My House of Horrors

The tables, chairs, and mannequins were moved away. The few visitors were standing in the cleared corridor.

“Ol’ Yang, come on!” Wang Dan saw Yang Chen standing alone at the back, and he called out to urge him. He did not know about the great emotional turmoil inside Yang Chen as the man was caught in the middle of an arduous battle of wits.

“Why are you two being so nervous?” Yang Chen asked Wang Dan. He did not have the time to send the message. He was about to call Wang Dan and Lee Xue to fall back when the light next to him flickered.

“The lights?” Yang Chen suddenly realized something, and he ran toward Wang Dan and Lee Xue crazily. “Come next to me! Quick! The lights are going out!”

The lights in the corridor started to go off one by one, and this time, it was even faster than before. Lee Xue heard Yang Chen’s order and immediately ran to him. However, Wang Dan was further away from them. He was only halfway through when all the lights went off. This was the third time that the corridor had fallen into darkness. To make matters worse, they were now at the intersection between the outer perimeter and the middle section. No one knew what kind of monster was hiding on the other side of the hole in the wall. It was completely unexplored territory.

The Haunted House boss turned off the lights when I was about to bring up the five ghosts. Could it be that he has already guessed that the five ghosts have been exposed? If that’s the case, then this time, it could be me who is attacked. Of all the other visitors, the most difficult visitor to break is that detached Bai Qiulin. Other than him, I’m the next target. I’ve visited this place many times and have learned the boss’ thought process. He will definitely target me and pin a focus on my back.

Alarmed, Yang Chen did not plan to be taken down without a fight. He stood up, grabbed Lee Xue, and yelled down the other side of the corridor, “Wang Dan, come to me!”

There were shadows moving in the dark. Liquid dripped from the ceiling as a shadow slithered quickly over them.

“What was that?” Wang Dan, who was in the middle of running, felt a cold breath hitting him in the face. He looked up, and his pupils slowly got used to the darkness. He was about to have a good look of the monster when someone suddenly tapped on his shoulder. His body shivered, and Wang Dan turned over his shoulder to look on reflex. There was no one there. “Who is behind me?”

A drop of a cold liquid fell on his neck, and it caused Wang Dan to quiver. Before he recovered, there was another pat on his shoulder. This time, he could feel clearly someone had placed their hand on his shoulder.

“I got you!” Wang Dan was feisty, and he was not good with analysis and thought. However, his physical reactions were fast, and his physique was good. Before the hand got the chance to retreat, Wang Dan caught it. The person chose a moment like this to scare him, and this made Wang Dan rather angry.

Wang Dan decided to rough it up with the person. He grabbed the hand tightly and pulled it forward. The arm moved, and the whole hand was dragged to the front. The five tapered fingers were intertwined with Wang Dan’s fingers. The man turned back to look. It was a clean arm and a knob that had uneven cuts on it like it had been cut off by a cleaver. This was a severed arm, cut off at the wrist, and Wang Dan was currently holding the hand in his palm.

“A hand‽” His mind froze for one second before Wang Dan was overwhelmed by fear. “Where did the hand come from‽”

He swung his arm wildly in the dark. Just as he was about to scream, the broken mannequins that littered the area seemed to come to life, and they all turned toward Wang Dan. Wang Dan, who was dominated by fear, screamed at the top of his lungs. He barreled in a direction that did not have the mannequin. He had no idea where he was going, and he started running.

“Wang Dan!” Yang Chen immediately took out the phone from his pocket when he heard his friend’s voice. Just as he flipped over the phone and searched for the flashlight function, liquid dripped from the ceiling. The thick darkness coagulated above him, and a faceless skull slowly leaned downward like it was planning to swallow Yang Chen’s head whole.

With his focus fully on Wang Dan, Yang Chen did not notice the dark shadow above him. However, Lee Xue next to him screamed. She retreated backward quickly and tripped and fell. Her body leaned against the wall, but even so, she kept moving back. Seeing Lee Xue’s reaction, Yang Chen knew that something was coming for him. “Is the boss’ real target really me?”

The light from the phone flickered in the dark, and the monsters that were formed by darkness appeared in huge number.

“Do not panic! The darkness will only last for a short period of time!” Yang Chen jumped to the side to evade the attack. He raised the phone high and stood before Lee Xue to protect her. There were many footsteps in the corridor. In the dark, some of the visitors had started to run in a certain direction.

