Hearing the distant commotion that sounded almost like howling, Sonoko Suzuki, walking along the forest path, shrank back and anxiously looked around.
She was panicking now.
After Masahiko Michikyo had dragged her into the woods, she quickly recalled the part Tang Ze had been unable to finish.
The killer was skilled with a knife and at climbing trees, perhaps often involved in similar sports, and would have many marks on his palms.
Through the hand tightly gripping hers, she could clearly feel the roughness of Masahiko Michikyo's palm. Nearly every finger had prominent calluses at its base, scraping across the smooth back of her hand like several pieces of sandpaper.
The surroundings gradually grew darker and deeper. The shadows of the trees swayed, and with the voices and figures of the others gone from behind her, she felt increasingly unsafe. After asking Masahiko Michikyo twice where exactly he was taking her and getting no answer, she struggled with all her strength and broke free from his grip.
Masahiko Michikyo had turned around then, resentment written across his face. He seemed to have wanted to approach her and do something, but the panicked Sonoko dodged aside.
Yet after that brief passing, Masahiko Michikyo had vanished, leaving behind only the rustling of the bushes.
She had no time to investigate and fled the area as fast as she could. The result was that she became completely lost. She could neither find the others nor locate the way back to the road. Worse still, as she wandered in circles, she occasionally heard piercing sounds that might have been birds calling—or people screaming...
"Damn it, why does this always happen to me?" Sonoko muttered as her emotions piled up, tears gathering uncontrollably in her eyes. "I just wanted to find a handsome guy and