Have you Forgotten?
5. The Return of the Dead
Jamie found herself face-to-face with a twisted, decayed face.
It was Xiao Nan—her childhood friend—but her features were sunken and rotting, her skin resembling soaked, decomposing paper, and her mouth stretched unnaturally wide, revealing rows of blackened teeth.
Even more terrifying—she had no body.
Her severed head floated mid-air, long black hair twisting like writhing tendrils in the night wind.
"Jamie… have you forgotten?" Xiao Nan's lips barely moved, her voice carrying a hollow resonance. "That night, we promised to stay together. But you… abandoned me."
Jamie's mind went blank.
And then—
She remembered.
As a child, she had once visited this town with her family during the Lantern Festival of the Dead. That year, she had played hide-and-seek behind the shrine with a local girl, Xiao Nan.
"As long as we hide here," Xiao Nan had whispered, "we won't be chosen as offerings."
But then—the midnight bell tolled.
Jamie had heard footsteps, followed by the village chief's murmuring chants—
"The offering… must be taken…"
Fear had gripped her.
She had slipped away, leaving Xiao Nan behind, running back to her parents.
And Xiao Nan… had never come out.
"I'm sorry." Jamie's voice was hoarse, her throat tightening with guilt.
Xiao Nan's lips curled into a grotesque grin.
"It's too late."
Without warning—
Her mouth split open, and a rotting arm emerged from her throat, clawing straight for Jamie's face!
BANG!
A gunshot shattered the silence.
The hand exploded mid-air, dissipating into a cloud of dark mist.
Sandra stood behind Jamie, smoke curling from the barrel of her silver revolver. Her voice was steady, cold—
"Leave her alone. Your time is over."
A flicker of pain crossed Xiao Nan's lifeless eyes.
Her shadow twisted and stretched, slowly dissolving into the darkness.
"Jamie…" Her whisper faded like wind dispersing ash.
And then—she was gone.
Jamie collapsed to the ground, her entire body trembling, cold sweat soaking her clothes.
Her fingers clenched against the earth, nails digging into her palm.
Sandra knelt beside her. "Are you alright?"
Jamie lifted her gaze, her voice barely above a whisper—
"Sandra… we need to leave this place."
Sandra hesitated for only a moment before nodding.
But before they could move—
The village chief's voice echoed behind them.
"The offering… cannot escape."
6. Marked for Sacrifice
Jamie and Sandra whirled around.
The village chief stood there, expressionless, his dark robes fluttering in the windless air.
The entire town had vanished.
The red lanterns trembled, their flames dimming, casting long, distorted shadows.
The air was thick with the stench of decay, suffocating, oppressive—like standing inside a tomb.
Sandra tightened her grip on her revolver. "What the hell are you people worshiping?"
The village chief smiled—a slow, unsettling smile.
"The Lantern Festival is not meant for the living."
Jamie's stomach twisted. "Then who is it for?"
The village chief slowly lifted a hand—
And pointed toward the sky.
Jamie followed his gaze—
And her blood ran cold.
Above them, countless distorted figures floated in the night sky.
Their bodies were suspended by invisible threads, faces frozen in agony, mouths open in silent screams, and eyes hollow and lifeless.
And above them—
A colossal, blood-red entity was awakening.
Its eyeless sockets cracked open, revealing a gaping void, as if its body had been ripped apart by countless hands.
The village chief's voice turned reverent, almost ecstatic—
"It has awakened."
A terrible force gripped Jamie, pulling her toward the dark abyss forming above the shrine.
And then—she understood.
The Lantern Festival had always been a ritual.
A sacrifice to something not of this world.
And she—
She had been chosen as this year's offering.
"RUN!" Sandra yanked Jamie's arm and bolted toward the town's exit.
Behind them, black tendrils of shadow surged forward, the village chief's chants growing more frantic—summoning something unspeakable.
Jamie could feel it—cold hands clawing at her, skeletal fingers brushing against her skin.
She didn't dare look back.
She could not look back.
The town's exit was ahead.
Just a few more steps—
BANG!
Sandra fired a shot, shattering one of the red lanterns.
The flame burst into a crimson mist, and for a split second—the shadowy figures hesitated.
Jamie lunged forward, breaking through the town's invisible threshold.
And in an instant—
The entire village fell silent.
The shadows collapsed, the chanting ceased, and the world was plunged into a deafening stillness.
They had escaped.
7. The Journey Back
Dawn had broken.
Jamie and Sandra stood on the empty mountain road, staring at the town behind them.
Baidu Town stood eerily still—as if nothing had ever happened.
Yet they knew—it had not been a dream.
Jamie exhaled, her voice hoarse. "This place… should not exist."
Sandra reloaded her gun, her expression unreadable. "It won't exist for much longer."
She pulled out a yellow talisman, murmured an incantation, and set it ablaze.
The paper turned to ash, drifting toward the village.
And then—
Every red lantern in town flickered out at once.
The wind stopped.
The trees no longer swayed.
The town itself—like a crumbling illusion—began to fade.
Jamie watched, her chest tight with unease.
"No more Lantern Festivals." Sandra murmured.
Jamie remained silent for a long time, then finally exhaled—
"…Let's hope so."
They turned away, leaving the town behind.
As they walked, Baidu Town vanished completely, leaving behind nothing but an empty road.
And a single weathered stone tablet, inscribed with countless names.
Jamie glanced back—her breath catching in her throat.
At the very bottom of the stone—
A new name had appeared.
Jamie.