“Stay where you are! Don’t run away! Stop!” Yang Chen knew that something was off when he heard the urgent footsteps. He believed that the boss had noticed that some had realized that ghosts were mixed in the group of visitors, so this time, he switched off the lights to separate the team, to create a more beneficial environment for his workers.

Yang Chen yelled at the top of his lungs, but Wang Dan, who was completely panicked, did not register it. He continued to flail his arm madly. To make matters worse, the broken hand gripped tighter and tighter, refusing to let go. Their fingers twined with one another like the hand was stuck to his palm.

The monsters from the ceiling were approaching, the mannequins on the floor had revived, and the human heads rolled on the ground. Standing in the middle of the corridor, Wang Dan had lost his ability to think.

Footfalls appeared next to him. There was a visitor who was running away. Wang Dan leaned backward. He did not care anymore as he gave chase after the sound of footsteps. All he wanted to do then was break through being surrounded by the mannequins and the monsters on the ceiling.

“Who is running‽ Get down on the ground! Lean against the wall! Stay where you are!” Hu Ya and Ah Nan also ordered. They realized there were people who were purposely chaos in the team, spreading terror.

The shadows flickered. The lights did not come on. Pursued by the mannequins and monsters, Wang Dan ran into the middle section. He followed the visitor in front of him, and he had no idea how long he had been running. He remembered passing several corners, meaning that there was no way he would be able to go back.

After he calmed down, Wang Dan started to regret his actions. However, there was no other choice. The force on the hand increased. He was a medical student, and the hand gave him the feeling that it was no different from an actual human hand. However, it was cold as death.

Lowering his head to avoid the monsters on the ceiling, Wang Dan suddenly heard Bai Qiulin’s voice that was filled with surprise and anger. “Who is it? Show yourself!”

Then, he heard a scream from Xiao Lee. Wang Dan was sure that Xiao Lee had been following Bai Qiulin.

“What happened? What else did they run into?” There was a corner in front of him. Wang Dan got closer, and he saw two people collapsed by the corner. Xiao Lee was collapsed in front and completely unconscious. Bai Qiulin was lying behind him. He was still conscious as he waved at Wang Dan.

Wang Dan was feeling worried because he did not see the monster that assaulted the two visitors. He did not dare get too close, and he really did not have any intention of saving others. However, he was lost and had no idea where he was. If he did not stay close to these two, it would be easier for him to get into danger if he was alone.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Wang Dan bent over to catch his breath. He was planning to squat down next to Bai Qiulin to ask what had happened.

His legs bent, and Wang Dan looked at Bai Qiulin with his lips open. The sentence that was in his mind never got the chance to leave his lips when he saw Bai Qiulin’s spine suddenly turn ninety degrees! The face that he could not have been more familiar with fell into Wang Dan’s lap. The holes started to bleed, and a scary face looked up at Wang Dan while the lips kept repeating the same plea.

“Give me back my hand!”

Wang Dan was so spooked that he knelt down to the ground. His body leaned to the side, and the sentence was caught in his throat until his face was purple. His eyes rolled back, and Wang Dan finally understood why Xiao Lee would faint.

…

His body was moved, and his blurry eyes eventually forced open a slit. Wang Dan saw several doctors in white coats standing around him. They were even holding his school tag like they were in a great discussion.

“Where am I? Is this the hospital?” Wang Dan turned his head around to look. He realized that he was lying on a clean bed, and Xiao Lee had randomly been deposited on a wooden platform.

“You’re finally awake.” The four doctors stood around Wang Dan’s bed, and from the man’s perspective, this was quite scary.

“I… Wasn’t I visiting a Haunted House?’ Wang Dan could not tell anymore. He was in too much shock; he needed some time to work out where he was.

“We are the doctors at the Haunted House. You fainted, and it was us who rescued you.” The doctors look so kind and friendly. They were patient with Wang Dan.

Surrounded by fully wrapped doctors inside Jiujiang’s House of Horrors, this was a surreal and creepy experience for Wang Dan.

“Thank you.” He looked at the few doctors carefully and did not dare to move his muscle. “Can I leave now?”

“Of course, take good care of your school tag, don’t lose it again.” The leading doctor placed Wang Dan’s school tag lightly next to the man. “It’s fine to have a little fun mixed into study, but there has to be a limit to everything. When you’re done here, go back to school and focus in class.”

It sounded like it had been so long since the leading doctor had said those words to people, and he sighed. However, he also felt glad. “I really did not think that one day, I could see them again and share these words with them. This familiar setting makes me feel so touched.”

