chapter_007 : Midnight Horror

At this point, Violet let out an almost ear - splitting scream that made the taxi driver in the front turn around and give her a strange look.

"No... it can't be..."

She could never forget those three claw marks on her parents' dismembered bodies. She used to think it was from some wild beast or a maniac. But how could it be like this? She had never imagined it would be...

"Maybe it's hard for you to believe. We also thought it was inconceivable at first. But the movement of the claw marks was so obvious. The first day, the claw marks were at least ten meters away from the bedroom door, but this time, they were no more than five meters! Such an obvious difference could be seen with the naked eye.

Even though we were scared to death, we couldn't explain this thing with ideas like ghosts. Out of caution, we decided to move to Orion's room. Fortunately, you two were in boarding school at that time and didn't have to go through such a scare...

However, it was all in vain! Today, the claw marks appeared at the door of Orion's room! And the claw marks in front of our original bedroom completely disappeared without a trace. Up to this point, we had to admit that these claw marks were not left by any creature in this world. They came from another world! No matter where we ran, it could always catch up with us!" As she read to this part, Violet's tears had already soaked the diary paper. She sobbed and said to her brother, "Why? Mom and Dad were good people... we didn't do anything wrong. Why did we have to suffer such a disaster? Why do we have to run away? Why..."

"We have to run. It's the only way. Our parents finally realized they couldn't defeat these terrifying claw marks and chose to accept death. Because running was useless anyway. The diary also mentioned later that they tried staying in a hotel to avoid these terrible claw marks, but the claw marks still followed them..."

This was the last page of the diary.

"Finally, we decided to use one last method. We must solve this problem before you come back from school. Although we considered asking someone for advice, we were worried that it would involve more people. Tonight, we kept a vigil beside the wall outside the bedroom, waiting for the owner of those claw marks to appear. No matter what kind of monster it was, we decided to fight it to the death.

Listen... you'll be back tomorrow. I'll repeat it one last time. If we die... run away! Run away at all costs!"

Eventually, the two of them died.

Strangely enough, the two of them, who had decided to stay up all night waiting for the claw marks beside the wall outside the bedroom, died inside the bedroom. There was not a single drop of blood in the corridor.

This was beyond human imagination. Even if they gave the diary to the police, the police wouldn't believe them. And even if they did, they couldn't protect them. So, it was better to rely on themselves and leave this city first.

"Violet, give me your phone."

"Huh? Why, brother?"

"Just give it to me."

Violet took out her phone in puzzlement and gave it to Orion. Then, Orion took out his own phone. Just then, the taxi happened to drive by the bridge. Orion tossed both phones out of the window and into the river below.

"No... brother! What are you doing? There are a lot of my friends' phone numbers in it..."

"That's exactly my purpose. Violet, from today on, we have to completely say goodbye to our past lives. Whether it's relatives or friends... we won't have any more contact with them. If we want to survive, we have to give up all of this. Violet, I can't lose you again. From now on, I'll take care of you!"

Orion kept his promise. Everything changed. They moved to a new city and changed to a new school. But they couldn't stay in each city for long. About one or two years later, whenever there were reports of strange murders or disappearances in the newspapers, Orion would immediately prepare to move to a new city. Violet had spent the past seven years in constant migrations. The reason they finally settled in this city was mainly because Orion was tired of it. He also knew that no matter where they ran, there would always be inexplicable paranormal phenomena. And Violet, who had finally achieved her dream of becoming a reporter in this city, didn't want to move anyway. Moreover, Orion's horror novels were becoming more and more successful, which made him regret not using a pen name. Otherwise, their relatives from the original city might come looking for them.

But Violet was happy. At least, it would give their relatives the message that the two of them were doing well. She always hoped that one day she could go back to their original city to visit her parents' graves. Several times, she almost got to the ticket window at the train station, but she finally gave up because of the fear of the claw marks recorded in the diary. The only thing she could do was to put a bunch of white lilies at home on the anniversary of her parents' deaths.

"Miss Violet... Miss Violet, what's wrong with you?"

Mrs. Hayes interrupted her daydream. She immediately woke up and said apologetically, "Sorry, I got distracted... Where were we just now?"

That night, Cassius and Scarlett checked into a hotel. They definitely didn't dare to go back to their original home to sleep. Orion never told them that Cassius would die the next day.

"What do you think we should do?"

It was already half - past eleven, but Cassius and Scarlett still showed no sign of fatigue. "Are we... going to die?"

Scarlett really regretted it now. She thought, 'If I can't get the exclusive news, then so be it. For the sake of more bonuses, I've now got involved with such a terrible thing... How should I describe it? Maybe just as a 'thing'?'

"I'm also thinking of a way... Anyway, I've covered the mirror in the toilet with a cloth. We'll take the stairs up and down. When we sleep, we'll take turns on guard, changing shifts every three hours. Don't worry. This room is close to the fire escape, and it's on the third floor. I parked the car downstairs. If something happens, we'll immediately run away. For the sake of easy escape, don't take off your coat when you sleep. Tomorrow, we'll go to Orion and the others to find another solution. You go to sleep first. I'll keep watch."

"Cassius... I'm sorry. It's all my fault..."

"It's not your fault... If anyone is to blame, I'm also responsible. You go to sleep peacefully. If something happens, I'll wake you up immediately."

After comforting Scarlett and making her fall asleep, Cassius walked to the window, lit a cigarette. Even though there was a clock on the wall, he still rolled up his sleeve to check his watch. It was almost midnight.

