Chapter 13 Chapter 10: Inside the Monster's Belly

The room is empty and dark, the air is dignified, silent, everything is extremely unnatural, as if you are in the center of the earth.It was as if someone was waiting with bated breath in the darkness, monitoring our every move.My nerves were tense, and I walked slowly in the corridor, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.There are dangers everywhere, but there is no sign of it, and there is no clue where the other party is hiding.This feeling of tension is incomparable even in the previous time rift, but in order to achieve the goal, even a dragon's lake and a tiger's den must be broken.

I turned the flashlight back and forth, and the light cast many flying shadows all around, but no matter how bright the flashlight's light was, it seemed nothing compared to the darkness in the room.I can vaguely see the pattern in the corridor in front of me. There are two doors on the right hand side, and a staircase leading to the second floor on the left hand side.This is a very common indoor layout, but under this eerie atmosphere, it only gives people a feeling of omens everywhere.This is definitely not a safe place for three humans groping blindly in the dark.The air was heavy, oppressive, and hot and humid, like the artificial temperature in a greenhouse, forcing plants that would not normally survive to sprout and thrive.Suzy came quietly to me, raised the shotgun, and took a few powerful breaths.

"It's so humid here, like being in the tropics. As for the smell... it really stinks..." "It's an old house," I said. "It hasn't been cleaned for a long time." "It's not that smelly, it's more like... rotten flesh." We exchanged a look, and continued on our way.The house is so empty that even the sound of our footsteps can echo.There is no furniture, no electrical appliances, no carpets, nothing to rest on the floor; no decorations on the walls, no posters, no portraits, not even a calendar.There is no indication that anyone has ever lived here.Perhaps there is some meaning to this, but I can't come up with any explanation at the moment.After all, this is Braston Street, and the people who would settle here had no intention of living like normal people.

"Notice the floor?" Suzie said softly. "How's the floor?" I asked. "sticky." "Oh, thank you very much," said Joanna. "I don't want to know anything about it, thank you. I'm going to burn my shoes as soon as I get out of here. This place is a hotbed of disease." She squeezed next to me again, looking around anxiously, seeming even more disturbed than before.Of course she didn't like the house, but on the whole, it shouldn't have a greater psychological impact on her than me and Suzie.I think her reaction is a bit strange, but it's mostly because she's about to find Cathy.We stopped in the middle of the corridor and looked around carefully.Suzy pointed the gun down and pointed it at no one.

"It seems that the previous owner took everything he could with him when he ran away." I nodded and didn't speak, but the feeling of fear in my heart became more and more serious, because a very unfriendly invisible gaze seemed to come from all directions.I looked back from time to time, hoping to find some terrifying monster hiding in the dark and preparing to attack, but there was nothing.Suzie would have found out if there had been one.In the Nightside, those who cannot master their intuition will not live long. I thought there was something weird about a mirror on the wall, but I couldn't tell what was wrong for a while, and it took a while to realize that there was no reflection in the mirror.It's just that someone put a piece of transparent glass in the wooden frame, it's not a mirror at all.

There are two doors on the right hand side, which look very ordinary and nothing special.I slowly moved to the closer door, and Suzie immediately leaned forward, aiming the gun at the door, while Joanna took a step back.I quietly listened to the movement behind the door, but I could only hear my own heartbeat.I slowly turned the doorknob, feeling the heat in my palm, as if the doorknob itself was so hot that I was sweating.I wiped my hand on the side of my coat, and then pushed the door open.Come in and take my treat, said the spider to the fly. The door opened gently without making a sound, revealing a dark room behind it.I stepped into the door and took a flashlight to shine inside, feeling that the darkness in front of me seemed to be able to absorb light.There is still no furniture and decorations in the room, and there are no traces of human habitation.The whole house does not look like a home at all, but more like a scene built for a movie.I stepped back into the corridor, opened the door of the next room, and found that the two rooms were exactly the same.

"Whatever happened here, we've missed it," Suzie said. "I think they must have heard I'm coming." "No." I said. "That's not the case. The other party is still there, but he just refuses to show up." I went to the bottom of the stairs and looked.The wooden steps, the simple railings, there is no carving pattern at all, and there are no traces of friction. They may be very new or very old. It seems that no one has ever walked by.I raised my voice and shouted: "Hello! Is anyone home?" Due to the heavy air, my voice sounded muffled and weak, not far away.However, as soon as I finished asking, there was a loud closing sound of the door upstairs.When Susie and Joanna heard this, they immediately leaned under the stairs and stood with me.The sound of closing the door came again, and then again, and then again, obviously deliberately provocative, full of meaning to invite you into the urn, as if to say "come up if you are brave enough".As soon as I stepped up the stairs, the sound of closing the door stopped suddenly, which showed that the other party knew our actions well.I looked at Suzie, and then at Joanna.

