chapter_013 : Ghost Painting

Early in the morning, Orion got up, dressed, and combed his hair carefully. To Violet's surprise, he even wore a tie. She thought he was going to some formal event until he said he was going with Jane to see Neil Lawson on the outskirts of the city.

"Hey, bro, you used to call her Miss Jane. Now it's 'Jane'?" Violet asked playfully.

"Mind your own business! It's my freedom to call her whatever I want. Anyway, please help me check on Gary. And don't forget our signal: if you have a premonition, say 'Black Peak' before telling me the time limit, okay?" Orion told her.

Hearing this, Violet instantly shivered, recalling the incident last time when a fake version of herself entered their home. It still sent a chill down her spine. She quickly nodded.

Before leaving, Orion turned to Violet and said seriously, "Violet, you just focus on giving me the time data. Never, ever get involved in any specific actions. I've been trying to protect you for the past seven years."

Protect you... Keep you alive...

Violet looked into her brother's determined eyes, seemed to understand, and nodded.

When Orion got downstairs, Jane's car was already waiting.

"Sorry I'm a bit late, Jane," he said as he opened the car door. But Jane didn't seem to mind. Instead, she was excited, "It's okay. We'll finally get to meet the third person on my father's list today. I thought it would take another year to find him. Just think about it; it took me three years to find you and Violet."

Three years...

Orion suddenly felt it was an eerie coincidence. Jane's mother was attacked by a ghost and died three years ago, and he and Violet moved to this city also three years ago. Could it really be just a coincidence? And after Jane's father disappeared, her grandfather bought her a house in this city...

Was everything secretly controlled by some unknown force? Was it really not an accident that he met Jane? He then recalled his experience at her house a few days ago.

"I was too naive. Scarlett's death proves that our meager supernatural abilities can't fight against those vengeful spirits. Human bodies and wisdom will only be toyed with. In the end, our premonitions will come true. So, improving our supernatural abilities is our top priority now. I'll take you to the basement," Jane said as she led Orion to her basement.

The basement was incredibly spacious, almost two - thirds the size of a football field. There were all kinds of rooms, some with strange instruments, and others filled with drugs and reagents. The most striking one was a room with mirrors on all four sides. No matter where you stood, you could see an infinite number of yourself.

According to Jane, if a person's supernatural ability reached a certain height, they could see something among those infinite reflections. It really gave one the creeps.

"I built part of this basement based on my father's notes and the rest on my research materials. But most of the research hasn't yielded results yet. My supernatural ability hasn't improved much in the past three years. However, you're different. Your natural physique means you can do better than me," Jane explained as she led Orion into a room filled with test - tubes, beakers, and alcohol lamps.

She picked up a test - tube and said, "This is a potion I made. I've taken it. It can temporarily enhance supernatural ability, but the effect isn't obvious. I'm not sure how it'll work on you. The principle is to stimulate the potential genes in the body to gradually develop the latent abilities. But we still need to verify if it really works on supernatural stuff, and there seem to be no side - effects so far. Do you want to give it a try? It's a quick way, but there might be side - effects on you."

Orion frowned as he looked at the green liquid in the test - tube. Nausea welled up in him. Considering Jane's uncertain tone about the potion's effects, he shook his head. "Forget it. Quick fixes often come with high costs. Let's start from the basics."

"Alright. Prepare yourself then," Jane said.

Next, she took him into another room. There was almost nothing in it, except for four rough - looking plastic dolls in each corner. They were expressionless and all looked similar.

"I originally planned to use wax figures, but they were too expensive, so I used these dolls instead," Jane said. She placed a chair in the middle of the room and told Orion, "This method is from my father's notes. First, you sit on this chair. Then I'll lock the door. The light switch is outside. Once I turn off the lights, you'll be in complete darkness. You have to stay here, neither eating nor drinking, until you hear a sound in the room. If you hear a sound from the corner, shout out. I've installed a bug in this room. If the dolls move after I turn on the lights, it means your supernatural ability has been activated."

Orion's face turned almost white. This was like waiting to meet a ghost! "Are you kidding me? This is more dangerous than playing with an Ouija board!"

"Then drink the potion. You have to choose one," Jane retorted.

