FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

What's Your Name?

"Mei, turn off your flashlight, idiot! What if we get caught?" the tigress hissed to the otter next to her the moment she turned it on.

"Relax, Yuki, nobody ever comes out here. It's abandoned for a reason, right?" Ren, a tall green dragon said while smiling at the feline. The group of five friends was standing in front of an old building. It was built like a giant cube with many windows in it. All lights were off inside, except for the green signs pointing out emergency exits, giving the school an eerie look. The concrete around the place had numerous cracks in it from where nature was trying to reclaim the area. Tall branches stirred as the wind beckoned them to move, creating a symphony of sounds one would not likely want to hear in the dark.

The pudgy otter pouted at the tigress and stuck out her tongue. "Not everybody sees in the dark as well as you do. You could be more considerate," she said.

Before this could devolve into a big argument, the black horse in the group spoke up, laughing a little. "Now, now, everyone, I understand that you are all a bit tense, but there is really nothing to worry about. Anyway, we will go inside in a few minutes. Tonight is the night of a new moon and it's almost midnight. I trust that you have all read the e-mail I sent you very carefully, but I'll run the story by you again just in case. Now, legend has it that, during a new moon, the ghost of a broken-hearted young woman haunts this very building," Kazuya said.

"Only between twelve and three though," Shigeru, the fox spoke up.

"I was getting to that, but yes, that is correct. Before this building was a school, it was a used as a hospital during the Second World War. Many patients were saved, but there were those who lost their lives as well. Now, the woman we will be looking for tonight, and will hopefully successfully take a picture of, is called Fumiko. She died from a broken heart after her husband passed away. Refusing to believe he was gone, she kept coming in every day, asking for him. She never even attended his funeral."

"That's really sad," Mei said while looking troubled.

"It's just a story. None of this is actually real," Yuki said as she crossed her arms and looked up and through the school's broken windows. A cold shiver ran down her spine. There was something about empty schools at night that really gave her the creeps.

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong, Yuki."

"That's Yuki-chan to you," the tigress said while scowling at the horse.

"Aww, don't be like that, Yuki-chan! We're all good friends here! Anyway, let's go inside and find out for ourselves whether there's any truth to the story," Kazuya said enthusiastically as he walked up to the front doors and touched the heavy chain that was looped through the door handles. "Ren?"

The green dragon nodded and took a bolt cutter out of his backpack. He easily cut through the old padlock and removed the chain. He pulled open the doors, which opened with a really loud, rusty creak, causing the group to whince, the fox and tiger reaching for their ears.

"Fuck! The entire village must have heard that!" the tigress said while growling.

"Let's go. It's midnight," Kazuya said with a smile as he walked up the stairs and into the school with his camera at the ready. Though the others all had their smartphones in paw, the horse had opted for an old-fashioned Polaroid, convinced that it was the best kind of camera for making ghost photos. He had read so online, on his favourite ghost-hunting website. The entire trip had been his idea.

Yuki shielded her eyes when the others turned on their flashlights as they arrived in the main hall. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, and she could make out the wooden shoe racks without the help of a flashlight. There were wooden umbrella holders as well. "Is this an elementary school?" she asked.

"Elementary and junior high school, actually," Shigeru said with a smile. The fox was always happy to show off his knowledge whenever the need arose. He was shining his light around and took a few pictures with his phone. "This is so cool."

The otter was hiding behind Ren, his large muscular body was more than big enough to shield her from anything that might pop out. She had seen way too many horror films to be at ease in a place like that. It felt wrong to be there, but she had let herself be convinced by her friends. She didn't want to be seen as a coward, and she knew she'd never forgive herself is she hadn't gone, and the rest had all come together to tell about the amazing things they had seen. She shone her light around and was astonished by the decay she witnessed. While the wooden furniture was still pretty okay, the paint on the walls had begun to bladder off, revealing dark patches of mould.

"A lot of people have been here," Kazuya said as he ran his fingers over red graffiti on the walls in the adjacent hallway. He could spot at least twenty different tags. He took a photo of the hallway and waited for the photo to roll out of his camera. "Shake it like a Polaroid picture," he sang softly before chuckling as he did just that to the photo. He looked at it as the image revealed itself. No ghost yet. Bummer.

The group moved through the hallway and into one of the classrooms. There was only one lone desk left, and the ground looked as if someone had tried to rip up the parquet floor. Long, deep claw marks ran over the floor, going in all directions. The sight of it made the tigress check her own sharp claws for a moment. She wondered if she'd even be capable of inflicting this much damage with them.

