amaotonovel Chapter 4226 Possession by Evil Spirits (6)
Chapter 4226 Possession by Evil Spirits (6)
Chapter 4226 Possession by Evil Spirits (Part Six)
"Where is your father's grave?" the detective asked.
"Over there," Linda pointed in a direction.
They walked together to a dark gray tombstone that read "Zida Hughes Berger".
"So your last name is Berg?"
Linda nodded. The agent had been observing her movements, but she remained stiff and clumsy, making it impossible to discern anything from her. The agent was even tempted to use psychoanalysis, but he wasn't very good at it and couldn't detect any emotion.
As the detective pondered, his gaze swept past the large tombstone and noticed a smaller tombstone behind it, which also bore the inscription "Berg".
He glanced at Linda first, then asked, "Who is this? Your father's brother?"
Linda shook her head and said, "This is my brother."
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the agent said, “He…he died young?”
Linda nodded and said, "He had a strange illness and died when he was four years old."
“That’s so pitiful.” The agent quickly made the sign of the cross on his chest and said, “He will be the most adorable angel by the Lord’s side.”
Unexpectedly, Linda glanced at him and asked, "Are you a Christian?"
"Yes, I'm from England, and I'm a Protestant. Have you heard of the Baptists?"
Linda shook her head, and the agent didn't dwell on the topic, instead saying, "Your mother must have been heartbroken. What a pitiful woman. But there really aren't many people left in this area. Haven't you considered moving to the city?"
Linda remained silent. The detective stared at her—this young woman, who should have been in the prime of her life, looked like a stiff corpse. If she weren't still breathing and warm, the detective would have truly believed she was the source of the paranormal events.
Then the agent remembered the billboard he saw when he entered the town, and he asked, "I saw a billboard with a clown on it at the entrance to the town. Do you have clown shows here?"
“No,” Linda said, “at least not now.”
"So that's what happened before? Actually, I'm quite interested in circus performances from the last century, but unfortunately most of them aren't allowed to be performed now. I heard that circus performances used to be very popular on the West Coast."
“A circus did come to town before,” Linda said, “but that was a long time ago, and I haven’t seen them since.”
Were they here before you were born?
"Probably. I heard they used to perform in that small square, but something happened and they stopped performing."
The detective thought to himself: Here comes the key. But he didn't immediately press for details about what had happened. Instead, he said, "That's true. There aren't many people in this small town. I guess it's more profitable to perform in the city... Sorry, I'm a businessman, and sometimes I just look at things from a profit perspective."
Linda shook her head and said, "If you're really interested, you can go to the warehouse next to the square. There are some props they left behind there."
"Props? Props for a circus performance?"
"It seems so, but I've never been there. My mom won't let me. It's getting late, I need to go back and make fishing rods. You can go and wander around by yourself."
After saying that, Linda turned to walk back. The agent and the hunter followed behind her, and then they parted ways at the end of a road—Linda headed toward the old house, while the two of them turned toward the small square.
As soon as they reached the small square, they saw two familiar figures. The agent walked over and said to Bruce, "Thank you for saving us that day. But didn't you say you were going back to town? What are you doing here?"
“Our motorcycle broke down,” Kent said with a serious sigh. “The roads here are too difficult to navigate. We hadn’t gone very far before the motorcycle broke down. It’s our fault for not having it checked. Now we can only wait for my colleague to bring me the parts.”
"I see. But what are you doing here?"
"Then what are you doing here?" Bruce retorted.
“Aunt Kane’s daughter, Linda, said there used to be circus performances here. I was interested in that, so I came to take a look.”
"Are they performing here?"
“That’s right. Linda also said that they left some props in a warehouse nearby, and I’m planning to look for them. Even though they’re from the last century, they might have some collectible value. I’m going to go and take a look.”
“You better not be thinking of taking it secretly,” Kent said, adjusting his glasses.
"It's nothing. The circus doesn't exist anymore, and these things are ownerless. Taking one or two items wouldn't be illegal. Besides, there isn't even a police station in town..."
The detective deliberately leaked the information to the two men, mainly because they were both in poor condition—one couldn't lift his left arm, and the other had a wound in his abdomen. If they just barged into that warehouse and got hit by one of those scare boxes, they'd be done for.
