Chapter 4: Manifestation Four: The Passion of Fear

I was expecting some sort of dream like I normally have, but nothing like that came about. I slept undisturbed through the night, which was surprising with the amount of people currently in my room when I do sleep. I woke refreshed and feeling energized. I also woke up before anyone else did. Not surprising considering the amount of sleep I got yesterday. I moved cautiously through the mine field of sleeping bodies and made my way to the balcony again. I had left the door open last night as it had been a warm night. I looked to the horizon which was just starting to show signs of the coming morning. I watched the sky lighten up and then streaks from the sun shone through the moist early morning air, making it like transparent bars. I breathed in the fresh morning air, filling my lungs to capacity, and then released it slowly until there was nothing left. Everything was just fine now. I pushed away from the railing I was leaning against and turned to enter the bedroom again. There they were. All gathered at the doorway blocking my entry.

"Good morning, everyone, I am going down to make breakfast. If you all get cleaned up and dressed, breakfast will be ready in about 20 minutes." I said with a quiet tone.

They stepped away from the doorway to let me through and, pausing at the door to get my housecoat, I continued down to the kitchen to follow through with breakfast. It took me less than 20 minutes to finish preparing it, but that gave me time to return to my bedroom and gather a change of clothing to take to the washroom. I arrived at the washroom just as the last person left it. I made myself clean and shiny and returned to the kitchen to take my share of the breakfast, I moved to the dining room and joined the rest in eating. I spoke with the ladies catching up on what they knew was going on while I was at the hospital, but found that that was pretty useless as they had spent just about as much time there as I had and were out of the loop also.

"I've thought about your offer, Tama-sensei, the one about the exercise, and I think it might do me some good. I've lost a lot over the last while, and I believe it will assist me in getting even healthier than I am." I said.

Tama-sensei looked up at me and blushed brightly, "I will do my best to make you stronger and healthier."

Juri-sensei smiled at Tama-sensei then turned to me, "You are quite behind in most of your classes, but the school knows this and will make sure that you'll catch up quickly. There are several people here that will help you catch up with missed class time. I can almost assure you that catching up will not be that difficult. My class will be extended to take up the entire morning, as requested by the administration," she nodded and added almost in a whisper, " ... and almost all of the students"

"Nene-chan and I can help you with your chemistry work," Yui-san said quickly, with Nene-san nodding.

Doi-san brightened up and added, "I can help you with your math and Chika-chan knows biology really well, so I know she'll help you with that. Ume-chan can help with your social studies work." Ume-san nodded in agreement, as did Chika-san.

I stood up and returned quietly to my bedroom. I had to retrieve my school bag. I left quickly after that and headed directly to school knowing that I would arrive earlier than I had so far. I planned on sitting in the library to study. When I arrived at the library I found once again that the place was overwhelming in its opulence and grandeur. I found that it wasn't so crowded this morning, but I still headed to the same table far in the back, for the privacy it offered. Once again I find the table one chair short of a full load. I moved in and took over the last chair without any complaints from any of the women seated at the table. After a half hour of studying quietly I heard a few indistinct words muttered by one of them, and three of the woman packed up their books and left. After a while longer another left, then finally the last of them left me alone at the table. I still had another half hour to go before my first class, so I returned to my books.

"I thought you were dead!" a woman's voice hissed menacingly into my ear a few moments later. "You should be dead." I turned my head a bit to see who it was speaking to me, but they switched to the other side of my head and, placing their hands on either side of my head, stopped me from turning to look at them. "I'll make you pay for what you did. I'm your punishment." She growled then let go. I turned just in time to see someone in a school uniform disappear between the book shelves. I didn't get to see who it was. Someone wanted revenge against me and for what, I did not know. The only information I had was that they were in fact a student at this school. This was not good, as there were hundreds of women at this school wearing uniforms. That did not narrow it down much.

