My House of Horrors

Wang Haiming was possessed by something inside the mental hospital, and the thing followed him out when he exited the hospital. Both parties were constantly fighting over the control of his body. Wang Haiming decided to die rather than compromise.

The man’s weird death and the actions that happened at midnight supported Chen Ge’s speculation.

After Wang Haiming’s death, the thing he carried out with him from the mental hospital probably stayed back in this room. When his body was carried away, there were plenty of police and spectators, so the monster definitely did not show itself. When night came, Room 303 was sealed, and the monster had no chance to go look for a new target.

Normally speaking, the monster should have been trapped inside this room, but it seems like some contract has been formed between the monster and the young man in Room 302 through an unknown method. Having learned the lesson from Wang Haiming, the monster did not attempt a hostile takeover of the man’s body; both parties are in a symbiotic relationship.

Chen Ge looked at the sparrows on the floor. The blood has soaked through most of the fabric, something that is not possible with just these sparrows. The contract was probably made a long time ago.

He was reminded of the words he heard the young man say. He once yelled, “You guys need to stop forcing me,” and the sentence could reveal a lot of information. First, he was forced to do something against his will. Judging from the situation in Room 303, the monster had probably forced him to bring it a living sacrifice.

A few sparrows would not be able to satisfy the monster, so its demand would increase to like stray cats, stray dogs, or even human.

The second point was the young man’s verbiage. During the argument, he used the term “you guys”, plural, so he was probably facing more than one monster. This confused Chen Ge; just what kind of creature had Wang Haiming led out of the mental hospital?

After replacing everything, Chen Ge walked toward the window. Due to the issue of the angle, the young man from Room 302 did not know that he had been found out. He saw Chen Ge’s shadow walk toward the window, and he quickly retreated into his room.

One more individual to look out for tonight. Chen Ge climbed out of the window, and his hands gripped the windowsill. As he was about to turn, the corner of his eyes swept the bathroom of Room 303. Behind the half open door stood a long shadow with two different faces.

“Who’s there‽” Chen Ge’s hands almost slipped. When he focused his eyes, the thing had disappeared. There was nothing in the bathroom, but a shadow seemed to flash across the mirror.

Hanging off the window, it was quite dangerous without safety devices. Chen Ge did not stay and quickly moved back into Room 304.

“Did you find anything?” Doctor Gao asked out of politeness.

“Look at this.” Chen Ge retrieved the key from his pocket. “Doctor Gao, are there any locks at your hospital that require a key like this?”

Doctor Gao accepted the key from Chen Ge and turned it in his hand. The key was slightly larger than a normal key. “It doesn’t look like the key to the office or the surgery room. I’m not so sure.”

Chen Ge put the key away since he could not get an answer from Doctor Gao. He would give it a try when he was ready to enter the Third Sick Hall.

“That’s all you discovered? A key?” Doctor Gao ended the call. He had not known what to expect when Chen Ge climbed out the window, but he definitely had not expected him to return with a key.

“Don’t underestimate this key; it might be the key to what is happening.” Chen Ge glanced into the bedroom. “Has Men Nan fallen asleep?”

“I don’t suggest for him to sleep in Room 304; he’s afraid of this environment. After he falls asleep here, his mind might give him additional pressure, thus increasing the possibility of a nightmare.” Doctor Gao was worried about Men Nan. “Since we have confirmed his illness was due to childhood trauma, we should focus on that and provide the necessary counselling.”

“Things are not as simple as you think,” Chen Ge explained to Doctor Gao patiently. The doctor had not been exposed to the other world, so his way of thinking was restricted. “If Men Nan is suffering mainly because of his childhood trauma, then why did his illness surface only after he moved into this apartment?”

Doctor Gao had no answer to that question.

“The childhood trauma is part of the manifestation of the problem that lies in this apartment. Something here has seriously triggered him, causing him to fall ill; that is the real source.” Chen Ge tried his best to explain the situation without referencing the other world too much.

Doctor Gao nodded. Even though he still had reservations with regards to Chen Ge’s methods, but it was undeniable that the man had cured Wang Xin. Standing from a scientist’s standpoint, he wanted to know more about Chen Ge’s various ideas and methods, but from the doctor’s standpoint, he merely wished for his patients to be cured.

Chen Ge could see the hesitation in Doctor Gao’s face, and he knew it would be hard to convince the doctor. “Even if we move him away, the nightmare will still happen; haven’t you tried that already? In that case, why not we just let him fall asleep here. The two of us will be by his side, and when he shows any sign of pain, we will wake him up immediately.”

Psychological therapy was a long and arduous process, and after some consideration, Doctor Gao finally agreed. Following some more discussion, they entered the bedroom, and to their surprise, Men Nan was already on the bed. The young man was exhausted; with his chin on the pillow, he had fallen asleep leaning against the bed.

After getting Men Nan into the bed, Chen Ge wanted to examine Men Nan’s forehead and neck but was stopped by Doctor Gao. “Let him sleep.”

“Okay.” Chen Ge pulled two chairs over. “We’ll do this in rounds. One will stay up until midnight, and the other will take over. Whenever there’s something wrong, we’ll wake him up immediately.”

“You should go and rest for now. Leave this to me.”

Doctor Gao had Chen Ge sleep on the living room sofa while he stayed in the bedroom to look after Men Nan.

Before he arrived, Chen Ge had spent the whole morning working inside the Haunted House and the afternoon making the mannequin heads, so he was tired. He switched his phone to vibrate mode and set the alarm for midnight. Lying on the sofa, with Xiaoxiao beside him, he soon fell asleep.

…

In his dream, he felt a vibration coming from his palm. Chen Ge sat up on the sofa. He looked at the phone; it was midnight.

He entered the bedroom and saw the deep frown on Doctor Gao’s face. Before he said anything, Doctor Gao made a shush motion at him. The two stood beside the bed quietly. After about five minutes, Men Nan, who was sleeping in bed, suddenly straightened his arms underneath his body. It seemed like he was trying to sit up.

He failed after a few attempts, and the arms flapped weakly beside him like everything that happened earlier was just a dream.

“Sleepwalking?” Chen Ge whispered to Doctor Gao. The latter shook his head and pointed at Men Nan’s eyes.

Chen Ge followed Doctor Gao’s finger and realized that Men Nan’s eyes were open, but only a quarter of his pupils could be seen. The rest was all white.