Behind the mask

When I woke up I was in an unfamiliar place. The first thing I noticed was that my hands were tied tightly behind my back. I looked around the room and saw a single candle burning in the far corner. There was no furniture in the room except for the chair I was sitting on. The walls were made of old bricks and the floor was covered with dust. I felt a chill run down my spine. I shivered as I heard a creaking noise coming from somewhere in the room. I glanced towards the door but I couldn't see anything through the darkness.

"Who's there?" I called out.

No answer came. I waited for a few minutes but nobody answered. I continued to wait. After a while, I heard footsteps approaching. A pair of boots stepped into view. They stopped in front of me. I looked up and saw a tall man wearing a long coat. His face was hidden by the hood of his cloak.

"What do you want?" I asked.

The figure didn't reply. He simply stared at me. I could hear him breathing heavily. Then he moved towards me. Slowly, he pulled something out of his pocket and held it up in front of my eyes. It was a knife. A gut hook. I gasped as I recognized it. It was the same one that was used to kill the young girl in the video. A dawn of realization hit me. This man killed that little girl.

This couldn't be really happening. Did it mean I was inside the video? That I was going to die like the girl? I started to panic. I struggled to break free, but the ropes were too tight. I couldn't move.

"Let me go!" I screamed.

"Shut up."

He moved the blade closer to my neck. I shuddered as he pressed the tip of the knife against my skin. It was cold and I could smell the metallic scent of blood. I started trembling uncontrollably. My breath quickened as I fought to remain calm.

"Please...let me go..." I pleaded.

"Shhh...don't say anything."

"Let me go! Please!"

"Don't make any noise or you'll regret it."

I was afraid. I was petrified. I had never felt so helpless in my entire life. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I couldn't breathe. All I could do was stare at the shadowed figure standing in front of me. He was wearing a long coat and a black mask covering his face. The only parts visible were his mouth and chin. His face was now so close I could feel his hot breath on my face.

"I'm going to kill you."

I knew it was him. I had seen him in the video before. He was the man who killed that little girl.

How did I end up in this place? Did someone order a hit on me? What had I done to deserve this?

I was terrified. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I felt my heart pounding in my chest. I was scared. I was frightened. I wanted to run away, but I couldn't.

Suddenly a searing pain pierced my cheek. I cried out in agony as I felt a warm liquid dripping down my face. I looked up and saw the man holding a knife in front of my face. Blood was trickling down from it and fell to the floor.

"Ahhhhhh! Ahhh..."

"Shut up!"

I was in agony. My body was shaking uncontrollably. Tears began streaming down my cheeks. I tried to hold back my tears, but I couldn't. I sobbed loudly as I desperately struggled to free myself.

The man slowly removed his hood and revealed his face.

The shock was so great that it seemed to split the world in two, as if a chasm had opened in the sky, or a mountain had fallen. Those slick black hair and those cold blue eyes...I knew them all too well.

"Kouichi!"

It was Kyougo Aramaki. He smiled at me as he brought the knife up into the air.

"Kouichi! Kouichi!"

I closed my eyes as I waited for the knife to pierce my flesh.

But nothing happened.

***

I opened my eyes and saw my Mom standing over me. She was looking at me with concern.

"Kouichi! You okay?"

I looked at my surrounding and felt a relief so great it was almost overwhelming. I was lying on my bed. I had been dreaming.

"Are you okay, Kouichi?" she asked.

"Yeah..."

My Mom looked at me for a few seconds then shook her head.

"You're thrashing around in your sleep and kept screaming," she said. "It must be quite a nightmare."

"Sorry to woke you up."

"Well, just rest easy. I'll leave you alone for now."

She got up and left the room. I could her footsteps gradually receding down the hallway.

I laid still for a few moments. I was exhausted. My heart was racing. Kyougo as the killer, huh? Ha ha. I laughed weakly. What a ridiculous dream. I took deep breaths to calm myself.

I turned over and closed my eyes and eventually drifted back to sleep.

***

The next morning, I woke up early. The morning sun poured in through the window and lit the walls with a pale golden glow. I stretched my arms and yawned. I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes. I reached over and picked up my phone from beside my pillow. There was no messages.

The thought of his name brought my mind back to last night's dream. It had been so vivid. I could clearly recall the scene of me being tortured by Kyougo. It was such a terrifying image that I couldn't help but shudder. I had never experienced anything like it before. For a moment, I considered calling him and told him about the dream but then thought better of it. He would just make fun of me.

I put my phone back on the bedside table. I got out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. After washing my face, I went downstairs and had some breakfast. By this time Dad had already gone off to work. Mom is nowhere to be seen. She must have gone shopping.

I turned on the TV and flipped through the channels. I stopped when I found a news report about a murder that occurred in our neighborhood. A middle-aged woman was stabbed to death in her own home. Her husband was arrested for the crime. The police were still questioning him.

I frowned as I listened to the report. It sounded like it happened right near where we lived. The victim's name was Akiko Saito. She was a mother of three children: two boys and a girl. She worked as a part-time teacher at a nearby elementary school.

Poor kids, I thought.

As I was about to turn off the TV, what the announcer said next caught my attention.

"Next we would like to bring your attention to another case of disappearances. A man has been reported missing by his family. His name is Noboru Minoru. He is a 20-year-old college student living alone in an apartment. Mr. Minoru's parents filed a missing person report after he failed to return home for a week. The police are currently investigating the matter. If anyone has information regarding this case, please contact the nearest police station."

I looked at the photo displayed on the screen. It was a picture of a young man with dark brown hair and tanned skin. I recognized him immediately. He was the guy from yesterday's video. He looked pretty much the same as he did in the video. He was wearing a dark jacket over his shoulders.

A horrible feeling of dread washed over me. I felt nauseous and dizzy. I had to sit down. I put my head between my legs and started to shake.

So it was real after all. The website was real. The video was real.

I stood up and ran up the stairs to my room. I sat down on my bed and grabbed my phone. I dialed Kyougo's number.

"Hey, morning Kouichi. What's up?" Kyougo answered the phone.

"Kyougo. Are you at home right now? Turn on the TV to the NHK news channel."

"Huh? Why?"

"Just do it."

There was silence on the other end of the line. I could hear him fumbling around for the remote control. After a few seconds, he came back on the phone.

"Okay, I'm on it."

"They still showing the story about the guy who disappeared?"

"What? No. Right now they're talking about a traffic accident that happened in the intersection of Ichigaya Street and Ikebukuro Avenue."

"That's not it. Are you sure you are on NHK news channel?"

"Yes, I am. Why? What are you trying to say?"

"Noboru Minoru. It's the name of the guy who was murdered in the video. It was on the news just now."

"What?! Are you sure?"

"They showed his photo and there's no mistaking it. It was the guy in the video."

"No way!" Kyougo exclaimed. "You must be kidding me!"

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth."

"Crap! Shit! 'Guropeji' is real!" Kyougo shouted. "Shit! Shit!"

He was ranting incoherently.

"Calm down, Kyougo. It was a shock for me too," I said.

There was no reply.

"Kyougo? Hey, Kyougo. Are you still there?"

"You don't understand..." Kyougo finally spoke.

"Kyougo?"

"Kouichi, I think I just made a terrible mistake." His voice was shaky.

"What.. what did you do?"

A bad premonition crept into my mind.

"I accessed the short URL last night..... and I...I cast a vote."