deformed bone

"You loosened her tape?"

Hearing this, Calvin couldn't help frowning, he felt a little uneasy.

"I've checked the windows and door locks, don't worry." Reed seemed to have misunderstood something, he added, "The woman's mental state is not very good, I think loosening the tape may make her feel more comfortable .Honestly, I think being nice to that woman will make it easier for you, too."

When he said these words, Reid looked frank and kind, and there was no trace of haze in his emerald green eyes.He seemed like a really nice guy, maybe a little too soft-hearted.

But Calvin felt a strange, ominous premonition that could even be strongly described.

"No...not that question..."

Calvin murmured absently, then he turned around and walked towards the locked bedroom on the second floor.

"I'm going to see Madeleine," he said.

"I'll go take a look with you, too."

Reed said that he followed Calvin closely, but Calvin didn't have the energy to observe his face.His heart is beating very fast now, and his back is covered with cold sweat.There is no way to explain the abnormality on Calvin with scientific principles, but Calvin does feel that he feels something...

Before he was completely close to the door of the bedroom where Madeleine was, Calvin heard the faint sound of water coming from the room.

Madeleine is taking a bath.

After discovering this, Calvin's heart suddenly relaxed, and he almost felt that his previous nervousness was a bit too neurotic.

He turned his head and looked at Reed beside him, his cheekbones were slightly red; "Sorry, I was a little..."

Calvin didn't finish his sentence, because he soon noticed that Reed's face became a little ugly.

"Oh shit."

Reed made a small cursing sound, and then he looked at Calvin, and asked, "Sorry, but from what you know about that woman...do you think she has a cleansing habit or other special washing habits? "

"I don't know..." Calvin frowned, and Reed's expression made the uneasiness in his heart that had subsided rapidly expand.

"Did something go wrong?" he continued.

"I came up to check once before," Reid said dryly, staring at the old door of the cabin, "You know, I loosened the tape on the woman, so I was still a little uneasy. After breakfast, I came here to check several times, but since an hour ago, the sound of water has been coming from the room..."

"God..."

At this moment, both Calvin and Reed saw the ominous premonition in each other's eyes.

"Madeleine?! Madeleine!"

Calvin slammed on the bedroom door. He really hoped that he was too nervous to think too much. He begged God to let Madeleine make a sound from behind the door, even if it was cursing at him.

But, as a matter of course, apart from the continuous sound of water flowing, Calvin never got any response from anyone.

Before this day, Calvin had never felt that the sound of water flow would be so terrifying.

"Reed, open the door!"

The blood on Calvin's face faded completely.

Reed quickly unlocked the door in front of him, and Calvin grabbed the doorknob and pushed hard, almost falling into the room.

And the moment he entered the room, his heart felt as if it had been poured into lead water, pressing heavily into his chest cavity, and then it kept falling—falling—

"Do not--"

Calvin murmured.

There was a smell of blood in the air, although it was very weak, it was a smell that Calvin would never be able to admit wrongly.The smell of blood mixed with the thick tide filled the entire room.

In the very center of the room was an empty chair, and next to the chair was an equally empty bed. On the floor beside the bed were scattered silver electrical tapes that had been cut open.

On the other side of the room is the door of the bathroom, and a faint yellowish light is exposed from under the door.

"Madeleine!!"

Calvin grabbed the door handle and tried to open the bathroom door, but the door was locked from the inside.

"Damn—Madeleine—are you in there?! Madeleine!"

Calvin yelled uncontrollably, but in his heart, he had already realized very clearly that Madeleine would not respond to him.

He turned the doorknob like hell, then shook the damn bathroom door.

"Calvin, relax a little bit."

Reed grabs him by the shoulders and pulls him back a little.

Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his foot and pushed towards the door forcefully.

The door, which was actually quite heavy, looked like a cardboard box softened by rain under his feet, and the wood near the lock was broken and torn open.Reed reached out, rolled his elbow behind the door and turned the deadbolt.