"There's still writing on the board. It's as if they left this place in a hurry. Isn't that strange?" he asked as he walked up to the blackboard and took up a piece of chalk. "Why haven't they torn this place apart completely, Kazuya?" the dragon asked the horse.

"This building is protected from demolition, because it was important in the war. The village petitioned for it to be left alone," the black stallion said while checking out the desk. He smiled at the traces of pen along the side of it, spelling out a couple of names that probably belonged to former students. He remembered the time I did the same thing and the teacher caught him do it. The old dog had been so angry! He chuckled to himself and headed out of the room again, the others following him.

They went up the stairs one by one, not wanting to risk the old structure to give out under their weight. They had Ren go up first, as he was the heaviest by far. Once he had made it up, the rest followed, knowing it would support their weight. The company of five walked through the hallway when Mei suddenly screamed, causing the rest of the group to scream as well in reaction, startled by the otter.

"Mei! What's wrong?" Shigeru asked as he looked at her.

The otter was trembling and had her flashlight and phone clutched to her chest. "I...I thought I heard something. Sorry," she said softly as she looked at the darkness behind her. It gave her an ominous feeling, as if something was about to happen. The calm before the storm, so to speak. She shook her head to clear it and walked on.

The next sound was heard by all, as the loud slam echoed through the entire school. They screamed again, the otter hiding behind the horse, and the tigress taking a defensive stance, her claws out. Their heartbeats were so loud that they could be heard. Shigeru was the first to speak up, after no other sounds made their way to their ears.

"Was that...the front door?" he asked softly.

"I don't know, man, but we should check it out just in case," Ren said as he took the lead, going down the stairs again. The rest followed him down, whether they wanted to or not. Nobody desired to be left behind in that place. They traversed the hallway back to the main entrance and found it closed. Ren was sure they had left it open, an uneasy feeling creeping up his back. His massive claws took hold of the handles and he pulled the door open. Except, it wouldn't budge. The green dragon growled softly and tugged on the doors, using more force each time, but it was in vain. "Fuck!"

"We're trapped in here?" the tigress asked before trying the door herself. "Kazuya, if this is another one of your pranks, I will fucking kill you! I will tear off your balls and shove them down your throat!" the feline snarled as she turned on the horse, who held up his paws.

"Wow! Don't blame this one me, Yuki-chan! I was with you the entire time!"

"Guys, don't you think it's suddenly very cold in here?" the fox asked while rubbing his arms. He could see his breath escaping his muzzle in little steam clouds.

The sound of a flashlight being dropped halted their argument. The group turned around to Mei, who was trembling and whimpering, her eyes fixed in place. It only took the others a second or two to see what she was so afraid of. A tall vixen in a tattered filthy gown was standing in front of the group, blocking the way to the cafeteria. Her body was so thin that it was as if a skeleton was wearing faded red fox fur. Long black hair blocked her face from view, except for the long thing muzzle the poked out from under it. Kazuya brought up his camera and took a picture, the flash momentarily blinding the group.

The group held their collective breaths and stared at her, while she slowly floated over to the otter, who was standing at the front of the group at that point, nailed to the ground in fear. The vixen's toe claws dragged over the floor as she came closer. She raised a skeletal arm and pointed a horrifyingly long claw at the girl. "What is your name?" she asked in a whisper, her voice raspy and sounding more like the grating of gravel than an actual voice.

Tears ran down Mei's face as the terror of seeing the woman took hold of her. She wanted to scream, but found that she couldn't. It was as if she was no longer in control of her own body. Her eyes were fixed on where she thought the woman's would be, and she swallowed once before answering.

"Mei."

The ghost made herself taller as she seemed to regard the female otter. Her dress seemed to move on a wind they couldn't feel. Her hair was moved by it to, revealing one hollow eye socket, nothing but a faint shimmer of red light in it. "That is not my husband's name," she stated.

Before anyone could react, the vixen slashed her deadly claws along the otter's throat, ripping her larynx apart and cutting her vocal chords. The ottered slowly reached for her throat as silent tears wet her cheeks, leaving trails in her brown fur. She fell to her knees and tried to gasp for breath. Instead, only the bubbling sound of blood could be heard as it spurted from her throat and filled her lungs, causing her to drown. Mei fell to her side and just lay there, unmoving. Fumiko brought her talons to her face and opened up her mouth unnaturally widely, letting the blood from the claws drip down directly into her throat.

