looking structures so as to hide. Zakuvo soon followed them. 

The climb and roll, made Daiki dizzy but he quickly recovered. When he finally regained his balance and looked up, he noticed Nolowi and Zakuvo peeking from the spaces between the barrels and staring at something. Daiki followed their gaze. When he saw it, his jaw automatically dropped. No words, no questions. He mimicked his companions and gazed at it with awe. A giant monolithic building stood about a mile in front of them, on a vast empty land with tall trees in the far off distance. Daiki’s jaw dropped at the sight of it. It was a towering, humongous, dark, cylindrical structure that closely resembled the Roman Colosseum. Only there were no visible doors or windows, or any kind of seams, on this one; just a gigantic black cylinder that imposed on anyone who ever laid eyes on it. It scared Daiki. It looked like it could grow bigger and bigger and swallow him whole. He had never seen its likeness in real life. But he had seen something like it somewhere else.

“Whoooaaaaa”, he exclaimed.

“Ssh!!”, the other two hissed.

“S-shit, s-sorry sorry”, Daiki whispered, “g-guys, what is this place??”

The two ignored his question and looked around attentively. 

“It looks like..some alien spaceship or something. I’ve seen them in sci-fi movies”, Daiki rambled on, trying to calm down his pounding heart. What is going on???, he screamed in his head. At the same time, his brain tried to recite over and over again, just escape, just escape, just escape. 

Suddenly Daiki began to hear a ticking noise. Zakuvo’s ticking noise. He remembered hearing it once before, when they climbed out of the tunnel but he’d been too dazed to pay attention then. It got louder and louder.

“Zakuvo, jeez, calm down. Everyone will hear you!”, Nolowi whispered angrily.

Calm down?? Daiki wondered, what does she mean by ‘calm down’??

“T-that noise.. a-aren’t you doing it on purpose?”, Daiki asked a very panicked Zakuvo.

Nolowi looked sympathetically at her friend and leaned in towards Daiki, “this is embarrassing but uhh that’s his uhh heartbeat”

“What??”, Daiki asked, more confused than ever. Was he in some sort of dream? How bizarre can real life really get?? 

“He has anxiety issues. Can’t control his heartbeat. But not to worry”, Nolowi reached into her windbreaker’s pockets and took out a few blades that looked like tiny shurikens and waved them at Daiki, “If anyone sees us, I’ve got these”, she winked and put them back in. 

Daiki blinked dumbfoundedly, “I'm sorry, if who sees us, Nolowi?? Who are we hiding from? Where’s Takashi??”, he hissed, desperate for answers once again. He could feel the cold sweat forming on his back and arms. His limbs were nearly numb.

Nolowi hesitated for a few seconds, staring at the great monolith in the distance, and finally looked at Daiki with determination.

“Takashi is safe. For now.”, she then added with a playful smile, “We’re going to break him out of prison”.