Chapter 1
Inside a dark room.
As he opens his eyes, he thinks he is still in the dream. This place...
His eyes finally adjust to the darkness. This is a living room, but why is he here? Isn"t he supposed to be sleeping in his bedroom?
He senses something strange. Like something is staring at him from above. A feeling so realistic, as if he can hear the sound of its breathing from above.
Something"s up there and it"s close.
But he"s too scared to lift his head. This is absurd. If it"s someone from behind, it may be his parents, but above... how can there be someone above?
He wants to say something, any noise will help alleviate the fear. Yet somehow he can"t utter a word, as if something"s stuck in his throat.
Then he feels an urge to p.i.s.s. he wants to go to the toilet, but he can"t move his body. The urge is getting stronger.
That thing above, if it"s a real thing, what"s it doing? Looking at me? The fear grows stronger as his heart beats faster.
His eyes has totally adjusted to the darkness. He can see the whole room. But what he sees gives him gooseb.u.mps all over his body. At the same time he feels a warm sensation below.
How can this be...no, this is a dream! His pupils enlarge and he opens his mouth wide. But there is no sound. As if he is being manipulated like a doll. No, maybe he did become a doll.
He can"t understand. This is too real, and too horrifying. He realizes...
Ah. No, this should just be a dream.
He closes his eyes.
Wake up! Wake up from this nightmare! So he prays. But then he senses that thing is coming over to him. No, this is impossible!
If he opens his eyes, he will know if there"s anyone in front of him, or perhaps any thing. And if there isn"t anything, then it is a misperception. Perhaps if he opens his eyes, he is still sleeping in that warm bed.
But... what if it"s real?
That feeling is getting stronger. That thing almost touching his face. No, impossible...
Is it breathing on his face? No, it"s likely wind. He didn"t make sure the window was closed.
Calm down. Stay cool. The he feels a drop of sweat slides from his forehead to his nose, and then another. his body is feeling abnormally cold. Right, body...
When he looked at his body before...
Impossible, it"s not real.
He just has lift his eyelids a bit to open those eyes. But he"s struggling on this decision.
Yes, it can"t be real. It is definitely a mistake. he repeatedly recalls what he saw. Everything"s becoming blurry in his mind. No matter how you think, it should be an illusion.
Confidence starts to build up, but the feeling of something looking at him is still there.
He opens his eyelids just slightly. There"s only darkness.
It"s too much of a torture to open his eyes bit by bit. He finally makes the decision.
Then at that moment, he opens his eyelids all the way.
In front of him...
-----
Li knew something horrible must have happened.
She has that ability since seven years ago. Every time she gets this feeling, something horrible happens.
Since she moved to this city three years ago, this ability to sense horror has decreased.
"Something must has happened yesterday." She looks through the papers on her hand and focused on a news.
This news arrived in her news agency this morning. Though she is not the reporter. so she can only a.n.a.lyze it through the interviews and photos.
It is about a murder in an apartment. The police is withholding information from the media. All they know is the victim is a high schooler, name Xie Xiaohao. According to interviews with the neighbors, they heard screams and cries from the Xie"s apartment, and worried about something bad happened, so they called the police. After the police barged into the apartment, their reactions were strange. Within ten minutes, many police vehicles arrived, along with over ten medical examiners. The neighbors were curious, but the police formed a wall to block them from seeing anything inside. Even reporters were blocked from entering.
A truck was used to transport the corpse. It left with four police vehicles guarding at all sides. It"s only the death of a high schooler, what"s all the big actions for? Li knows there"s definitely something wrong. This case invoked the attention of the media. It has been six hours since the event, and it"s starting to appear on the internet.
Li recently got a raise, so she"s treating her coworkers to lunch this day.
"I have a feeling it"s something big." Zhao, the reporter of this case, said. "When I arrived there, a few police were guarding the entrance. I showed them my id and said I"m going in for interview. But he still wouldn"t let me in. Then I saw a truck drove in there along with four police cars. I had to wait until the police left before I could go in. The victim"s parents apparently gone insane after they found the body. An ambulance carried them away. The residents of the apartment are all in a panic."
The food is tasteless to Li right now. She sensed it, but she couldn"t prevent anything.
Since a week ago, she sensed that in one week, in some place, someone will encounter something horrible. This feeling grew more intense with every pa.s.sing day. Then last night she woke up from her dream and could vividly sensed it happened.
Then this morning, that feeling came back again. Tomorrow at night, another person will encounter the same fate.
"Zhao..." She has made the decision. "Are you going to follow this case?"
"Yes, the boss values this case, and orders me to investigate. And get something unique before the other agencies."
"Then can you let me do the interviews? I will give you the reports and you can even release them with your name. I can talk to the boss about this..."
The others are laughing. "Our role model is at it again."
"That"s why she got a raise."
"Stop making fun of me..." Li is not in the mood to joke around, all she can think about are the interviews. If she can"t find out in time, she can"t prevent the tragedy happening tomorrow.
"Ok, stop with the tense face, Li." Zhao patted her shoulder. "I will go talk to the boss and give you this case. Of course it will be on your name."
"Thank you. Zhao."
"Hey, Li, look. Isn"t that the new book by your brother?"
She looks at a table nearby, a couple is having their meal. There"s a book on the table, called, , with the author"s name Yi YunAn (An).
"Ah, Li. Why didn"t you tell us your brother"s new book is out. We would"ve went to buy one."
She smiled awkwardly, and think to herself. "That"s for your own good. My brother"s books are not for normal people."
She has been getting increasingly suspicious of the existence of ghost these years.
Her brother is a horror novel author. His books are best sellers within the country and even in HongKong and Taiwan. A company made one of his books into a movie.
-----
Back home at night. She can smell the deliciousness as she walks in the door. Her brother has always been good at cooking. As she walks into the kitchen, he"s stir frying a dish.
He turns his head around and sees Li. "You"re back. Go wash your hands."
Since their parents died seven years ago, they have been supporting each other.
During dinner.
"You took on a new case?"
"Yeah." Li is still excited. "I have only been able to report some weird looking animals or other small stuff these three years. But this time is different."