The rest could only watch in horror at what unfolded before them, until the ghost regarded them and let out an ear-deafening scream that could only be compared to a thousand nails scratching on a blackboard at once.

They ran.

Stumbling up the stairs, the horse and fox fled from the horrific scene behind them, images of the otter flashing before their eyes. Shigeru felt sick and held a paw to his stomach while running, adrenaline coursing through their veins. The wooden sliding panels of old classrooms flashed by in the corners of their eyes as they made their way through the school, determined to put as much distance between them and the skeletal lady as they could. The two instinctively fled into the boys' bathroom on the other side of the building, silently wishing that, even though Fumiko was dead, she would not enter a no-girl zone. The boys hid in separate stalls and collapsed on the floor. Their heavy panting echoed through the room while they fought to catch their breaths.

The black horse was clutching his shirt, his short nails digging into his chest where he could feel his heart the strongest. He wanted to close his eyes, but the choking sounds of his friend's dying rasps made his way to his ears every time he did so. His eyes flicked and swivelled to the side at the sound of the fox throwing up in the hole in the ground that served as a toilet. "Shigeru, are you okay?"

"Mei was just murdered, Kazuya! Of course I'm not okay!" the fox cried before throwing up again, as the image kept coming back to him. The memory of the friendly otter gasping for breath while her eyes rolled back into her skull would likely stay with him for the rest of his life, whoever short that might be in their current predicament.

The horse bit his lip and looked at his paws before clenching them into fists. "This is my fault," he said softly. "If I hadn't asked you all to do this with me, none of this would have happened. I should be the one lying dead on the floor."

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up!" the fox said before banging his paw on the wooden wall separating the two stalls.

The horse stared at the wall, surprised by the fox's outburst. Shigeru wasn't known to be foul-mouthed or aggressive in any way. "What?"

"We came here because we wanted to go with you, not because you forced us, Kazuya! You can't die. I've already lost a friend. I can't lose you too, so promise that you won't die."

"I...I'm not sure I can keep that promise, Shigeru."

"Promise it!" the fox demanded, raising his voice again as more tears rolled over his cheeks. Some of them made their way to the corner of his mouth, where he licked them up, distracting his thoughts with the salty taste.

A sad smile formed on the dark horse's face, and he reached under the wooden separator, patting the vulpine's leg before forming a fist, holding his pinky out. The fox hooked his own little finger into the equine's and slowly shook the paw like that. "Pinky promise, if I lie, I will drink 1000 needles, and cut my pinky," the horse sang the old nursery rhyme. If this would make the fox feel more at ease, then there was no reason for him not to do this. The two decided to stay still for a while to collect their thoughts and come up with a game plan.

***

"RUN!" Yuki screamed after looking behind her to see the faint glow of Fumiko's spirit rounding the corner behind them. The school wasn't even that big, but there were so many corners, stairs, and dead ends, that it resembled a maze to the two friends. The tigress cut ahead of the hulking dragon and led the way into a classroom, closing the wooden divider behind Ren. She took careful steps back, her cushioned paws making not a single sound on the wooden floor. The young woman took a defensive stance at seeing the glow getting closer. She may have looked tough, but, at that moment, it was all she could do not to scream out in terror and burst out crying. She was trembling on her legs while her eyes stayed on the glow, following it from one end of the divider, all the way to the other end, only to disappear from sight. Yuki let out a sigh of relief and dropped down onto her paws and knees for a moment, panting heavily.

"Holy shit!" the green dragon said after finally daring to take a deep breath. The two looked at each other with such relief in their eyes, that Ren couldn't help but chuckle a little at it. "This is crazy. What do we do now? There's an actual ghost looking for us. I didn't even think they existed, but now... after Mei..." he said, trailing off before looking down.

"We don't have time to worry about that now. We need to get out of here," Yuki said after getting up and taking control of her body and emotions again. She walked over to the windows and peered out, only to see darkness. "Why is there no light? Even with the moon not out, the stars should at least make sure it's not completely dark," she said before unlocking one of the windows. She slid it open and looked out the window, only to gasp loudly and stumble back, staring at the empty void that stretched out far and wide in all directions. It was as if the school was floating in darkness. Even the ground was gone. "How?"

"Let me see," the dragon said as he went up to the window as well. He frowned in confusion and looked around the room, his yellow eyes resting on a chair. He picked it up and walked back to the windows.

