The wail of sirens split the night as the police car tore through the streets.
"He's injured—he needs help!" Kaiya shouted from the back seat, his voice raw with desperation.
"Hey, mister!" Yui leaned forward, trying to catch the driver's eye. "Didn't you hear him? our friend Ren is badly hurt!"
The officer didn't even glance at them. His jaw was set, eyes fixed on the road ahead. He drove in cold silence, ignoring every plea until the car finally pulled into the dimly lit parking lot of the precinct.
The moment the vehicle stopped, the doors flew open. Rough hands yanked Kaiya out and shoved him toward the station entrance. Yui tried to stay close, but another officer grabbed her arm and pulled her in the opposite direction.
"Wait!" Yui cried out, twisting around. "Where are you taking him?"
No one answered. Kaiya was pushed into a dimly lit male holding cell already occupied by two sullen teenagers. The heavy metal door slammed shut behind him with a deafening clang. Yui's voice echoed down the hallway as she was dragged away by a female officer.
"Kaiya!"
9:20 AM — 6 days after the disappearance
Kaiya sat slumped against the cold concrete wall of the cell, his face swollen and stiff from the earlier beating. Hours had dragged by without food or water. His stomach growled painfully, but he barely noticed anymore.
"Where's my sister?" he muttered for the tenth time. "Riko… where is she?"
The guard standing outside the bars didn't even look at him.
Then, the sound of approaching footsteps made Kaiya lift his head. A familiar face appeared—Officer Yuji, the same man who had arrested him and Yui for breaking into the library weeks ago. Without a word, Yuji unlocked the cell door.
"Come with me."
He led Kaiya down a narrow corridor and into a small, sterile interrogation room. A single metal table and two chairs sat under harsh fluorescent lights.
Kaiya took a seat.
"Water?" Officer Yuji asked, placing a plastic cup on the table.
Kaiya snatched it up and drained it in one desperate gulp, the cool liquid soothing his parched throat.
"Where are the others?" he asked immediately. "Where's my sister?"
Yuji leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "Your sister is safe. She's back at your house with your friends. Some of our officers are watching over them."
Kaiya let out a long, shaky breath of relief, his shoulders sagging.
Yuji's expression hardened. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.
"Tell me about the night Mizukiri high school building burned down. Were you there? Were any of your friends involved?"
He paused, eyes narrowing.
"Think very carefully about your answer, kid. It could decide the rest of your life."
The officer's voice dropped lower. "Did Matthew persuade you? Threaten you? He's been caught and arrested before on some very gruesome charges. This isn't a coincidence, is it?"
Yuji slammed both hands on the table, the loud bang echoing in the small room.
Silence stretched between them.
Kaiya slowly raised his head and looked Officer Yuji straight in the eyes.
"Matthew didn't orchestrate anything," he said calmly. "I did it."
Yuji's brows furrowed. "He has no hold on you. Tell the truth. You don't have to be scared—"
"No," Kaiya cut in, his voice firm and steady. "He's not part of this. I'm the one who set the school on fire. I'm guilty. Matthew had nothing to do with it. From what I'm hearing, you already have him locked up for something else. Let him go."
Yuji stared at him for a long moment. "You're really admitting to it, huh, kid?"
Kaiya didn't blink. "I did it to get rid of—"
He paused.
"Get rid of what?" Yuji pressed.
Kaiya's gaze never wavered. "Monsters."
12:45 PM — 6 days after the disappearance
Kaiya's House
In the living room, Mio, Nakayama, and Riko sat around the dining table picking at their lunch. Two uniformed officers stood nearby, watching their every move like hawks.
"We have to go meet the others," Mio whispered urgently to Nakayama.
"We'll only get ourselves in more trouble," Nakayama replied under his breath, glancing nervously at the cops.
"I have a feeling the monsters will come back," Mio said, her voice trembling slightly. "They need us."
Riko's small hands clenched into fists. "Yes… my brother needs us."
Nakayama looked between the two determined girls and sighed deeply. He had no choice. After a moment, he lowered his voice even further. "Fine. I'll think of a way to get us out of here."
Cut to Yui
6:10 PM — 6 days after the disappearance
Yui sat alone in her holding cell, eyes fixed on the wall clock visible through the bars. The second hand ticked mercilessly slow.
"Hey!" she called out to the female officer lounging at the desk, legs propped up as she read a newspaper. "I need to pee."
The woman didn't even glance up.
Yui stood and started banging on the cell door with both hands. "Hey! Hey! Hey! I'm serious—I'm going to pee right here if you don't open this door!"
With an annoyed sigh, the officer finally stood, keys jingling in her hand. "No funny business," she warned.
Yui flashed her a small, dangerous smirk.
The officer unlocked the cell and followed closely behind as Yui walked toward the bathroom.
"Move," the woman ordered.
6:30 PM
Kaiya was still sitting in the now-empty interrogation room when the door opened again. An officer motioned for him to stand.
"Back to your cell."
He was escorted down the hallway in silence. Once inside the cell, Kaiya remained quiet, his eyes drifting repeatedly to the clock on the wall.
Just a few minutes later, the sharp crack of gunshots erupted from somewhere outside the station.
The two officers inside the holding area jumped to their feet, weapons drawn.
Kaiya immediately backed up against the far wall of the cell, as far from the bars as possible. His cellmate quickly copied the movement.
"Run!" Kaiya shouted at the officers.
"Shut up and sit down!" one of them barked.
The overhead light bulbs began to flicker violently.
The male officer switched on his flashlight, sweeping the beam around. "What the hell is happening?"
He turned the light toward his partner—then froze.
In an instant, something invisible dragged the female officer screaming into the darkness. Her cries cut off abruptly.
The remaining officer's grip tightened on his gun. "Reg? Reg, do you copy?"
He spun around, shining the flashlight toward Kaiya's cell. "Sit down—now!"
Before the words left his mouth, a monstrous figure materialized from the shadows behind him. Razor-sharp claws tore through the officer's back and burst out of his stomach in a spray of blood. He gasped, coughing crimson as he collapsed.
The creature opened its jagged, rugged maw and bit down on the officer's head with a sickening crunch, devouring it whole.
"What the fuck?!" Kaiya's cellmate screamed, pressing himself harder against the wall.
"Step back," Kaiya whispered urgently.
The monster turned its grotesque head toward their cell. It approached slowly, its long tongue slithering out to lick the metal bars with wet, obsessive strokes. Hot, ragged breaths fogged the air as it stared at them with hungry, inhuman eyes.
Then—a sound echoed from the right side of the station. The creature's head snapped toward it.
It abandoned the cell and rushed off in the direction of Yui's holding area.
Chapter ends