"Is this related to your premonitions?"
"Yes. You..."
An looked at Li with a serious face. "I don"t want to lose you. We moved here because we want to get away from the past."
Li is silent, she puts down her fork, her voice shaking. "Have you forgotten? When dad and mom died..."
"Enough... That"s the past. I want to start a new life with you."
"But you are also thinking over the same thing, aren"t you? I don"t want to keep running. Why can"t we face our fate?"
"Listen, you better not follow this case."
Li said with dissatisfaction. "This same line! Every time I sense something, you tell me not to think about it. But in reality, people keep dying. And the police can"t find anything. At least I won"t to stop it. I don"t want to see other people die... Just like dad and mom..."
"Stop mentioning seven years ago."
"Why? Why are you always running? Just like back then, you rushed through the funeral and got me out of the city. Then we moved around several times before finally settling here. You want me to forget the past, but I just can"t do it..."
An sighed and said softly. "I beg you, ok? Li, we have a new life here. The past has nothing to do with us. If you continue to follow these things, I am afraid..."
"I don"t want to run! I don"t want to live in this fake comfort."
She doesn"t know anything. She doesn"t know the horror and despair of all this.
Chapter 2
The next day, Li arrives at the police station. Even though she has communicated with the chief investigator for quite a while, he still won"t disclose any information on the death of Xie Hao.
"We can only disclose of the fact that he was murdered. Since the method used is rather cruel, we will not disclose the cause of death. This case is currently under investigation. We will hold a news conference when we have new information. That"s all I can tell you, Ms. Yi."
"But... according to our understanding, Xie Hao"s parents had gone insane after seeing their son"s body. They"re still under therapy in an inst.i.tution. The police kept this from public intentionally. Furthermore, the neighbors told us when the police arrived that day, they were accompanied by multiple medical examiners..."
"Enough, Ms. Yi." The chief"s face is looking blue. He makes the gesture to leave. "The police has our positions. The government is also taking this seriously. We will publish the results when the proper time comes. Please go back."
Li knows there"s no use continuing. The chief won"t tell her anything else. She"s certain that there"s an astonishing inside story. The current situation is just like seven years ago when her parents died.
No matter what her brother said, she"s determined to find out the truth.
Outside the chief investigator"s room, she is thinking of what to do next. Who should I ask? The whole department is probably ordered to keep it from the media, and the victim"s parents won"t be able to speak consciously.
Well, maybe I can still get something from crazy talks.
Once decided, she puts her notebook back into the bag then rushes to the parking lot. She has not noticed a long hair woman in black clothes staring at her back.
Li hopes to get some leads the night. She doesn"t want to report another murder tomorrow.
On the way to the psych inst.i.tution, she turns on the radio. "h.e.l.lo, we invited the famous horror novel writer Yi YunAn as our guest today. This is the fourth time he"s come on our show. h.e.l.lo, Mr. Yi. Congratulations on your new book. This book has been a bestseller. We will open up the hotline, will you please answer some questions from the readers?"
"Yes, I am also excited at this opportunity to speak with the readers. I am very happy to be a guest again."
"But before that, I have a question for you. Is this book the same as always, a supernatural horror fiction?"
"Yep. I have mentioned that I only write this genre of novels. To let the readers feel that terrors that always exist beside everyone."
Li is thinking if she should also make a call to the show, then she heard this.
"Terrors always exist beside everyone."
Since her parents died seven years ago, and the two moved out of the city. That scene was carved into their memories. They can"t forget, yet they"re too afraid to hate.
She"s tired of her life like this. She doesn"t want to be like her brother, always running away from those things. Li knows running is useless. Those things are everywhere.
The hotline opens up.
"Mr. Yi, are your stories based on reality?"
"Mr. Yi, I read your new book. I finished it through an all-nighter. It was too scary. Did you experience anything depressing in real life?"
Li listens as her brother answers the readers" questions. The psych inst.i.tution is close.
"Mr. Yi, I read all your books. You"re amazing at setting the mood and depicting the characters. As if you have experienced it."
This is a woman, but her voice feels cold, like she"s interrogating.
"You"re funny miss. If I experienced it, how can I still be alive?" His voice is calm.
"Do you think those things from your book exist in the real world?"
"I"m just writing a fiction. Never thought about connecting it with the real world."
The car arrives at the entrance, but Li keep on listening to the radio.
"Is that so. I understand. Bye then." She hangs up.
Weird person. Li drives to the parking lot then takes the elevator upstairs.
The nurse won"t let her visit the patients. But after she repeatedly stressed that a life is on the line with sincerity, she allowed Li ten minutes.
She follows the nurse upstairs to the floor Xie Hao"s parents are at. The moment she steps out of the elevator. "XieHao! XieHao! How did you become of this! Ahhh..."
A bunch of doctors and nurses are restraining a middle aged woman in bed. One doctor is trying to inject sedative to her.
"She"s one of the patient you are looking for. Even since she came here, she"s been like this. I don"t think you can get anything out of her. The other patient"s situation is worse."
"XieHao... How did you become so terrifying? Who made you like that..."
Li walks into the room. A nurse said. "You better not provoke her."
What a tragedy. After the son died, the parents gone insane. This definitely isn"t a normal murder case. Even if the scene was b.l.o.o.d.y, the victim was dissected, it wouldn"t cause them to gone mad.
What... exactly did they see?
She didn"t get anything out of them. Back on the parking lot, she looks at her watch, getting anxious as time pa.s.ses. There"s no lead right now but that feeling is getting stronger. Can"t I stop it?
"Do you want to know the answer?"
A voice comes from behind.
She turns around and sees a woman with shoulder length hair. She looks so cold.
"Who are you?"
"Ms. Yi. Can you let me see your brother?"
Ten minutes later, they are sitting across each other in a cafe outside the psych inst.i.tution.
"Who are you? Do you know my brother?"
"Even though I don"t know him, I understand your pasts." She looks calm.
"My name is Ren Jin. I"ve been looking for you two for a long time."
"What? Are you a cop? Investigating the case that happened seven years ago?"