"What are you doing, Ren?" the feline asked as she took a few steps back, her ears twitching as she tried to pick up even the faintest of whisper from the hallway.

"This has to be an illusion, and I'm going to prove it," he said before flinging the innocent piece of furniture through the window, shattering the one next to it as well. He quickly moved back to the open hole, but heard nothing that indicated the chair had landed. It simply vanished. "Fuck... FUCK!" he said before angrily stamping on the floor once.

"Ren! Be quiet! What if she hears you?" Yuki hissed, her eyes glaring daggers. She took off her backpack and opened it, rummaging through it to find anything useful. "There has to be some way to stop this bitch," she said before pulling out a bottle of deodorant. Well, at least she'd go down smelling good.

The huge dragon knelt down and searched through his bag as well, pulling out his lighter and a package of smokes. He held the package in his claw and laughed at the irony of it. "Mom always says that smoking will kill me. Little does she know now," he said softly.

"This is nothing to laugh at. Give me your lighter," she said as he held out her paw. Not seeing a problem with that, the dragon handed it to her.

"What do you need it for, your flashlight produces more light," he said.

"For this," she said before lighting the flame. She held her bottle of deodorant in front of it and pressed the button, the combination of the two household products creating a flamethrower. "We're lucky there's quite a bit of alcohol in this," she said as she shook the nearly-full bottle.

"You're a genius, but do you think fire will work on a ghost?" the dragon asked as he folded his arms.

"I once read that fire is used as a means of purifying evil in spiritual practices, so it should," she said while looking at the wooden divider. She rested her ear against the wall and listened for sounds. When she heard none, she turned to look at the dragon, who seemed to stare at her in awe. "What?" she asked while blushing a little, slightly flustered by his non-divided attention.

"I never knew, but you're really clever, aren't you, Yuki?"

"Wh...what's that supposed to mean? I'm not an idiot, you know?" the tigress protested while scowling.

"I know, I know, but I just didn't think you'd be so knowledgeable and studious, that's all," the dragon said while looking away a little, some slight pink colouration washing over the scales in his face.

"Hmpf! Idiot. Let's go, I think the bitch is gone," the tigress said as she opened the door and carefully moved out again, followed by the dragon.

The two friends figured they were somewhere at the back of the building, so they made finding the rear exit their priority. Slowly moving through the corridors, the two left their flash lights off. The dragon's vision wasn't any good in the dark, but he was led along by Yuki, who made sure the lumbering male wouldn't walk into anything. Twice they thought they saw the glow of Fumiko, but before they could focus their eyes on it, it would be gone again. Taking this as a good sign, the two pressed on, until they encountered not the faint white aura of the ghost, but the piercing green of an exit sign. Emboldened by this sign of good luck, the tigress walked faster, dragging the green dragon behind her by his arm. They reached the large back doors and reached for the handle. At the same moment that the big cat placed her paw on the door handle, the same piercing cry from before filled the hallway.

Looking behind them, the two could see the skeletal vixen coming right for them, her long claws scraping along the walls as if to sharpen them, leaving deep claw marks in the wood. The woman's dark hair was waving behind her due to her motion, revealing the full abyssal view of her visage. She was coming straight at them, and there was nowhere for them to go.

While the dragon hid her from view, the tigress reached for the deodorant and the lighter, keeping her improvised weapon at the ready.

The ghost pointed at the dragon and tilted his head head slightly forward. "What is your name?" Fumiko asked for the second time that night.

Knowing what had happened after Mei had answered her, the dragon kept his mouth tightly shut. The ghost seemed to be waiting before growling and asking the same question more impatiently: "What is your name?" When Ren again refused to answer the question, the ghost shrieked and raised her claw in attack, only to have the tigress darting out from behind her friend's broad, muscled form.

"Take this, bitch!" Yuki roared before using her makeshift flamethrower to attack the spectre.

The flew spew forth from the small can and right into Fumiko's face. The ghost let out a surprised cry and clawed at her face to try to put the fire out, momentarily forgetting about the two people in front of her.

"Run!" the tigress said as she led the way through the hallway behind the flaming vixen. Ren kept staring at the flames a moment longer before taking off after his friend. He wasn't quite sure if this would keep them safe for long. The dragon's feet landed heavily on the floor boards as he took a sprint, only to have his foot disappear right through a floorboard that was clearly more rotten than it seemed. The large dragon yelled in surprise before slamming face-first into the ground.