Deciding it was time to go, I gathered my books up and departed the extravagant halls of the library to make my way to my first and longest class with Juri-sensei. I moved down the slowly filling halls of the school looking at the warm wooden floor slightly ahead of me, thinking of who it could be that wanted harm to come to me and why. It was during this careless travel I ended just about knocking over Ume-san who was coming out of one of the classes. She walked right into me, and I had to grab around her waist to stop her from being knocked to the floor. She was looking up at me from this new angle. I had one arm around her waist with the hand at the base of her spine, and the other hand firmly placed between her shoulder blades. I held her like this for a moment before she opened her eyes again and looked at me. Ume-san had eyes that were so dark that they looked black. She had a light sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her pert little nose. Her black hair was almost always in a pony tail, but the impact from running into me caused the ribbon to loosen and fall to the floor. This left her long hair able to flow free, undulating like a river of night. She had full pouty red lips and no lipstick. She was not wearing any makeup at all, in fact, and as close as I was I could smell her scent, the smell of freshness and soap. It was pleasant to the nose, not like the acrid bite of most perfumes. Her face was turning a rose color as I looked at her, so I stood her upright and released her gently.

"I am sorry, Ume-san, I will be more careful next time and observe where I am going." I stated quietly.

"No harm done, Kie-kun, it was my fault anyway. I'm glad it was you, though." she said with a shy smile. I stepped around her and started to head off again when I heard her ask. "Are you going to Juri-sensei's class now? Mind if I tag along?"

I nodded at her and continued on my path, a little more observant of my surroundings. I passed by a few other open classroom doors but, as of yet, none of the classes had started. The hallways were quite crowded in some areas, but overall I could tell that it was pretty close to the time for classes to start. The few groups we passed by looked at me and then followed. Slowly a following of people gathered behind Ume-san. By the time we arrived at Juri-sensei's class I could tell that most of the other classes were now empty, as we had most of the students following us. I stepped up to the door, but before I could open it I noticed the sign, 'Literature class is now being held in the main auditorium' it said. I looked at Ume-san who looked blankly at me, then read the sign herself.

"Looks to me like we're into a larger class now, it's a wonder they've agreed to this." she said as she turned to me. "I guess I'll show you where it is, then."

Ume-san turned back down the way we came and waded through a group of women until she got to the first crossing corridor, I followed close behind. She turned down the hallway and continued for a short distance until she came to a stairway up. We went up the stairs followed by the large group of women still. At the top of the stairs we took a short corridor off to the left and walked for a fair distance, all the while gathering up more and more women. We finally arrived at a pair of swinging doors with a sign above it reading 'Main Auditorium'. She stepped out of the way and let me go through first. I stepped into a dark room with a path lit up by tiny lights. The path led gradually down until it reached a short set of stairs. I walked down the path, listening carefully for any indication that there were others in the room. I heard many sounds of coughing and shuffling. I paused at the bottom of the path and tried to slide into one of the seats.

"Kie-kun, you place is up here." a familiar voice said from the stage ahead of me.

"Am I really needed here, Juri-sensei? Is there anyone else that can do it?" I asked her disembodied voice.

"No, this is because of you and only you." she stated. "You will be doing this from now on, by the request of many people. Also this class has been expanded to two hours instead of the single hour it used to be. Everyone will be required to do a 1000 word report on what you read. You, on the other hand, will be required to write a report like I requested last time. Submit it at the end of the week." she finished.

I stepped up on the stage and the lights in the auditorium came up to half brightness. I looked out into the audience and was pretty sure that every student in the school was there, along with all the teachers and probably most of the staff, too. I walked over to the desk that Juri-sensei was seated at off the side of the stage and she handed me a thick book. I looked at the title. It was so worn that I couldn't read it. I looked questioningly at her but she just indicated I should start.

"Whenever you're ready, Kie-kun, I'm sure everyone is here now." she said with a slight smile. I opened to the first paragraph and began scanning the page. The writing was not difficult to read, but before I began I looked at Juri-sensei.

"May I walk around while reading? I feel less muscle cramping than I do if I stand still for the whole time." I asked her.