Orion surveyed the room, unsure which option was safer. But then he thought of Scarlett's distorted body and the imminent danger facing him and Violet. He gritted his teeth. At this time, he couldn't worry about safety. If he was afraid now, what would happen in the future? He clenched his fists and said, "Fine, I'll stay in this room. But will these dolls really move?"

"I've tried it. After about twenty - four hours, I heard a sound and then unlocked the door myself. And yes, the dolls had moved. I'm not lying," Jane assured him.

Since even Jane, who didn't have a natural supernatural physique, could do it, Orion decided to give it a go.

"Of course, I have to warn you. There's definitely danger. I can't guarantee you'll survive. If you die here, it just means your supernatural talent isn't that great," Jane said.

This sounded like something straight out of a Japanese anime's trial scene!

Regardless, Orion decided to accept. If he really had supernatural abilities, he should be able to do this.

Locked in the room full of dolls, Orion's heart raced. But after about half an hour, he gradually calmed down.

Don't be afraid... He kept telling himself. In the past, he only knew how to run away, which was why he was always at the mercy of fate. Now, he had to face it head - on to have a chance.

Yes... Only in this way...

Since his phone was taken away, he had no idea what time it was. The room was so well - sealed that not a single ray of light came in. So, even after many hours had passed, it was still pitch - black around him.

Orion kept his ears glued to every sound around. Even the slightest noise would have alerted him. But for hours, there was only dead silence.

Cut off from the outside world, he lost track of time. He started to feel sleepy. Since he hadn't eaten or drunk anything, his body was getting tired. And in the dark environment, his eyelids started to droop.

"Why am I so sleepy... I can't sleep..." he mumbled.

He had no idea that it was almost midnight outside. It was only natural that he was sleepy. Despite his best efforts to keep his eyes open and move his arms, tiredness overwhelmed him. Soon, he fell into a deep sleep.

He didn't know how long he'd slept when he woke up feeling something on his body!

"I didn't expect you to fall asleep," Jane said as they were on their way to Neil's house.

"If you'd woken up a few minutes later, you might not be sitting here with me right now," she added.

Orion pulled a long face. "It was so weird. Did you put a doll on me while I was asleep?"

"Don't be silly. Do you think I'd want to wake you up? And why would I do that?" Jane said, both annoyed and amused.

Orion felt a bit more at ease. Looking at the lush scenery outside the car window, he said, "In the city, there are only tall buildings, and you can't even see the horizon. But it's different in the suburbs. The air here is fresh. Since this city is by the coast and has a developed fishing industry, the local farmers might have fresh seafood. Maybe we can buy some for Violet."

"You're really not taking this seriously..." Jane sighed.

For Jane, finding a partner like Orion was a piece of good fortune. She still remembered the day after the doll - room experiment. As they said goodbye, she told him, "There's something I'd like to ask of you."

"Sure, go ahead," Orion replied.

"Let's not just be cooperators. We'll be partners in life and death. So, don't call me Miss Jane anymore. It sounds so formal. How about calling me Jane? Since my mother died and my father disappeared, no one has called me that..."

"Okay, Jane! See you later!" Orion agreed right away. He got to know Jane better and had a good impression of her. So, he was happy to call her by her first name as a partner. They also planned the date to visit Neil.

Orion wanted to call Neil first, but he couldn't find the paper with the phone number. The editor who gave him the address had been transferred to a branch in another city. So, they had to go unannounced.

Neil seemed to be interested in people with supernatural abilities, so he should welcome Jane, right?

As they got closer to the house, Orion felt something was off. The house looked shabby, and the trees in the yard were all dead. He remembered Neil used to take good care of the plants. A sense of foreboding washed over him.

As they reached the iron gate, they found the lock had been broken. Was it a thief? But what they saw next was even more shocking. Looking down at the ground, they found...

"What... How could this be..." Jane crouched down and looked at the marks.

"It should be from yesterday. How..." Orion said.

They quickly pushed open the gate and rushed inside. The house was empty, but the marks led them forward to their end... or rather, the start.