"No. I"m not related to the police. I am looking for you according to my father"s memo in his notebook. He went missing three years ago. Your brother was recorded in the notebook in details. And the case seven years ago also."
"Who is your father?"
"Ren Shenbo. A psychiatrist. But he"s also a researcher in supernatural occurrences. My mother died in a strange car accident three years ago."
"But... we don"t seem to know your father. My parents never mentioned any psychiatrist when they were alive."
"Anyway, I will let you know the details when I see your brother. You"re investigating yesterday"s case right? I can give you some leads. I hacked into the police"s network last night and downloaded the data. I can give them to you and in exchange you have to let me see your brother."
"Are you a hacker? Who are you, why do you want to see my brother."
"I can"t tell you this right now."
Li looks at her watch again. There"s no time. A life is on the line. Comply with her now then think about things later.
"I"ll accept it. But you have to let me see the data first. If I happen to use your data on the news, I will say it"s sent to us anonymously."
"Of course."
She pulls out a large envelope from her jacket and hands it to Li. "There are fourteen photos of the body. I printed the photos right after downloading them. There is no editing. There"s also the death report by medical examiners."
Li opens the envelope then took out the photos. Her heart skipped a beat, her pupils enlarged, and she couldn"t stop her hand from shaking.
"You..." Li couldn"t say anything. The same as seven years ago. Unexplainable phenomenon. Then she continues looking through the photos. Her breathing gets heavier as she goes. She almost faints when she gets to the fifth.
Li can"t continue with it and put the photos back, then takes out the death report.
"Do you believe it?"
Jin asked calmly.
"Yes. Yes. I believe because it"s just like this." Li"s voice is shaking. "This unexplainable phenomenon. It made us ran away to this city. Even after we ran so far, we still can"t escape it."
Jin is studying Li"s face. She"s certain that this is the person she has been looking for.
"You have a premonition ability right?"
Li suddenly raises her head and stares at her.
"You can sense how long it will take for the next horrible event to happen right? I have a similar ability. I got this ability after my mother died. She was killed by a ghost."
She looks so sad as she says this. But this sadness quickly disappears. But Li can feel that there"s fear within her. A kind of fear that prevents her from even thinking about it.
"Why do you want to see my brother?"
"If I tell you, some day in the future I will be killed by a ghost, no, perhaps something even greater than ghosts. Will you believe me? And I can"t escape it no matter where I go. This was what my father told me. He is an all knowing psychic."
Li wouldn"t believe this seven years ago. But she can"t not believe it now. Her perspective of the world has been changing these years. She has to believe that there are ghosts and curses in this world.
She"s still so calm even when she talks about getting killed. But Li can see her hands shaking slightly.
"I believe, Ms. Ren. How did you know about my ability? And why my brother?"
"Not only your brother but also you. I will tell you both the details when I see him."
Then Li remembered her premonition for tonight. "You said you can sense it, do you know what"s going to happen tonight? No, where is it and who?"
"What I know is limited, but your brother should know more about it. He probably has the same ability. Since it"s happening tonight, then let"s go see him right now, if you want to prevent a second victim."
Chapter 3
An is staying home alone. Looking at the sky through the window, the air is gray and foggy.
Tonight... that person will die.
An knows about this. But why prevent it? What can this change? He only wishes to live peacefully with his sister. He"s been in this city for three years and haven"t made any friends. He knows that perhaps one day he will move somewhere else. He cut any connection with relatives and his past. All he has left is his name and those memory.
Foot steps coming through the door. He turns around and see the door opens. Li comes in with a stranger.
She quickly closes the door. "An... Do you have the same premonition ability? Tell me."
"What happend? I am totally lost."
Li looks outside the window. The sun is still there. She organizes her thoughts then tells him everything.
An gives Jin with a cold stare. He gestures her to leave. "Ms. Ren, I don"t wish anyone to interrupt our peaceful life. We don"t have anything to do with you and we don"t have the obligation to help you. Please leave and don"t come to us again."
"An, listen. I want to know the reason. We"ve been running away from that thing all these years, we didn"t even go to our parents funeral. My life is full of darkness, how can you say that as peaceful? I want to know how dad and mom died."
Then Jin added.
"My father knows a lot. He told me one thing, and that thing can fulfill your deepest wish. Mr. Yi. Do you still want to me to leave?"
An is startled. He stares at Jin for a whole minute. "You know my wish?"
"Yes. There"s nothing my father doesn"t know. If you are suspicious, I can prove it tonight."
An"s thoughts are racing. The terror of that day appears in his mind. As he is hesitating, he heard a seductive voice.
"Tell me, what is the name of the second person?"
He opens his mouth subconsciously.
"Zhang Jun."
-----
Jun is a college student that likes to party. He lives far away from the campus and walks to school.
Tonight, his friend"s girlfriend is holding a birthday party.
Everyone is partying like crazy, playing poker, singing karaoke. Then people start to leave at 10pm.
"Isn"t it curfew hour already for your dorms?"
"So what? We can climb in through the windows. Do you think the management really cares?"
Jun laughs. "That ponytail from biology department looks good. I may go date her, you guys want to bet a meal?"
"Why not."
After saying goodbye to his friends, Jun takes the bus and gets off near his apartment. He"s taking the shortcut. At the same time, he feels an urge to use the toilet. Probably drank too much beer. He remembers a public toilet just in front.
After doing business, he comes to the door and finds that it won"t open.
"What"s wrong?" He pushes it. Is it broken?
The lights suddenly go off. The toilet is in a complete darkness. He usually likes to joke around about supernatural stuff. But this place is making him nervous.
He shouts. "Is anyone outside? I am locked inside here!"
No replies. He"s regretting he took the shortcut. People don"t usually go pa.s.s this place.
Why didn"t I just hold it till I got home.
He kicks at the door. Then tackles it. But it just won"t open. Let"s see if there are any tools that can pry open the door. Otherwise I will have to spend the night here. But it"s so dark. I can"t even tell if there"s anyone in front of me. He tries to search in the dark slowly.
-----
"Found it. A chemistry first year in the city college." Li is a reporter and has her sources of information.