She nodded, "Just be careful you don't trip and fall during this reading. I don't want this to end too early. If you feel yourself getting tired you may sit on this chair here until you feel better." She pointed at the chair next to her, a simple straight backed wooden chair.

I returned my attention to the room as a whole and waited for it to quiet down from the rustle of people adjusting themselves for comfort. When it became silent I began reading. It took a short time for me to warm up my voice, and I had to clear my throat a few times but I finally became smooth and stronger in voice. It was at this point that I felt comfortable enough to move about. I walked slowly down the steps and into the audience. The chairs were positioned so that I could walk up or down an aisle or walk in front or behind the chairs without being restricted in any way. This let me stand next to just about anyone I wanted to. I walked about the room with everyone's eyes focused on me, and began reading. I paused here and there next to a random woman. I moved next to Ume-san and she looked up at me with rapt attention and a smile. Her eyes were slightly glazed. I found Chika-san up in the back of the room near one of the other entries, and stood next to her for a short time reading. She had small tears gathered at the edge of her sparkling eyes, and I could hear sniffling here and there in the audience. I moved on and paused by Nene-san, who was also sniffling lightly and dabbing at her eyes with a hanky. I wandered more and came across Sata-san and Tama-san sitting together off to the side of the audience. They both smiled up at me with a glow on their faces. I read directly to them for a short time then moved on. I eventually found Doi-san and Yui-san sitting together off in a far corner of the auditorium. I stood and read to them for a length of time, watching them smile as they listened. They periodically wiped tears from their eyes. I moved off again and continued reading to the room. I did not understand what was causing the effect of tears and smiles from these people, as I couldn't say that I paid much attention to what I read. I intermittently observed the audience for reactions to what I was reading, and I was thankful for that attentiveness, during the last half hour of my reading I sensed something and reacted. I pulled a woman out of the seat she was sitting in. Yanked her towards me and fell backwards. I landed with my arms wrapped around her and her on top of me. As we landed on the floor the cushion of her seat exploded with several pops. There was seat stuffing all over the place. The woman did not understand what had happened and rolled off me. She tried to stand but I grabbed the collar of her shirt and yanked her down on me again, just as several more pops made her seat cushion spit out more stuffing. I rolled over on top of her as she screamed.

"Stay down if you want to live!" I stated forcefully at her. "Someone is shooting at us." I raised my voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "Someone kill the lights. There is someone shooting at us." I noticed that there didn't appear to be many screams. People were reacting with speed. The lights were doused, and before they went out I saw just about everyone drop to the floor. The one I was holding dropped on top of me with her full weight, and then rolled to the side with a quiet apology. I crawled in the direction of the aisle which I used to move myself down to the stage. I was on my way to ensure that Juri-sensei was safe. She was the most obvious target now, as she was also the most prominent and available one. I moved quickly down the aisle and was surprised at the popping sounds that followed me. I hit the steps to the stage at a dead run, and only touched the bottom one to launch myself. I rolled across the stage followed once again by popping sounds. Before I reached where I knew Juri-sensei was, it suddenly struck me that I seemed to be the only one that was being shot at. I swerved from my path and headed to the extreme rear of the stage, and the moment I was able to duck behind some heavy dark curtains the shooting stopped. I heard shuffling, and then a pop or two a little later that made someone shout out in surprise. I was thankful it was not pain and decided that it was better that I be shot at than have someone else killed. I ran across the stage and tumbled down the stairs in a controlled fall. Landing at the bottom, I started running to the other steps on the other side of the stage. I chose this moment to shout. "Everyone leave the auditorium as quickly as you can. They will not hurt you if they have me to shoot at. Move quickly!" I continued to run around in a pattern that I knew would be hard to follow. I thought I might end up running into people soon but for the fact that, when the doors were opened to let people out, the light spilling in from the halls revealed that most of the people were clear of the bottom few rows of seats. I headed diagonally across the room, leaping over seats. I felt one pop hit the heel of my shoe. It threw off my balance and I spun over the seats in a haphazard way. Lying on the floor, I heard the last of the people exit and knew that it was only time now before I would be hit.