Yuki pivoted and looked back in horror to see her friend lift his bloody face off the ground, his nose having broken his fall. "Ren!"

"I'm fine! I'm coming!" he said as he pulled his leg free, roaring out in pain as the sharp wooden splinters tore at his scales. Behind him, the wraith had somehow douched the flames and was coming for the green dragon again. Arms up and claws spread wide open, her cry pierced the hallway, deafeningly so.

"Yuki!" Ren pleaded as he stumbled towards the tigress.

"Oh no, you don't! He's mine!" she screamed as she shot past Ren and straight to Fumiko, who had seemed to have focused her attention on the striped feline at that point. Yuki dodged the vixen's claws and attacked her back with the flamethrower, making sure to cover as much of the skeletal body as she could.

Shrieking in anger, Fumiko spun around and backhanded the tigress, throwing her onto the floor before clawing at the flames again.

The girl was not easily deterred though, and she continued her assault, until her keen eyes spotted the flame shooting back into the can. Knowing what would likely happen next, Yuki punched the can into the vixen's protruding ribcage, before dropping onto the floor, curling up to shield herself. "Burn in hell, bitch!"

Only Ren saw that when the ghost raised her claw to strike at the tigress, the metal can of the deodorant exploded in a tiny fireball, halting the spectre's actions and eliciting another scream from her before she vanished.

The silence was deafening.

The tigress and dragon looked at each other with their eyes full of surprise and hope. They got up and moved to each other before laughing loudly and hugging tightly. The tigress buried her face in Ren's chest and held on to his strong back, while the dragon looked down at her and held her protectively in his broad arms.

"We did it! We did it, Ren!" Yuki said while looking up.

"Heh, yes, I suppose we did. Hey uhm...Yuki?" the green dragon asked.

"Yeah?"

"What was that about me being yours?" the tall male asked with a grin on his face.

The feline looked down and pouted while blushing. "That...that was nothing. You misheard me," she said.

Green-scaled fingers lifted her chin, where the friendly yellow eyes of her friend looked down at her face. "No, I didn't," he said before pressing his cool lips against her warm ones. The tigress stared at the dragon's closed eyes, before happily giving in to the kiss and closing her eyes. She pressed herself up against him some more and moaned softly. She couldn't believe that she was finally kissing Ren. She'd had a crush on him for months by then, but she'd been too afraid of rejection to tell him anything. Everybody always thought she was so tough, but she was just as insecure as the next person.

Ren eventually ended the kiss and flicked his forked tongue over his lips before smiling as he moved back a little. "Yuki, I want you to be my g-". The green dragon's body came to a sudden halt and his eyes grew wide when he looked down to see a grotesque skeletal claw coming out of his chest and holding his still-beating heart. His eyes moved back onto the tigress's, who was staring at him in horror. "Ren...no..."

The dragon was lifted off the ground after the other paw pierced his hip. The dragon cried out in pain while he was still conscious. Fumiko held the giant dragon up with one arm as she shoved the beating heart down her throat with the other, seemingly enjoying it. The wraith pierced the chest again and shrieked loudly as she slowly ripped the dragon in two. The skin was unable to stretch that far, so it tore at the middle. With a sharp pull, the wraith dislodged the hips and pulled the lower body to the side, letting the vertebrae of the tail slide out of their fleshy sheath. She discarded the two halves after the separation process was complete.

The tigress could only watch in horror as her body refused to move. They had won. They had just won! This wasn't fair! Her mind screamed for her to run, but her body refused to do so. She didn't even gasp when the ghost calmly wrapped her claws around her neck and lifted her off her feet. "What is your name?"

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked down into the lifeless eyes of her would-be lover. They could've had a life together. They could've been happy together and this bitch had ruined it all! She had taken that from them! Yuki growled and snarled before spitting in the vixen's face. "FUCK YOU, YOU FUCKING BITCH! LET GO OF ME!" she screamed as she clawed and kicked at the skeletal woman before her.

