Melissa felt a suffocating sensation, as if a pair of icy hands gently grasped her throat. Although there was no real force, it was uncomfortably unsettling.
As she instinctively stepped back, creating distance from Kate, the strange sensation immediately vanished.
Her heart raced in her chest, fear clutching her, nearly betraying her composure. A chill ran down her spine as she felt a warmth gathering between her legs.
At that moment, Kate gestured to her,
"Nine minutes have passed, the door is behind you."
"Alright! Alright! I'm leaving now!"
As Melissa turned to leave, a thought struck her, and she turned back to ask Kate, "Um, Mr. Kate, we're somewhat fated, aren't we?"
Kate nodded, "Yes, if you're willing to believe so."
"What if I want to ask for a haunted doll?"
"Come over at night, after eight, I'll be here."
"Okay, okay..."
Watching Melissa depart, Kate murmured to himself, "Any other girl would have been frozen with fear by now. True to form for a woman who's taken a life!"
At that moment, Kate felt a slight tightness on his leg. Looking down, he saw a pale-faced boy with dark circles under his eyes and blood-red hands clutching his leg, asking, "She just tried to touch you, why didn't you let me kill her?"
Kate lifted the boy by his neck, holding him in the air, and rolled his eyes saying, "If you killed her here, how would I explain to the police?"
The boy blinked and said, "No need to explain, I'll kill the police too."
"Then I'd be wanted, and many would come after me."
"Then I'll kill everyone who's after you or makes you unhappy."
"What's the difference between you and the trafficker who killed you?"
"..."
The boy fell silent, "Oh, you didn't mention it, I forgot I was dead."
Kate shook the boy in his grip and said, "I'll count to three, disappear on your own, or you force me to slap you, one..."
"Two..."
"Three!"
After saying this, Kate released his hand, and the boy fell towards the ground, turning into a cold breeze and vanishing into thin air.
...
Leaving Kate's place, Melissa hurried to the parking lot of the pedestrian street, got into her Chevrolet, took deep breaths to calm her nerves, and dialed a number on her phone.
The call connected quickly, Melissa asked coldly, "How's cousin John?"
"Mr. John, he... he..."
"Come on, spit it out!!"
"Mr. John has passed away, the doctors said it was a sudden heart attack."
"Heart attack? What exactly happened?"
"Today afternoon, cousin John was on Yundu Road getting the goods, almost had it, then suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed. It was actually the goods handler who called the emergency services."
"Alright, I got it, find someone for me, I'll send you the details later."
"Okay, I'll contact our inside man. Meli, you haven't been in touch with the family for a while, maybe..."
"I know, that's it!"
After hanging up, Melissa took out another phone from her bag and quickly dialed a number.
"i love you mommy"
"My dear sweet mommy~"
"I know that sometimes I make you mad~"
The ringback tone played before the call connected.
Melissa frowned and cursed, "A trafficker with such a ringback tone, isn't that just asking for trouble?!"
"But then you hug me."
"And say you love me!"
"When I'm with you I'm so glad!"
As the song played, Melissa felt an eerie change in the child's voice, as if it was singing right beside her ear, not coming from the phone.
This thought made Melissa instinctively look around, relieved to find nothing in the car.
As evening approached, she saw the warm, dim light from Kate's shop through the windshield, bringing her a moment of peace.
But compared to her experience in Kate's shop, she felt a chill down her spine again.
"If that dude really had some skills, I wouldn't be out here peddling his organs. Throw him some cash to whip up a doll to keep me safe."
"Drop, drop, drop."
Rain began to fall, pattering on the car.
Just then, Melissa's call connected.
"Hello?"
Relieved to hear a familiar voice, Melissa said, "You better change that ringback tone, don't you know what you're doing for a living? Using that tone?"
"Hey, Melissa, glad to hear from you, how are you doing out there?"
"I'm fine, the money you sent last month using someone else's card, I got it, why so much? Bought a shop and just rented it out today.
Hearing the familiar voice on the phone, Melissa let out a sigh of relief and said, "You really need to change that ringtone, do you even realize what line of work you're in to use that?"
"Hey, Melissa, I'm glad to hear from you. How are you doing out there?"
"I'm doing fine. I received the money you sent last month using someone else's card. Why was it so much? I bought a shop and just rented it out today."
"That's good to hear, really good..."
"Drop, drop, drop."
Melissa heard the sound of raindrops hitting the car, growing louder, and she sensed something off about her dad's voice.
"What's wrong? Why do I feel there's something odd about your tone?"
"Me? Oh, nothing much, just... just a bit of pain..."
"Pain? Where? Did you go to the hospital?"
"No need, no need, why bother checking..."
"You always say that. Even if it's nothing, you should still get it checked out!"
"Meli..."
"Yes, dad? Why do I feel there's something wrong with your tone?"
"Meli, those kids we sold off back then, they've come back to haunt us, both father and daughter!"
"What! What are you talking about?! Don't overthink it!"
"Meli, I... I'm in so much pain, so much pain..."
As he spoke, his voice broke into sobs, and the rain outside grew heavier. Melissa felt the temperature inside the car drop suddenly, mingling with a faint smell of blood.
She wrapped her arms around herself, tilting her head against the phone, "Dad, don't scare me, where does it hurt exactly?"
"My whole body, it hurts everywhere, so much pain..."
"Don't panic, what are you doing right now? Try lying down!"
"I can't, I... I can't lie down..."
"Why can't you lie down? What are you doing?"
"Because... because..."
"Because your car is too small, I'm right behind you, watching you."
"Drop."
A pool of fresh red blood drops from the rearview mirror, landing on the silver Chevrolet logo on the steering wheel in front of Melissa.
Trembling, Melissa slowly lifted her head. Through the rearview mirror, she saw a man in the back seat of her car, his body sliced into pieces, his flesh blurred with blood. The man, holding a phone with his sliced hand, was making eye contact with her through the mirror—
"Meli, I, I'm in so much pain!"
"Ah!!!"
A sharp scream instantly tore through the quiet of the rain-drenched parking lot.
By the shop doorway, Kate leaned against the door frame, watching the bustling crowd outside, and said in a soft voice, "Hmm, I thought you wouldn't be scared by this..."
"Hehe!"
A series of giggles erupted from behind Kate, where fourteen pale-faced, eerily white boys and girls stood in a line, all silently watching the bustling crowd on the busy pedestrian street alongside him.
At this moment, the weather was clear, and the setting sun was just right.
Where was there any sign of rain?