"It's better if you give up right now." I said loudly. "The authorities will probably be here quickly now."

The seats all around me exploded in a rain of fire. It reminded me of the sound of popcorn, and the stuffing from the seats filled the air. It suddenly stopped and I heard, off in the distance, the sounds of crashing equipment and glass. There was going to be some major damage done before this person left. A level of quiet permeated the auditorium like a thick blanket. I tentatively stood up from my hiding place and looked around. The place looked OK but for a few spots. A few of the seats would have to be replaced, and there were an awful lot of small holes. It became obvious to me by just looking at the pattern of damage that someone was really intent on my demise. Their gunfire had followed me all over the auditorium wherever I had run. I check the entire aisle to see if there were any injured people, but it didn't appear that way. I watched the projectionist booth windows warily, but I was pretty sure that the shooter was gone. I stepped up to the stage last and looked around the desk that Juri-sensei had been seated at. The desk was somewhat damaged. I worried that Juri-sensei was around somewhere injured, but nobody seemed to be there. After my survey of the area I came to the conclusion that no one had been injured.

"Well, that was a little more excitement than we needed." Juri-sensei said as she entered the Auditorium. "Whoever was doing the shooting got away, and nobody got a look at them!" She looked around the auditorium at the mess and at the holes. She looked at the place she had been earlier and I could see a shiver run down her body. I recognized a look of fear on her face. "How do we deal with this now?" I heard her mumble.

"I think I'm going to have to keep my eyes open better." I said, "I'm sure there will be more attempts. I just wish I knew why and who."

"I was told by someone this morning that they thought I should be dead, and couldn't seem to grasp the why of it." I said to her. Noticing her surprise I added, "I didn't get to see who it was exactly, but I narrowed it down to a student as I saw the uniform as they ran away."

Her eyes narrowed at this, she held up a finger to pause any more words from me. Juri-sensei pulled out a cell phone from her pocket and dialed a number. She spoke briefly with someone on the other end in a quiet voice. I waited for her to complete her call. "I've got some help to look, they're really good at this type of thing,"

"What type of thing?" I asked, "People who indiscriminately shoot into crowded rooms to kill one person? I'm back to the same issue I had in the beginning, only greater. I didn't think it was a good idea for me to live in the same place as you because I didn't want anyone to be hurt. Now it looks like someone will try to hurt anyone in their attempts to cause me harm." I added. "I see no reason to stay around anyone here as I am just a danger to everyone, both at home and at school."

She had a shocked look on her face and blurted, "We'll take care of it! Nobody will be hurt!"

Shaking my head I walked to the exit with her following behind me, "I will not be going back home today, and I will not return to this school until the person who is endangering everyone is caught. I will call a taxi and then find myself a hotel to stay in until this is done. I will not tell anyone where the hotel is, and if you give me your cell phone number I will call every day until I know it is safe to return." She looked like she was going to protest but stopped, then tried to say something then stopped. Her mouth hung open for a moment then snapped closed. She nodded and called me a taxi.

"I will have an envelope of money waiting for you at the front door of the school, which should be good enough to hold you for a while. I expect you to call once a day and no less. I also expect you to keep up with your studies." Juri-sensei said. "Oh, and eat good meals, too." she added quietly.

I went to the front of the school and waited for the taxi to show up. Juri-sensei handed me an envelope after returning from the main office. She was followed by everyone from the house and most of the school also. The young lady I had pulled out of the seat before it was destroyed was at the front, and she stepped up quickly to grip me in a hug that was quite strong. Several loud cracks from my ribs were heard, and then she leaned her head to the side, planted a kiss on my cheek and whispered a soft thank you into my ear. She stepped back and blended into the crowd. The taxi arrived just then and I climbed into the back. Through the window I watched the women from home, all eight of them, wave sadly at me as the taxi pulled away, one even seemed to be in tears, Juri-sensei had streams running down her cheeks.

