NOVEL NEXT Episode 9 - Nightmares of Days Past
Episode 9: Nightmares of Days Past
January 23rd.
…
The train thundered along its tracks.
Yellow warning signs were posted outside the guardrails, announcing upcoming route changes and maintenance work on the nearby train lines.
The tremors from above, falling cement dust, and sharp noise… for the people living here, this had become the norm.
Under the overpass was where the unemployed and homeless, those at society’s lowest rung, made their home.
River water seeped through the damp soil. Several people in tattered clothes lay on the soft grass.
Among them, a tall, gaunt man leaned motionless against the wall, his face covered by old newspapers, appearing as if dead.
But no one paid him any attention.
Passersby on the bridge would occasionally glance down, but do nothing. Even his fellow homeless didn’t care—this was simply the kind of life where “death wouldn’t be surprising” or where one was “no different from the dead.”
…
After a while, he slowly emerged from his hibernation-like rigidity.
The newspaper slipped from the man’s face.
Beneath was a weathered countenance that had seen much hardship. Otsuka Ken was only thirty, but to others, he could have passed for forty or fifty.
Right now, Otsuka Ken’s mind was clear, but for most of the day, his mental state dwelled in a chaotic and dangerous realm.
Moreover, his body’s peculiarities easily drew others’ curiosity and stares. This could cause unnecessary trouble, so he had to conceal his presence, staying in places that wouldn’t attract attention.
But that voice… was coming again.
He couldn’t help but tremble.
It was an unsettling voice that brought back nightmares of days past. But because of his promise with someone, even if he couldn’t resist committing crimes, even if he wanted to flee Tokyo to escape the police… he had to stay nearby, couldn’t leave.
In this state, if he saw “that” again, he would surely lose control and fall into another frenzied urge to kill.
…However.
Nothing. There was nothing.
No police were pursuing him.
Otsuka Ken bought newspapers every day and watched TV in shopping centers: not a single media outlet had mentioned the innocent passerby he had killed.
But he had definitely killed someone. And in his deranged state, he wouldn’t have had the presence of mind to dispose of the body—discovery was only a matter of time.
Which meant…
Someone had covered up his murder.
And Otsuka Ken was well aware that concealing his crimes… wasn’t part of their agreement.
Although it seemed like a good thing, this abnormal situation did nothing to put his mind at ease.
Soon, this premonition of unease from within became reality.
He had heard it from his collaborator.
This city was where “she” lived.
Even though no one could find the woman living in the shadows, through commonly used server IPs and gateway addresses, they could roughly determine which city “she” now lived in.
Although they had met only once, eight years ago, she had left an incredibly deep impression on Otsuka Ken, still appearing in his nightmares…
The smiling girl.
This time, he might… be killed.
No, in the worst case, he might…
Otsuka Ken curled up, trembling slightly, unsure if it was from the cold near the water or the fear permeating his heart.
***
Otsuka Ken often recalled a certain scene.
It was a time between late summer and early autumn, when the weather turned cool and cicada songs were fading.
After killing his fifth victim, covered in blood, he had unfortunately encountered patrolling police not far from the crime scene.
Although they hadn’t discovered the body yet, it was only a matter of time.
The only fortunate thing was that the police didn’t seem to notice him. Even though there were only two of them, Otsuka Ken had no thought of resistance, only running in the opposite direction.
Sprinting wildly, Otsuka Ken quickly exhausted himself. Panting heavily as he rushed through streets and alleys, he realized that in his panic, he had gotten lost in this unfamiliar place.
He could faintly hear police sirens behind him. The sound made his legs tremble constantly, and it wasn’t far away.
Next would come the scene cordoning, deployment of search parties. And someone like him, suspicious from any angle, would definitely be arrested.
…He had to find a way out of his current predicament.
That’s when he saw it.
At the end of the road, beneath luxuriant tree branches and an ancient building, stood a slender figure.
Otsuka Ken decided to rest there.
“Help me…”
Hearing his plea for help, the little girl who came around the large tree widened her dark eyes in surprise.
Looking closely, she was a young girl in a pure white dress. Her tender and delicate figure, like a quietly blooming flower bud, evoked sympathy.
Otsuka Ken, realizing she was just a young girl, immediately felt relief.
He quickly begged her.
“I’m… I’m being chased by bad people, I’m badly hurt… can you help me?”
A child this age should be easy to fool, he thought. If he could deceive her and get into her house, the searching police wouldn’t find him. If necessary, he could also take her hostage.
But things didn’t develop as he imagined. The young girl tilted her head, just staring at him intently without moving.
“What… what is it…”
The long silence made Otsuka Ken uneasy.
Then, she smiled gently.
“You’re lying.”
The girl’s innocent smile reflected in the man’s pupils.
“Mister, you’re lying, aren’t you?”
…
Their subsequent conversation lasted only a few minutes, but it left him deeply shaken, his body rigid and unable to move.
At that time, Otsuka Ken only instinctively felt her smile was familiar, but didn’t know why.
It wasn’t until after he was imprisoned that he remembered where he had seen… an expression so remarkably similar to the smile on that girl’s face.
One day in the past, when Otsuka Ken was passing through a city street, he had inadvertently witnessed a scene.
It was the innocent yet cruel smile that appeared on children’s faces as they poured boiling water into an ant nest at the base of a tree, watching with joy as the weak creatures struggled in their death throes.