chapter_006 : Claw Marks

"Brother! I've got a result!"

At noon the next day, Violet Elizabeth Miller called Orion James Miller, saying that she had sensed the deadline of Cassius Benjamin Reed's death. And that deadline... was tomorrow!

"Officer Cassius can only live until tomorrow... I've made an appointment to meet Cassius and the others this afternoon. Should I tell him about this?" Orion couldn't help but feel rather troubled about this.

"If you want to say it, I won't stop you. Letting him know his approaching end can also serve as his motivation."

Jane Sophia Parker was still as nonchalant as ever. At the moment, the two of them were in her house.

Jane's house was a two - story villa with a small garden in the city center. It faced south, and the location was excellent. The interior decoration was truly astonishing. Whether it was the sofas, tables, or curtains, they were all of very high - end brands. Every room was neatly tidied, although most of them were unoccupied.

"Do you live alone in such a big house?"

"This house was left to me by my grandfather. My mother was an overseas Chinese in the US. My grandfather had some assets abroad. Back then, my mother gave up the inheritance right of the family property and came to the US to marry my father. The family members were all against it... Well, it couldn't be helped because my father was just an ordinary psychologist."

In Jane's room, there were at least four computers, more than ten clocks, and a lot of mirrors. The bookshelves were filled with various books, covering everything from astronomy, geography to history and politics.

"Your room..."

"Is it strange? This is to train my supernatural ability. Because I don't have a natural supernatural physique. Mirrors are the most important props. Although they are very dangerous for people who encounter ghosts, for someone like me with poor supernatural ability, they are extremely important."

At this moment, she was standing in front of a mirror, stroking the mirror surface.

Orion then noticed those more than ten clocks. They all seemed to be made in Switzerland, and the movement of each clock was completely consistent, without the slightest difference. Therefore, in the room, one could hear the very neat ticking of the clock hands, not in a mess.

"After my mother died, my grandfather, who knew about my father's disappearance, originally wanted me to go abroad to inherit the inheritance, but I flatly refused. He seemed to feel guilty towards my mother, so he bought a property in this city in my name. I didn't refuse either, after all, it was what he owed my mother. Just because of that boring self - esteem, none of the family members came to my mother's funeral!"

Jane's voice seemed a bit excited. This was the first time Orion felt that she had obvious emotional fluctuations.

"After all, I need a big house to do a lot of things. There is also a basement downstairs, where I conduct some experiments. But so far, there have been no research results."

"So... what exactly is this so - called supernatural ability? And what you said about the supernatural physique..."

Orion really couldn't hold back his curiosity. Over the past seven years, he had tried to collect supernatural rumors from all over the US and even conducted in - depth research on the supernatural, but the statements everywhere were diverse and disorganized, and no systematic theory could be found. Moreover, the vast majority of them were pure superstition.

"Take you for example..." Jane suddenly turned around, pointed at Orion, and said, "You are a person with a natural supernatural physique, and so is your sister. This physique gives you a strong ability to sense the existence of ghosts. And premonition is a characteristic of this ability."

"But... don't you also have the premonition ability? Why do you say you're not a person with a natural supernatural physique?"

"I'm different from you two siblings. Although we all have the premonition ability after encountering ghosts, my ability was generated due to the influence of my father's supernatural ability. I didn't inherit my father's supernatural physique. Otherwise, I wouldn't only have this level of premonition ability."

When Jane said this, she seemed a bit dejected. She seemed to be frustrated about not being able to inherit her father's complete supernatural physique.

"If we're going to conduct an investigation, where should we start?"

Cassius and Scarlett Elizabeth Morgan arrived at Jane's house on time in the afternoon and brought relevant materials. After all, one was a police officer and the other was a reporter. It wasn't difficult at all to find relevant clues. Alex Daniel Green was an ordinary high - school student, amiable and friendly, with good academic performance. And Zephyr Aurora Hayes had nothing in common with him. Not only did they not know each other, but their residences were also two urban areas apart. In terms of study and life, the two had no intersection.

