Chapter 34: A Visit
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
Throughout the day, Mr. Beach had made multiple attempts to contact Miles. His frustration grew each time he thought of how the audacious young man, who was still in his teens and hadn’t even fully grown a beard, had the gall to demand an astonishing fee of half a million dollars. Had it not been for the persistent requests of his daughter, Mr. Beach would have never even considered the possibility of approaching Miles for help. He found it hard to believe that such a young individual could truly understand, let alone deal with a situation as dire as a haunting.
The intense worry for his daughter’s wellbeing took a toll on Mr. Beach, forcing him to temporarily step back from his work commitments. He felt the pressing need to stand by her side, offering both emotional and practical support during this challenging ordeal.
“Coral’s health seems to be taking a turn for the worse,” Mrs. Ocean, Mr. Beach’s concerned wife, remarked. “Even though there are no apparent physical ailments, her nervous system appears compromised, perhaps as a result of some traumatic experience. Do you think it’s time we consult a psychiatrist?”
Sighing heavily, Mr. Beach replied, his voice tinged with exasperation, “It might be our best option at this point. I can’t wrap my head around Miles’s absurd demand for such a hefty fee. How on earth did Coral get involved with someone so bold and brazen? We need to monitor and limit her interactions with him closely.”
Mrs. Ocean nodded in agreement, adding, “I’ve had reservations about that boy from the very start. I mean, who does he think he is, demanding even as much as two hundred dollars?” Disapproval was evident on her face.
Deep in conversation, the couple suddenly jerked their heads towards a sudden loud sound. Coral’s bedroom door had unexpectedly slammed shut. A fleeting shadow, resembling a young child, caught their attention as it darted into the room.
Alarmed, Mr. Beach jumped to his feet, ready to take action. Mrs. Ocean, her voice shaky, whispered, “Honey, did you see that? It looked like a small child just entered Coral’s room.”
Trying to maintain composure, Mr. Beach replied, “Let’s not let our imaginations get the better of us,” even though he too had clearly seen a ghost child, with skin pale like a stillborn, dash into their daughter’s room. The very idea seemed ludicrous, given that they resided on the sixteenth floor with the main entrance door securely locked.
A blood-curdling scream from Coral’s room broke their brief silence. Without hesitation, Mr. Beach charged towards the door, flinging it open to reveal pitch-black darkness inside, a sight that was entirely out of place considering Coral’s newfound fear of the dark.
Reaching out to find the light switch, his fingers grazed something cold and supple, reminiscent of a child’s hand. Recoiling in shock, Mr. Beach hesitated for a moment.
Suddenly, a terrified Coral burst out from her room, her face ghostly pale and her entire frame quaking with fear. Mrs. Ocean wrapped her arms protectively around their daughter, her voice quivering as she asked, “What happened, sweetheart? Are you alright?”
Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Mr. Beach once more tried to turn on the light. This time, there was no chilling touch of a child’s hand to deter him.
The room was awash with brilliant light, yet it was eerily empty. The child they thought they had seen earlier was nowhere to be found. But what truly chilled Mr. Beach to the bone was the sight that met his eyes next. The room was covered in countless little dirty footprints. These weren’t just on the floor, they circled the bed and, most unnerving of all, they trailed up the walls and onto the ceiling.
This horrifying revelation completely dismantled Mr. Beach’s usually steady demeanor. His hand quivered noticeably as he swiftly pulled out his phone to call Miles, a chilling thought crossing his mind – their house might be the dwelling of a supernatural entity.
“Ocean,” he said to his wife, trying to maintain control in his quivering voice, “take Coral and get out now. We need to find a hotel. It’s not safe here.”
His wife, Mrs. Ocean, recognizing the gravity in her husband’s voice, nodded in agreement. “I’ll quickly gather some of our necessities.”
While she got to work, Mr. Beach’s call connected on the other end, and he heard Miles answer.
“Is this Miles speaking?” Mr. Beach asked urgently.
Miles, who was on a short break from his shift at his security job, replied, “Yes, Mr. Beach. How can I help you?”
“We require your services at our home right away,” said Mr. Beach, his voice thick with distress. “About the fee we discussed earlier, name your price.”
