In a dark room.
When he opened his eyes, he thought he was still in a dream. Where was this?
It was only after his eyes got used to the darkness that he could make out that he was in the living room. But he didn't understand why he was there. Hadn't he gone to sleep in his bedroom?
At that moment, he suddenly had an eerie feeling, as if something was staring at him from above. This feeling was so real that he could almost hear someone's heavy breathing overhead.
There was something above his head. And it was very close.
However, he didn't dare to look up. Such a thing couldn't be possible. If there was someone behind him, it might be his parents. But above his head... how could there be someone there?
His throat wanted to make some noise to drive away some of the fear. But for some reason, his throat seemed to be blocked, and he couldn't make a sound.
Then, he felt an intense urge to urinate. He wanted to move to the toilet, but his body wouldn't budge, and the urge to pee became even stronger.
What was that thing above his head doing, if there really was something there? Was it watching him? He felt more and more terrified, and his heart started pounding faster.
His eyes were now fully adapted to the darkness, and he could see everything around him clearly. But what he saw next made the hair on his body stand on end. And almost at the same time, he felt warmth spreading in his lower body. This couldn't be real... No, it must be a nightmare! His pupils dilated, and his mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. He felt like a puppet being completely controlled by someone. No, maybe he had really become a puppet.
He couldn't understand it. The image was too vivid and terrifying. He found that he...
Ah, no, this must be a dream.
He closed his eyes.
"Wake up! Wake up from this nightmare!" He prayed desperately in his heart. But then he felt as if that thing had come right in front of him. No, it couldn't be!
If he opened his eyes, he could see if there was anyone... or something there. If he opened his eyes and there was nothing, then the feeling that there was something above his head was just an illusion... Maybe, when he opened his eyes, he would find himself sleeping in a warm bed.
But... what if there really was something?
The feeling became stronger and stronger. It seemed that the thing was almost touching his face. No, it couldn't be...
Was it an illusion? It seemed that there was a breath blowing on his face? No, it might be the wind. He hadn't noticed if the window was open just now...
"Calm down... calm down..." At this moment, he felt a cold sweat trickle down his forehead to his nostrils, and then another one. His body also felt very cold... Right, his body...
He had seen his own body just now...
This was impossible. No matter what, it couldn't be real. It wasn't true... Opening his eyes was just a matter of lifting his eyelids slightly. But this action, which should take less than a second, had been a mental struggle for him until now.
Yes... it couldn't be real. He must have been mistaken. He kept recalling the scene he saw after getting used to the darkness. Now it was starting to fade in his mind. No matter how he thought about it, it should have been an illusion.
His confidence began to grow, but the feeling that something was watching him still lingered.
He started to open his eyelids slightly, only able to glimpse a thin slit, and there was only pure darkness in that slit.
Opening his eyelids bit by bit was really torturing his heart. He gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind.
In that instant, he opened his eyelids wide.
And what he saw in front of him was...
Violet knew something terrible must have happened.
She had had that ability since seven years ago. And every time this feeling came, something extremely terrifying would really happen.
It had been three years since she moved to this city, but this premonition of danger hadn't increased; instead, it had decreased.
"Something must have happened yesterday..." She checked the manuscript in her hand. After screening, she gradually identified a piece of news.
This news was about an incident that the newspaper office had just received this morning. She wasn't the reporter assigned to cover it, so she could only analyze it through the interview process and photos. It was a murder case that occurred in a high - rise apartment in a community. The police had completely blocked the news from the media. All they knew was that the victim was a high - school student named Alex Daniel Green. According to interviews with the neighbors, they heard crying and screaming coming from Alex's house in the morning. Worried that something had happened, they called the police. When the police broke in, the situation seemed very strange. Then, within ten minutes, a large number of police cars arrived, and the scene was cordoned off. At least ten forensic doctors came. Many neighbors were curious to see the body being transported, but a large number of police formed a human wall to deliberately prevent them from watching. Even when reporters arrived, they were stopped by the police at the entrance of the community.
The most exaggerated thing was that the body was transported in a large truck and left the community under the escort of four police cars. For an ordinary high - school student's death, was it really necessary to go to such lengths? Violet was sure there was something fishy behind this. This case had already attracted the high attention of the local media. It had been about six hours since the incident, and there was already information about this news on the Internet.
The deadline for submission was approaching, and there were still many doubts about this news. At noon, they went out for a meal. Since Violet had just got a raise recently, her colleagues asked her to treat them, and she naturally agreed.
"I always feel this is a big case," at the dinner table, Jack, the reporter who went to cover the case, said, "As soon as I got there, I saw several police officers guarding the entrance of the community, saying that the community was temporarily off - limits. I showed my press card and said I wanted to go in for an interview, but they were even more stern and said no. Later, I saw a large truck driving out, followed by four police cars! I could only go in for an interview after the police left. Alex's parents are said to have gone crazy after seeing the body and have been taken away by an ambulance. The residents of that apartment are all very panicked now."
