Before It's Too Late

Gone

“A girl was found dead in her home. Her right eye was gouged out and found lying beside her. The autopsy report revealed that the inside of her throat had been cut with something sharp. The analysis team believes that those throat wounds occurred after her death. For her privacy, her name will not be released. Our prayers are with that family.”

The TV was promptly turned off.

“They didn’t even say if they had any leads…”

“Ran…”

“Why aren’t they talking about finding out who did it? Thoughts won’t do anything!” Ran slammed her hands down onto the coffee table with a lot of force.

“Ran, calm down. I know it’s tough… but, yelling about it won’t change anything. Just take a deep breath.” Tomoe did her best to intervene before Ran did any damage to herself.

She had already cut her hands by accident from another outburst earlier. They really didn’t need to end up going to the hospital because she was upset. They’d like to just stay at home.

“I just want answers… why did she have to die? Why her?” Why Moca…?” Ran whispered, her eyes filling up with tears again.

“I wish we knew… but, for now, we just have to keep moving forward. We can’t let this stop us from doing anything. I know you just want to mope around, but it’ll make you feel worse.” Himari said as she handed Ran another tissue.

It wasn’t that the other three girls weren’t upset as well. It was just that Ran was closer to Moca. And, that she felt like she had failed her. Ran regretted that night.

Moca had texted her, saying she felt like someone was in her house that shouldn’t be. It wasn’t uncommon for Moca to play pranks like that. Ran brushed it off, thinking nothing of it. But, Moca started texting more about it, causing Ran to realize it definitely wasn’t a joke. But, when she arrived, it was too late.

The scene haunted her. Ran wished she could erase it from her memory. The sight of the murder scene was horrible. Moca was laying on the floor, her face forever frozen in an expression of sheer terror. Her missing eye was tossed across the room. There was blood everywhere. Ran had barely managed not throwing up or blacking out.

“It’s getting late. Why don’t we go to bed?” Tsugumi suggested.

“Yeah. That’s a good idea.” Himari and Tomoe agreed.

Ran said nothing. She was just blankly staring at the ground.

“Come on, Ran. Let’s head up to bed.” Tomoe nudged her slightly.

They were all hanging out at Ran’s. They were worried about leaving her alone. So, they decided to stay together for a little bit.

Ran gave Tomoe a very slight nod. She stood up and walked away. Tomoe sighed and went after her. Himari and Tsugumi looked at each other before they followed.

…

Moca hated that she couldn’t do anything. She was stuck watching her friends suffer. She hated being dead. She couldn’t do anything but stare and wish she could comfort them all.

Even if she did touch them, they just felt cold. No one pieced together that the cold was her. They just assumed it was a draft. Moca couldn’t figure out how to do anything else. She tried picking things up, but it didn’t work. She couldn’t make herself appear even for a split second. She was stuck in a world they couldn’t see.

Moca sighed and left them be. She decided to go and check on what her killer was up to. She was just one of hundreds of his victims. Moca knew she probably wasn’t the last on his list. But, she was determined to make sure he couldn’t get anyone else. She’d do everything in her power to protect his next target from death.

Moca found him in his hideout as always. She sighed. Why did this guy feel like he needed to do this? What was the point? She couldn’t figure that out no matter what she saw. He was still as mysterious as always. Nothing had changed. He still was a mystery. No one could link him to anything. He was good at hiding his tracks.

Moca knew two things about him. One, he only targeted guitarists. Two, he posed as a producer to get these people alone. Moca had been approached by him, but she had declined. It had made no difference to him. He still killed her in the end.

Moca watched him carefully. He seemed to be drawing up a plan. She needed to know who he was planning to go after next. She needed enough time to warn them. Even if she wasn’t quite sure how to warn them. She really didn’t know how to be a ghost.

“Boss? You finish planning it yet?” The guy’s assistant came into the room.

“Almost. Just have to figure out how to approach her. But, that won’t be too hard. Soon enough, I’ll have another one dead.” The killer smiled.

“Who are you targeting again?”

Moca was glad the assistant was forgetful. Now she could learn who it was as well. Otherwise, she wasn’t sure how she’d have found it out. He never wrote down their names. He just knew.

“Hikawa Sayo.” The killer replied, “I believe that band that she’s in is getting too popular. I don’t approve.”

Moca gulped. She now knew three things. He also targeted those in popular bands only. Now, she had a very important task. She needed to somehow tell Sayo what was going to happen and make sure she didn’t get killed.

That was definitely going to be harder done than said. She had no idea where to even begin. How could she tell Sayo anything when she couldn’t appear before her and talk. Could she somehow manage otherwise? She wasn’t sure.

Moca wasn’t sure what to do, so she decided to go visit her grave for a bit. Sitting there usually helped her think. As sad as it was to be sitting by her own grave, that is. Moca hated looking at it, but it also helped her a little. She did have to come to terms with being dead. Seeing her grave sometimes helped with that.