Miles hesitated for a moment. “I’m currently at work. If this isn’t a pressing issue, perhaps we could talk about it over the phone?”
Mr. Beach, sensing the critical nature of the events at home, countered, “I need to meet with you face to face. Tell me where you are, and I’ll come to you.”
“I’m stationed at Wealth Mall at the moment,” Miles informed him.
“We’ll make our way there right away,” replied Mr. Beach. But as he reached for the door handle, ready to leave the eerie environment of the house, the door didn’t budge.
Mrs. Ocean, sensing something amiss, inquired, “What’s the matter? Why aren’t we leaving?”
“It seems the door is stuck or jammed,” Mr. Beach said, his forehead creasing in bewilderment.
Mrs. Ocean proposed, “Maybe something’s blocking it from the outside.”
Eager to find out, Mr. Beach leaned in to look through the peephole of the door. A chilling sight met his eyes – a child with a deep bluish-black hue to its skin was pressing itself against their door. Its eyes were an abyssal black, devoid of pupils, and though they held an air of innocence, they sent shivers down Mr. Beach’s spine.
Reeling in shock and fear, Mr. Beach’s face turned an ashen hue. Gasping for breath, he exclaimed, “Miles, please tell me you’re still on the line! We’re trapped inside with an eerie child outside our door. We desperately need your assistance! We’re willing to pay whatever it takes…”
Miles, clearly caught off guard by the intensity in Mr. Beach’s voice, took a moment to collect himself. “Listen closely,” he began in a firm tone, “Do not approach that child and ensure you remain vigilant. I’ll do my best to get to you immediately,” he assured, promptly ending the call. Without wasting another moment, he abandoned his security post, driven by a mix of concern and professional duty.
As Miles was making his hasty exit, his coworker, surprised by his abrupt departure, shouted, “Miles, where are you darting off to all of a sudden?”
“There’s an urgent situation I need to attend to. I promise to return as soon as I can,” Miles replied without breaking his stride, urgency evident in his every step.
Back at the house, amidst the overwhelming fear that threatened to consume him, Mr. Beach’s attention was drawn to the slow, deliberate turning of the door handle. An indication that the unsettling entity outside was attempting to gain access. Reacting swiftly, adrenaline coursing through his veins, he sprinted to the door. His hands worked quickly, ensuring that each bolt was thrust into place and every lock was tightly secured, hoping to keep the ominous presence outside at bay.
“That… that thing is trying to come inside! I need Miles now! Where is he?” Coral’s voice trembled as she cried out, the fear palpable in her voice, pushing her near the brink of hysteria.
Though deeply unnerved himself, Mr. Beach made every effort to remain as calm as possible in the face of this unexplainable terror. The sudden silence that enveloped the front door only added to his apprehension, making his heartbeat resonate louder in his ears.
“Darling, what in the world is happening? Why is Coral so terrified?” Mrs. Ocean questioned, her voice thick with concern and confusion, sensing that their home had turned into a hotbed of unspoken fear.
“We must distance ourselves from the main door immediately. The bedroom might be safer for now,” Mr. Beach said urgently, guiding his panic-stricken wife and daughter towards the master bedroom. In a bid for some semblance of normalcy and security, he switched on every available light in the room and firmly shut the bedroom door, hoping it would act as a barrier between them and whatever lurked outside.
He found himself intently watching the bedroom door, half expecting it to burst open at any moment. A few tense moments passed in quiet, allowing Mr. Beach a fleeting breath of relief.
This momentary peace, however, was abruptly shattered by a chilling sound emanating from the living area – the unmistakable groan of the front door slowly swinging open.
“This can’t be happening,” he thought in mounting dread. The memory of double, even triple-checking each lock on the front door flooded his mind. How had the door been breached so effortlessly? Was the eerie child he’d glimpsed really an otherworldly apparition?
As anxiety threatened to overtake him, he frantically scanned the room for an escape route. His eyes settled on the window. They were situated on the sixteenth floor, an altitude that made any escape attempt perilously risky. The thought of trying to scale the building to reach an adjacent apartment seemed like an improbable venture; one slip could mean a deadly fall.
A sense of hopelessness began to creep in. Were they doomed to remain trapped in this nightmare, anxiously awaiting the inevitable?