Fumiko's hair started moving up around her shoulders and slowly crept to Yuki's face. The hair seemed to lengthen as an unending stream of black hair just kept coming. The tigress screamed when the hair started moving into her ears, ripping straight through her ear drums and wrecking her semicircular canals and choclea. As if that wasn't enough, the pain grew to be even more excruciating once the thick black threads stabbed through the vestibular and auditory nerves, the result of all of this making her unable to even hear her own blood-curdling screams, which were soon muffled by thick locks of hair entering her mouth, stilling her vocal cords as they tore those to shreds as well.. Coughing only served to pull the hair in deeper, and she could feel it pooling in her lungs and in her stomach. Her arms were growing weaker and weaker, until they dropped down at her sides. Her screaming was eventually silenced. The hair kept flowing until it came out of every orifice and the tigress's longing heart had stopped beating forever.

***

As the remaining two were making their way towards the back of the school, they heard the sound of the vixen's scream, before hearing the dragon and tigress fighting her. Hoping for their own survival, the two were already running for the main entrance again, hoping it would have somehow unlocked itself again now that the ghost was someplace else. The fox's head whipped around at the sound of small explosion, his eyes wide.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Who cares? We need to get out of here now!" the dark horse said as he went for the front door. He pushed and pulled on the handles, but the doors refused to open. Frustrated by his imprisonment and the door's stubbornness, the equine started kicking the door with his powerful legs. "FUCK! THIS! STUPID! DOOR!" he yelled.

Shigeru watched the door vibrate on its hinges with every kick, the old metal seemingly giving way. "Just a few more! You've almost got it, Kazuya!" he said as he moved a bit closer to his friend, holding his paws to his chest in anticipation. They would almost be free of this place!

With one final kick, the horse broke through the door and stumbled forward towards the endless void waiting to swallow him up. He screamed as he couldn't stop himself, arms flailing in a futile effort to hold on to something, anything.

The fox saw his friend's foot disappear below ground level, and he dove for him, wrapping his arms around the black stallion's athletic chest. The vulpine spread his legs in a split to anchor himself behind the door posts. It was a good thing he was flexible.

Staring down into the cold abyss, Kazuya had all the incentive to try his hardest to get back up. Placing his paws on the solid floor behind him, he got in position and pushed himself up. It was a good thing that the fox had managed to catch him just in time, otherwise getting back up would have been a near impossible task to complete. He lay down on his back and panted heavily, the stress of his near-death shooting through his body in the form of a billion tiny sparks.

The fox moved back a little and pulled his legs in before laughing nervously. That could have gone completely wrong, but he was somehow lucky enough to have made it. He silently thanked his parents for making him take ballet classes. He flopped down on his friend and chuckled as his head rested directly on the equine's hard stomach, his shirt having hiked up from the ordeal. The two shared a quiet moment of just looking into each other's eyes, before their peace was shattered by the raspy voice from before.

"What is your name?"

The two males looked up in horror and gasped when they saw Fumiko patiently waiting behind them, seemingly unphased by the open door leading to nowhere. The fox moved off of Kazuya when the horse slowly got up. The wraith pointed her bony finger at the stallion and repeated the question. The horse reached into the inner pocket of his coat and withdrew a paw full of salt. "Let's see how you like this, evil spirit," he said before throwing the millions of white crystals at the spectre.

Fumiko screamed out so loudly that the fox was afraid his ear drums would rip. The ghost seemed to turn to smoke before dispersing, allowing the friends a quick escape.

"What was that? Salt?" Shigeru asked as he ran with his friend. They were headed towards the far back of the school, via the same route the dragon and tigress had taken.

"Yup, it wards off evil spirits, so I figured it was a safe bet to use it against her."

"Why didn't you do that from the start then? You could've saved Mei!" the fox asked, raising his voice in disbelief and anger.

"I forgot about it, okay? Besides, we didn't know if she meant any harm or not!" Kazuya protested while frowning. "I was under a lot of stress."

"Not enough to keep you from taking a picture though. Not that anyone will ever s-"

His breath was trapped in his throat as his mossy green eyes followed a trail of blood up to the grotesquely maimed bodies of his friends. His insides twisted themselves into knots and he threw up right there, not able to cope with what he would never be able to erase from his memory.

The horse followed suit, and he cried loudly. How could this have happened? This was supposed to be a fun trip, and instead he'd led three of his closest friends to their doom already. He turned his head to look at Shigeru and swore to himself to do whatever he could to keep the smaller male safe. He had his next moment to shine when Fumiko's piercing wail echoed through the hall as she came at them, her claws tearing at the wooden walls again. The horse reached into his inner pocket again and drew a small line of salt across the width of the hall, denying her passage.

The ghost slammed into what seemed like an invisible wall and clawed at it in a savage rage, before moving away again, probably trying to find a different way to get to them.