Calvin rushed in the moment the door opened, the shower was still on, and there was a vague figure behind the shower curtain——

Oh it's ok, Madeleine was just in the bath, maybe she just fell asleep and didn't hear us shouting, maybe when I opened that shower curtain she would just jump up and swear, maybe she would call 911 charged me and Reed with crimes...

Calvin stared at the shower curtain, he couldn't even focus his eyes as the thoughts raced through his head.

Is it because of shortness of breath?He felt hypoxic and suffocated, and his eyes turned black in bursts.

"Madeleine?"

He murmured, then stepped forward and opened the shower curtain.

Madeleine, still in her dirty yellow dress, was half sitting, half lying in the tub, her hands in the steaming water.A long incision ran along Madeleine's wrist to her elbow, and she was so thin that her own veins could be clearly seen.

A cheap disposable razor was soaked in water, sinking in Madeleine's belly.

The water in the bathtub has completely turned red.

The bloody smell became extra thick and viscous. Calvin took a breath unexpectedly, and the smell of Madeleine's blood was inhaled into his lungs.

Calvin felt that his whole body was soaked in that bloody smell.

"Do not--"

Calvin nearly slipped in the wet bathroom, losing strength in his knees and calves.

"Calm down, Calvin."

Reed grabbed Calvin's waist, and he forcibly dragged Calvin out of the room.

"Wait here and I'll check on her."

Calvin heard Reed speaking to him.

He felt that maybe he should do something too, but his brain and soul were blank at this moment, and he fell to the ground, watching Reed bend over in a daze.After dozens of seconds, maybe a few minutes, Reed hugged Madeleine's body out of the bathtub.The woman's body was dripping with water.Every drop of water is red.

"She still has a heartbeat."

Calvin heard a voice say.

He stared blankly at Reed, and it took him a while to suddenly understand Reed's words.Strength, heartbeat, and sanity all returned to Calvin in an instant.

He jumped up from the ground, subconsciously waking up his phone.

"I'll call [-] right away—"

"No, it's too late, I lost too much blood, I need ice and rope, get me some ice and rope!"

Calvin ran to the kitchen and found ice cubes from the refrigerator. When he returned to the bedroom, Reed had already taken the most basic measures to stop the bleeding for Madeleine. adhesive tape.

"I'm going to drive her straight to the hospital."

Reed took the ice cubes and covered Madeleine's wound with them, then he stared into Calvin's eyes and said calmly.

Calvin nodded blankly.

He helped Reed place Madeleine's body in the backseat of the car, and he was shocked by how small she was.

Is it because the blood is almost dry?Madeleine was as light as a weather-beaten cat when she held her.And her skin, in the daylight, took on a stone-blue color that terrified Calvin.

Her skin was colder than those ice cubes.

"I'll go too—"

"No, you stay here." Reed pulled Calvin out of the car.

Calvin looked at him in bewilderment.

"To me, your safety is ten thousand times more important than this woman. I will never let you take a suicide woman to a place like a hospital at the risk of your identity being discovered."

Reed pulled Calvin into his arms, he hugged Calvin briefly and then whispered in Calvin's ear quickly.

There was an undeniable coldness and menace in his voice.

Calvin could only stand there quietly, listening to Reed's words.

"I'll take care of everything. Go back, Calvin, stay in your room and I'll contact you."

Reed kissed Calvin, he stroked Calvin's hair and neck - Calvin didn't even realize how much he was shaking at this moment.

Poor Calvin.

Poor Madeleine.

Reed thought inwardly.

Then he sat in the driver's seat, started the motor, and drove Madeleine out of the driveway.Looking at Calvin who was getting smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror, as if he was about to disappear into the air, Reed certainly felt distressed.For a moment, he even wanted to overthrow his plan.

He turned his head to look at the ugly and weak body in the back seat, and felt a strong urge to throw Madeleine out of the car, allowing her to die in obscurity.Reed has many ways to wipe away the traces of that woman's existence...