"Why... were they targeted?" Scarlett was completely confused. Then, she suddenly thought of a possibility and immediately said, "Wait a minute... Are you sure? Was it the same person who killed Alex Daniel Green and Zephyr Aurora Hayes?"

"Yes. I'm certain of this. 100% certain. The reason is simple," Jane completely refuted Scarlett's hypothesis, "When the two of them died, the keywords I premonitioned were the same."

"Keywords?" Cassius remembered that Jane had mentioned her premonition ability and quickly asked, "Then... what exactly was that keyword...?"

"'Distortion'. When both of them died, I sensed this keyword. Regarding this, Officer Cassius, you should have a deep understanding, right?"

Speaking of this, Cassius immediately recalled Alex's body and immediately felt a wave of nausea. He nodded silently.

Scarlett was completely confused. Distortion? What did it mean?

"That body... was really abnormal..." At this moment, Cassius could only describe it like this. Because he really didn't know how to explain the horror of that body to them.

At this moment, Violet was at Zephyr's home, asking his parents. After Zephyr disappeared, his parents were almost frantic. And since Violet was the last person to talk to Zephyr (actually it should have been Jane), they naturally accepted her interview.

Zephyr's home looked very simple, and the family's finances seemed not well - off. His parents' eyes were swollen like walnuts, and it was obvious that they had been through a lot of pain.

"Miss Miller... I don't quite understand. What does the death of that high - school student named Green have to do with our Zephyr?"

Although the two elders were very polite to Violet, they couldn't hold back their doubts. Why didn't she ask about their son first, but instead mentioned the death of another person?

"In fact, when I was talking to Zephyr on the phone for the last time, he mentioned this name to me."

Violet lied. This lie was taught to her by Jane. Ordinary people couldn't possibly believe in premonitions. And Zephyr was dead now. Even if she told such a lie, there was no way to prove it.

Sure enough, this had an immediate effect. Zephyr's parents didn't suspect at all. First, his mother opened her mouth, "How could this be? What did he say to you? I don't remember him knowing that high - school student..."

"He said to me at that time, 'Alex Daniel Green is dead, and I, I will also suffer bad luck.'"

Actually, the original words Jane taught her were 'Alex Daniel Green is dead, and I will die too.' But Violet was too kind - hearted. Although Zephyr was indeed dead, she didn't want to tell his parents the cruel reality so quickly.

"This... how is this possible? I, I don't know. Do you know, honey?"

"I don't know. Miss Miller, are you sure you didn't mishear?"

Violet rubbed her hands nervously, and her voice involuntarily lowered, "I... I should have heard correctly."

There was no valuable information to be found here. But Cassius would die tomorrow. If they didn't do something...

"Where on earth is Zephyr..."

Speaking of this, Zephyr's mother couldn't help but start sobbing again.

At this moment, Violet also felt emotional. If her parents hadn't died seven years ago, she could also enjoy such family affection...

It all seemed to have happened yesterday.

"Violet... Why are you running so fast? It's only been a few days since we saw mom and dad, and you're so excited!"

In the corridor of the building, excited Violet was bouncing towards the door of their home, shouting, "It's you who's walking too slowly, brother! I don't care! I'm thinking about eating the honey - roasted cake mom made for me now!"

As she spoke, she had already reached the door. Excited Violet took out the key to open the door and then quickly ran in. Orion followed closely behind, closing the door and saying, "This crazy girl! She even forgot to close the door!"

"Dad! Mom!" Violet seemed to have run to the bedroom to look for their parents. Orion also followed her. After all, during their time at school, he had always missed his parents. Unexpectedly, before they reached the bedroom door, a heart - rending scream came from Violet.

Orion's heart tightened suddenly, and he rushed into the bedroom. Then he couldn't help covering his mouth and taking several steps back!