An has the premonition ability, but different from Li"s. He can form an image of the person that"s going to die and see his name. He obtained this ability soon after his parents" death, just like Li. He saw Zhang Jun"s face and the iconic statue of that college.
It was 10pm when they found his information from the school. Li used interview as an excuse to get the teachers to give her Jun"s contact info. They even gave her the contacts of a few of his friends.
When she got in touch with his friends, they said he went to a birthday party with them then went home taking the bus. He"s probably home already.
"We have to find him immediately."
Li and the other two get on the car and rush to his apartment. An is driving while Li keeps trying to call him.
-----
Jun receives a call in the toilet. s.h.i.t. Why didn"t I think of cellphones, he curses. It"s an unfamiliar number. "h.e.l.lo, who"s this?"
"Is this Zhang Jun? I can"t explain it in brief. My name is Yi Yunli, a reporter. I would like to interview you. Are you currently home?"
"No..."
Jin s.n.a.t.c.hes the phone. "Where are you? Are you in danger?"
"What... danger? I am..."
He stops. He hears something from the darkness. A heavy breathing. Even Jin could hear that breathing over the phone.
He jumps. "Who?"
No one answers. I should be the only one here, there was no one else when I entered. There can"t be anyone else here.
He hurries back to the phone. "Help... Help me! I am in the public toilet near the intersection of GF and BT road. I can"t open the door no matter what. You can ask people if you can"t find it."
There"s that breathing again. But this time, closer.
His phone suddenly plays a melody. Then it turns off. Out of battery? G.o.d, why now? But I remember I charged it before leaving the apartment this morning.
He freezes, afraid to take even a step, afraid of running into something. It"s so dark here, there isn"t even a window.
"Who... who"s it. Stop... stop scaring me ok?"
He is shaking. Are there really ghosts in this world?
He hears the breathing again. It"s so vivid this time because... it"s right beside his ear!
He screams then starts running. He has lost his sense of direction.
That door, have to find that door and break it to get out!
Then he realizes something horrifying. This toilet is not even a hundred cubic meter big, but he has been running for five minutes without reaching any wall. G.o.d, how can this be? He doesn"t smoke so there"s no lighter. He has no way of making any light. Perhaps it"s better that he can"t see.
-----
After Jun hung up the call, An starts driving faster. His hands are full of sweat. He doesn"t know who this woman is but she knows about their abilities. She said she can fulfill my wish, is that true? I have to save Zhang Jun first then ask her.
Jin keeps looking at her watch. She doesn"t know when Jun will die but it"s close.
-----
Jun is soaking wet from sweat. He has been running in every directions for ten minutes but he hasn"t touched anything. He"s regretting ever leaving that wall. It"s also strange that his eyes still hasn"t adjusted to the darkness after so long. As if his eyes are blinded. He couldn"t even tell if someone is in front of him.
"Help...Help! No, I don"t care who you are, please don"t hurt me." Jun can"t even stand right now. He"s crawling on the ground. It"s complete silence. He can"t hear the echo of his own voice. What the heck is happening?
Then there comes the sound. He holds his breath, afraid to even move a finger. That something is not far behind him. Something crawling on the ground. It"s getting closer. He"s shaking, crawling away very slowly as if he makes any big movement, that thing will jump over.
-----
An"s car arrives at the road, but the shortcut is too narrow for a car to drive in. "You two stay here. I will go take a look."
-----
It"s getting closer. His hands and feet are feeling numb. His mind almost blanked out. Is it a misperception that the air is feeling thinner?
He reaches his hand out for another move. Then suddenly, he touches a freezing cold hand.
"Ahhhhhh" Jun can"t understand why that thing is in front of him. His phone falls out of his pocket, then powers on with the screen facing the front of him.
Finally a source of light
-----
Finally found the public toilet. As An plans to tackle the door, it opens up with just a twist on the handle. It"s a normal toilet with three rooms, a faucet, a mop laying on the wall, and a coiled up rubber tube on the ground.
An opens the toilet doors one by one. No one is inside.
"An!"
He turns around and sees Li and Jin. He frowns. "Didn"t I tell you to wait."
"I"m sorry."
Jin is looking through the toilet, then she walks over to An. "We"re too late."
"Who are you. What do you know?"
An stares at Jin. "Alright. I will tell you. Let"s go back to the car."
Chapter 4
Back in the car. An drives to a nearby parking lot then turns his head around. "I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation."
Jin stares back at him and finally says. "To put it simply, I have the same premonition abilities as you two. I can foresee… the keyword of the unexplainable phenomenon that"s going to happen. Which allows me to know the source of danger and avoid it. I obtained this ability shortly after my mother"s death three years ago. Same as you two."
An never thought that she has the same fate as them.
"I know you have many questions. I lived in a city far from here three years ago. If that car accident didn"t happen, I might be just a normal person right now. However, one night, our family of three was returning from a picnic on a highway. I suddenly saw a strange shadow outside the car window… The sky was getting dark so I couldn"t see exactly what it was but my father and I were shocked to see my mother disappeared the next instant. She just disappeared without a trace when she was sitting on tee pa.s.senger seat."
Li feels a chill at this point. She"s quite timid to begin with and follows up with a question. "So… What happened to your mother?"
"She suddenly appeared on the next intersection on the road. Then a truck drove over her… The truck driver said he never noticed that my mother appeared on the street before the tragedy happened."
"In the days afterward, my father was drowned in grief. But he never gave up because I told him about the shadow. He started searching for that shadow like a madman. He investigated highway intersections at every city and even gave up his job. I was so scared to see him like that at the time. He also browsed through spirit related websites. Not long after, he disappeared, only leaving a notebook behind."
"The notebook recorded a lot of info he found during his investigation. Similar unexplainable phenomenon happens all over the world. Even though no one wanted to acknowledge their existence, they really do exist."
"Yes… that"s what I think too." An nodded. "Go on."
"The notebook also recorded you two. My father obtained a premonition ability after that accident. He can see the unexplainable phenomenon that will happen in the future with some limitations. The notebook has some things that eventually happened. He wrote on the notebook for me to search for you two. Even though he only knew your names, he said I would know you are the ones when I get in touch with you. When I saw your name on the new movie, I knew it was you."