Wang Dan was weirded out. The doctors were so kind to him, but they did not extend the same kindness to Xiao Lee, who had also fainted.

“I’m sorry, but have we met somewhere before?” Wang Dan looked at the leading doctor’s frame, and he found the man weirdly familiar. The leading doctor smiled with kindness and love glowing in his eyes. “Actually, the few of us…”

The doctor who was older coughed lightly, and he shook his hand. “Let’s not create trouble for Boss Chen.”

“You’re right.” The leading doctor sounded depressed.

Wang Dan had no idea what the few doctors were talking about. He gripped the school tag. “I’m indeed a first-year student from Western Jiujiang Medical University. Could you all be our school’s seniors? But that’s not right. Today is a Wednesday, and every Wednesday afternoon, the university has an important class, so the students wouldn’t have picked this hour to take on a part time job.”

“First year? Wednesday?” The leading doctor was surprised before his brows slowly locked together. “You did remind me. If I’m not mistaken, shouldn’t you be in class now?”

The doctor’s tone became serious. Wang Dan’s legs quivered, and he got even more confused. He had a feeling that he was facing his school director. He answered in a soft and weak voice, “Today, the Haunted House had a new scenario, so I skipped class with a few other students to come visit.”

Wang Dan had no idea what he was afraid of, and this fear was different from the one he had faced so far.

“Skipped class?” The leading doctor nodded, and his face became drawn with severity. The atmosphere in the room turned heavy, and the four doctors were radiating cold auras. “Skipping class in your first year? Aren’t you afraid you’ll be punished by your teachers?”

“I wouldn’t be so unlucky, right? Plus, this is the first time I’ve done something like this,” Wang Dan stuttered. He became more nervous.

“Don’t scare the student,” the very kind voice said again. The older doctor said, “Come on, I’ll bring you out of the scenario. Go back to class when you’re done here. Don’t skip any more lessons.”

The doctor then turned to yell at the other side, “Also you, stop faking death. We’ll leave now.”

Xiao Lee, who lay on the ground, slowly opened his eyes and showed an embarrassed smile. He climbed up from the ground. “I’ll be leaving now. So sorry.”

Xiao Lee and Wang Dan supported each other as they left the room. Looking at the maze-like corridor, the two had no idea where they should go. They had a feeling that they would be transported back to this place very soon.

“Take the left turn, and at the next junction, walk forward. Enter the second room, and there is a closet in the room. Open it, and the exit is just behind the closet.” The senior doctor explained the route to them patiently. After ensuring that they knew the way, he shook his head and went back into the room, closing the door behind him.

“Thank you again!” Xiao Lee dragged Wang Dan excitedly down the corridor. He could finally leave this damn place. He had forgotten all about the mission given by Mr. Mu. He just wanted to leave. “Brother, who are you really? How come it feels like those actors are so close to you? Do you know them?”

“I’m pretty sure I don’t.” Wang Dan shook his head and felt like something was not right. “This is just weird. Actors at the Haunted House advising people to not skip class? Are actors nowadays so nice and positive?”

“No matter what, I owe you one. When Eastern Jiujiang’s futuristic park is open for business, the place will be packed, but I’ll help you get a few free passes.” Xiao Lee tapped his chest to promise.

“Eastern Jiujiang’s new park?” Wang Dan shook his head. “Thanks, but no thanks. Stay close together, and we leave this place first.”

“Okay!”

The two ran to the room that had been described by the doctor. There was a large cadaver pool in the middle of the room, and there was a large hole in the middle of the pool. The pool was filled with sticky liquid, and the hole was bubbling constantly like it was hiding something.

“It’s this closet.” Xiao Lee and Wang Dan worked together to move the closet aside to reveal the tunnel behind it.

…

The few doctors stood inside of the room. The leading doctor turned to look at the senior door, and his expression was awkward. “Elder Wei, why did you lead them to the tunnel going to the central hub? Xiao Chen has placed so many traps inside that tunnel—just the looks of it scare even me.”

“Skipping class in his first year, that is just too much. This Xiao Zheng… he doesn’t even know how to manage the school! One day, I’ll have to return there to teach him a lesson!” The doctor who was called Elder Wei drifted to the middle of the room.

The other doctors looked at one another before turning to ask the senior doctor, “Elder Wei, are you sure that nothing will happen if we do something like this?”

“What will happen? As long as I, Wei Jiuqin, have a breath in me, I’ll be able to rescue them! I am going to use this student’s lips to inform the rest of Western Jiujiang Medical University’s students that this is the result of skipping class!”