Hoping to hell he was correct, he circled the building, his heart drumming in his chest and his mind buzzing with this new information. Whatever Shinji conjured, other people could do it too and could hurt a living person. An invisible weapon he had no idea how to stop. Was this the killer? And was this the way the wire was wrapped? It would’ve explained the immense strength, precision and lack of fingerprints. He hadn’t seen Shinji moving objects the wind, but perhaps the user had some sort of way to make the wind do their bidding.
That was a scary thought. Was he going to turn back and find Shinji dead from something he couldn’t see? He took a breath struggling not to think about that. Shinji needed him focused.
The moment Teruo reached the side of the building, a loud wheeze reverberated from Shinji followed by coughs. The wind must’ve been interrupted. Teruo turned on his phone’s flashlight. There was no one here. He hadn’t even heard footsteps.
Fucking hell.Just thinking about it made Teruo’s skin crawl, but he wondered if their killer was in fact a ghost.
Teruo shook his head. There was no point in dwelling here. Shinji was weakened and alone. Whoever had done this could go after him again. Teruo hurried back and sighed in relief when he found Shinji still in one piece, though coughing. He was rubbing his neck with one hand, holding onto the laptop’s bag with the other.
“We need to leave,” Teruo said.
He picked up the laptop, then helped Shinji get up, holding his waist tight. Shinji was strangely well-balanced for someone who nearly got killed in a magic wind chokehold, but once again, cold like death. Teruo dragged him to the car, laying him on the back seat, then covered Shinji with his overcoat. A red mark lined Shinji’s throat which made Teruo’s blood boil.
“I’m fine…” Shinji muttered.
“No, you’re not. And I’m not letting you stay here alone tonight. You’re sleeping at my place.”
“Hotel…”
“No.” Teruo climbed in the driver seat. “You’ll stay with me until we find the fucker who did this to you.” He started the car and wheeled it out of the parking lot so quick, it screeched on the asphalt. “It’s a ghost, isn’t it? A ghost is doing the killings? And now is targeting you?”
“Not a ghost,” Shinji managed, his voice less strained. He sat up breathing in and out slowly.
Teruo looked at him through the rear view mirror. “Should we go to a hospital?”
“A doctor can’t help me with this.”
“Honestly, I thought you were choking on saliva or something. When you said ‘wind’ I just…” Teruo trailed off, glad he hadn’t hesitated at that moment. It could’ve cost Shinji his life.
“I knew you’d understand.” Shinji winked, despite it all.
“How the hell are you so calm?”
“I’m used to it. I’ve been attacked a few times in the past.”
Teruo’s mouth fell open. “Used to it? Shinji, please, you need to tell me what just happened. I can’t watch something like that and not know what to do.”
“The wind did it.” Shinji paused, then continued, “It’s calledreiryoku. Spiritual energy. Whoever it was, they used the spiritual energy to strangle me.”
“Reiryoku. Okay.” Teruo nodded, not even sure what it meant. “Shit. People can do this to others?”
“Yeah, though not to everybody. And it’s the samereiryokuI sensed at Ishida’s apartment and at the forensic medical center.”
“Wait, what?” Teruo exclaimed. “You said those were ghosts.”
“They were,” Shinji said, “but I think it was this person controlling them—maybe.” He lied back down, wrapping himself in Teruo’s overcoat.
“Shinji…” Teruo’s hand tightened on the steering wheel. He wanted to stop the car, climb in the back seat and cradle Shinji in his arms.
“I’d gladly tell you more, but this is all I got. It’s probably safe to assume the criminal has been following us this entire time or that there isn’t just one person involved and the criminal has an accomplice.”
“Why attack you suddenly?” Teruo asked. “Because you’ve got powers?”
“Possibly. If there’s a paranormal side to this, eliminating me would delay the investigation.”
They both remained quiet for the rest of the drive and, though still freezing cold, Shinji seemed a lot better by the time they entered Teruo’s house.
“Let’s get you into some comfortable clothes,” Teruo said helping Shinji up the stairs, toward the bedroom. “You’ll borrow whatever you need from me.”