"But… how do you want us to help you? Find that shadow? Or find your father?"
"I have a premonition ability that appeared four months after the accident. It"s different from my father"s ability though. I wish to cooperate with you. My ability is limited just like yours. However, combining our premonitions, we will get a more complete prediction. You can see the person"s name and face. Your sister can tell the time… and I can see the keyword."
An asked. "So… if we accept you to cooperate, will you be able to fulfill my wish?"
"Yes… I mentioned to your sister that those things will come get my life one day. My father wishes for me to live. That"s why he is certainly searching for ways to save me somewhere. He had already noted one of the methods in his notebook, prevent the premonition from happening. If we can break free of the fate, then the premonitions will not overlap with reality and I can live on. This is the only way to dispel the curse. And your wish will be fulfilled."
An falls into a silence. These seven years were difficult. The terror never left him, taking away his courage to go on.
"Let me… consider it."
Li knocks him on the head and says. "What do you have to consider? Two people are dead! I warn you, if you continue to watch without helping, you are not going to be my brother anymore."
She turns to Jin and says. "That"s decided. Let"s cooperate from now on. Perhaps we can even find out where your father is. I will give you a call when I get another premonition."
"Ok… Then I will take leave."
"I will take you back." An says.
"No need. There"s a bus stop nearby. I don"t feel comfortable sitting on a car since my mother"s death."
"Well, let me walk you to the bus stop then. Li, wait here."
He gives Jin a hidden gesture and she responds. "Ok then."
The wind is blowing strong. The streets lights are dim. An finally says what he has been hiding.
"Li is too naïve. She doesn"t know what she"s up against."
"You don"t want to get her involved?"
"You have to promise me that she"s only providing the time and nothing else. You and I will take all the actions. You should know that I haven"t told her that ending. Is what you said true?"
"What are you referring to?"
"The method to dispel the curse… Your father also told you about us in the note right?"
"Yes. You two… have the same fate as me. You will get killed by those things in the future."
"Please don"t tell Li. I have been bearing this pain alone for the last seven years… The nightmares everyday were what made me write those horror novels. Soon after my mother"s death, many names and faces appeared in my head. Among them are my sister and me. Then Li told me she"s getting strange premonitions. After I read my parents" diaries, we decided to leave our city. We moved to a new city using their life insurance and cut off all tides with relatives and friends. This was what my parents told me to do in the diary."
He grabs his head and says with a painful expression. "Then I began to notice the further away from our original city, the shorter the time between our premonitions and the victim"s death. We are one state away from the original city now and the time has lessened two to three weeks. We have moved three cities already! I don"t want to believe it"s real but the names that I saw would be on the papers. Either death from unknown reasons or disappearances. Not even one exception. Are my sister and I going to survive? This is my only wish."
They arrive at the bus stop. Jin looks at An. "I can"t promise you anything now… but we are bonded by the same fate. We can only rely on each other."
No one knows the source of all this but they are all trapped. Waiting for the clock to reach the time of their deaths.
In the police station"s cafeteria the next day.
Reporter Xueyan drops a sugar cube into her coffee and stares at her boyfriend, Xia Peng. "Just… once ok? Let me enter the victim"s home please?"
XiaPeng doesn"t show any expression. He answers firmly with his arms crossed. "No! Xueyan, how many times has it been? I am a cop but I can"t let you in crime scenes. What am I going to do about my boss? Even though I am on Xie Xiaohao"s case and seen the body, but I was ordered not to say anything."
Xueyan giggled. "I told you… I don"t need to see the body. Though it would be better if you can let me see it… But can you at least let me enter his apartment? You guys made this case so mysterious. Any info can be big news. My year-end bonus is dependent on you."
XiaPeng feels a headache. "A reporter came to investigate this case a while ago. She even got to the chief but she still got turned down. Xueyan, I really don"t want to break any rules. If the news gets out, I will get written up. Didn"t I promise we will open a press conference once there is new progress?"
"Please… that won"t be exclusive news anymore. I promise this will be the last time, Ok?"
XiaPeng scratches his head and sighs. "You beat me… Fine, this is the last time… Such a headache."
Even though the chief prohibits spreading any info on the case, but it shouldn"t be a problem for a reporter to interview the crime scene. The body had been transported away and no one lives there now.
There"s only a banner blocking the entrance to the apartment now. No cops are guarding it. The landlord sees a cop and reporter then sighs. "Such a tragedy. A nice family ended up like this. Any no one is going to rent this apartment now…"
Xueyan and XiaPeng take the key then run to the crime scene. They cross the banner and open the door. It is fairly dim inside. The windows are facing west so there isn"t much light. Xueyan frowns.
"XiaPeng, you can wait by the door. Don"t have to come in with me."
"You wish. If I don"t keep my eyes on you, who knows if you are going to take something. We had searched the whole place. You should just give up."
Xueyan looks over the room. There are no signs of a fight. No blood on the floor.
Let"s just take a few photos first and study it after I go back.
She is standing next to a clothing rack. There"s only a suit on the rack. A sleeve of the suit touches her hair. When she takes out the camera, she sees XiaPeng standing in front of her. "Only one photo."
"I know!" Xueyan curses his boyfriend for being too stubborn. Then…
She feels something grabbed her hair and pulled. She fall to the ground but… there is nothing aside from the clothing rack behind her.
"Who?" Her voice sounds terrified as she looks around.
XiaPeng asks. "What"s wrong? You fell?"
"XiaPeng, who was behind me?"
"Huh? No one. I locked the door when I came in… What"s wrong?"
Xueyan tries to stay calm and says. "Did… did you asked someone to prank me? So that I will stop the report? I am not afraid… Hey, say something. Stop staring at me!"
"What do you mean? I don"t get it."
"Someone grabbed my hair just then. Yes! It was definitely a person!"
XiaPeng runs to her back. "That"s impossible… Did your hair get stuck to the clothing rack?"
"No… I really felt a hand grabbed me. I…" She stopped.
The suit suddenly falls to the floor on its own. XiaPeng immediately picks it up and glances at the collar.
