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After a long term full of exams and lectures, Izuku and friends decided to go on a fun trip for break. They got a brochure in an e-mail advertising a luxury resort in the mountainside. Spas, cafes, and inns included. Scraping some money together from a part-time job, Izuku bought a ticket.
Everyone split into twos and headed for their destination. Shoto offered to be his travel partner and after throwing their luggage in the trunk, they drove off. Music blares from the radio, while Shoto looks out the window. It’s a foggy day yet the fall colors are lively and striking. Out here in the country, there isn’t much around for miles, except wide open skies and land that seems to stretch on forever.
“I’m surprised you wanted to go on the trip,” laughter tints Izuku’s voice. “I didn’t think it’d be your thing.”
Shoto answered tonelessly. “I’m tired of going on those cruises –it’s nothing more but a way for Dad to extract money from other rich guys. The foods good but it’s lacking excitement.”
“Really? I’d sell an arm or a leg to go.”
Todoroki smiles handsomely. “I’m sure I’ll have more fun with you and the others. It’ll be the first time I actually had fun.”
Their conversations die down to peaceful silence. Shoto’s reading some horror comics and Izuku is keeping his eyes diligently on the road. It’s getting harder to see further down the path. Even the powerful headlights can’t cut through.
Then, things start getting worse.
The car slowly loses speed and starts crawling. Sputtering and coughing like an old man in lurches forward before giving up entirely. The engine mutters pitifully and then goes quiet.
“Great,” Izuku sighed. The car had to break down at the worst time, didn’t it? The vehicle is old but has been dependable through snow and storms. It showed no signs of damage before, so what’s wrong?
Checking the gauges, Izuku sees that they still have a half tank left. He’s no mechanic, but he’ll see what needs to be done to fix the car. Swinging the car door open he jumps out and asks Shoto to grab a flashlight from the trunk. Popping the lid open, Izuku stares at the internal metalwork, baffled. It’s not as easy as changing a tire, that’s for sure.
“I can’t figure out what’s wrong,” Izuku’s voice rings metallically, his mind busy on working out a solution. “I’ll have to call someone –or a towing service. And tell the others that we’re going to be late.”
He tries contacting a service on the phone but no one picks up. Not even their friends. Or he just gets bad reception, their voices too mangled to make out clearly. “No internet either.”
“No internet,” Shoto echoes. Even his phone can’t connect.
“This is bad,” Shoto muttered.
“Why?” Izuku had turned back to the car again, fumbling around uselessly.
Normally, Shoto is calm and coolheaded. It takes a lot to get him panicked. But he feels his throat starting to get scratchy, needles brushing along his spine, and a trickling of dread.
Paranoia sinks in. Every tree in the distance is narrow and distorted –could it be a maniac or cryptid, waiting to attack? Shoto’s breath hitches in his throat. “What if there’s something out there?”
Izuku gives him a “are you serious?” look.
He walks over to the trunk and grabs a map. It’s old and dusty but out in the country, much doesn’t change, or so Izuku hoped. Many people only rely on GPS but he knows technology can go out at any moment, so he liked packing supplies that would be helpful. Like now.
Shoto and Izuku look at the map. The green-haired man draws a finger across the page. “A garage! It isn’t far from here either. An hour walk maybe. Can you stay and watch the car while I-”
“I want to go with you! What if something happens and you get hurt? I don’t trust the fog –or more likely, I don’t trust what can be out in the fog.”
Midoriya blushed. What’s gotten into Shoto? “I don’t think there’s any danger. But if you really want to, we can go find that garage together.”
The quiet din is unnerving. And every step leads them into thicker woods. Izuku trembles, feeling cold wrap itself around him in an icy shawl. He looks up at the taller man in shock when Shoto drapes his jacket over his shoulders.
“Thanks, Shoto.”
“Freezing to death would be a painful way to die, wouldn’t it, Midoriya?”
How long have we been out here? Izuku wondered. Their phones said that only thirty minutes have passed but it sure felt like they’ve been walking for hours. They never changed course either, always staying in a straight line.
“This is just like that movie. You know the one? The Blair Witch Project.” Shoto’s deep voice startled Izuku. Their voices bounce eerily around in the fog, sounding garbled.
“You think curses like that exist? That we’ll lose the map, get lost, and die?”
“We’re not going to lose the map. And you seriously like those movies? They’re so tacky.”
Izuku takes seven steps, inhales, exhales. His voice is shaky. “Besides. All forests look the same. The garage should be close.” But it sounded empty, a faint hint of hopelessness.
The fluffy-haired man tries not to panic.
“You think we’ll see Mothman? Greys? Zombies?”
One of them must remain sensible. “In Japan?” What is Shoto’s obsession with American film and cryptozoology? Izuku sighed.
Thirteen steps. “What about serial killers or crazy people? It’d be the perfect place to ambush us, hack us up, and drag us back to their hideouts to torture-”
“We can outrun them, Shoto. Or I can hit them with the flashlight. It’s heavy. Sturdy.”
Cryptids are merely silly myths to Izuku but he can’t shake the feeling that maybe something sinister is really out there.
A small blob slowly shapes into a recognizable structure. It’s a garage. Izuku smiles and runs to it. The white warm humming lights are a safe haven to him. And the sooner they can get out of these strange woods, the better.
“Might as well buy some snacks while we’re here,” Shoto mutters. His panic vanished completely, probably thanks to some semblance of modern civilization. He disappears into a row of shelves and freezers while Izuku heads over to the counter.
