Dangerous Souls

Secrets

"Mai? Are you okay?" Ayako asked her as she continued to sway.

"Mai, Earth to Mai?" Monk called, waving a hand in front of her face, but she was too focused on the paused video.

"Is she possessed?" John found himself asking.

Naru stood up and looked into her glazed eyes, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Mai?" he asked just as her eyes closed and she passed out and into her boss's arms.

"Mai!"

***

Nothing. There was nothing around her, just like her dream from before. A melody came again, same as before, only it sounded so sad. Not warm and inviting. She felt like she wanted to cry.

Words slowly came into her head, but she forgot them easily. They just couldn't stick. Hearing her name being called, she tried to follow the familiar voice, but her mind and body wouldn't move. She couldn't form any words. It was like she was paralyzed.

The melody seemed to stick in her head as she simply floated there, unable to do a thing. So helpless. So dependent for something to stop this. So...weak. Yeah, that's how she felt. Too weak to stop this sadness. Too weak to get over it herself. Too weak to stand back up. It was a horrible feeling, she just wanted wake up from this feeling.

The voices singing became louder and sadder, as if they were almost crying. It was so jumbled the words slipped her memory yet again as she fought off this never ending feeling. She felt her struggles seem to give as she could finally squirm. She had to get out! Someone help her!

***

September Day 2, 1:00 P.M.

"Mai. Mai. Are you going to wake up or what?" a certain monk's voice rang through the air just before the little brunette shot from her spot on the couch. "Easy there."

Mai was gasping for breath, finally registering the others in the room. Monk being the closest to her, she latched onto him first, wanting to cry but the tears just wouldn't come. She held him tight, her hands shaking as she gripped him. "Hey, you okay?" he asked concernedly, wrapping his larger arms around her and stroking her hair.

Mai didn't move from her spot, clinging to Monk as though her life depended on it, hoping that feeling of sadness and dread would just disappear. It wouldn't and that melody just came into her head again.

"What is she singing?" a familiar voice questioned from across the room. Yasuhara and Masako must have come when she was still asleep.

"I...I was singing?" Mai asked finally snapping out of her trance. She saw the whole SPR group standing around her, a mystified Naru making his way to sit on the ottoman across from the confused girl.

"Mai, did you have a dream?" Mai nodded, letting go of Monk and facing her boss.

"Yeah, I had one last night two, they were almost exactly the same..." she went into a description of her dream.

"Do you remember the words to that song?" Ayako asked, sitting next to her. "You were humming that same melody before you passed out."

"I was?" Mai was bewildered, she didn't remember humming at all! When the majority of the team nodded their heads, she could only sigh. "I don't remember the words, each time I hear them, I can't grasp them. Whoever was singing was so sad."

"Lin, play the audio from last night," Naru ordered as his assistant did so.

Everyone listened as the audio came to the part where Jinru was levitating. "What is that?" John asked, as everyone heard the sound of a man singing, the words becoming muffled in the speakers.