Violet couldn't taste her food at the moment. She had clearly had a premonition, but she couldn't prevent it.
About a week ago, she had a strong premonition that in a week, someone somewhere would encounter something extremely terrifying. And every day, this premonition became stronger. Last night, she even woke up from a nightmare, clearly aware that the thing had happened.
And this morning, a new premonition emerged. "Tomorrow night... another person would suffer the same fate."
"Jack..." She made up her mind at this moment and asked, "Are you going to continue interviewing this case?" "Yeah, the boss also attaches great importance to this case and said I must conduct an in - depth investigation and try to release some exclusive news before other newspapers."
"Can you give me the interview task? Well, the content I interview can be organized by you, and you can still publish it under your name. I can talk to the boss..."
Several colleagues beside her laughed and said, "Sure enough, our workaholic is going to take action again!"
"That's why... If Violet doesn't get a raise, it's really unfair..."
"Stop making fun of me..." Violet was in no mood to joke with them at the moment. She was only thinking about the interview. If she couldn't find out the situation in time, she wouldn't be able to prevent what was going to happen tomorrow night...
"Okay, got it. Don't look so serious, Violet!" Jack patted her on the shoulder and said, "I'll talk to the boss and give you this task! Of course, the article will be published under your name!"
Violet smiled gratefully and said, "Thank you, Jack!"
It had been three years since she came to this city. She had finally settled down and become a reporter, and she had a very harmonious relationship with her colleagues.
"Violet, look, isn't that your brother's new book?" Jack interrupted Violet's thoughts. She immediately looked at a nearby table. A man and a woman were having a meal, and there was a book on their table. The title was *One More*, and the author's name, Orion James Miller, was clearly marked on the spine.
"Ah, Violet," another colleague said, "Your brother's new book is out. Why didn't you tell us? We could have gone to buy it together!"
Violet smiled awkwardly. She thought to herself: God... I'm thinking about your hearts, okay? Can normal people read my brother's books?
Over the years, she had become more and more convinced that there were indeed ghosts in the world.
Violet's brother, Orion, was a horror novelist. His books were very popular across the country, even in Hawaii and Alaska. A film company in California had made one of his novels into a movie. Because the content was so terrifying, the box - office in California and Japan was astonishing.
She had to admire the spirit of the California director. The sound effects, the scenes, the dialogue... and of course, the most important thing was her brother's terrifying creativity. Since watching that movie, Violet, who already had a small courage, had become so scared that she could mistake a utility pole for a ghost. In the evening, when she got home and just stepped through the door, she smelled the aroma coming from the kitchen. Her brother was always good at cooking. Violet swallowed her saliva and quickly walked into the kitchen. She saw her brother cooking a dish.
He turned around, saw Violet, and smiled, "You're back? Go wash your hands quickly. You'll soon be able to taste my masterpiece."
Since their parents died seven years ago, the two siblings had always supported each other.
During dinner, the two siblings naturally chatted about everyday things.
"You've taken on a new interview?"
"Yeah," Violet was still very excited at the moment, "It's been three years since we moved to this city. Usually, in the newspaper office, I can only publish some news about some abnormally - looking creatures or people whose age and behavior don't match... This time it's different..."
"Is this related to your premonition?"
"Huh? Brother, you..."
Orion looked at Violet seriously and said, "I don't want to lose you too. We came to this city to get away from the past."
Violet fell silent. She put down the bowl in her hand and said with a choked voice, "Brother, can you forget? When Mom and Dad died..."
"That's enough... It's in the past. Now I want to start a new life with you."
"But, brother, you're actually thinking about the same things as me, aren't you? I don't want to keep running away! Why can't we face our fate?"
"Listen, you'd better not do this interview." Violet said extremely dissatisfied, "This again! Every time I have a premonition, you tell me not to think about it, but... in fact, people are constantly dying! And the police can't figure out the cause at all. At least... I want to stop it, to prevent what I've premonitioned from happening. I don't want to see anyone else die... like Mom and Dad..."
"Don't mention what happened seven years ago."
"Why? You always run away, brother! At that time, after hastily preparing the funeral, you convinced me to leave the city where we used to live. Then we moved several times before finally settling down in this city! You want me to completely forget the past, but I really can't..."
Orion sighed deeply and said softly, "Please, okay? Violet, we have a new life now. The past has nothing to do with us. If we keep chasing these things, I'm afraid you'll also..."
"I don't want to run anymore! I don't want to live this false, comfortable life!"
She didn't know anything at all. She didn't understand how terrifying and despairing all this was...