[Red Deer——]

Fogg, who had not been seen for a long time, emerged from the shadow of the soul.He let out a warning sound.

"Oh, well, well...I won't do that."

Reed whispered easily, he turned on the car radio, and pop songs with a strong sense of rhythm were playing on the radio.

And Reed tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and hummed along to the tune.

A few minutes later, Reed suddenly slowed down his speed.

He saw another family in the outskirts of the resort. The middle-aged father was getting fat, but the mother seemed to be working hard to maintain her weight. There were two children, one seemed to be in his teens, and the other Still a baby.

A spacious family car was parked in the driveway, the trunk wide open.The family was loading suitcases and bags from the car.Next to the driveway was a log cabin similar to the one Calvin and Reed lived in but much newer.

Everyone can see that this family is a rare new guest in this increasingly depressed resort, perhaps looking for a place to spend a few days by the lake to relieve the pressure of the so-called city.

Reed stared at them for a moment, then he turned off the radio and hit the brakes beside the family car.

The window was rolled down, revealing Reed's smiling face behind him.

The family noticed Reed immediately. The middle-aged man who was his father looked at Reed with a flash of vigilance in his eyes.

"Hey buddy, are you guys here?"

Reed showed a friendly and familiar smile at the family, and the vigilance in the man's eyes faded away.

"Yes, of course—"

he responded.His wife stopped what she was doing and walked around to look at Reed.

"I'm George."

Reed made a false self-introduction to the couple.

The two looked at each other and then smiled at Reed.

"I'm John, and this is my wife, Anne." John said, and then he pointed to the little girl who was carefully watching the grown-ups at the rear of the car: "That's my daughter Heather... Well, this little thing It's Chris."

John gently scratched the little baby who was spitting bubbles in the baby seat.

"Wow, happy family, it's really the right decision to come here for vacation... Although it's a little broken, the scenery is beautiful and there are not many people." Reed said enthusiastically.

"Yes, we come every year." The wife, Annie, replied with a smile, "Are you a new guest? We don't seem to have seen you this season..."

"Yes, of course, I'm new here. It's a pleasure to see you at this time." The smile on Reed's face continued to deepen, and his pupils flashed an unnatural expression under the light. bright.

"I need you guys to do me a little favor."

Reid said.

"A... small favor?"

The couple stared at Reed, their pupils gradually dilated under Reed's voice, and their eyes gradually became lax.

"Well, a little favor, of course, I think you'd be glad to do me a favor."

Reed jumped out of the car, and he opened the trunk door.

Madeleine's pale body was exposed in front of the couple.

Reed then snapped his fingers in front of John's eyes.

He stared at each other, and whispered in an illusory and sweet voice: "—Look, your wife. You and her just quarreled over the vacation, you didn't expect her to use such a method to try to end her relationship life."

Accompanied by Reed's voice, a painful expression gradually appeared on the man's face, his breathing became extremely rapid, and there was a crackling sound in his throat.

"You find her lying in the bathtub in the morning, covered in blood, and you don't even remember to call 911."

Reed continued.

"Annie..."

The man tremblingly stretched out his hand towards Madeleine, and Reed leaned over to let the man hug Madeleine from the carriage.

"You will take her to the hospital for emergency treatment, right?"

"I'd--God--Anne, I don't know--why--God--"

The man hugged Madeleine tightly, and murmured almost to himself.

"John..."

The real Annie shook her body slightly, and she let out a low whisper like someone who was extremely sleepy.

She seemed to sense something was wrong, but she was restrained by the chaotic mind.

The weather is fine, the air is clean and clear, and the sun is very warm.

But Anne was very pale.

Reed raised his eyebrows at her, and he shook his fingers regularly in front of the woman's eyes.

"Your husband decided to go fishing, why not? The weather is nice, isn't it? But you have a daughter and a son to take care of, and you're feeling a bit tired and decided to stay comfortably at the vacation home and watch your favorite TV show. What do you think How is the arrangement?"