"Someone is home." Joanna rushed forward and was about to go upstairs, and I immediately grabbed her arm to stop her from doing something stupid.She was struggling, desperately moving forward, and I had to use all my strength to hold her.I called her name again and again, gradually raising the volume, until she finally looked back at me.Her face was red, her breathing was heavy, and she seemed to be extremely angry. "Let go of me, you bastard! Cathy is up there, I can feel it!" "Joanna, we're not sure what's on it..." "I'm sure! I must go up, she needs me! Let me go, you..."

She found that she was unable to break free, so she raised her other hand and slapped me and then threw it down.Suzy intervenes, grabbing Joanna's wrist.Joanna yelled, trying to pull her hand away.Susie exerted a slight force and bent her wrist inwards. The pain made Joanna gasp loudly, so she had to stop struggling.She glared at Susie fiercely, and Susie looked at her coldly. "Only I can do it to John, Ms. Barrett. Now behave yourself, or I'll break all the bones in your hand one by one." "Come on, Suzy," I said. "She is new here, and she doesn't understand how dangerous the situation in front of her is."

But to be honest, she should already know it. "Then she'd better get into the situation quickly." Susie said. "If she drags us down, I'll kill her first." "Living clients pay," I reminded her. Susie snorted and let go of Joanna, but she stood still and did not retreat, ready to strike again at any time.I let go of Joanna's arm, and she rubbed her sore wrist, glaring at us both.I tried to reason with her as calmly as possible. "You can't lose your mind at a time like this, Joanna. We're getting close. You trusted me all the way, and trust my judgment now. It could be Cathy waiting for us upstairs, or it could be Any monster. We have to be careful and watch our steps, or we just don't go up there at all. Get it?"

