Blades of Despair

-Chapter Fifty-Four-

Behind the Locked Door

"Miyagawa, do you think there's been another murder?" Mina asked me as we slowly ascended to the top floor of the academy. We had decided to start at the top and work our way down, though realistically it made no difference in which order we searched the floors. My fingers nervously tapped against the coarse fabric of the bag inside which I had stored the Seiko-pads.

"We can't rule that possibility out, Mina," I conceded, "but I'm going to maintain the hope that everyone is still alive."

"Even Yoneda?"

"Yes, even him."

"I... don't want him to die either," Mina said with great difficulty, "even though I hate him, I'm more tired of death than I am of him. So, I hope we can get this food and drink to Yoneda and the others as quickly as possible." Mina clutched the containers of food she had prepared even tighter as the elevator rose and rose. I am scared. What happens if... we're too late? Are we too late? There was also the matter of the incident that Monoworth had mentioned to me. What did that mean? Why was it reason enough for him to save Mina and I from certain death? The uneasy feeling that had surfaced the minute I had seen Monoworth's beady eyes only grew more furtive as time went by. But then we arrived at the fourth floor.

"Let's go. We're looking for a locked door." That was all I managed to say before Mina took off like a hare. A locked door... There are only four rooms on this floor: the two classrooms, the office and the arts room. Two of our classmates are trapped in one of those rooms. We started with the nearest room, Classroom 4-B. I ran up to the door and pulled down on the handle so hard I feared I would yank it off completely. Expecting resistance, I yelped in fright when the door swung open.

"Is anyone in here?" Mina cried, dashing inside. I followed her, my eyes frantically scanning the room, hoping with all my heart that no corpses were waiting for us.

"Empty," I said. The room was devoid of any persons; only typical classroom furniture could be found. Clearly, our friends were not trapped inside this room.

"We should have known it would be empty," Mina grumbled. "Monoworth gave you that key, right? So the rooms where everyone is must be locked."

"You're right," I said, "but we have to be diligent. I would not be surprised if even now Monoworth is playing a prank on us. Let's move on." We left Classroom 4-B for the next room on the fourth floor, the office, but again we were met with the same blank setting as the previous classroom.

"Okay, so we have the arts room and the other classroom," Mina noted.

"Let's hurry." My legs were getting tired of running, but the adrenaline caused by the panic of knowing that I could discover the dead body of one my friends was coursing through me, spurring me on. We sprinted to the entrance to the arts room. Once again, I pushed down as hard as I could on the door handle and pushed, but the door didn't move.

"This one's locked!" I exclaimed. Mina moved me to one side and pounded on the door.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?" She shouted desperately. For a few seconds, silence, and my breath froze in my throat. No...

"Is someone there?" We heard a voice from the other side of the door. It was very weak and very faint, but it was there.

"That was Morihei's voice!" Mina proclaimed. "Morihei! It's me, Mina! We're going to get you out! Hold on!"

"Mina? Mina!"

"Miyagawa, hurry!" Mina pleaded. I nodded and reached for the key that Monoworth had bestowed me. In my rush, my fingers fumbled with the bronze item for a second, but I was able to push it inside the door's lock, turn it, and the door clicked, signifying it was now open. Mina barged past me into the room the instant I unlocked the door.