"Wah!" He throws the suit away and yells. "What… the heck"s that?"
He saw a pair of eyes inside the collar!
He coughs up some courage and unb.u.t.tons the suit. There"s nothing inside. This is just a regular suit.
"XiaPeng… Let"s leave." Xueyan has already been walking toward the door.
"I feel the same."
At the same time, an image appears in An"s mind. It"s a young man in police uniform. His name is
"Xia Peng. So he"s the third person?"
Chapter 5
The two of them run out of the apartment as if they are running for their lives. They even forget to return the keys as they drive off.
XiaPeng says. "I… I finally get why my supervisor emphasizes this case…"
"Don"t. Stop… We didn"t see anything. Nothing will happen to us…"
XiaPeng steps on the pedal all the way and keeps glancing at the rear view mirror.
At the same time, An senses XiaPeng"s death in the near future. He immediately calls Li who was in the news agency and asks. "Li, I sensed the third victim. What about you? Did you get the time?"
"What? You already sensed it? But… I still haven"t…"
XiaPeng is soaked in cold sweat when he finally reaches the police station. His coworkers see that paper white face of his and asks. "What happened to you? Not feeling well?"
He shakes his head. He recalls that when the station received that call and went to the apartment, it took a truck to transport the corpse back. Then the regional office ordered them to block off any information on the case. All they did was maintain order at the scene and not let anyone else see the corpse.
It was of course a lie when he told XueYan he didn"t see the corpse. To be honest, he had never seen anything more terrifying during his years as a cop… and now what he saw in the apartment… he doesn"t want to get involved with this case anymore.
"What do you mean by this?" The superintendent frowns as he stares at the request form to be swapped to another team. The regional office only gave them a month to solve this case.
All he is considering is how to send more people and add overtimes.
But XiaPeng replies. "If you don"t allow me, I would rather go back to the anti-thievery squad."
"Are you trying to infuriate me? I got you promoted because I recognized your talents. And this is how you repay me? Do you know how much pressure I am taking from the higher ups? I can"t even remember how many reporters I sent away these several days. Fine… Don"t f.u.c.king come back!"
XiaPeng is ashamed of himself but the terror from that pair of eyes quickly devours his guilt. The eyes are still so vivid in his mind… that can"t be his imagination!
His coworkers are puzzled that he"s returning to the anti-thievery squad. Isn"t he doing well in the crime squad?
"Are you having any difficulty here?" An older cop asks. "Or do you feel the work here is too dangerous?"
"No…no. I don"t want to follow the Xie Xiaohao case anymore. You… better be careful too. That place isn"t one that anyone should enter."
His words are strange but he isn"t saying anything more. He packs his items in a cardboard box and leaves the office.
Sigh…Back there again…
He walks through the hall to the elevator and waits for it to come up. The door of the elevator is smooth as a mirror and reflects his face. His eyes are fixed on the number going up. Then he looks down at the box and as he raises his head again…
He sees a white figure standing next to him from the reflection on the elevator door! It"s hands are slowing reaching for his neck!
"Ah---" He throws off the box and pulls his gun. Yet, there is only a wall to his left. He looks back at the elevator door and the white figure is nowhere to be seen.
-----
XueYan took the rest of the afternoon off from work and returned to her apartment.
As soon as she steps inside, she locks both locks on the door, the window locks, and covers the windows with curtains. But it feels too dark so she turns on all the lights. She lies on the bed and tries to sleep because of how tired she is. Half an hour later, she is still awake. The room is so quiet that the only noise comes from the clock ticking.
Suddenly, a puff of wind closed the bedroom door. She jumps off the bed in shock. The lights are flickering until they all die out.
"What… what"s happening? Power outage?"
She decides to go check the fuse box. But the bedroom door just won"t open. There isn"t a lock on this door!
This darkness is making her feel unease. The whole situation is shrouded with a layer of strangeness. She licks her lips and walks carefully toward the window to open the curtains. Under the window is a wooden box stored with winter clothes.
She"s only two steps away from the box when it moved on its own.
"Wah!" She falls to the floor and immediately crawls backward.
That… It"s that thing! It followed me back!
The box is moving faster and faster and… it begins moving toward her!
"No…no!" She grabs a chair and runs toward the door. She starts. .h.i.tting the door. The box is dragging faster. Only a few steps away now.
"Get away! Don"t follow me… Please leave!"
She can"t even find the strength to stand anymore and falls to the floor. The box opens at the same time she fainted.
"XueYan! Are you alright?" This is XiaPeng"s voice.
"We… we can"t stay here any longer. That thing followed us! It won"t leave us! I… I should have listened to you."
That terrorized expression makes his heart clench and he asks. "Did you also…"
The doorbell suddenly rings and shocked the two of them. XiaPeng calms himself want walks over to the peephole. Outside the door is a young man and woman both of which he doesn"t know. He opens the door and asks. "Who are you?"
"Sorry to bother you, officer Xia." The man said. "Our visit is abrupt but this is urgent. You are the officer that investigated the death of Xie Xiaohao, correct? We have something we must tell you."
"You are?"
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Yi RunAn. This is my… friend miss Ren Jin."
XiaPeng frowns when he heard about Xie Xiaohao. He doesn"t know if he should let them in.
Jin says. "I can feel the that thing from your apartment. Did you encounter something strange recently?"
He feels like he grabbed onto the last straw and says. "Please come in. In fact, I…"
"I see."
An and Jin listened to his narration and understand this couple are the next two victims.
Li still hasn"t received a premonition yet so they don"t know when will he die.
"The key to dispelling the curse is to break the prophecy. If someone that is supposed to die at 12am but lives until 1am, then the cruse is broken. But I have never tried it since my premonitions don"t give enough information."
"Will it go smoothly?"
"Don"t know… but this is the only method."
XiaPeng and XueYan aren"t looking well and don"t know what to do.
Jin says. "Do you believe ghosts exist in this world?"
Their hearts skipped a beat. XueYan says. "You saw that thing too?"
"I saw a ghost before." Jin says without hesitation. "It took away my mother"s life in front of me. I am not trying to scare you. Ghosts really do exist in this world."
