My House of Horrors

Both the girl and the woman’s voice sounded quite normal, but after combining them with the strange environment and curious lyrics, everything took on a different meaning.

“The first part was sung by the girl. She was looking for her mother, and the latter part was probably sung by the mother. They were in the same room, but the daughter cannot see her mother, and the mother cannot reach out to touch her daughter; this can only mean that one of them must have died and transformed into a ghost.” Wang Dan’s analysis was sharp and to the point. His girlfriend was already shaking.

“This room is not safe either; we should leave.”

“No.” Wang Dan did not choose to leave like before but shook his head determinedly. “Before the voice of the woman and the girl came, did you hear the sound of a music box?”

“Music box?” Wang Dan’s girlfriend was confused. “I think I did, but what does that have to do with us leaving?”

“Of the clues provided by Boss Chen, one of them is about a music box that can play on its own. There is a clue hidden in this room!” Wang Dan’s eyes were shining with determination like a saintly duty had fallen on his shoulders. “Boss Chen gave us four clues, and even though ten of us came in to visit, none of the clues have been found. In fact, all of us have lost contact with one another.

“Of course, a large part of it is because they asked for it themselves, but think about it, we are a group entity. If we choose to give up due to the weakness of our teammates, then in the end, it will be us who are looked down upon!”

Wang Dan released his girlfriend’s grasp on his arm, and he took one step toward the bedroom.

“Don’t go over there! So what if we’re looked down? It’s not like that hasn’t happened before. We should stop while we still can.” Wang Dan’s girlfriend tried to persuade him.

“The clue is just beyond this door. Will you choose to be a coward for life or be a hero for a few minutes?” Wang Dan glanced at his phone. “We have less than ten minutes left. I need to do something that I haven’t done before.”

Gritting his teeth, he pushed open the bedroom door and quickly scanned his surroundings. The windows were closed, and there seemed to be a group of shadows hidden behind the thick curtain. The drawer of the make-up table was left half-open, and the chair was toppled on the ground. The mattress on the single bed was dangling off the edge, blocking one’s view of the space under the bed. The bedsheets were rumpled on the mattress, but the shape looked like someone was hiding underneath them.

All the furniture mentioned in the song was present in the bedroom. It lent an air of authenticity to the lyrics.

“The sound seems to come from the armoire.” The environment inside the bedroom was strange. Wang Dan’s pupils darted about as he slowly moved to the armoire. Holding the edge of the furniture, he was about to yank the door open when a light knock came from behind him.

“Who is it?” His heart almost jumped out of his throat. He turned around and saw that it was only his girlfriend who had moved to the bedroom door. She had accidentally knocked into the door.

“Wang Dan, let’s go. Something’s not right about this place,” Wang Dan’s girlfriend urged nervously. She actually was not that attached to Wang Dan; she simply did not have the guts to leave on her own.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be done soon.” Wang Dan took a deep breath to steady his heart, and he pulled the armoire open. A light scent of mildew wafted out. Wang Dan soon discovered the music box sitting on the second layer of the armoire. It looked like an antique, hand-crafted, and should cost quite a bit.

“This looks quite pretty.” Wang Dan picked up the music box. “This is one of the clues provided by Boss Chen, but where is the hint to escape?”

The singing of the woman and the girl continued. Wang Dan slowly got used to them, to the extent that he did not realize that the singing was gradually getting closer to him.

“Am I supposed to break it open?” When the song finished playing, the figurines on the box stopped dancing. The box closed on its own to reveal a piece of paper stuck to the back of the lid.

“Found it!” Wang Dan picked up the note excitedly.

“Of the dungeon behind the armoire, the fridge in the corner of the kitchen, and the morgue at the end of the hospital, one of them leads to the exit. One leads to a new life; the other two lead to death. Why not leave everything to fate? (Please replace this note when you’ve done reading it, or else no one can tell what kind of punishment will befall you).”

Wang Dan was thrilled to have found the clue, but after he read the note, he frowned again. “This is all about luck. If the choice is correct, then everything’s fine, but if the choice is wrong, then it’s really over.”

Wang Dan was familiar with Boss Chen; the correct choice might not really lead to the exit, but the wrong choice would definitely land them in despair.

“Giving up now means wasting all our effort so far. I’ll go for it no matter what!” Wang Dan cheered for himself. He replaced the paper note in the music box. However, when his finger touched the lid, the music box that had stopped playing started to turn again.

The lid was forced open, and two figurines twirled on their stage. But strangely enough, there was a new paper note stuck between the two figurines.

“There’s a second clue?” Wang Dan reached out to take the paper, but as his arm reached into the armoire, a chill surged through his fingertips.

“What is…” His hand was grabbed by another pale hand. He glanced into the armoire and saw a little girl curled up in the depths of the armoire.

“Disobedient children will be taken away by the ghosts!” The girl’s singing suddenly sped up, and she crawled out from the armoire.

“Where did she come from‽” Wang Dan flung his hand back and tried to retreat when his body bumped into something. He turned back and made contact with a pair of searing red eyes.

“I move with your gaze. I hide under the bed, inside the armoire, behind the window, before crawling under your covers. I lay down behind you and above you, and now you have finally seen my red eyes!”

The woman’s face that was almost completely decayed leaned close to Wang Dan. Wang Dan was so startled that he almost fainted. He bit on his tongue and forced himself to stay awake.

“Get away!” Wang Dan did not dare keep his eyes open. He waved his arms around behind and charged toward where he believed the exit would be. When the woman first showed up, Wang Dan’s girlfriend had already started retreating. The couple ran out of the haunted room one after the other.

Perhaps Wang Dan’s swinging punches provoked the ghosts because the pair of mother and daughter flew out of the room to chase after them. Without stopping to take a breath, Wang Dan and his girlfriend sprinted down the street for the third time!

“Where are we going now‽” Wang Dan’s girlfriend screamed into the street.

Wang Dan’s tongue was pulsing with pain, and he rambled through his words. “I saw the clue! There are three possible spots for the exit! Follow me!”

Both mentally and physically, he was at his limits, but he was so close to the exit that Wang Dan could taste it. His brain worked on overtime. “An armoire is too common and too hard to find! We haven’t even seen a fridge or a kitchen before! So, we can only go to the last option—the morgue at the end of the hospital!”

Retracing their steps, Wang Dan led his girlfriend back to Li Wan Private Hospital.

“A one in three chance! I don’t believe I’ll be that unlucky! I will clear the scenario this time!”