"No, don't look! Violet, close your eyes!"

Violet only remembered being covered her eyes by her brother, and then both her eyes and heart were shrouded in darkness. She couldn't accept the terrifying scene in front of her. How could this be... How could this happen?

The lingering blood in the room constantly reminded her that this was not a dream.

When the police arrived, they were also shocked by the terrifying scene. Because... the couple's bodies were neatly cut into three sections, and on the floor, at the cut - off parts of the two bodies, there were actually three claw marks! Later, the claw marks were identified, but it was impossible to find out what kind of animal they were from. And there was no report of any missing wild animals in the city park.

The two siblings, who were only high - school students at that time, were taken to their aunt's house to live temporarily. This murder case became the focus of the city, and there were always reporters coming to interview. Although they were protected by their aunt and uncle and not overly harassed, that scene could no longer be erased from Violet's heart. For her, the feeling filling her heart was more fear than sadness.

One night, her brother woke her up from her sleep.

"Brother... What's wrong?"

"Violet, come with me. Leave this city."

She rubbed her eyes sleepily and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It was only one o'clock in the morning. Her aunt and uncle were probably still sleeping.

"Brother... What are you talking about? Why do we have to leave?"

Orion said seriously, "We have to go. Not only for our own sake, but also to avoid implicating our aunt and uncle. From now on, we can't contact any relatives or friends either."

In confusion, Violet got dressed and then followed her brother out of their aunt's house. They took a taxi outside, and her brother said they were going to the train station. Then, her brother began to explain the reason to her.

"Violet, do you believe there are ghosts in the world?"

"Bro... brother, don't scare me..."

"I'm sorry," Orion said, his eyes filled with tears. He choked and said, "Actually, the first thing I should have considered was how to avenge our parents... But I can't do it. If we hadn't lived in school that week, maybe we would be dead now... In the diaries left by our parents, the reasons for their deaths were recorded in detail. In the end, they clearly told us, 'Run away quickly!' So I have to leave with you..."

"Brother, such an important thing, why didn't you give it to the police? And where exactly are we going?"

"I don't know. Anyway, let's leave here first. This money is enough for us to settle down temporarily. You can't go to school anymore, and don't contact any of your classmates either. We have to disappear completely from the world, and we can't let 'that thing' know our whereabouts through any channels."

Violet couldn't help shivering. 'That thing', what exactly was it?

"Listen... This is the diary. You can take a look too. After you read it, you'll understand why I'm doing this..."

Violet read the content of the diary by the dim light in the car.

"Orion, Violet... When you read this passage, maybe we're already dead. Listen... If we really die, then after seeing the diary, leave immediately. Stay away from this city. Don't reveal your whereabouts to anyone. Remember, anyone! Even relatives, even your best friends. This is the only way you might be saved. I don't know if 'that thing' can do anything to you, but just in case, this is the only thing we can do... In a red box in the fourth drawer on the left of my desk, there is a bank card. The amount should be enough for you to settle down temporarily. In the future, you can consider working part - time while studying. It doesn't matter if you don't get into college. The most important thing is to survive. You can't stay in this city anymore!

About three days ago, when we were sleeping, we were woken up by a strange sound. But the sound disappeared later. We thought it was a dream, so we didn't pay much attention. Who knew... The next morning, we actually found that there were three claw marks on the wall outside the bedroom! The claw marks completely tore the wallpaper and even broke the bricks in the wall. Later, we invited people from the property management company, but they couldn't come to a conclusion.

Could some animal have sneaked into our house at night? Although we considered calling the police, there was no loss in the house, so we just let it go. But... the next day... we actually found that the position of the claw marks had moved! The wall that should have been scratched was completely restored, and the claw marks that had moved... were closer to our bedroom than the day before! At this moment, we finally understood!

'It' wanted to enter our bedroom! 'It' was approaching us!