The friends ran away from the gruesome scene and ran through a set of double doors that led to the school's gymnasium. Kazuya slammed the doors closed and blocked the entrance with another line of salt, before going to the middle of the room and reaching into his pocket again. He only had enough salt for one final attempt to keep them safe. He bit his lip and started drawing a salt circle.

"I want you to stand in the circle, Shigeru," the stallion said. "As long as we stay inside of it, she won't be able to touch us. We should be safe," he said as he slowly moved around the fox, drawing a circle big enough for the both of them. The moment he was ready, loud banging could be heard on the other side of the door. The horse looked tense and he bit his soft lower lip. He knew salt helped, many different sites and books had stated so, but would it hold up long enough for day to come? Hell, he wasn't even sure if it being day or night even made a difference anymore. He stepped into the circle and kept his eyes on the door, his heart pounding against his ribcage.

Shigeru slowly lowered himself through his legs and sat down, hugging his knees to his shoulder as he cried. He hid his face by resting his forehead on his knees, retreating into himself in an attempt to hide from the cruel reality that he would probably not make it out of there alive. What had they done to deserve going out like that? There was so much that the fox had wanted to do in his life before he died. He wanted to learn how to play violin, he wanted to visit the Harry Otter museum to get sorted in one of the houses, and he wanted to get married one day, to a person who would always be there for him. They would watch stupid films together, cuddle up on cold nights, and would travel to other places. He'd always wanted to see Europe. None of that was likely to come to pass though, as he was quite certain he would never make it out of that building. Not alive at least. It was hard not to blame Kazuya for all of this after having told the horse that they'd gone there of their own free will. If the horse hadn't persuaded them to go there in the first place, he'd be safe in his own home, sitting on the couch and watching stupid series on the internet. He could never tell the stallion this though. The fox was quite certain the horse was still blaming himself anyway. Tears kept streaming down his red-furred cheeks. He'd never felt this hopeless before.

The heavy wooden doors to the gym wouldn't keep them safe much longer, as Fumiko slashed at the physical barrier with her razor-sharp claws. The salt would keep her out still, but the mere sight of the wraith sent shivers down Kazuya's spine. Death was coming. He'd never been a religious person, but he quickly shot a prayer up to the heavens when the doors finally splintered and exploded inwards. The horse was sure she would've just gone right through the doors without any effort, if it hadn't been for the salt right behind it. The ghost was repelled once again and screamed in frustration before looking around the floor. Now that he thought about it, Kazuya hadn't seen the vixen try to go through the ground even once. He wondered if there was a reason for that.

The skeletal lady picked up a piece of the door and looked at the fox and horse with what could only be identified as a smug grin. She moved to the salt and moved the wood through the line, breaking the barrier. She floated into the gym and went straight for the two friends, wood still in paw.

Realizing he was no longer safe in the circle, Kazuya sprinted for the long ropes hanging down from the ceiling at the far wall of the room. He freed them and picked the one that looked the most promising, before climbing up, hoping the ghost wouldn't be able to follow him. It seemed a foolish attempt, but what else was he supposed to do? He kept climbing higher until he reached the windows. He needed to get out.

Fumiko looked at the crying Shigeru, who had curled himself up even tighter. It was as if he tried to make himself as small as possible, in the hope that she wouldn't notice him. Instead of going for him, the ghost made her way to the fleeing stallion. She took hold of the rope he was in and started shaking it.

Kazuya screamed and held on for dear life.

The fox looked up at the screaming and whimpered. "Kazuya! Please, don't die!" he shouted.

"I'm trying!"

She stopped shaking the rope and looked up at her prey before slowly floating up, taking the end of the rope up with her. Once she was at eye-level with the stallion, she pointed her finger at him. "What's your name?"

Knowing what had happened to the otter, but not knowing what had happened to the tigress and dragon, the horse kept his mouth shut. He squeezed his eyes closed and just held on to the rope, hoping the ghost would leave him be if he'd just keep quiet. It wasn't until he felt the rope coiling around his body that he opened his eyes again. "Wh...what?"

"KAZUYA! MOVE!" the fox pleaded as he stood in the circle, too afraid to leave its protection.

"WHERE TO!?" the stallion yelled back as he struggled and tried kicking at the vixen, who simply ignored his pathetic attempts at getting free. There was nowhere for him to go. If he fled to the next rope, she would just follow him there, and he couldn't go down either, for he wouldn't be fast enough. Jumping would end his life for sure.