I turned back to the driver, an older man, and asked him to take me to a decent hotel outside of 15 kilometers from the school we had just left. I didn't want to be too close to the last place someone wanted me dead. I also asked him to take the scenic route in the hopes that anyone following would be lost on the trip. Over an hour later we arrived at the front of a more than adequate Hotel. The trip had been quite roundabout, and I was shown most of the town. The place the driver took me looked like a pretty decent place, nothing high end, but decent nonetheless. I paid the driver and entered. The lobby was a large affair with classic Greek columns and wall murals. It made me upgrade my opinion of the place, and I wasn't sure if I could afford to even stay here. I walked up to the clerk's desk and rang the bell as no one was there at the moment. I heard a voice call from a small hallway behind the counter.

"One moment, please." The clerk came out to stand behind the counter and smiled at me. It was an older woman of about late 40's, she looked quite capable and very professional, but with a large smile on her face, "How may I be of service?"

"I need a room, and I will need it for an indeterminate stay. Anywhere from three days to several weeks is what I expect." I paused for a moment as the woman checked the computer for rooms, and then continued. "I will not be leaving the room for any reason, and I expect the same person to deliver linen, food and anything I request, also this person will clean my suite. No one will be going in or coming out of the suite except that person. If anyone shows up to inquire about me they are considered to be dangerous unless I specifically say someone is coming. As you can probably guess, there is an individual that is out to cause me harm."

"I have one room that suites your needs." she said as she looked up at me, "I should say that we only have the one room available, but it is still what you need." She smiled at this and handed me a key card. "It is a penthouse suite on the top floor. As it is the only suite available we will provide it to you at regular rates. It has its own private entrance which can be secured from anyone, and no other way to access it." She looked across the lobby at someone and nodded, then continued, "You may use the elevator to the left here and thank you." She pointed at a semi-hidden door to the left of the counter.

I stepped up to the elevator and pressed the button. The door swept open immediately and I entered. The Elevator was a larger than normal elevator as far as I could tell. It appeared to be designed to hold a lot. I hit one of the only other buttons that were there, the one indicating up and The elevator smoothly took off upwards. The whole trip took about five minutes, and then the doors opened to an elegant foyer all done in dark wood.

I stepped out of the elevator, dropped my school bag, and walked down the hallway to an immense area that I could only gather was the living room. A gas fireplace occupied one wall, with a couch, two easy chairs and a coffee table in front of it on an area rug the color of deep red wine. The floor was of mahogany with a cross hatch pattern, almost hypnotic if stared at. There was a large dining room table on the other side of the room, and the far wall from where I stood at the entry hallway was a wall of glass that led out to a balcony. To my right and left were sliding doors that I found led to a smaller bedroom with a complete en-suite bathroom and a small kitchen. As I stepped out into the living room I found a wet bar to my immediate left. It appeared to be well stocked. A little further beyond that there was a spiral staircase leading up. I moved to the glass doors and, sliding them open, stepped out on a spacious balcony with hot tub. I stood at the railing for a while staring out at the small city and realized that I was hungry, I had missed lunch. Noticing the phone on the coffee table I went back inside and called down to the front desk.

"Hello, I wish to order a light lunch." I said to the person who answered, "Please send it up as soon as possible. Thank you.

It only took a few minutes, but in that time I went up the spiral stairs to explore the upper level and discovered that the upper level had a rounded opening that showed the next level down. I had not seen the opening from the lower level, as I had not looked up. Now that I looked down, though, I could tell that it looked down on part of the dining area and part of the lounging area. It also let the glass wall rise high, giving the room a massive display of southern exposure. It was so expansive that I was sure I would be able to see both a sunset and sunrise without any problems. There was only one room in the upper level, that was the master bedroom and an off suite bathroom of enormous size connected to the master bedroom. The room was done in woods and jade green paint, with many wall hangings showing traditional Japanese scenic vistas. I looked at them each until I was interrupted with a call from downstairs. I went to look over the railing looking down onto the floor downstairs, and observed what looked to be a small child of about 12 or 13 years of age. The girl had short black hair and wore a maid's outfit. She was standing at the dining table taking food from a cart and placing it on the table now set for one. I went downstairs and moved to the table.