The slightly painful struggling expression on Annie's face disappeared, the muscles on her face relaxed, her eyelids drooped, and she nodded slowly.

"I should have a good rest at the holiday home."

She repeated, and her relaxed look was completely different from her husband who was beside him in panic and grief.Obviously they are in the same area, but the two of them seem to be isolated in two different worlds.

Their child, the girl named Heather, was shocked to see what she saw. She shed tears because of the shock, and then her sobbing caught Reed's attention.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot about you."

Reed muttered.

Heather subconsciously wanted to run away, but being watched by Reed's emerald eyes, she found herself limp and unable to move.

"Do not……"

Heather's sobbing became louder.

"Why don't you read the comics? Hide on your bed, and after reading the comics, you can play games—"

Reed whispered in the girl's ear.

"You'll stay with your mother because you're a good boy."

"I'm a good boy."

Haysham said in a daze.

Annie took Heather's hand, and she hugged Chris with the other hand, and then walked towards the holiday house with stiff steps like a puppet.

At the same time, John transferred Marilyn to his car, his face was full of tears, and he started the car in a hurry.

After the family car sped wildly toward the hospital, Reed returned to his car.

He hangs far behind John's car, and then he turns on the radio in the car.

There was another song on the radio, with the same upbeat rhythm.

Reed was humming a song happily, and bright red blood slowly flowed from his nostrils.

【"You're messing around again."】

Fuge whispered in his heart lingeringly.

"Mess up? What do you mean?"

Reed glanced at the rearview mirror, and he saw Fogg's disapproving eyes in the mirror.

"If you mean that I shouldn't use my hypnotic ability to cover up my identity and avoid trouble...wait a minute, that's not 'masking'."

Reed took out a tissue and covered his mouth and nose, and he responded indifferently.

【"Your body will collapse."】

Fogg said in a calm and restrained tone.

【"And when you use your abilities, your body will collapse faster—you clearly know this. And the disgusting operation just now is not necessary, you can clearly hypnotize the front desk of the hospital—"]

"Oh, come on, Fogg, your tone reminds me of my grandma."

Red Deer curled his lips and said disdainfully.

【"You are just talking hard."】

Fogg said indifferently, his outline became more and more clear in the sea of ​​consciousness.

【"We all know what will happen if this continues..."】

Reid raised the corners of his mouth grimly.

"Yes, we all know, but... I don't care. I won't give up Calvin to anyone, including you."

In the rearview mirror, Fogg's reflection showed a dazed expression for a moment.

And Reed broke out into a creepy laugh.

……

Calvin stood quietly in the bedroom where Madeleine stayed only one night.

He looked around and found that his memory was a little fuzzy.He didn't even quite remember how he got back here.Everything that happened this morning felt like a crushing nightmare.

But the nightmare will wake up one day after all, but the reality will not disappear with your care after a set of alarm clocks.

The sound of the water was still ringing... Both he and Reed forgot to turn off the shower, and now the hot water had overflowed from the bathtub and flowed all the way to the floor.

Calvin walked slowly into the bathroom stepping on the water and turned off the tap.

The smell of blood was still strong, and Calvin looked down to see his feet soaked in the pale pink hot water.

"vomit……"

His stomach suddenly churned.

"I'm very sorry."

He murmured, but he didn't know whether to tell himself or the little girl in his dream.

"I didn't expect things to turn out like this...God...I really didn't expect..."

Calvin sat slumped on the toilet, his feet still in the warm, blood-stained water.

And at this moment, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the bathroom mirror.

The water vapor covered the mirror with a layer of white mist, but...

Calvin saw a line of writing on the mirror.

The handwriting appeared out of thin air, and under Calvin's gaze, each letter appeared on the mirror one by one.It was as if an invisible finger was slowly writing in front of that mirror...

【Escape】