Chapter Thirty-Seven: Pulled into a Nightmarish Headache:

The young man reflected on his day. He wasn’t supposed to be in this town. It all started with a phone call from his friend’s brother. Why he called him of all people? He started to wonder that last night.

-Twelve Hours Ago-

He made it back home from work. He just wanted some dinner and to go to bed. He would get both of these but not for long. Around one in the morning, the phone rang next to his bed.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.

A hand reached out from underneath the thick and heavy sheets. After flinging aside tissues and cough wrappers on the nightstand, he finally reached for the receiver.

“Hello?” he asked. His tone said, “I want to go back to sleep.” The conversation didn’t take too long.

“Please help me,” a boy’s voice said on the other line. “Get me out of this town. Things are turning to shit here!” He himself didn’t know why he agreed to come down. But he ended up getting out of bed, getting dressed, and driving down to Tsurui.

-Present Day-

He looked up at the ceiling of the car. Probably should’ve listened to his gut more, no? When he looked out the window to the crowd outside of the market, things would get a little more awkward. Why was this lady walking up to the cop car? He narrowed his eyes as he tried to picture where he had seen her before. At first, nothing was connecting in his brain. But then, he froze. Oh shit…

A knock came on the car window. The young man turned his head. A woman about forty years old looked inside. He reached out and rolled down the window.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” the woman asked. The young man quickly shook his head.

“No,” he was quick to say. The woman narrowed her eyes, rubbing her chin.

“I think I have seen you from somewhere,” she said. He quickly shook his head.

“No!” he said. “I am just here to visit a friend!” She raised an eyebrow at him. The young man held his breath as she tilted her head. On the surface, he tried to look calm. Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t panic!

“What’s your friend’s name?” the woman asked.

“Jiro,” the young man said. “Wait, who are you?” The woman took a step back with a smile on her face.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. “I confused you with someone else.” Something about her tone sounded off. Almost like she was trying to fake being polite. As if to cover up faux pax. Just like before, his gut rang the alarm in his head. He gripped the door handle as tightly as he could. His hand turned white as he trembled. The woman turned and walked away.

“Have a nice time in Tsurui,” she said. “And your friend that I said hi.” The young man gulped as he nodded. He smacked himself in the cheeks.

“I sure will,” he said. “Yuki-san.” The woman turned her head.

“What did you say?” she asked.

“Nothing,” the young man lied. “Nothing at all.”

“Heh,” the woman said. She turned and disappeared into the crowd. The young man held his breath until she had completely disappeared from view. Finally, he collapsed onto his back in the backseat. When his friend’s brother called him, he had no idea how bad thing had gotten. But now…

“Hiroyuki, what the hell did you get me into?” he asked aloud. His gut told him to get out before. The young man closed his eyes and groaned.

“Why did I even run into the police?!” he wailed.

Bang!

The young man fell face down onto the floor.