The only person working at the gas station is a grungy-looking guy dressed in a backwards cap, an oil-stained jumpsuit, gloves, and weary eyes coupled with bags. Overworked and underpaid, obviously. Or lazy and uncaring.
“Hi,” Izuku cleared his throat. Was he getting a cold? “I need-”
“Run out of gas? Happens to most folks who are driving this way.”
“No. I need my car repaired. The engine died and the car won’t start. It’s down in the woods.”
The mechanic sighed as if Izuku asked him to do the impossible. “Alright. Let me grab my tools.” He vanishes out a back door into the garage. Izuku sits outside on the bench with Shoto and waits for the mechanic to return.
“I don’t trust the guy,” Shoto says between sips of slush drink.
“He’s our only way out of here.” Izuku goes through a bag of chips and snacks on a candy bar. “It’ll be over soon.”
“Funny,” he snorted. “I feel like our misfortunes have only begun. I knew I should’ve listened to Uraraka’s tarot reading.”
The mechanic follows languidly behind Izuku and Shoto. They eventually reach the car –to find it in a worse state. Opening the tool box, the guy crouches down by the car and says, “You do realize this is more than a breakdown? The-”
“The tires have been slashed,” Izuku breathed. His heart started racing and his voice shakes fearfully. “Somebody messed with the car while we were-”
Wild cackling startles Izuku and Shoto. They don’t even have time to react when a man dressed in a mask and magician’s clothing comes out of the woods and lunges with a sword. The blade sinks into the hood, near the headlights.
“A sword? If he’s a magician I thought he’d have a saw or a deck of cards.”
“Not now, Todoroki! We have to-” Izuku’s voice and bravery clamps down into his throat when he sees the maniac swing the sword and cut down the mechanic. A wave of blood flies into the air and the man drops with a loud thud. Izuku and Shoto run for their lives.
Breath ragged and hearts racing they stagger into the woods. They almost collide with giant trees or trip as they try to get distance from the killer chasing them. Izuku looks behind him to see a floating white mask mockingly smiling at their futile escape.
“Midoriya!”
Izuku feels nothing below his legs and too late he realizes that he’s careening into a clearing. His face strikes stony earth, and his body rolls down a steep hill, getting sliced by braches, rocks, and the ground.
Fear and his own voice taunts Izuku’s cowardice. We can outrun them, Shoto. Or I can hit them with the flashlight.
Tears sting his eyes and burn his face.
Why? Why am I so terrified?!
Shoto quickly scales down the hill and helps Izuku stand. “Midoriya! Don’t worry, I’ll protect you!”
Another figure emerges from the foggy woods from the opposite side. It isn’t Magician Man but someone just as terrifying. This shorter guy is dressed in war clothes, a gas mask with red-lensed goggles, and a helmet. Smoke puffs out of complex tubing and wires. Is he the one making the fog?
In a heartbeat the guy drew a gun and fired. Shoto shields Izuku and takes a bullet to his chest. Blood splatters on earth, turning it crimson. The metal-scented blood mixes with the sulfur-like stink of the mist. Such a smell softens up even the strongest bravery.
“I…won’t let…you hurt Midoriya!”
“Over your dead body?” Army Man laughed. “I’m afraid I’ll have to kill you anyway. It’ll be fun, seeing your boyfriend cry while you bleed out.”
“No!”
Izuku tries to stand but his mind is nothing but fluff and fizz. His limbs are weak, heavy, and useless. Army Man kicks Shoto, the deafening strikes louder than thunder. Izuku turns around, sensing danger, and sees Magician Man wielding his sword, the blade eerily gleaming in the light.
It’s hard to fight when your senses are failing. And being inured doesn’t help either. Izuku swings his flashlight, missing twice, but the third hits Magician Man. Metal slices his skin, and a wound appears across Izuku’s arm and shoulder. Agonizing pain recovers his dulled mind, spurring him into action. He goes to disarm Magician Man when he hears a loud bang.
Army Man screams and slumps over, smoke rising from a bullet wound. The fog quickly clears and Izuku tackles Magician Man, the weapon landing far from the killer.
“Don’t move. You two are under arrest!” The mechanic slides down from the hill and cuffs the two killers, securing them from counterattacking. Izuku’s vision flickers, darkness incasing woods. The mechanic kneels down by him and punches a needle into his arm. Izuku inhales sharply, and fades to unconsciousness while hearing ambulance sirens approaching.
The two sit in the back of an ambulance as medics examine them. They’d be fine and by morning, should be at the resort. The mechanic discards his disguise. Izuku smiles, recognizes a friend.
“Shinsou!”
Hitoshi smiled. He tried to wave but his injury hindered movement. Thanks to the armor underneath, it wasn’t fatal. “Thanks to you I was able to catch those guys.”
“Thanks to you we’re alive,” Shoto said.
“But what are you doing out here?”
The purple-haired man sighed. Man, I could go for a cup of coffee right now. “I’m a detective. I went undercover to search for Mr. Compress and Mustard. Those two are bandits who create a fog in forests near roads where people drive to steal their belongings. They’re part of an underground organization called the League of Villains. That fog makes people paranoid or weak. Thankfully I got to you guys in time with antidotes. It’s as deadly as a neurotoxin.” He yawned and started walking away. “Your car should be repaired.”
“Thanks, Hitoshi.”
“Send me a souvenir and we’ll call it even.”
The ride to the resort was peaceful, but Izuku and Shoto couldn’t shake a lingering fear of what had happened in the woods. Next time, they’ll book a flight or take a longer route to get to their destination.