"Look, there's a clear handprint here. Since there's dust everywhere except here. I also noticed that there were some broken cobwebs from the door to the end of the corridor and some footprints on the ground. So, someone has been here recently. But... What's with these... blood stains?" Orion said.

They were now standing in front of a painting at the stairway turn. In the painting was a study, which Orion immediately recognized as a room in this house. There was a pool of blood in the middle of the study floor that extended to the edge of the painting.

You might have noticed something strange, right? Yes, the female ghost that should have been in the painting... was gone!

But the scariest part was yet to come!

The blood stain that reached the edge of the painting actually spread into the real world! It started from the painting frame, continued outside the painting, then went down the stairs and towards the front door! And the blood stain vaguely formed the outline of a crawling person!

"Ah!" Jane suddenly hugged her head and crouched down. She felt a buzzing in her head, and then, the keywords of her premonition flashed in her mind.

"Ghost painting... Is the ghost painting the keyword for this time?"

Meanwhile, Gary was at home, munching on instant noodles. Still feeling uneasy after visiting that strange house yesterday, he decided to stay at home today since he didn't have to go to his internship. As an out - of - town student, his parents sent him money every month, and he rented an apartment on his own.

"I really shouldn't have listened to Zachary's persuasion. He said it was a chance to be a real man. Who would be crazy enough to go to a spooky house like that? It was just an excuse for him to show off in front of Lily. Get real!" Gary grumbled as he finished his noodles.

Eating instant noodles every day made him feel like he was chewing wax. But it was the cheapest and easiest food for him living alone in the apartment, and he'd tried many brands.

After swallowing the last noodle, he tossed the noodle box on the floor and then lay down on the bed. His room was a complete mess, with old newspapers, tissues on the floor, and a messy bookshelf full of comics and DVDs.

"Ugh... I don't know what to do on this day off. It's too cold to go out, and there aren't any good movies lately," he sighed as he pinched a pair of smelly socks that he hadn't washed for three days.

"Living alone is so inconvenient. I should have found a roommate when I rented this apartment," he thought. He wondered if there was anyone at the internship who could share the apartment with him. He remembered some of his colleagues were also from other places and living in the school dormitory, but it was inconvenient to get water and take a shower there, and they had to wait in line.

Just then, the phone rang. He jumped up and looked around. It took him about a minute to find the phone in a pile of yellowed pocket books.

"Hello? Who's this?" he asked.

"Gary, it's Ryan," the voice on the phone said.

"Oh, it's you. What's up? Are you asking me to play basketball? Sure..." Gary replied.

"You're too short to play basketball. You can't even catch the ball. You'd be impossible to find in a crowd," Ryan joked.

Gary immediately replied angrily, "Come on, Ryan! You picked on me enough last night. If you're just calling to say these stupid things, I don't have time for this!"

"Okay, okay. Just joking. I'm going to be on overtime the day after tomorrow, but I've already made a reservation at a karaoke bar with Zachary. Could you take my shift? Don't worry; I'll treat you to dinner later," Ryan said.

Hearing the word "shift," Gary was annoyed. He flat - out refused, "No way. I prefer staying home."

"Hey, don't be angry about the joke. I'm sorry. We'll call you next time we play basketball and treat you to dinner. You can order whatever you want. I've saved up a bit of money. Zachary and I made the reservation a week ago. Canceling it now would be a downer. What do you say?"

"Fine, I'll think about it and call you back later," Gary said and hung up the phone without waiting for Ryan's reply.

Humph... They're going to karaoke without me. I won't go. Let's see what they'll do!

Late at night, Gary was woken up by a strong urge to pee. He rubbed his eyes, stretched, and put on a coat before heading to the bathroom. When he came out, still half - asleep, he walked towards the entrance instead of his bedroom and bumped into the door. This jolted him awake.

By chance, when he opened his eyes, his left eye was right in front of the door's peephole.

And in that instant, he saw something that almost scared the life out of him.

There was a long corridor outside his door, with a turn at the end that led to the stairs. Since most people used the elevator these days, hardly anyone walked this way. It must have been around midnight.

And at the turn, he saw a woman covered in blood, her hair hanging loose. She was standing there, staring straight at his door! And... and...

That woman looked exactly like the female ghost in the painting!