“Can you tell me what happened?” he said. “Was it something scary?”
Mayuka looked up and, through trembling lips, stammered, “A z-z-zombie…”
“Zombie? You mean, like, a zombie zombie?”
She nodded, her eyes full of tears.
“W-we went into the haunted mansion, and there was a zombie…”
“Haunted mansion? Are you talking about that big European-style house down the street? You went inside?”
She grimaced and started to murmur something about Chris.
“Hmm? Come to think of it,” said Iwata, “where is Chris?” The question struck Hinata like a lightning bolt. He brushed off the officer’s hand and leaped backward.
Chris! I left Chris behind! I ran away and forgot all about my partner!!
Hinata was so shocked that he fell backward onto his rear. Then he started crawling toward the haunted mansion, sobbing.
“What have I done…? I—I left Chris…behind…”
“Oh no! Chris!” Mayuka shrieked.
“All right, all right,” Iwata said, grabbing Hinata under the arms and standing him on his feet before putting his hands on the boy’s shoulders. “You’ve got to calm down, Hinata. Don’t worry, I’ll be with you. We’ll go and get Chris back. And let me be clear: I don’t believe in ghosts or zombies one bit. It’s important to verify the truth of the matter.”
Hinata nodded over and over again, wiping the hot tears from his cheeks.
The officer went back into the police station and put a sign saying Out on Patrol up on the desk. Then he adjusted his cap and came back out.
“You must have been really scared, huh?” he said, peering into Hinata’s face. “Can you walk? Do you need a piggyback ride?”
Hinata quickly shook his head. Piggyback? He was in fifth grade now! He insisted that he was fine and started walking on his own.
Once he was moving again, he suddenly felt impatient. Now that Officer Iwata was with them, they needed to move fast.
“Ch-Chris,” he murmured, speeding up into an unsteady jog.
I’m sorry, Chris, I’m sorry! I can’t believe I left you behind and ran away. What a terrible partner I am. Please be safe!
✦ ✦ ✦
Back at the haunted mansion, there was an unfamiliar old man standing around near the gate.
“Oh, perfect timing! Officer!” he said, rushing over with a hand on his balding head. He had indoor sandals on—it looked like he had just rushed outside. “I live across the street from that mansion there.”
Officer Iwata nodded. “What’s the matter?”
“Well… The place has been empty for ages, but I’ve noticed people coming and going lately. I was hopin’ it wasn’t folks up to no good, but sure enough, just a few minutes ago, I heard the most terrible screams!” the old man exclaimed, spittle flying from his mouth. “It’s nerve-racking living next to an abandoned home. I’m always worried about criminals making it their hideout or someone burning it down…”
Hinata nervously tugged at Officer Iwata’s uniform. They needed to find Chris.
“Oh, sorry, Hinata…” He held up a hand to cut off the old man’s story. “As it happens, I’m here to inspect the premises, but on a different matter. If there’s anyone in the building, I’ll be sure to ask them what’s going on, and we’ll get to the bottom of it. Please be patient.”
Once he’d placated the old man, he straightened up and called out through the half-open front gate.
“Excuse me! I’m with the police, on patrol. Please forgive my intrusion.” Then he marched through the gate. Hinata followed him. He felt his heart racing, but there was no turning back now. He needed to find Chris…
“Oh, there’s an intercom up there,” said the officer. “I wonder if it works.”
Between the vines growing on the wall to the left of the front door was an old intercom. Iwata used his thumb to push down the button.
A scratchy ding-dong sounded from inside the mansion.
“…That doesn’t seem like something a haunted mansion would have, right…?” murmured Mayuka, who had followed them. Despite his shivers, Hinata agreed. It was a very normal intercom system, the kind most homes had. It felt like the unearthly eeriness of the mansion was fading a little.
“Is no one home?” Iwata tried the button again.
Ding-dong…
After a few moments, he turned to look at Hinata and frowned. “Just because I’m a police officer doesn’t give me the right to walk into someone’s home without permission. Hopefully there’s someone around… And you’re sure that Chris is in there?”
Hinata nodded, but he wasn’t sure what to do now. If even Officer Iwata couldn’t go inside, then how were they going to rescue Chris?
“Maybe we can call for Chris from here,” Iwata suggested, just as the doorknob slowly turned, and the door clicked open. “Oh, someone is home. Pardon me, I’m a patrol officer from the local police station. Is this…?”
