The Wrong Person Was Transported to the Horrific Lost Village

Three people out of their depth were running through increasingly misty woods.

One was the young lady-turned-insufferably-shrill-banshee--

"Noooooo! No, I don't want to! Leave me alone! Leave me alone! Stay away!"

The second was the terrified girl who couldn't leave the screamer by herself.

"Susy! Wait! Come back! Please, come back!"

And the third was the dangerous-looking sleazy man who had his bag mistakenly stolen.

"Bitch! Get back here! Biiiitch!"

These three persons of questionable intelligence were sprinting, each just slightly outside of view of the one behind them. 

The screamer, Susy, tripped over obscured debris and hit the ground face first. She slid along the mud before rolling onto her back and then back onto her feet. Her screaming and ranting never once stopped. It was like she never fell. The mad girl just kept running.

The concerned one, Haunting Tone, nimbly leaped over the terrain that had caused Susy to fall. She wasted no time and continued her pursuit admirably.

Then, the pursuer, Kaz Kitanari, came across the troublesome terrain and fell.

He hit the ground and rolled along the mud until he came to a stop. He was breathing hard--the unhealthy man couldn't maintain his sprint as well as the younger women.

His anger building, he let out a pained, frustrated yell. That yell echoed through the forest. And the forest howled back, sending shivers up his spine.

"Shit, shit!" he yelled as he tugged on his right leg. "Shit! I'm stuck!" He looked around. "Hey! Help! I'm stuck!"

He felt around his leg, trying to understand what had caught him. 

"Blasted mist--come on!"

Then, he heard something crunching the ground behind him and looked up. The mist was thicker now. He couldn't even see the way he had come from anymore. It was like the mist was following him.

"Damn it," he groaned as he tugged on his leg.

 

***

 

[What kind of person was Kaz Kitanari such that he would so desperately chase a pair of girls in the woods? His story, one that began the night before, unfolded before her eyes.]

 

Kaz's heart pounded in his chest as he sat sweating in the passenger seat of the car. His breathing was ragged, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong. Where was he being taken? Everything Kaz knew told him they were going the wrong way.

"Where are we going?" Kaz asked, his voice trembling with fear. A bead of sweat dripped from his chin as he glanced over at the driver, August--his boss's son.

August was a badly shaven asshole with a beer belly; Kaz couldn't think of anyone less qualified to be behind the wheel of this vehicle. Which, of course, raised the question--where was this man of all people taking Kaz? He should have been more skeptical when he got picked up, but August was just his father's lackey without a single ambitious bone in his body. Most times, he was just his father's driver. Kaz didn't think the man was capable of anything until it was too late.

August ignored his question and looked down at the fuel meter as he continued driving toward their destination. 

"August... Where are we going? This is the wrong part of town. We're not supposed to be here."

"So, why have you been hanging around here, Kaz?" August asked, a vein bulging along his temple. 

Kaz gulped as the blood drained from his face.

"You messed around too much, Kaz. We all know about it. Idiot," August said, accenting the final word with a plethora of curses. "You got us in hot water, Kaz. Giving that shit to the kids in this neighborhood? Sila's neighborhood?! Are you mad, Kaz?"

"I--no, I wasn't. It was just business--"

"Business under my dad's name, Kaz." August let go of the wheel and slammed his fist down on Kaz's head three times. 

Kaz yelled and begged for the heavy-fisted man to stop.

"Bastard. You're gonna sit there, and we're gonna fix this before you get all of us killed." August looked at Kaz and spat at him. That wad of phlegm and saliva hit the side of Kaz's face.

Kaz, pathetic and spineless, just grimaced and took it.

"You're lucky, Kaz. Lucky my dad's wanting to give you a shot."

That comment allowed Kaz a small reprieve. He let out a short breath and tried to calm down.

"Just sit tight, Kaz."

The two drove, but the further they went into this part of the city, the more Kaz's anxiety built up again.

"Hey, should we be going in this far? The authorities don't monitor these parts."

"Just sit tight, Kaz."

The pair drove into an empty lot filled with trash and cars. Kaz's heart raced when he saw the face of an infamous man on the other side of the lot. Kaz looked at August.

"Hey, wait! What's going on--why's he here?! Your father's giving me a second chance, isn't he?" Kaz begged, hoping against hope that this was all some sort of misunderstanding.

But August just sneered at him. "I lied, Kaz. Pops wanted to off you himself." August shrugged. "It's better for business if Sila gets her piece, 'ay, friend?"

Kaz's mouth dropped.

"I knew you'd understand--Oh?"

Kaz had pulled his pistol out and had it pointed at August.

"Kaz, don't be an idiot," August said, tensing up.

"It's your fault!" the panicked man shouted back.

Kaz pulled the trigger, but that was all he did. His heart racing, he stared at August in horror, who sneered back.

"Blasted bastard, aren't you?" He slapped the pistol out of Kaz's trembling and pathetically weak hands and laughed. "Kaz, you're so screwed, and everyone knew it. Your boys tampered with your pistol. That's why you don't just slap it and leave it on a table like an idjit! You messed up, Kaz!" 

August punched him in the side of the head again, with Kaz barely pulling back in time.

"I'm an 'idjit,' huh?"