She looked angry and her eyes seemed hostile. "You don't know how I feel. You don't know what a mother is. She's upstairs. She needs me. I'm going to find her!" "If you can't control yourself, I'll tell Suzy to kick you out," I said grimly. "It's for your own good. I mean it, Joanna. You're not only a burden to us, it's a threat. I know this house is frustrating, but you can't let it get you down. You're not So vulnerable, Joanna. You should know it yourself." "You don't know me at all, John," Joanna said, her voice calmer than before. "I'm sorry, I'll hold myself back. I just... can't keep still at the thought of being so close to Cathy. Something happened to Cathy, I could feel it. I've got to get her. Let me stay here, John. I It won't mess around, I promise." Although these words didn't sound like what Joanna would say, I still nodded reluctantly, as if she was affected by the house.Even I, a native of the Nightside, can be emotionally affected by the house, and she is naturally more affected.I asked Joanna to take a few more deep breaths, and it seemed to help.What the house had done to her haunted me, and this irascible Joanna was so different from the Joanna I'd known.She's never been so out of control, better even in time rift than she is now.It must be because of the house. "You shouldn't have brought her here, John," said Suzy. "She doesn't belong here." She didn't mean to be sarcastic or reproachful when she said that, she was simply stating the facts. Joanna glared at her and began to yell angrily again, "You don't care what happens to my daughter! You're only here because I'm paying you!" "Exactly." Suzy said coldly. "You'd better not repudiate me." The two women continued to fight each other, which I completely ignored.This house, whether it is a house or not, confuses me very much.I've always had the feeling I'm missing an important point.Something summoned Cathy and the important people Walker said to come here, but now when I really stood at the center of this mystery, I found nothing except the unidentified guy upstairs.There was nothing in the room, nothing at all... I started walking to the second floor, and the two women immediately stopped arguing and followed.Suzie huddled next to me again, gunpointed forward. No door slamming, no response.We went up to the second floor, and all we saw were more bare walls and doors.All doors are closed.Susie moved slowly, turned her head, and pointed the muzzle of the gun wherever she looked, looking for a target to shoot.Seeing that Joanna was trembling with anxiety, I took a moment to instruct her to follow me and Suzie.I looked towards the closest door, and it seemed that the door was mocking us.At this moment Susie suddenly said: "Is it my illusion, or is it really brighter here than downstairs?" I frowned, and found that the visibility on the second floor was much better than the first floor, and even things outside the range of the flashlight were faintly visible, "It's not an illusion, Suzy. It's not as dark as before, but I can't see where the light is coming from." Come on..." I stopped abruptly, because that's when I noticed that there were no lamp sockets on the ceiling, not even a sign that the light lines had been pulled.It's kind of... unusual, even for the buildings on Braston Street. "A question popped into my head," Suzie said. "Maybe it sounds disturbing. If this room doesn't exist physically, where are we standing now? Are we floating in the air?" "You're right." I said. "It's a disturbing question indeed. I don't like this kind of question, wait until I look it up." But when I tried to use my talents, nothing happened.Some kind of external force envelops my head, which cannot be touched or removed, forcing me to not open my mind and see the essence and truth of things.I tried to fight it, gather all my strength, the problem is that I can't find a place to exert it.I cursed a few times, not knowing what was going on.Is there something you don't want me to discover, something you don't want me to understand?Susie's face darkened, the muzzle of the gun shook, and she really wanted to find a target to shoot immediately. "What are you going to do, John? Kick open all the doors, search room by room? Shoot anyone who isn't a runaway girl?" I suddenly heard a voice, and quickly gestured for her to shut up.I listened attentively, and indeed there was a slight sound, not far from us, in a room behind a certain door, a girl was giggling coquettishly, like a child with a secret hidden in her heart.I ran softly up the corridor, listening to every door until I found the right one.I took the handle and turned it easily, as if to invite us in.I pushed the door open an inch, then backed away, directed Joanna to stay behind me, and nodded to Suzie.Suzy smiled, kicked the door open, and we all rushed forward. The room was as empty as the rest of the house, except for the Kathy Barrett we had been looking for.She was on the inside of the room, lying flat on the wooden floor, covered from neck to toe under a blanket-like raincoat.She watched us enter the room, but she didn't intend to get up at all, she just smiled at us happily, as if everything in the world had nothing to do with her. "Hello," she said. "Come in. We've been waiting for you for a long time." I looked around carefully and found that there was no one else in the room except her, but this did not make me doubt the word "we" in her mouth, because the feeling of being watched by others reached an unprecedented level in this room.The light was brighter, but still no source of light could be seen.The more I looked at the room, the more disturbed I became.There are no windows, no content, no details, just walls, floors, and ceilings, just the outline of the room.It felt as if the house didn't have to pretend anymore now that we were here.I put down the flashlight and squeeze Joanna's hand tightly to make sure she doesn't mess around.She seemed completely oblivious to my actions and was so focused on Cathy.But Kathy just looked at us motionless, and I wondered if she couldn't move at all. She smiled at the three of us haggardly through the collar of her raincoat.I hardly recognize her.She was so skinny compared to the photos Joanna showed up in my office.The bones of her face were raised, her cheeks were sunken, and her blond hair was now messy and greasy around her face.She seemed to have not eaten for a long time, and even her eyeballs sank into their eye holes.In fact, she looked like she hadn't eaten in months, not just the few weeks she had been missing.I looked at Joanna, wondering if I should believe everything she said.But she shouldn't be lying, because I had seen Cathy come into the house a few days ago through my talent, and she was still in good health at that time. Susie held the shotgun firmly, looked around and said, "This is wrong, John. This place is too weird." "I know." I said. "I can feel it. The problem is the house." "It's her!" cried Joanna. "My Cathy. Here she is!" "She's not alone here," I said. "Susie, take care of Joanna, don't let her do anything stupid." I moved forward slowly, crouching down beside Kathy.The floor seemed to sag a bit due to my weight.Cathy looked at me happily and seemed very content with the situation.At such a close distance, I could smell a stench coming from her, like that of a patient who has been ill for a long time. "Hello, Cathy," I said. "Your mother told me to come and find you." She thought about it, and the smile on her face didn't diminish at all. "why?" "She's worried about you." "She never worried about me." Her voice was calm and hollow, as if recalling something that happened long ago. "She has a job, money and a boyfriend. . . She doesn't need me at all. I'm just in the way. Now I'm free. I'm so happy here. I have everything I've ever dreamed of." It's not like a room for someone who has it all. "Cathy, we're here to take you away and bring you home." "I'm home already," Cathy continued with a smile. "And you can't take me away, this house won't allow it." At this moment, a powerful dark force finally appeared, and rushed into my heart with great hunger and thirst.I yelled and fell to the ground on the spot. The opponent ignored my spiritual defense and attacked violently from all directions.It's the house, it's alive.Its shape is indeterminate and ever-changing, but at this moment it is the house.And it's feeding. I rebuilt my mental defenses and squeezed the opponent out of my mind bit by bit.Finally, I regained all my thoughts and successfully repelled the opponent.I knew in my heart that except myself, it was impossible for anyone to survive the kind of psychic attack just now.I lay curled up next to Cathy, twitching involuntarily, with a splitting headache and nosebleeds.Suzie was squatting next to me with one hand on my shoulder, shouting, but I couldn't hear anything.Joanna has been standing at the door watching all this, with a blank expression on her face.I leaned my face weakly on the floor, and suddenly realized how warm the floor was, not only warm, smooth, but also very wet.Under this weird floor, I vaguely felt a slight pulse beating. I struggled to my knees with Susie's support, and the nosebleed dripped drop by drop on the ground.The blood was sucked in as soon as it hit the floor, and disappeared without a trace in an instant.I know what's going on.I understand the nature of this trap.I reached out and lifted Cathy's raincoat, revealing the truth of the matter.Cathy lay naked on the ground, her body melting into the floor.Where is the flesh and blood?Where is the floor again?It's completely blurred in my eyes.