An says apologetically. "I am sorry… but we want to say that you are in danger."
"Is there any way to save us?" XiaPeng doesn"t know if these two are con artists or real. But he is scared.
An is dumbfounded by the question. How is he going to save them? He"s just a mere human too. So he turns to Jin. Her answer is surprising but expected.
"Run. This is the only thing we can do."
"Isn"t this a load of garbage?"
"There"s nothing we can do at the moment. We don"t have any supernatural abilities."
Supernatural abilities? What are those? An feels that she knows more secrets.
"What do you mean?" XueYan asks.
"I don"t really understand either. My father wrote in his notebook that I have to find out by myself. But it"s basically an ability that can counter ghosts to some degree. But only that. My father still hasn"t found a way to kill a ghost. Listen. If you want to survive, don"t stay in a confined s.p.a.ce. Don"t drive. That will only make you die faster. Don"t go into anywhere dim. Stay in public areas."
"We can live if we stay in public areas?"
"I can"t promise it but your chances are much higher. The most important point is… remember to stay as far away from mirrors and elevators."
"Right… that was how today…" He tells his experience and feels much more at ease.
"I"m sorry. I need to use the bathroom… You can continue." XueYan gets up but Jin also gets up and says. "Do you want me to go along? You are in danger right now. You shouldn"t stay alone."
"Uh. The bathroom is just nearby. I will scream if anything happens."
Jin thinks she"s right and nods. XueYan thinks to herself: Is this actually real? Today"s experience was strange but are there really ghosts in this world? Or is it caused by these two con artists?
XueYan enters the bathroom to find the shower curtain shut.
She bought this white curtain just a few days ago. But she remembered it was open when she just returned today!
Somehow, she feels something is behind the curtain.
She forgets why she came into the bathroom and slowly walks toward the curtain.
She walks by the bathroom mirror and grabs a corner of the curtain.
She thinks to herself: hope I was overthinking…
Her hands are shaking then she pulls it open at once.
Nothing is behind it.
She laughs at herself for being oversensitive when her eyes glanced over the mirror and she freezes.
There are no ghosts in the mirror. Everything is exactly the same except for the closed curtain.
She wants to scream yet something is stuck in her throat. A human figure is forming on the curtain inside the mirror, like someone is walking into it. Then that thing grabs her hand in the mirror!
"No------"
An and the others charge into the bathroom to find XueYan crying in a corner. Her hand is pointing at the mirror which is normal.
"The mirror… something"s inside the mirror…" She holds onto XiaPeng and cries. "I believe what you said! We need to move! Please save us!"
Jin walks toward the mirror and studies it. "Understood. There"s actually another method that I didn"t say. We can try to investigate what happened to Xie Xiaohao and Zhang Jun before they died. And find the intersecting point between the two of them."
Chapter 6
“An! I got it!” Li phones An the next day when she sensed the time of death. That is tomorrow!
“Officer Xia can only live till tomorrow… We arranged to meet this afternoon. Should we tell him?” An feels a headache.
“I won’t stop you. It can become a motivation if he knows his deadline.” Jin is still so indifferent. The two of them are in her house.
Jin lives in a two floor mansion with a little garden. The area is nice and the furnishing are all high end brands.
“You are living alone? The house is so big.”
“My grandpa left me this house. My mother is a U.S. citizen and her family was well off there. She abandoned her right for inheritance and married to my father in China. Her family all opposed because my father was just a normal psychologist.”
Jin’s room has at least four computers, ten clocks, and many mirrors. The bookshelf is filled with all kinds of books from history to politics.
“Your room?”
“Curious? This is to train my supernatural ability because I am not born with it. Mirrors are important items for those not gifted even though they are also dangerous to people cursed by ghosts.”
She is standing in front of a mirror, touching it.
An is staring at the ten clocks. All of them are Swiss made, all the second hands are moving at the same time.
“After my mother’s death and my father’s disappearance, my grandfather wanted me to move to the U.S. and inherit his a.s.sets. I rejected it. He felt sorry for my mother and bought this house in my name. I accepted the house because this is what they owe my mother. No one from their family came to my mother’s funeral because of their worthless pride!”
Her voice sounds agitated. This is the first time An felt emotion from her.
“I need a large house for many things. There’s a bas.e.m.e.nt which I do my experiments.”
“So… what’s this supernatural ability you mentioned?”
An can’t hold his question any longer. He has been collecting all supernatural legends and rumors around China and studied them. Yet most of these are just superst.i.tions.
“Just like you…” An turns around and points at him. “You are born with supernatural abilities. Your sister is the same. You can sense the existence of ghosts. The premonitions are a form of this.”
“Don’t you have a premonition ability too? Why did you say you are not born with it?”
“I am not the same as you two. Even though we all awakened our abilities after encountering ghosts, my ability is a side effect of my father’s ability. I didn’t inherit it. Otherwise, my ability won’t be so limited.”
She looks sad that she didn’t inherit her father’s ability.
-----
“How are we going to begin the investigation?”
XiaPeng and XueYan came to Jin’s house by afternoon and brought the related doc.u.ments. One is a cop and the other a reporter so they have their sources.
Xie Xiaohao is a regular high school student. Nice person, good grades. However, there just isn’t any intersecting points between him and Zhang Jun. They even lived two districts apart.
“Why… them?” XueYan is confused then a possibility comes to mind. “Wait… are you sure it’s the same person that killed Xie Xiaohao and Zhang Jun?”
“Yes. I am certain. The reason is simple. I sensed the same keyword at the time of their deaths.”
“Keyword?” XiaPeng recalls that she mentioned a premonition ability. “What… is that keyword?”
“Twisted. I sensed this word when they died. Officer Xia should have a deep image of this word.”
XiaPeng recalls the body he saw and immediately feel disgusted. He nods quietly.
Though XueYan is confused.
“That corpse… it was abnormal.” He doesn"t know how to describe that terrifying corpse.
-----
Li is in Zhang Jun"s house questioning his parents. His parents are going insane from his disappearance. And accepted her interview since she was the last one that talked to him.
