Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Cheryl didn’t have a warm home, though. Her father, Frank was an abusive drunkard and gambler. She and her mother, Linda, constantly lived in hell.
There was a store that could fix cell phones near the residential area. Cheryl handed the old phone to the owner and said, “Can you help me fix this? Make sure the data remains intact.”
“Sure. You can pick it up in a few days.” The owner took the phone.
Cheryl had bought it secondhand several years ago. I’d been with her at the time. It looked like she was finally willing to switch to a new one.
After leaving the store, she mumbled tearfully, “This is all can do for you, Lara.”
She tilted her head slightly as tears flowed down her face. My nose prickled at the sight, and I wrapped my arms
around her.
I wanted to tell her that this was more than enough. It no longer mattered whether or not things were cleared up,
anyway.
When she got back home, Frank had left, and Linda was weeping in a corner. Cheryl silently started to clean up the
mess.
Suddenly, she said, “Mom, let’s get out of here.”
Linda’s gaze was unfocused, and she smiled brokenly. “Do you have money for that?”
Cheryl fell silent, looking hesitant. She cooked after cleaning the house, and I stayed by her side the whole time. I didn’t get pulled back to Hansel’s side.
I realized I could stay with the people who’d come into contact with Hansel for some time. When would I be done with this floating, specter–like state, though? Where was my body? When would I truly attain peace?
I slowly faded out of consciousness as I pondered these things. Suddenly, I jolted awake and found myself away from Cheryl. Instead, I was in a forest.
It was late at night, and the sky was pitch–black. Still, I saw some lights flickering not too far away. I took a closer look to find a few men with headlamps on. They were digging something up.
They wore black and had caps and masks on. It was almost impossible to see their faces. The dim lights elongated their shadows, casting a creepy vibe to the scene. They also gave off dangerous airs. Clearly, they weren’t kind souls.
I didn’t know what they were digging, so I floated over to see. Before I got close, I heard a man say excitedly, Fuck, we’ve finally gotten the last piece. Doug, Stuart, get in there and get it out.”
11
Two of the men jumped into the pit they’d dug. It was as deep as a human’s height. Both men were around five feet and 11 inches, but their heads barely poked out of the pit.
They crouched and soon lifted a sack out. The two men standing outside the pit immediately reached out to grab it but retched. “It stinks.”
Whatever was in that sack probably smelled horrible. The two men almost dropped it but restrained themselves as they dragged the sack out of the pit.
I’d lost my senses, so I couldn’t smell anything. I floated over there nonchalantly. I didn’t know why I was suddenly brought to this place or what the men were doing. It was clear that they were up to no good, though. They didn’t look like the kind type.
Chapter 21
+25 BONUS
Nevertheless, it didn’t matter what they were doing. I was already dead, so nothing I saw now could scare me.
Doug and Stuart clambered out of the pit. Then, the four of them filled it and scattered dried leaves that they’d prepared beforehand over it. It was to cover their tracks.
Someone said, “Let’s go.”
One of the men hoisted the sack over his shoulder. Then, the four of them hurried to a van parked nearby. Something fell out of the sack. It seemed like a small item, which I only happened to see because the light had reflected off it when it fell out.
I floated toward it and crouched to see what it was once the men were in the van. It lay amid the dried leaves. When I saw what it was, I let out a piercing scream!
Chapter 22
