Secrets of the Secondhand Shop - Chapter 8

If that person was hiding under the bed right now, then he’d be in the dark while I was exposed. He could see exactly where I was, but I’d have no way of knowing what he was doing. I glanced at the floor—near the foot of the bed, not far from me, was the lighter I had just thrown away. I still had the extinguished candle in my left hand.

I don’t know if it’ll help, but I should at least try. Maybe if I light the candle again, Bai Yue might still find a way to come back.

But if I tried to pick up the lighter now, that person would definitely jump out to stop me. And he had a weapon. My odds of winning were pretty slim. I kept running through plans in my head while staring hard at the space under the bed, afraid he might make a move. Light from the window spilled into the room. I had my back to the window, and my shadow was cast across the floor and the bed.

I was staring under the bed when my gaze shifted for just a second—and in that second, I saw something slowly descending above my head.

Yes. Right above the head of my shadow—coming down from the ceiling near the window—a dark, murky shape was creeping closer.

Son of a b1tch! He’s not under the bed—he’s above me!

I yanked the curtain shut in one swift motion, cutting off the light. In that same instant, I lunged toward the lighter. Thank god I was quick. As the curtain closed, I locked onto the lighter’s position and grabbed it precisely before darting away from that spot.

The room was plunged into darkness once more. I crouched in the corner of the room—at least that way, nothing could sneak up behind me. The downside was that escape would be harder if I got attacked. I held my breath and stayed as quiet as possible, reaching into my pocket. I took out my phone and tucked the candle and lighter into my pants pocket.

If I’d known I’d be relying on my phone to save my life, I wouldn’t have bought an iPhone 6 Plus. This thing is a pain to operate one-handed.

I quickly rehearsed the steps in my mind.

Suddenly, I pressed the home button. The screen lit up instantly, giving away my position. Damn it! It took two full seconds to unlock with my fingerprint. I hurriedly swiped with my right thumb and hit the flashlight button with my left hand.

Just as I was doing all of this, I heard something overhead—something moving from far to near.

Without thinking, I leapt out of the corner and spun around, shining the phone light toward the ceiling above the corner.

Show yourself, you freak! Let’s see what the hell is messing with me!

The light revealed only a plain white ceiling.

Not good!

I had been ready to gamble it all—force both of us into the open—but I hadn’t expected this guy to be so fast and smart. I ended up exposing myself without catching him. I immediately tossed the phone aside and dove under the bed.

Once under the bed, I quickly crawled to the headboard, pressing my back against the wall and watching the gaps on either side of the bed like a hawk. This might’ve made my retreat even harder, but at least nothing could sneak up on my back or head.

The phone had landed face-down, but the flashlight was still on, so some light was filtering in. I could see the area outside the bed fairly clearly. Nothing seemed to be moving, and I didn’t see any feet.

So that bastard’s still above me? How the hell is he moving so fast on smooth walls?

I waited for a bit, but there was no movement. I pulled out the candle and lighter. With a click, a flame flared to life. I lit the candle easily this time.

The bright flame flickered in the darkness.

I hope Bai Yue still has a chance to come back.

Whoosh.

I clearly heard someone exhale right behind me, the breath brushing past my ear—and the candle immediately went out.

But there was a wall behind me. There couldn’t be anyone there. Fear and rage surged up inside me. I swung a punch backward. But the space was too tight, and I overextended—banging my head so hard I saw stars. I had been crouching close to the headboard, but now I slid down and curled up, clutching my head and groaning.

And then—cold hands clamped around my ankles.

I didn’t even have time to react before I was yanked out from under the bed.

I’m not sure when exactly he turned off my phone—maybe when I was yelling, or maybe when I lit the candle. Either way, the moment I was dragged out, the room was pitch black again. I couldn’t see a damn thing. Whatever was pulling me—whatever it was—wasn’t human. Judging by how fast I was being dragged and my own weight, this thing was freakishly strong. Even a burly man might be able to drag me, but not this fast. And the way it kept to the shadows, never showing its face…

I’m not even sure it is human.

I was being dragged so fast that my legs whipped around and slammed into the bedroom wardrobe. My head rang from the impact. I tried to fight back, but I couldn’t overcome the thing’s strength. It didn’t seem to be slowing down. I must’ve been pulled all the way into the living room.

I still had the candle and lighter in my hand. Since I couldn’t escape, screw it—I lit the candle again. The moment the flame came to life, the hands suddenly let go. My feet dropped heavily to the ground.

