ghostgirl

B5

"What do you mean being watched?" Reniku asked, helping Aster to calm down. "By the Moon? Were you the only one who saw it?"

"Yes! The Moon! Red-" Aster said in a frenzy, before coughing a little. "Hey Jen, calm down. It's okay. We're all here, and you're not alone."

"But-" Aster jerked as if something was stabbing her, but when she looked in the direction of the supposed threat, all she could see were shadows and trees, which made it all the more creepier. Reniku observed that the others were acting strangely as well – Azukae Senpai standing extremely still like a statue and eyes darting suspiciously, Rouya Senpai holding a sheathed dagger in his hand, and the Captain watching everyone with a fearful expression.

Reniku looked at Aster with great concern. What has she seen for her to be this scared? Earlier, she was unfazed by everything she was suspicious of until now.

"Aster, look me in the eye," Reniku whispered, so that the others couldn't hear. "Look at me. Don't look away."

"O-okay, okay," Aster's pupils and hands trembled as they held onto Reniku's, which were holding Aster's cheeks. "Don't look at the trees. I don't know what you saw, but it must've been really scary. Once you've calmed down, I'm going to let go, but I don't want you to look at the trees for more than a second. Don't develop the fear again, okay?"

"Okay," Aster chanted, "okay."

Azukae's footsteps were so light, they were almost unnoticeable. With her senses heightened, even a sudden rustle in the leaves could make her scream in fright. "Shall we...take a moment to readjust ourselves?"

"That's a great idea," The Captain said, sounding half-sarcastic to Reniku.

Everyone started to sit down, joining the hyperventilating Aster and calm Reniku on the ground. As Reniku felt Aster's skin begin to get back its color against the faint moonlight and her breaths becoming more consistent, she jerked Aster's head a little. "I'm gonna let go, don't go staring into the forest, alright?"

"Okay," Aster said, and Reniku let her hands drop beside her. She observed Aster a little longer, and once convinced that she was doing okay for the most part, she focused on other things like the tiny gaps between the leaves above her. "So...basically what happened was Aster trying to navigate, but saw the Red Moon there?"

Everyone nodded, and started coming up with possible reasons for Aster's mental breakdown.

"She said that we were being 'watched' after climbing down," Azukae said, motioning to the spot Aster had climbed up to.

"I'm not very sure what I had seen earlier," Aster said, "but there was kinda like...a distorted eye on the Red Moon. At first, when I climbed up, it was normal, and I could only see clouds. Then, they parted and suddenly it was as if the entire sky turned red and reminded me of blood."

"And you got scared?" Reniku asked.

"Yeah, it was like something was staring right into my soul, and it scared the hell out of me. But now when I try to recall it, I can't really remember exactly how it looks like."

"Hmm."

Was it something triggering? Reniku thought. Or really, someone with telepathic powers?

Those seemed too unlikely. But then again, who'd be stuck on this island and attack people who look out from canopies of trees? This caused Reniku much frustration. She suddenly huffed an angry sigh and stood up.

"Whatever is going on, it's just psychological, because I don't physically feel a thing," Reniku said, "the rest of you were only affected when Aster told you, right? So it has to be psychological."