Zhang Jun"s house is fairly plain. They are not financially well off. His parents" eyes are all swollen.
"Miss Yi... I don"t understand what does the death of that high schooler has to do with my son."
The old couple are at a loss because Li didn"t ask about their son but rather the death of another person.
"The fact is, he mentioned this name during our last conversation."
Li lied. Jin taught her to say this because normal people wouldn"t believe in premonitions.
The lie is effective. The couple don"t have any doubt and the mother says. "How can it be? What did he say? I don"t remember he knows any high schooler."
"He said "Xie Xiaohao is dead. I... misfortune is coming for me.""
"How can this be? I... don"t know. Dad, do you know anything?"
"I don"t know either. Miss Yi, are you sure?"
Li rubs her hands out of guilt and her voice lowers. "Probably not."
No valuable information here. But XiaPeng is going to die tomorrow if we don"t do something...
"Jun, where are you..." The mother begins weeping.
Li sighs. She would have the same warmth from family if her parents didn"t die seven years ago.
-----
"Li, why are you running so fast? We only went away for a few days."
Li is hopping to the door with excitement. "An, you are too slow! I want to eat the honey cake mom bakes."
They already came to the door. Li takes out the keys to open the door then runs inside. An quickly follows and closed the door. "This crazy girl even forgets to close the door."
"Dad! Mom!" Li runs to the bedroom to look for her parents. He also misses them but he hears a heartbreaking scream before he reaches the bedroom.
An"s heart clenches tight and rushes into the room. Then he covers his mouth with his hand and backs off.
"No, don"t look! Li, close your eyes!"
Li only remembers darkness fell when An covered her eyes. But that horrifying scene in front of her. Why...?
The smell of blood keeps reminding her this isn"t a dream.
The cops came and are also shocked by the scene. This couple"s bodies are cut into three sections. On the floor is a claw mark that aligns with the cuts! They a.n.a.lysed the claw mark but can"t identify what animal it belongs to.
The two high schoolers are taken into their aunt"s custody. This case became a point of discussion in the city. Reporters often come to hara.s.s them. That scene has been carved into Li"s heart. She"s more terrified than sad at this point.
One day, An wakes her up.
"What"s it?"
"Come with me. Leave this city."
She rubs her eyes and looks at the clock. It"s only 1AM. Their aunt and uncle are still sleeping.
"An... what are you talking about? Why leave?"
An"s expression looks serious. "We have to leave. For ourselves and to not get aunt and uncle involved. We are cutting off all contacts with friends and relatives starting today."
Li gets dressed in confusion and follows An out the house. They get on a taxi to the train station.
"Li, do you believe in ghosts?"
"An... don"t scare me."
"I"m sorry." Tears begin filling his eyes. His voice is choking with sobs. "I should have thought about getting revenge instead... but I can"t do it. If we didn"t live in school that week, maybe we are also dead... Mom and dad left a diary that mentioned the reason for the death. They wrote to us, "run"! That"s why I have to leave with you..."
"An, why didn"t you hand something so important to the police? And where are we going?"
"I don"t know. Let"s leave first. We have enough money to find a place. Don"t go back to your school. Don"t get in contact with your friends. We need to disappear from the world and so as to not let that "thing" find out anything about us."
Li shivers. What is that "thing"?
"Listen. This is the diary. Take a look and you will understand..."
Li reads the diary under the dim light inside the taxi.
"An, Li... Perhaps we are dead by the time you are reading this. Listen carefully. If we died, then run away from this city after reading the diary. Don"t let anyone learn of your location. Anyone! Including relatives and your best friends. This may be the only way to be saved. I don"t know if that "thing" ever done anything to you but just to be sure... There"s a red box inside the fourth drawer of my desk. Inside it is a bank draft at An"s name. The money is enough to sustain you. You can consider working part time while going to school. But it doesn"t matter if you don"t go to college. The most important thing is stay alive. Don"t stay in this city any longer!
About three days ago, a strange noise woke us up in the night. But that noise quickly disappeared. We thought that was a dream and didn"t pay much attention to it but... the next morning, we found a claw mark of three swipes on the wall. That mark tore the wallpaper and the concrete wall behind. We hired people to check it but found no cause.
Was it some animal that sneaked into our house? We didn"t call the police because nothing was lost in the house. However... the day after... we found the claw mark moved! The clawed wall from before suddenly recovered but that mark... moved closer to our bedroom! That"s when we realized that "it" was approaching us!"
Chapter 7
Li almost screamed when she reads this. The taxi driver glances behind.
"No... that can"t be..."
She can never forget the claw marks that killed her parents. She thought those marks were from beasts or a maniac... but how can it be?
"Perhaps you won"t believe this. We also thought it was unreal. But the claw mark moved was undeniable. It was at least ten meters away from the bedroom"s door but only five meters the next day! Yet, despite the terror we felt, we didn"t connect it with ghosts. We moved to An"s room to be safe. Fortunately, you weren"t here at the time to experience the ordeal."
"But moving was no use. The claw mark appeared right outside An"s room today! And the one that was near our bedroom is gone. By this time, we have no choice but to accept this mark doesn"t belong to our world. It can chase us no matter where we run!"
Li"s tears soaked the diary. She says to An. "Why? Dad and mom are good people... we had never done anything bad. Why did this disaster land on us? Why do we have to run? Why..."
"We must run. This is our only choice. Dad and mom realized they couldn"t avoid the claw mark and accepted their deaths. The diary wrote they tried staying in a hotel but the mark followed."
On the last page of the diary, it wrote. "We decided to make one last effort to end this problem before you come back. We also considered asking for help but we didn"t want to drag other people into this disaster. Tonight, we will wait outside our bedroom for the owner of the claw mark."
"Listen, you will come back tomorrow. If we died.. then run!"
In the end, they both died.
Yet, they were supposed to wait outside the bedroom but died inside. There was also no blood anywhere outside.
This isn"t something imaginable by humans. The police won"t believe it even if they were to hand over the diary. They won"t protect them.
"Li, give me your cellphone."
"Why?"
"Give it to me first."
Li hands