chapter 4
Wu Lan didn’t notice my expression.
She bent over to finish mopping the floor, then straightened up: “I’m going to rinse the mop.”
Qin Xiao took her towel and toothbrush from the shelf: “Perfect, I haven’t washed up yet. Let’s go together.”
They pushed open the Dormitory door and walked together toward the Washroom.
The Corridor was still as dead and silent as ever, but neither Wu Lan nor Qin Xiao seemed to question this strange phenomenon at all. Shoulder to shoulder, they walked silently toward the Washroom.
I watched their backs, trembling all over.
What was going on? On this night, every one of my Roommates seemed extremely abnormal.
Every move Qin Xiao made was tinged with eeriness.
Even Wu Lan, whom I trusted most, was lying to me.
As for the last Roommate…
I looked up at Meng Lier’s Bed and suddenly felt something was off.
Just now, when Wu Lan dropped the teacup, it made a loud noise.
Normally, with Meng Lier’s personality, she would have poked her head out long ago to protest that we were disturbing her sleep.
But this time, Meng Lier was quiet the whole time.
I hesitated, then tentatively called to her under the Bed: “Lier?”
No one responded.
On my Mobile Phone, Xiaoran’s Danmaku popped up again: [This is bad, the Tomb Owner’s energy has become very strong. You need to find a place to hide, fast!]
I panicked too, sweeping my Mobile Phone around the Dormitory: “Can’t you give me a reliable idea? There’s nowhere to hide in our Dormitory!”
This cramped Dormitory had four upper Beds with desks below, and four Cabinets- but the Cabinets were so small, not even a six-year-old could fit inside.
Xiaoran scanned around with my camera, then quickly typed: [Hide on Meng Lier’s Bed and pull the Bed Curtain closed.]
It seemed there was no time to explain. She quickly typed a big red word: [Hurry!!!]
Actually, I didn’t need Xiaoran to urge me.
Because almost at the same moment, I heard Footsteps outside the door.
One step, then another.
The Footsteps echoed in the empty Corridor, getting closer and closer to the Dormitory door.
The scariest part was…
There was only one person’s Footsteps.
Wu Lan and Qin Xiao had gone to the Washroom together.
But now, only one person was coming back.
Where was the other?
I didn’t dare to think.
…
In moments of extreme terror, people can unleash tremendous potential.
Almost instantly, I lunged toward the Ladder, scrambled up to Meng Lier’s Bed, yanked open the Bed Curtain, lay down inside, and zipped it up as fast as I could.
In the darkness, Meng Lier lay with her back to me, curled up under the blanket, seemingly in a deep sleep.
Outside, those Footsteps continued, neither loud nor soft.
Afraid Meng Lier would suddenly wake up and scream when she found me on her Bed, I whispered to her: “Lier, wake up.”
Meng Lier didn’t respond.
I had no choice but to grab her and turn her over.
The next second, I was face to face with a shattered human face.
…
Meng Lier was turned over by my pull. On the narrow Bed, we lay face to face, cheek to cheek.
Her black hair was matted with something sticky- I didn’t know if it was brain matter or fresh blood- smeared across her face. Her skull had caved in, like a broken doll.
And from those hollow eye sockets, where eyeballs should have been, two streams of Blood Tears flowed, staring at me unblinkingly.
Meng Lier seemed to have just a breath left. Her mouth hung open, her throat unable to make any sound, only her lips moving, forming a shape.
I recognized that shape.
She was saying:
“Ruanruan, Run Away.”
Ruanruan.
Run Away!
…
Almost at the same instant.
The Dormitory door was opened.
A ghostly female voice sounded at the doorway:
“Ruanruan, where are you?”