Shadow Figures (discontinued until further notice)

Chapter 9:

A figment of pain rose in Kiyo's chest. The fact that all four of his friends are gone soon caught up to him. Kiyo never wanted to admit it to them, but he cared deeply about the others. His legs gave out underneath him and he collapsed onto his knees.

"Why did you have to kill them?!" Kiyo shouted.

"I told you that no one can leave the forest," a hushed voice replied.

"Why them?!" Kiyo said, "why leave me by myself?!"

"You should know we love to play with our prey," the voice said with a giggle.

The pain and sadness were too overwhelming by now. He wanted to scream, he wanted to get away, but he couldn't. The horrible stench of blood filled Kiyo's nostrils as he sat there. He felt something grab onto his shoulders and shake him slightly. He tried to pull away but the force was stronger.

"H-Hey, Kiyo, are you ok?" A familiar voice sliced through his mind.

"Ngh...huh...?" Kiyo said in a daze, everything going to black.

"It's Kaito and Kokichi," Kaito's voice rang, "snap out of it."

Kiyo opened his eyes again and sat up quickly. When he found out he was back in his room, he let out a sigh of relief. Though he was still shaking and there seemed to be a weight on his chest still. A slight movement caught Kiyo's eyes and he quickly looked over. There stood Kokichi and Kaito with worried expressions on both of their faces.

"Do you need some water?" Kaito asked nervously.

"I...I..." Kiyo gasped.

"Are you ok?!" Kokichi said with a genuine look of concern, "do you need some space."

"No!" Kiyo said, "don't go!"

"Oh, ok man," Kaito said, "what's wrong?"

"I just had a...thought," Kiyo said unevenly.

"Wanna talk about it?" Kaito asked.

"Umm...not really," Kiyo said finally.

"Jeez, you can't have a panic attack like this in your sleep and not have us worry about you," Kokichi huffed.

"Just, how long was I asleep for," Kiyo asked.

"It's 9 a.m.," Kaito said, "Tsumugi and Keebo are waiting downstairs."

Tsumugi and Keebo.....wait a minute. 9 a.m?! I slept through dinner and the whole night?? Crap!

Kiyo hopped out of bed in a hurry. He grabbed his hat and shuffled towards the door. Suddenly a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the room. Kiyo turned around to see Kokichi pulling away from him, a look of nervousness on his face.

"What do you want, Kokichi?" Kiyo said narrowing his eyes.

"You're too jumpy for my liking," Kokichi huffed, "what's wrong?"

"Since when do you care," Kiyo said, turning towards the two.

"I don't," Kokichi said, "but the other will once they see you like this."

"He's right you know," Kaito said, "take some time to calm down."

"You're right I guess," Kiyo muttered slightly to himself.

"Are you sure you don't want some water?" Kaito asked.

"No, it's fine," Kiyo said, sitting back down.

Kiyo took in a few deep breaths and soon the panic started to fade away. Kaito and Kokichi looked at each other nervously before turning back to Kiyo. The tall student narrowed his eyes at the other two and stood up.