"Sir, I have brought the lunch you ordered," she said without looking up from what she was doing. "Please call if..." She looked up at me then and her eyes grew wide in surprise, then she glanced around as if she was looking for someone else. "Is your father around?" she asked, as she indicated the paper that needed to be signed for the food.

"I have no father. I will be signing for anything, thank you. You will be the only person allowed in here. I imagine you have received all the information on what is required of you?" I stated.

"I was told all sorts of things. I don't like it, but yes I'll do the linen and clothes and everything. I normally just bring food and take dishes away. Mom said she'd give me an increase in money if I did this so, I said yes. I was also told you didn't bring anything with you except one small bag." she said as she finished setting the food on the table. "How much clothing do you have?"

"I only have what I'm wearing, but I will not need anything else as I don't plan on going outside for a while, and I don't expect anyone to come to see me but you." I replied.

"Your clothes are going to start smelling funny after a while, you know." she said with a lopsided grin, "I would suggest you change out of them and let me send them out to get cleaned, and then just stick to wearing the pajamas and housecoat that the hotel provides. That way when you need to leave you'll have a clean set of clothing to wear." She looked like she was proud of her smart thinking, so I nodded. She continued, "Go upstairs and change right now so I can take the clothing with me when I leave. I'll have it back to you by tomorrow."

I returned to the master bedroom and changed out of my cloths into the pajamas that were in the top drawer of the dresser, and then gathered up what I had discarded and returned to the dining area down stairs. She took my cloths and headed to the elevator, "Call me if you need anything. I'm Emilie, Mother is the manager here." she said as she was pushing the cart into the elevator. "I'll see you this evening." I heard as the doors closed on her.

I surveyed the table for a moment then took a seat. The meal was filling and finished quickly. I gathered the dishes together and brought them into the kitchen. Examining the kitchen, I found it to be quite complete and I felt I could probably deal with cooking my own food here quite well. I finally decided that I would have groceries brought here and I would cook my own meals. Using the phone I called down to the front desk and made the request. I provided a list of items to be purchased, and asked if it was possible to have it done before the end of the day. It was agreed upon and I hung up. I retrieved my school bag and took up a spot at the couch to start on my homework. It kept me busy well into the evening, when I heard the elevator doors open.

"It's just me!" I heard Emilie shout. "I've brought you all the groceries you ordered, plus I added only two extras I thought you'd like. I also have a cookbook here for you." She toted bag after bag of groceries into the kitchen. I began to help right away, as she seemed a bit small to leave all the work to her. "I'll need the cookbook back before you leave as it's my own." She added.

"I appreciate the offer, but you need not loan me the cookbook. I am already knowledgeable in cooking." I said, as I put the groceries away. "With me cooking for myself I will only require you to do the linen and resupply foods only once in a while. That should make your chores with me a lot simpler."

"Aw, I don't mind ... uh, what is your name, anyway?" She paused and looked at me, then continued when I provided it to her, "I don't mind, Kie-kun, I like coming up here. It keeps me away from the real work." she laughed at this and continued stocking the shelves. "Besides, you're cute." she added shyly.

I finished off the storage of the groceries and walked Emilie to the elevator, "Thank you for everything, and I'll see you next time." She smiled as the door closed and I returned to my homework again. It was well into the evening when my mind returned to my surroundings. I felt it was time for some dinner. It was at that moment that I realized I could smell something that made my stomach growl in reaction. I was curious as to where the smell of food was coming from until I heard a familiar voice from the kitchen shout, "Supper is almost ready!" Emilie had cooked dinner, set the table, and stood just outside the kitchen door looking up at me as I came down the stairs.