The vixen looped the rope around the stallion's neck before tying a knot in it, tightening it around the strong black neck. The stallion gagged a little and started crying as he felt his end was nigh. He tried freeing one of his paws, but the ghost had tied him up pretty tightly, rendering him immobile. "I'M STUCK!"

The ghost raised her claw to end it when the stallion started begging. "PLEASE! PLEASE! MY NAME IS KAZUYA!" he screamed at her, his eyes almost bulging out of his head from fear and insanity as he took this final gamble.

Fumiko's claw froze for a moment as she heard the name and regarded the stallion. The room would've been completely silent, were it not for the crying friends. Nevertheless, it only lasted a few seconds before the spectre's answered. "That is not my husband's name," came the cold-hearted response as she hooked one claw behind the single knot keeping him suspended, and sliced through the thick rope.

The black stallion screamed as his world spun around him so quickly that he couldn't possibly keep track of up or down. The only things that registered were the feeling of the rope slowly letting go of his body, and the fox's scream ringing in his ears. I'm sorry, Shigure. It seems I won't be able to keep my promise after all. Kazuya's story came to an end.

Shigeru watched in horror as he witnessed his last closest friend spin faster and faster towards the ground, until the rope pulled taut, strangling the horse and hanging him. The spinning motion of his athletic body caused the body to continue spinning after the head could no longer move, effectively screwing Kazuya's handsome face from the rest of his body. His body dropped to the floor with a sickening crack, following by the head, which rolled over a total of four times before coming to a halt, facing away from the trembling fox.

His stomach turned itself upside down again, and despite having thrown up earlier already, his body was set on trying to do so again. He doubled over and gagged hard as he felt his stomach clench down tightly. He cried and whimpered as nothing but stomach acid escaped his muzzle, yet his body was not done with him yet. The young male trashed and squirmed on the floor, breaking the salt circle with his feet and tail as he clawed at his stomach, wishing for it to stop. The images of all of his dead friend's mutilated bodies kept it going though. He cried loudly and coughed before he froze up almost literally when he felt an icy claw on his shoulder.

Trembling and crying, Shigeru turned his head to look directly into the vixen's hollow eyes. She gently pulled him up onto his feet before opening her muzzle. "What's your name?"

Shigeru, tired of running and having given up hope answered her. "My name is Shigeru," he cried before closing his eyes, expecting to die at any moment. He wined and whimpered when he felt her bony arms moving around his body, her claws resting on his back. He gasped softly when he felt her resting her muzzle on his shoulder and nuzzling him a little.

"My husband. You have returned to me."

The fox's jaw dropped as he stared in front of him with eyes like saucers. Shigeru had been her husband's name? He couldn't believe his luck. Did this mean that she wouldn´t kill him and that he would survive this whole ordeal? He decided to go with it.

Shigeru moved his arms around the ghost's astonishingly thin figure and hugged her against him. "I...I have missed you, Fumiko," he said softly while trembling, hoping that this would actually work.

"I have waited for so long. I was afraid you'd never come back, but now you will never leave me again," she said before lifting up her head and looking into the male's eyes.

"Wait, what?" he asked as he stared into her endless pits. He could feel an unknown force pulling on something inside of his very being. He would never leave? He really didn't like the sound of that, so he tried letting go of her. However, she held on tightly and put a bony finger against his lips.

"Shh... It will all be fine. Just you and me for eternity," she said before pressing her cold bony lips to his warm ones. What seemed like a grey veil wrapped itself around the two like a cocoon. The fox screamed and tried to break free, but numerous claws as bony as Fumiko's came out of the fabric and clamped down on his body. Through the fabric, Shigeru saw the walls and floor fading away like old paint chipping away before being sucked into the void, leaving the two suspended in it. He screamed as he started chipping away and disappearing as well. The young fox stared in horror as his arms were slowly eaten away by the ubiquitous darkness. The process was helped by the claws, which sped it up by actively dismembering him and pulling his arms and legs into the void. The same was happening to Fumiko, who didn't seem to be bothered by it in the slightest, as she just kept on smiling, never breaking eye-contact. It was painless, but nonetheless terrifying, and he kept on screaming until his vocal cords were taken from him as well, bringing about a silence so contrastingly loud that it deafened him. Slowly, but surely, their bodies were absorbed by the dark ominous void, until they both vanished from the world without a trace.