deformed bone

In the beginning, when I first moved to the shelter, Isa was a little happy.

Its official name is "Advent Sisters' House", and from the name, it is full of warmth and friendliness.Here, she and Madeleine have their own single suite. Although the furniture is not high-end, it is very clean and comfortable. She no longer has to worry about "guests" who may break into her room in the middle of the night, or people on the porch. Gunshots and, unknown blood in the elevator...

And her mother doesn't drink anymore, doesn't need to be taken out by strange-looking men and come home bruised.

Everything looks much better than before.

But gradually, things started to go wrong.The whole asylum family was full of love and trust in the sect as if suffering from hysteria. For a long time, even Isa herself couldn't help wondering if it was her and not Madeleine who was really abnormal. .Isa became silent, and she instinctively realized that this place might not be the place where they imagined to make people feel at ease.But she was the only one who seemed to realize it.Madeleine's growing enthusiasm for the Adventists began to frighten Isa: the woman who had raised her and loved her more than anyone else seemed to have become a stranger in a very short time.Those so-called redemption, so-called love and guidance seem to have a special magical power. They make Madeleine go crazy, and reason and even maternal love gradually disappear from her body like a sand sculpture washed by the waves.What worried Isa even more was Madeleine's body. The teachers at the school told her that human beings need food and water to sustain life, but the Adventists kept repeating the benefits of "purification" in their ears.Isa watched her mother become thinner and shriveled little by little, but once she raised any doubts about what happened here, she only got hysterical and almost crazy rebuttals from her mother, and of course, the group of "sisters" "And the mentors seem to be kindly enlightening and preaching...

That's why when Madeleine, her beloved mom, runs back to the shelter home delirious, she sneaks out late at night to seek Calvin's help.

"...she looks like she's going crazy from fright." When rushing to the shelter home with Calvin, Isa suppressed her uneasiness and described Madeleine's situation to him, "She has a wound on her neck. , but the bleeding is not serious... I think she may have been mugged, or... She has been hiding in the bathtub since she came back, saying she encountered a demon... I think she should go to the hospital, but the shelter people But she was asked to kneel in front of the sculpture to pray, and they never allowed her to rest, I don't know what they were asking her, I just know that mom was bleeding all the time, and those bastards didn't help her at all..."

"You should call 911, someone will..."

"No one will care about it." Isa's eyes showed despair that she shouldn't have at her age, "There is a shelter home...the shelter home of the Adventists...the mentor took my phone away, she told Everything is fine there..."

"And the police believed it?"

Calvin's face became more serious.

Isa nodded with tears in her eyes.

"Some policemen will come to Mass..."

Hearing her gradually choking voice, Calvin patted her on the shoulder lightly.

"Don't worry, I will find a way to get her out, and then we will take her to the hospital together."

he said softly.

The road leading to the shelter is dark on both sides. This is a residential area. In such a deep night, there are only a few sporadic houses with porch lights on the doorways. Occasionally, dogs barking from behind the bushes can be heard.After a few cats slid into the shadows with a squeak when people passed by, their pupils reflected tiny lights in the dark.Calvin's face was quite solemn. In fact, he knew clearly that no one in this world was more unsuitable than him to go to the Shelter House to help Isa-it was the site of the Adventists, and it was used by the Adventists to cultivate fanatics. the cradle.

Every nerve, every cell in Calvin was telling him he shouldn't take such a risk.

It's just plain stupid.

As he stood in front of the white building, looking at the English arches and fence, he heard the voice in his head say so.

Outside the building that looks a bit like a family hotel is a dense field of white roses. Those bowl-sized flowers hang on the black branches and leaves like a baby's skull in the night, exuding a strange smell. aroma.

A masonry sign stands in the middle of the roses.

"Adventist Sisters' House"

Gifts, Miracles and Sanctuary of the Children of the Light

That's what's written on it.

Calvin's eyes lingered on the "Child of Light" for a while, and the feeling of shuddering once again invaded him like a tide.The rotten smell emanating from here brought Calvin back to his childhood in a trance. During those dark days, he felt the wound on his back ache.

"Calvin..."

Isa spoke weakly next to Calvin, drawing his attention back.

Calvin glanced at Isa. This young girl was about the same age as Calvin when he ran away, and she also had the same fear and anxiety.

He forced a smile at Isa, trying to calm the latter down.Then he let Isa hide in a blind corner on the other side of the fence, and then he pressed the answering machine next to the arch, and there was an obvious notice under the machine: Non-believers are not allowed to enter (visitors please register)

Soon, the answering machine was connected.

"who is it?"

The voice on the other end was extremely vigilant and defensive, unable to even maintain the most basic manners.

Calvin frowned.

"I'm a friend of Madeleine Daisy, and I hear she's had some accidents today—"

"We haven't heard of this. May I ask who are you? What is your relationship with Madeleine? Are you an Adventist?"

A voice on the answering machine interrupted Calvin rather roughly.

"I'm pretty sure she was robbed and injured," Calvin said.

"please answer my question."

"...I am friends with her. My name is... Helen, and I am not a believer."

Calvin took a breath, and then replied word by word.

"Then you have no right to enter the House of Sisters. Please get out of here as soon as possible."

The other party's voice became a little colder.

Calvin glanced at Isa not far away again. Her face became paler in the night, and the fear in her eyes became more intense.

"Hey, listen, I just want to check Madeleine's condition, I don't need to enter your territory, I can take a look at her through the railing..."

"Please leave, or we will call the police."

The man on the other side of the answering machine spoke impersonally, his voice cold and hoarse.

Calvin looked up and took a quick glance over the archway post, where he saw the flickering red light of the monitor.

Then he shrugged his shoulders, spit by the iron gate, and left angrily.

After confirming that he was out of the range of the monitor, he motioned for Isa to follow him.

"Hey, listen, I want you to repeat your mother's story carefully."

He squatted in front of Isa and said seriously.

"what?"

Isa seemed at a loss like never before. She looked at Calvin desperately: "What are you repeating? I don't understand...they allowed other people to visit before, why all of a sudden..."

"Calm down, hey baby, calm down." Calvin shook Isa's shoulder, "Things are not quite right, can you hear who the person talking to me is?"

Yisha swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and nodded with some hesitation: "She is Anna...Anna's mentor. She is in charge of managing the internal affairs of the shelter... Mom doesn't like her..."

That person is very nervous.

Calvin was sure of this.

That person was completely flustered after hearing the word "Madeleine"-although she tried her best to maintain a cold and calm expression, Calvin could still judge this accurately, and combined with what Isa told him before Calvin instinctively felt that this matter was not as simple as a woman being robbed in the middle of the night.

"Listen, Isa. I'll call Isaac later and see if he can send someone over—"

At this moment, there was a very, very indistinct, woman's wailing, passing Calvin's ear along the silent night.

Calvin jumped up suddenly, looking uncertainly at the white building surrounded by railings.

It was... howling...

As if to answer his doubts, there was another weak howl.

It's just that the voice is too low, if you don't listen carefully, you can easily ignore it.It's just that since Calvin heard that voice, he naturally wouldn't ignore the intense pain in that wailing.

His breathing quickened in an instant.

"Calvin!"

Isa firmly grabbed Calvin's sleeve.

"What is that sound?"

Calvin rubbed his temples.

"Damn."

He cursed angrily, then lowered his head and spoke to Isa again: "...I have to go in to see what's going on inside. Isa, you wait outside, I'll call Isaac to pick you up."