Chereads / Psychic Hunter: Shiro / Chapter 6 - Sand Worm

Chapter 6 - Sand Worm

Eiko finally got up from her two feet, while preparing to leave. As she stood up she felt something that felt like a hand grab onto her left leg. When she felt it, she immediately jumped up while shrieking, however, the hand prevented her from escaping the ground.

It then suddenly pulled her into the sand, causing her entire body to be submerged, all the way up to her waist. As she gets sucked into the ground she panics while thinking, "What's going on?? Is this how I'm going to die??"

She tried to scream for help, and thankfully a family of four 4 heard her cries. There was a tall and muscular male, a smaller woman that seemed to be the wife and two even smaller children next to them. They all looked foreign, perhaps they were from America?

The man seeing, her half-buried in the sand, sprints towards her without hesitation. As he did, Eiko suddenly felt the hand that was around her leg disappear.

The man quickly grabbed both her hands to help pull her, releasing her from the clutches of the earth successfully. The man spoke in English which she struggled to understand, however, she could tell that this person introduced himself as Fredrick.

Fredrick said nervously, "Konnichiwa"

His Japanese wasn't that good but Eiko understood that he was trying to be polite. She responded with her crude English, "Thank you."

As the wife approached the two she carried a white bag that seemed to be filled with bottles of water. She pulled one while throwing it to the husband, who quickly offered it to Eiko.

She said "Thank you" once again, while taking only a small sip of it. Before the wife could fully reach the two she suddenly sank into the ground as well. By the time Fredrick reached her, she had only sunk to her knees, letting him save her just in time.

Despite her panicking Eiko thought, "Just now I felt a hand grab my leg. Was it a person? But that shouldn't be possible."

The two children who stood much further away slowly approached their parents, but as they did, one of the children suddenly sank into the sand. Fredrick seeing this shouted a gut-wrenching, "NO."

Before he could reach his other child it was too late, they had been abducted as well. 

Eiko seeing this, instantly backed away from the two while still gripping onto the torn armband and water bottle. The wife who stood next to her was then quickly pulled into the sand as well, which made Fredrick scream even louder. But even then he still continued to dig in the sand for his children.

That was when a pair of hands grabbed onto him. They then pulled his entire body into the ground, forcing him to go in head first.

Eiko seeing this ran further and further away back onto the beaches shoreline, where the sea water touched her feet.

She then fell onto the ground as her legs had given out from fear. The people that she had called upon for help were now dead. Thinking that she could still call for help she quickly felt her pockets for her phone. Yet it wasn't there. Whatever had been lurking in that ground was smart enough to steal her phone while she was submerged.

Eiko then took heavy breaths before calming down. "I was prepared to die 3 days ago. Im not afraid to let death have me now."

As she closed her eyes and waited for her turn, she felt nothing. Eventually 5 minutes past and still there was nothing.

Feeling the cold and wet ocean surround her she finally stood up while shouting, "What the hell is going on?? Did it leave?"

The second she stepped off the shoreline, however, she felt a hand grab onto her leg once again. It pulled her into the sand, but it quickly let go. In her confusion, she quickly backed away.

Eiko then thought, "That grip, it was definitely a hand... it was definitely human! How is it staying underground for so long? And why hasn't it killed me yet?"

She then thought back to the previous day and concluded, "This thing has powers like Shiro and the Weatherman. This person must be able to exist underground for extended periods of time. But for some reason, it cannot attack me right now?"

She compared her situation to before she was attacked. She then reached an epiphany, "It doesn't interact well with liquids? Im standing on the shoreline of this beach, which is soaked with sea water. Whatever this person's power is prevents it from being able to go through wet objects, hence it can't reach me as I am right now. In this scenario, the ocean is no longer my enemy but my ally!"

Meanwhile on the enemies side

A man wearing what seemed to be a purple skin suit shouted, "DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT. THAT BITCH FIGURED OUT MY TRAITS WEAKNESS???? SHE IS JUST A NORMAL HUMAN!"

This person's name was Antonio Fernandez. He came from Italy on holiday alone. He had no friends or family making him a complete loner. He lived his life normally until late last night when a man called Asclepius broke into his hotel room. He gave him a single pill that he promised would grant Antonio psychic powers. Since Antonio was bored of his life he took the pill from the stranger and gained the trait to swim through solid surfaces as if it was liquid, except for liquids itself. The pill's effects would only last about one hour though, which he quickly realized. Asclepius then said,

"If you want more, then I need you to use your trait to take out a certain person for me."

Antonio had power that separated him from normal people, and he would rather die than let an opportunity pass by him like this. He would not hesitate to kill even children if it meant that he could keep these powers.

"I killed that family nearby because they were going to get in the way. I had to kill those children first, so I could draw the big man away from the women. I can tell who is who by using the vibrations that spread underground when they move, but once they hold still they become invisible to me. If that girl stays on the coastline any longer, I'm going to go onto land and kill her myself! I don't care if other people see me, if the drug effects wear off my life will be finished anyway."

He then felt the vibrations of young girl run above him. As he smiled with glee, he quickly swam up expecting to finish his target once and for all. As he emerged from the sand however, he was met with Eiko who still held that water bottle from earlier in her hands.

The contents spilled onto Antonio causing him to lose the ability to sink back into the sand. Eiko grabbed onto his arm, quickly pulling him up from the ground below.

She then said, "Shiro was able to fight so valiantly just to protect me. I won't allow myself to be killed by scum like you!"

Clenching her fist she delivered a powerful punch to Antonios' skull, shattering her arm, but also knocking him out successfully as he bled from his nose.

As she breathed heavily in relief she thought, "That hurt... I need to get to the hospital quickly..."