He trailed off. Mayuka screamed again.
“Eeeeek! Z-z-z…”
Both children clung to the officer’s back and buried their faces in his uniform.
But then the bloody zombie peering through the crack in the door mumbled in a very normal sounding voice, “Oops, sorry for lookin’ like this…”
Huh?
Hinata and Mayuka shared a confused look.
Officer Iwata paused to catch his breath, then asked calmly, “Is that a costume or something?”
“Hmm, I guess you could call it that… I was going to film a little horror video, and I was trying out some clothes and makeup. What did you want?”
“Well, that’s good.” Iwata turned around and laughed. “See? It’s fine; he was just shooting a video.”
Hinata felt like he was going to fall over, but for a different reason this time. You mean it was just a regular person?
In the light of day, it was clear now that the blood was unnaturally bright, and the white-haired wig was floating up off the man’s scalp. The skull-themed accessories around his ears and neck were even a little cartoonish.
Now I feel really embarrassed about being so terrified…
Mayuka’s mouth hung open.
The zombie poked his head through the door and peered at the two children hiding behind Officer Iwata.
“Are you the kids who were in here earlier? The ones who walked in without permission and screamed at me before running away? And now you’ve brought the police with you? Sheesh!”
At that, Hinata felt a very different kind of shiver run up his spine. Words like thief and breaking and entering and perjury and false allegations flew around in his mind. Had they just committed a crime?
Officer Iwata smiled and said to the zombie, “Actually, about that. This boy’s dog seems to have wandered into your home. He and his friend told me that they went in looking for him. Would the dog happen to be inside right now?”
The zombie shrugged and muttered, “Dog? Hmm, dog, dog… I’m not sure.”
“I know Chris is inside!” Mayuka shouted. Now that she knew the man wasn’t a real zombie, she suddenly felt much braver.
Iwata looked back at the gate and gave the old man peering in a meaningful look. “We’ve also had reports from the neighborhood about some activity here. I’d like to ask you about that for a moment. Are you the owner of the house?”
“Uh, no, I’m just borrowing it to film my video, that’s all.” The zombie looked over his shoulder, choosing his words carefully. “The, um, owner is inside. I guess I could go get them…”
“I’d appreciate it.”
The zombie offered them a friendly wave, asked them to wait, and started to close the door.
“Wh-what about Chris?!” Hinata said, going pale. What if the man closed the door and then refused to come back?
Chris is still inside, right? I can’t just wait out here!
He grabbed the side of the door, then slipped under the zombie’s arm and rushed through the doorway.
“Hinata!”
“Stop, Hinata!”
He ignored Mayuka’s and Iwata’s cries and ran through the front hall and down to the door that Chris had been scratching at when they first went in.
“Chris?”
The dog was nowhere to be seen. Hinata felt around the door until he found the knob, then turned it—but it was locked. Was there no way inside?
He looked around the darkened hall. Where could Chris be?
“Hey! You can’t just keep barging in here, kid!” yelled the zombie as he advanced toward Hinata.
I’m not going to run this time! Hinata was determined to stand his ground.
“Where is Chris?” he demanded. “My dog was in front of this door earlier, remember? You saw it, too, didn’t you, Mr. Zombie?”
The zombie faltered. “I—I was…”
Iwata and Mayuka came in after them. The officer beckoned toward Hinata. “I’m very sorry about this, sir. We’ll leave at once. C’mon, Hinata, let’s wait outside.”
“But Chris is…”
Suddenly there came a thumping and scuffling from upstairs.
“Yiiiipe!” They heard a dog’s shriek echo through the house.
“Chris?!” Hinata shouted. A shadow came hurtling down the staircase with incredible speed. “Chris!”
Hinata crouched and spread his arms for Chris to jump into.
“Yipe, yipe, huff, huff…”
Chris was letting out high-pitched barks and breathing heavily, pressing his snout into Hinata’s chest and thrashing about.
“I’m sorry, Chris! I can’t believe I ran away and left you behind… What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Hinata hugged Chris and rubbed the dog all over. Chris was prancing in place and panting hard.
There, there, Chris, you’re safe now…
“That startled me!” said a clear, bright voice from the top of the stairs, drawing everyone’s attention. Descending in front of the stained-glass window was none other than the girl dressed in black from earlier, Akane.