Chapter 415: "This Is the Place That Leads to Heaven!
Chapter 415: Chapter 415: "This Is the Place That Leads to Heaven!
After they exchanged greetings, Renee Jennings got straight to the point. "Shadow, Shadow, in the middle of the night, did you see a female human in red being carried here by a male human?"
Shadow said, "We saw her. Why?"
The other Shadow chirped, "I saw her too! I saw her first, actually! I’m the one who called Shadow over to watch the fun!"
Renee Jennings asked, "Was the female moving at the time?"
"She was moving, and she was talking, too!"
Renee Jennings’s clear eyes fixed on the second Shadow. "Can you tell me what the two humans were saying?"
"Of course!" he agreed readily, then fell into recollection.
That night, he and his companion had come out to forage. He was chasing a moth when he happened to see two humans burst into the forest.
He’d heard that humans only entered the forest during the day, so he was quite curious about this pair who had trespassed at night.
What’s more, one of them was being carried.
’What were they doing?’
He quickly snatched a few mosquitoes to fill his stomach, then called over his companion, Shadow, to watch the fun.
They perched on a branch, watching as the man in black walked to a large tree and set the person in red, who he’d been carrying on his shoulder, down on the ground.
Rui Tucker’s eyes were blindfolded with a strip of cloth. As she was set down, she asked, "Brother Shawn, are we at that mysterious place you told me about?"
"Almost," the man in black said, helping Rui Tucker to her feet. From a bag he carried, his white-gloved hands pulled out a hemp rope as thick as a finger. "Be good now. Just stand still."
Blindfolded, Rui Tucker had no idea where she was or what was about to happen, but she nodded obediently. "Okay, I’ll be good."
The man in black was pleased. He used the hemp rope to tie her to the tree trunk, then ripped the blindfold from her eyes.
Rui Tucker looked around and, seeing she was tied up, asked with a hint of unease, "Brother Shawn, where are we?"
The man in black wore a mask, revealing only a pair of eyes that seemed to mock her with a smile. "Rui," he said, "this is the path to heaven."
Rui Tucker’s expression was one of utter confusion. "What do you mean? Are we going to heaven?"
"Shhh." The man in black pressed a finger to her lips, his soft, eerie voice filled with a strange cadence. "Rui, you misspoke. Not ’we.’ Just you."
"Me?" Rui Tucker grew even more confused. "Brother Shawn, aren’t you taking me on a date to a mysterious place?"
"I am." The man in black stroked her chin, his voice a low chuckle. "You have a date with an angel."
Rui Tucker frowned, puzzled. "An angel?"
The man in black placed a white-gloved hand over his heart. "Yes. I am the angel who has come to save you."
Rui Tucker let out a small laugh. "Brother Shawn, you’re so funny! Yes, you are my angel!"
The man in black gave a chilling laugh. "Rui, this world isn’t a beautiful place at all. How about I send you to the beautiful heavens?"
Still thinking he was joking, Rui Tucker nodded. "Okay, Brother Shawn. Let’s go to the beautiful heavens together."
"You misspoke again," the man in black corrected her gently. "Rui, you’re the one going to heaven."
Rui Tucker feigned anger. "Hmph! I don’t want to go to heaven alone. Does this mean you don’t love me anymore?"
The man in black chuckled, the pad of his thumb brushing across her lips. "Rui, of course I love you. If I didn’t, why would I choose to help you escape this living hell?"
"Then why say you won’t come with me?" A sweet feeling washed over Rui Tucker, but then she heard an animal cry out in the forest. Fear crept into her voice. "Brother Shawn, can you untie me, please? I don’t want to be here anymore. It’s a little scary."
"How could this place be scary?" The man in black, displeased, gripped her chin. "This is the path to heaven!"
Rui Tucker winced in pain, that sense of unease washing over her again. "Brother Shawn, you’re hurting me."
"Does it hurt?" the man in black asked, his tone turning tender as he gently rubbed her chin. "I’m sorry, Rui. I just got a little too excited."
Tears welled in Rui Tucker’s eyes. A profound sense of wrongness settled over her. "Brother Shawn, can you please untie me first?"
"Oh, I can’t do that." The man in black toyed with a lock of her hair, thoroughly enjoying himself. "If I let you go, how could I send you to heaven?"
"Brother Shawn, what do you mean by that?"
"Rui, don’t you think the world is unfair to you? Don’t you resent everyone around you? Don’t you wish you could be reborn into a wealthy family in your next life? I’m here to help you."
Hearing that last sentence, Rui Tucker shuddered violently. "What... What are you going to do to me?"
"Haven’t I already told you?" the man in black suddenly snarled. "How many times do I have to say it?"
His shout drained the color from Rui Tucker’s face. She stared at him in terror, her lips trembling. "You... you... Let me go! I want to go back!"
The man in black threw his head back and laughed, a sound bordering on madness. "Rui Tucker, you’re not going back."
"No..." Rui Tucker screamed in terror. "I don’t want to be on a date with you anymore! I want to go back to school! Help! Is anyone there? Help!"
The man in black folded his arms, calmly admiring the sight of her terror. "No one is coming to save you. I have chosen you, and you must depart."
’Someone ruined my good work last time. That won’t happen again.’ He would personally send this pitiful wretch he’d chosen to heaven.
Rui Tucker began to struggle with all her might. The hemp rope and tree bark scraped her wrists raw, but she couldn’t break free.
Tears streamed down her face, her heart filled with regret. "I want to go home..."
A syringe appeared in the man in black’s right hand. With his left, he seized Rui Tucker’s chin and smiled faintly. "Rui, heaven is your new home."
Rui Tucker’s pupils constricted. The whites of her eyes became shot with red from sheer terror as tears streamed from their corners. She felt an unknown liquid being forced into her mouth, her throat contracting in a desperate swallow. An icy chill instantly shot through her entire body, her limbs feeling as if they had turned to pillars of ice.
The man in black pulled his hand back, watching her with a look of pity. "Don’t be afraid, Rui. I’m helping you."
Rui Tucker retched, trying to spit out whatever was in her mouth. Her voice was trembling and hoarse. "What did you give me?"
"Something good," the man in black said, reaching out to stroke her hair. "You won’t have to suffer anymore."
"You... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..." Rui Tucker tried to speak, but a violent coughing fit cut her off.
She looked toward the man, but his figure was a blur. She screamed, on the verge of breaking down, "What did you give me?! Why are you doing this to me? Please, let me go..."
"Why am I doing this to you?" The man in black elegantly flicked his cloak. "Because I love you, of course. I want to help you."
Rui Tucker gasped for breath, each one a struggle. A sharp pain stabbed through her abdomen, making her face turn even paler. "You... you’re lying!"
The man in black shrugged. "Rui, it really hurts my feelings when you say that. Sigh. If I’d known you’d be like this, I wouldn’t have helped you."
With those words, he turned and left.