Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Silent Spirit ❯ Waking up to a Nightmare ( Prologue )

Silent Spirit

Prologu: Waking up to a Nightmare

A screeching sound greeted my ears, my world felt out of balance as it went topside up. Something had pushed me, but I didn't know what. And for a while, I felt like I was sleeping, floating in a dreamless haze until a voice spoke to me, calling out to me.

"Young lady, are you alright. Can you hear me?" The voice was muffled at first, but it was what pulled me out of this unconscious state. When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the sight of a man dressed in what must've been a business suit. Once I sat up and groaned, he let out a sigh of relief and more voices spoke.

"Call an ambulance! Hurry!"

"I didn't... I didn't mean to--! I'm sorry!"

I was vaguely aware of the crowd that formed around us and the fact that I was sitting in the middle of the road didn't help my confusion. It wasn't until I rubbed my eyes that I felt something wet and sticky on the palms of my hands. As soon as I looked at my palms, I saw splotches of blood on them. My heart skipped a beat before going into a rapid rhythm as panic gripped me. Finally, I saw the pool of blood on the road, the puddle dripping from the head of a boy lying unconscious on his side. It was as though he had been hit. But how?

Gelled back black hair that was now messy and caked with blood, and a green school uniform. Only one person I knew looked like that. My body froze as his Cheshire grinning face came into my mind, his brown eyes shining with laughter and that mischievous nature he was known for. I teared up at this. It felt like my throat was tightening up as I reached out to touch him, but the man who had woken me up just grabbed me to hold me back.

"Young lady, please! Just calm down!"

But I struggled, my voice coming out as nothing more than a squeak. As the man's arms went around my middle, panic settled in my body and without thinking, or maybe I was following the advice someone had given me once, I bit down on the man's arm. Sinking my teeth into his arm didn't break the skin or draw any blood, but it did force him to release me. The instant I felt him do so, I stumbled towards the unconscious boy, crawling on my hands and knees towards him. My entire body ached (most likely from having been pushed out of the way of a speeding car) and I could feel my head throbbing painfully, but I pushed through the pain and reached for him again.

He wasn't quite so warm but he wasn't exactly cold either. It was as though all the warmth was leaving his body, leaving nothing behind, but a cold hollow void inside. I tried to shake him like I always did when I woke him up in the morning. I couldn't very well scream at him. I mean how could I when I had no voice? Besides, even if I had one, there was no waking the dead, not without knowing if the spirit of the dead was nearby.

"Poor girl,"

"Must've been her boyfriend..."

The voices kept talking, people in the crowd whispering to themselves and to each other, but none of them, but the man I had bit the arm of, tried to comfort me. The man I bit had only tried to stop me once, only to give up after I bit him. No one made an attempt to even stop me anymore. Many thoughts filled my head, many of them childish and angry (of course they were angry, he tried saving me from being run over like the idiot I was--)

He broke his promise!

You killed him!

No, I didn't! He's just sleeping! ... isn't he...?

He's dead. A cold voice whispered in the back of my mind, making me freeze in mid-motion. I was still on my knees, in the middle of the street, surrounded by a crowd of horrified people, and throughout it all, five words kept repeating themselves in my mind, in my heart.

He's dead. You killed him!

I honestly didn't know how to feel anymore as I teared up again and cried even harder, burying my face into his shoulder, willing him to wake up and just laugh at how much of a crybaby I was for thinking he was dead. It'd be just like him to do that.

Everything became a blur after that, but what really stuck out in my mind were the paramedics who came, one checked on a little boy I had almost forgotten was nearby. Another of the paramedics checked me over as well, gingerly moving my head from side to side and feeling for any injuries on my arms and legs but I came back to attention when they neared the unconscious boy. I watched as someone checked for a pulse and even rummaged through his pockets, looking for any sign of identification, a wallet maybe.

"Well, this one's dead. Poor kid." Said the Paramedic that had just finished going through his pockets. Another paramedic just sighed and shook their head, only to notice me staring.

"What about the girl?"

"Just like with the little boy, a few scratches, but otherwise she's fine." The paramedic that checked me out just chuckled (more like forced himself to chuckle to keep the mood light no doubt) as he rubbed the top of my head. My body froze at the motion, fear, and sadness coming back again. The only one who rubbed my head like that was my twin brother, and he's...

His body was gently turned over, giving me a sight of the blood that stained his green school jacket and the white shirt underneath. He was then placed on a stretcher, only to be carried off to the ambulance.

"Listen, kiddo, do you have a name?" Asked the Paramedic kneeling before me. It was as though time started up again and I was catching up with it. Everything suddenly came into focus and for the first time, I noticed the red car that had run me and my brother over, and the driver and his girlfriend giving some of the nearby police officers their account of what happened. The paramedic in front of me looked to be in his forties, he looked old enough to be my father actually. From the soft worrisome look in his eyes, I could tell he had kids as well. He frowned at me only nodding, creases showing on his forehead as his eyes narrowed.

"Can't you speak?" He asked.

I shook my head halfheartedly. Before he could ask anything else, someone spoke.

"Natsumi Urameshi, Sarayashiki Junior High."

My body became rigid at hearing someone reading that out loud. I could only guess that someone had found my school bag.(Well I was holding it when I dashed out to get the boy out of the road and then Onii--)

Seeing the reaction on my face, the paramedic rose to full height and the nearby cop that had found my school bag handed it to him. The top flap was open, revealing my name, address and whatever else was of importance on the underside of it ( That was her idea, Keiko was always thinking ahead it seems. Keiko... ). The man finally read the information himself and his attention was focused back on me.

"Natsumi-san." He said almost in a questioning tone as if to verify my identity. I just nodded again, and just like that, everything became a blur again and all I could feel was a stabbing guilt piercing my heart, no, it pierced my soul. It wasn't long before someone helped me to my feet, guiding me to the ambulance that would take me to the hospital, it was the very ambulance that contained my brother's dead body. The only thing I could think about on the way was, how did this begin? And why did it happen and it soon became clear to me what happened earlier this afternoon...