Chapter 82 - The Haunted Village
"But these graves are for three people who haven't died yet."
Luke froze, standing still like a statue, clutching his torch. A chill ran through his entire body. In the darkness of that small cemetery, he looked around as if searching for someone else to confirm what the old woman had said.
The old woman resumed digging, her frail body wielding a shovel that seemed far too heavy. She dug slowly, without haste, throwing the dark earth to the side.
Something is going on.
Glancing at some of the tombstones, he had to force his body not to run away. He didn't know what he was feeling, but his hair stood on end. He also didn't want to confirm with the old woman what exactly she meant by those words.
Ignoring the woman, he started to walk backward, not turning his back on her. Luke took small, silent steps as if not wanting to alarm the old woman. He wanted to act as if he hadn't understood anything, but his awkward movements were not hiding it well.
"May the Mother Goddess bless you."
"And you too…"
Passing by some tombstones on the ground, his eyes caught something. He had to stop and make sure he wasn't seeing things. Still keeping an eye on the old woman digging in the darkness, he quickly crouched down and looked at those tombstones: Captain Bill, Todd, Murray, and Kevin.
When he read those names, his mind split into many thoughts.
Except for Captain Bill, I saw three of these guys today. How do they have tombstones here? They look like they've been here for a long time, they're all weathered.
Looking back at the old woman, he saw her digging. After standing up, Luke walked back to the village.
The church was lively, with many voices and noises. Luke even heard them singing a song while clapping.
That ordinary and peaceful village now didn't seem so ordinary. He walked through the place, looking at the lampposts and thinking about a few things. The first thing he could suspect was obviously the diary.
That thing manipulated parts of reality inside the asylum and guided me to the chapel. It might have even altered the order of the corridors to make me go directly to the chapel. So, I can't help but suspect it. This puts me in a tough spot, as this thing might be happening in my mind, and it's messing with what I see. I don't know if there's an item powerful enough to manipulate and alter reality. The closest would be manipulating my perception of reality. So, at the very least, the diary has the power to influence mental conditions, making me see those things in the chapel... I can't purely trust what I see. I could be seeing what it allows me to see, but I'm not sure if there's something that powerful. Is there? So why didn't it do that earlier when I was in the shallow sea? Unless now it feels free to act close to many people. This ends my first thought, with the conclusion that I need a second point of view. I need someone to confirm the names on that tombstone.
We arrive at the second line of thought: so what if there are gravestones for the pirates? Does it change anything? I saw them today, but they could just be people with the same names... That would be a coincidence, ignoring logic.
The third line of thought would be the most serious: something is wrong with this place, and maybe that diary knows it and is warning me. I must have missed some details. But if it were true, would things develop so quickly? Why would I go out at night and have the old woman tell me that? Very strange, but thinking about it... I only went out because the diary acted. So in the end, I'm stuck with the need to confirm what's written on the tombstone. Then I can ask the woman for whom those graves are. If someone confirms the names to me, then it means the diary isn't messing with my mind.
But there's a problem: how do I explain this to Anna and Alice? What if it's just the diary playing tricks on me? Would they think I'm a heretic? In our world, that's a serious crime. What would they think of me? I need to confirm this. I'll use the scarf to go with me to the cemetery. But in the end, it doesn't mean much. Having a grave with the same name as the pirates I saw earlier doesn't necessarily prove anything. I don't know... I'm definitely missing something.
As he walked through the village, looking at his surroundings, it was just him and his torch in that place. The darkness of the night, the trees swaying, the wind whispering. Luke was in a place that increasingly made him feel strange. The world felt wrong in some way.
Walking through the empty port, he scoured the place.
They might still call me a thief...
Passing by the pier, he walked, retracing their steps from earlier in the day, trying to verify a few things while the townsfolk were in the church.
A horrible smell filled the air. Luke immediately pinched his nose. Scouring the area, he discovered a barrel of fish.
It's rotten!
What he saw left him shocked.
"Is it the seagull? The one that got away?"
Being eaten by maggots and with parts of its body missing, the familiar two-meter seagull was all broken and limbless inside that barrel, being devoured by maggots.
The chicken skewer? Did it come from her?
Luke kicked the barrel over.
Many maggots spilled out, and the remains of what once was the monstrous seagull fell out.
Headless, wingless, and covered in wounds and injuries, being consumed by maggots. The seagull had met a terrible end. It seemed to have suffered before being killed and thrown into the barrel.
'Thud!' 'Thud!'
A noise echoed. Luke, with his torch, quickly turned to locate the source of the sound.
'Thud!'
He walked slowly through the deserted port. The darkness was overwhelming, only he and the faint light of the torch illuminated the place. Walking with light steps, he tried to sneak and spy on the area where the noise was coming from.
'Thud!'
A man stood in the corner of an alley.
'Thud!'
He banged his head against the wall.
'Thud!'
He banged it again, continuing to hit his head repeatedly. Luke's hands trembled.
"Good evening…"
As soon as Luke said that, the man slowly turned around. His forehead was covered in wounds, blood streaming down his face. The man put on a hat.
"Good evening. May the Mother Goddess bless you."
Luke looked at the man who stood there staring at him.
"Likewise."
He continued walking, the man's head turning to follow him, and Luke quickened his pace to get away from that place.
The same feeling! The same thing! Exactly like at my market job... it can't be.
Luke didn't know if he should extinguish his torch to stay in the dark or keep it lit. He was afraid of what might happen if he stayed in the darkness.
Quickening his pace, he headed back to the inn. There was no longer any reason for him to wander around. Something was happening. But at the same time, doubt crept into his mind...
Was what I saw real? What if I'm going crazy because of the diary?
Luke remembered Alice's mother. She had uncovered a cruel truth, and her mind wasn't ready for it. While thinking about this, he knew he needed to get to the scarf. He needed a second witness.
He returned to the inn. The place was calm.
"Finally, guest. I was worried; it's getting late. Here in the village, we all go to bed early."
"Absolutely, ma'am. I'll rest; tomorrow's going to be a busy day." Luke gave a smile... a fake smile he always used to pretend to be very kind.
"May the Mother Goddess bless you."
The woman's head followed him as he climbed the stairs. When he reached the floor, the scarf slid out from under the girls' room door. Luke extended his hand to it to speak in thought.
Did the diary show up?
The scarf shook its fingers in a 'no' gesture.
Luke returned to his room, and the scarf jumped back onto the bed, waving wildly. He locked the door behind him.
Sighing, he said out loud, "You can appear; I think I understand you..."
He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them. The diary was on the chair.
This really is bizarre... but it worked.
He looked at the scarf on the bed. "You can't explain it, but you feel something wrong in this place, right?"
The scarf gave a thumbs-up.
"Get out," Luke ordered. The scarf stayed put. "I get it... but go."
The scarf, feeling a bit resentful, obeyed and left.
Luke removed the bed sheet. The mattress was clean. Removing the mattress, on the wooden board where it rested on the bed...
"It had to be something like this..."
There was a pentagram in blood.
A ritual for a malevolent entity...