At that moment, Scarlett's phone rang, and the sound came from the bathroom. "Oh, I left my phone in the bathroom." She quickly sat up and walked into the bathroom. Remembering what had happened last time, Cassius was a bit worried and wanted to follow her in to have a look. Who knew that Scarlett's somewhat aggrieved voice came from the bathroom: "What... Can't we stay in a hotel?"

The caller was Jane.

"Do you think you'll be safe in a hotel? Don't be ridiculous! Tell me the hotel address and room number. I'll come right away!"

Cassius sighed, took a deep puff of his cigarette, and walked back to the window.

What should they do in the future?

Scarlett's hands wrapped around his neck from behind, and she pressed her back against his. Cassius said with emotion, "Don't worry, Scarlett... we'll definitely survive... definitely..."

However...

Scarlett's voice came from the bathroom:

"Is that you, Cassius? I accidentally dropped my car keys into the crack in the tiles. Can you come in and help me get them?"

A chill quickly rose from the soles of Cassius's feet to the top of his head. Only then did Cassius realize how cold the hands around his neck were...

A shrill scream broke the silence of the night, and the hands of the clock hanging on the wall just pointed to midnight.

Just as Violet had predicted, Cassius precisely met his doom on "Today". Hearing the scream, Scarlett rushed out of the bathroom. However... the room was completely empty. She only saw a cigarette butt still emitting a wisp of smoke on the bedside, as if it was the only evidence that Cassius had been here just now.

"Wow - help, help!"

Her first reaction was to run away, but she remembered Jane's instructions on the phone: "Remember, no matter what happens, try not to leave the room. According to my experience, if you're attacked by a ghost and run away immediately, the possibility of dying is much higher than staying in place."

Thinking carefully, in those horror movies, how many people who ran away after seeing a ghost survived? After all, Jane had experience. Scarlett finally managed to stay calm, jumped onto the bed, and even though she was still wearing her coat, she tightly wrapped a khaki - colored quilt around herself and always remained vigilant around the room, praying that Jane would come soon.

At the same time, Jane and Orion, who were driving to the hotel, also began to have a dispute over a question.

"Actually, there's something I've always been concerned about."

Orion, sitting in the passenger seat, raised a question: "The death of Zephyr is very different from Alex's... That is, the corpse. By this point, you should understand, right? Alex's body was presented in an extremely appalling state, but Zephyr completely disappeared in that public toilet. Isn't it strange? Because you said that the same 'thing' caused their two deaths." "Yes, I did say that."

"If what you said is true, then why didn't Zephyr's body remain? Isn't it strange? Oh, don't misunderstand. I'm not doubting you. I believe that everything you've said so far is true. I just want to talk about my own assumption."

"Oh?"

"First, my assumption needs evidence to hold. Violet said you showed her the photos of Alex's body. So, can you show them to me too?"

"She didn't describe it to you? Well, no wonder such a scene... Alright, I can show them to you, but let's wait until we pick them up at the hotel first."

"Actually, I have another question."

"Well, you do have a lot of questions."

Orion bit his lip, looked at Jane's profile, and asked, "Miss Jane, that day, the person who called the hotline and asked a lot of strange questions was you, right?"

"Yes, it was me."

Her so - straightforward admission made Orion a little surprised. And at this moment, the hotel was right in front of them. It had to be said that Jane drove really fast. Even the traffic police couldn't keep up with her, so they couldn't issue her a ticket.

When they got to the room door, Jane immediately knocked on it and shouted, "It's me. Open the door quickly! Miss Scarlett!"

After a while, Scarlett opened the door. As soon as she saw the two of them, she immediately cried and hugged Jane, saying, "Cassius, Cassius is gone... Please save me. I'm so scared, so scared..." At this time, Orion noticed that Jane pushed the door open, glanced into the room, and then her expression seemed to change significantly. She said, "Let's go. Leave here immediately."

Orion began to gradually verify his speculation. He remembered that when Zephyr died, Jane also noticed something in that public toilet. Sure enough... was it really like this?

Did she see something he couldn't see but didn't say anything?

Moreover, regarding paranormal constitution and paranormal abilities, he also thought that Jane hadn't told him the whole truth. She said that she wasn't born with a paranormal constitution, and the only evidence she had was that her premonition ability was not as good as her father's. This was a bit unnatural. Since her father had a paranormal constitution, it was natural for her, as his daughter, to inherit it. Even if the inheritance was incomplete, why did she categorically deny having such a constitution?

The words this woman said should be true because all of what she said could be easily verified with a little investigation. Moreover, Violet was a reporter, and it was very easy for her to figure it out. But why did she still keep some secrets? Could it be that she still couldn't fully trust them, the siblings? Or maybe she was just using them? Seven years ago, he reluctantly gave up everything and left the city where he was born and grew up according to his parents' last instructions. For seven years, he lived like a fugitive and endured the threat of death that might come one day. Such a life was unimaginable. Nevertheless, for Violet's sake, he always forced himself to hold on and must never collapse before her.

If, really, the curse could be broken, he would do anything. He only hoped that he and his sister could get real freedom, and Violet could live a normal life like others... And as for Jane, was she a savior for the siblings, or another demon?

First of all, what puzzled him the most was what Jane said about her father. Her father's actions were completely illogical. As an all - knowing and omnipotent predictor, he should have known his daughter's fate. However, he chose to disappear and let her come to find Orion and Violet. It was simply leaving his daughter to fend for herself. If he wanted to completely abandon his daughter, why did he leave that notebook? What was the meaning of doing that?

After getting back in the car, Scarlett was sitting in the back seat alone, shivering. Jane handed Orion an envelope and said, "This is what you wanted to see."

Orion nodded, reached into the envelope, and took out a stack of photos.

"How... how could..."

How could it be like this!