Just as I thought—I’d been dragged into the living room. The curtains were drawn here too, and the entire space was shrouded in darkness. I quickly sat up and used the candlelight to check around me and above—but saw no sign of anyone.

That’s when I heard a faint rustling sound near my ear.

Sh1t, this thing’s going to try blowing out the candle again.

I whipped my head around, ready to throw a punch—

But what greeted me was a sharp pair of pliers.

Luckily, I dodged in time, but they still grazed my shoulder. Pain shot through me as the pliers dug into my right shoulder. I cried out, and the candle fell from my hand. Clutching my wounded shoulder with my left hand, I could feel bl00d pouring from the wound. This is bad. I scrambled back as fast as I could.

I retreated into the bedroom, slammed the door shut, and locked it. Slumped against the door, I was shaking—either from the pain or the fear, maybe both.

Thankfully, I still had the lighter in my hand. Trembling, I picked up the candle from the floor. My shoulder burned with pain, and bl00d was running down my arm, dripping onto the floor. The night was so quiet I could hear the thick, sticky drops hit the ground.

The silver Zippo lighter was slick with bl00d—hard to hold onto. If I wasn’t careful, it would slip from my hand. After struggling for a while, I managed to light five candles. Only then did I begin tending to my wound.

In TV shows, people always rip their clothes to bandage injuries. In real life, tearing fabric is a lot harder than it looks. Maybe I just didn’t know how to do it properly, but after taking off my jacket, I couldn’t even rip through my white cotton T-shirt. Soon, most of the shirt was soaked in bl00d.

I glanced at Bai Yue, still “resting with his eyes closed” on the bed, and muttered in my heart, You bastard, hurry up and finish your business and get back here. If you don’t, your grandpa here’s not gonna make it.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

A slow, deliberate knocking echoed from the door.

Sh1t. It’s here.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

The rhythm was slightly faster this time.

I quickly grabbed my phone. I hadn’t wanted to make a big deal out of this, but now that my life was on the line, screw appearances. I turned it on. It was 11:37 PM.

Less than thirty minutes left. If this keeps up, I won’t make it to when Bai Yue comes back.

This is way beyond what I expected. There’s no way I can handle this alone.

I dialed 110.

I turned on speaker mode—I wanted whoever was outside the door to hear me calling the police. Maybe it would scare them off.

“Leave now! I’ve already called the cops!” I shouted.

It actually worked. The knocking stopped immediately.

But instead of the usual dial tone, a strange static began playing from my phone. After the static faded, music started playing.

Jazz music? Could the police line have a ringtone?

No. I instantly rejected that thought. Police hotlines don’t have ringtones. And besides, something in my gut told me this strange jazz tune wasn’t any kind of official tone.

The sudden, eerie music made this night feel even more terrifying. I tried to hang up—but the phone froze. No matter what I pressed, I couldn’t exit the call or shut the app.

The damn music just kept playing, worming into my head.

“Fvck!” I shouted, hurling the phone to the ground. American-made, huh? It didn’t break. I started stomping on it with all my strength. With a crack, the screen shattered—but the music still didn’t stop. It was like a cursed hand gripping my soul. I kept smashing it, almost frenzied—but even as the phone’s body warped out of shape, the music kept on echoing.

The stillness of the night made the bizarre jazz feel even more maddening.

Between the exertion and the bl00d loss, my vision started going dark. My body was giving out, but the pain brought a sliver of clarity. I realized how badly I’d lost control. Just one piece of music had completely thrown me off balance. I was losing—badly.

My opponent was a master of psychological warfare, staying hidden and striking with precision. Just now, he had nearly shattered my mental defenses.

At least I’ve calmed down now. Better late than never.

But even so, trying to stay focused while that weird music kept playing was incredibly hard. I took a deep breath but still couldn’t shake the irritation. The sound gnawed at me—I couldn’t concentrate at all.

Damn. Who knew a little music could mess someone up this badly?

I picked up the phone and tried to pry off the back to remove the battery. I finally managed to open the bent casing. Looks like I’m getting a grip again. If I’d just taken out the battery earlier, I wouldn’t have wasted so much energy.

While I was focused on messing with the phone, I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. But then, I felt a breeze drift across my back. The room didn’t feel as stuffy as before.

I glanced sideways at the door—and every muscle in my body tensed.

The door was open. And I had no idea when it happened.