Kaz pointed his right hand at August's head, a tiny gun popped out from his sleeve, there was a flash, and then a bang rang through the air. Blood spurted out of the freshly made bullet hole in August's temple. August, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, fell forward, collapsing onto the steering wheel.

The people in the lot--they ran up to the car as soon as they heard the bang. Kaz moved quickly and kicked August's body out of the car.

"Like hell are you bastards getting me!" Kaz yelled as he got into the driver's seat and peeled out of the lot. "No way! I was working hard! I was making a name for myself!" Kaz raved as he sped down the street. "This was my era!"

This man, with his fledgling fantasy of finance and power destroyed, was in flight. But they wouldn't just let him escape. The people in that lot were in pursuit. Kaz was being chased by four cars full of people that knew these streets better than he did.

Kaz cursed and screamed as he swerved around the few cars in the streets. He was going to have to get creative if he wanted to get away. Then he saw the sign indicating a local cinema. He gulped. He couldn't think straight anymore; fear had consumed him and driven him momentarily crazy. 

That street the cinema sat in wasn't so much a street but rather a wide walkway... There might have been people there but... if he executed the turn just right, he would be able to slip past the barricades and earn himself precious minutes. He looked in the rearview mirror and resolved himself.

"I'm not dying today, bastards!" he roared as he executed the turn.

That path he chose--there were all manners of stores and vendors along it. It was a popular spot for many. 

So, it was no surprise that the innocent people exiting the theatre and enjoying a night out started screaming when the car came barreling through, having slipped between barricades and the corner of the building.

The innocent people fortunate enough to see the car leaped out of the way and avoided danger. But then, time slowed down for Kaz as his eyes landed on three teenage girls and a smaller child looking at him like deer in headlights. They were frozen there and in the way of his car. Kaz had previously chosen to fight. Then, he chose flight. Now, as the children before him froze, Kaz's chest tightened. 

I'm not turning!

He locked eyes with one of them.

Get out of the way!

The teens were still frozen--of course they were--it was all happening in moments.

"Bitch! Get out of the way!" he roared as he barreled through the group, and their bodies slammed against his car. "Idjits!" as bodies banged against the roof of the car.

Kaz didn't look back. He just drove. He may have been hyperventilating, but it wasn't because of the children he just mowed over--no, he was already a dealer of childhood death. He didn't care about the younger generation. He just cared about whether or not he would get away. He drove and drove, swerving in and out, and taking back allies when he could. Only after ten minutes had passed did he look behind him.

"Ha!"

There was no one in pursuit.

"Yes! Yes! I did it--"

He, the raving lunatic that had taken his eyes off the road like an 'idjit,' crashed into the light pole at a T-intersection. The airbags deployed, slamming his head into the headrest, but otherwise, he was fine.

"Urgh..."

His head was to the side. When he opened his eyes, they landed on the backseat. There, he saw a black duffel bag.

"No way..."

He opened his door and fell out of the car. Instead of running away, he climbed into the backseat and opened the bag.

"Goddamn bastards..." Though he said that, he was smiling from cheek to cheek. "You were gonna pay up, huh... Well, go to Hell, Boss. I'm taking this as a 'Good-bye Gift.'"

Kaz took the duffel bag with nearly a million dollars within it and ran. He ran for hours, sneaking in and out of alleyways before finally stopping at nearly four in the morning. His back hit a wall, and he slid down to the ground, where he let out a breath.

"I'm not going to die. This is me. This is my life. Screw all of you. I'm going to win."

A cold wind blew through this alleyway as Kaz recalled his brilliant maneuver.

"Heh, that got 'em good."

A flyer came into the alleyway, riding on the wind. It hit Kaz on the side of his face. He, groaning, peeled it off and read it beneath the light of the streetlamp hanging above him.

"'Get lost for a weekend and find the Lost Village!'" Kaz grinned. ""A weekend of fun is a short bus strip away. Drop-ins welcome... The bus leaves from...""

Kaz let his head fall back as he let out a loud laugh.

"I win! I win! Yes!"

Kaz, running on adrenaline, and his mind encumbered by fear and exhaustion, decided he would leave town while on an inconspicuous bus tour. He would be hard to trace, and then, when the heat had died down, he would be free to move.

"Bus tour, here I come!"

 

***

 

Present time--

Kaz continued tugging on his leg as he cursed his own luck. Then, he heard another crack. This time, the crack was followed by a series of footsteps.

"Hey, is someone there?" he called into the mist.

A figure was becoming visible, much to his delight.

"Hey! You! I got my foot stuck! I need some help."

The atmosphere was getting chillier and chillier. Crows--ones far too obscured by mist--cawed.

"Hey!" Kaz yelled, sweat dripping from his forehead. "Say something!"

The figure stepped out from the mists--a woman in all black with golden eyes and jet-black hair.

"I saw you..." Kaz said, making out the woman's features. "You were one of those villagers..."

Kaz gulped. The way she was looking at him--she was reminding him of some of the most unpleasant people that haunted his nightmares.

"You've met with an unfortunate fate, haven't you, Kaz Kitanari?" she said, her voice as cold as ice. But then, her voice warmed. "But where there is misfortune for you, there is fortune for me."

"W-What?" Kaz asked.

"There's no one left for you to mow down as you make your escape this time, Kaz. There's just you, me, and the fate that led you here."