The Batman and Superman duo, on the other hand, seem to be mostly unharmed. Given their cautious and kind natures, they probably wouldn't do anything particularly outrageous, so they likely escaped severe punishment and are in relatively good condition. Having them scout ahead is perfect.
Batman is such a smart guy, how could he not understand what Hu Le meant? So he didn't say anything, just glanced in the direction the agent pointed, and then walked over there.
The square isn't very big, and it's surrounded by commercial buildings, which clearly used to be shops. Only one building is somewhat unusual; it has no shop windows or storefronts, and it looks like it was a warehouse.
They walked over there. It was a slightly old wooden house, the surroundings were very desolate, and very dusty. Bruce went into the yard first, but Kent blocked his way and gestured for him to step back.
The agent thought to himself: It seems Batman and Superman in this world have made up. But then again, they don't hold grudges overnight; at worst, they'll have a fight, and then it'll be over.
However, Bruce's subsequent actions took the agents by surprise; he didn't move aside at all, but instead pushed the door open directly.
Okay, I take back my previous assessment. The agent thought to himself, for Batman to abandon his caution and act in such a spiteful manner, it seems they're still in a cold war. I wonder why they'd team up for this kind of dungeon; it couldn't possibly be just to push the other person away when a ghost suddenly appears, could it? That would be a bit too malicious.
Bruce led the way inside, followed closely by Kent, then the agents, while the hunter stayed outside to keep watch.
Upon entering the room, the detective was somewhat surprised: How could the room be so dark in broad daylight?
Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that all the windows of the warehouse were sealed off so tightly that it was completely airtight, not even letting in any light. However, perhaps due to years of disrepair, a few holes had leaked through the roof, allowing a faint ray of light to filter through, which enabled the viewer to see things.
Further on, there was a huge mess of things, and the detective realized he might have misunderstood—this wasn't just some things left behind; it was the entire circus left behind. Everything, except for the breathing creatures, was there.
The first pile was of dismantled circus tents, the kind of red and white circular tents often seen in games and movies. These tents used to have wooden pillars, but now all that's left is a pile of rotten wood. However, the fabric is relatively well-preserved; you can still see the wavy lace trim on the ceiling, with some LED strips wrapped around it.
On the other side was a large pile of steel frames, which looked like a tightrope walker's frame, the kind with a tall tower on both sides and a steel wire in the middle, where acrobats ride bicycles or something.
Behind these items were bicycles, wheelbarrows, fire hoops, and other equipment, as well as ropes, whips, and other tools used for animal training. Further on were many large iron cages, likely used to confine wild animals; judging from their rusted state, they had been abandoned for a long time.
Two large boxes were placed at the very back of the cage. Just as the two of them were about to walk over to look at them, the agent spoke up, "Don't go over there, use this."
The agent picked up a pair of fire tongs from the side—probably for lighting the ring of fire—and handed it to Bruce. Bruce glanced at him but said nothing, only glancing at his motionless left hand.
The agent knew Batman must have noticed something was wrong with his left hand and guessed they might have been subjected to severe punishment. However, it wasn't a major problem; after all, the agent had a gun, and the curse hadn't been applied to his dominant hand—that was fortunate.
Kent took the fire tongs without a word and slowly approached one of the large boxes. The box wasn't closed properly, and some fabric was showing, which looked like costumes for a performance.
Kent lifted the lid of the box, and with a cloud of dust rising, the large black box creaked open. Upon seeing what was inside, all three of them froze in place.
On the edge of the town, at the end of the forest, Kate slammed her hand on the steering wheel and cursed, "I knew something was wrong, we're not getting out."
“Should we keep going?” Peter said. “There might be a road ahead.”
Kate shook her head and said, "I counted when we came in. It took 26 minutes and 12 seconds on the country road. There's absolutely no way I could have made a mistake."
Peter hesitated slightly, then said, "What exactly did you see in the bathroom? Why did you drag me out so early in the morning? You should know why we came here..."
Kate abruptly turned to stare at Peter. Peter stopped talking, glanced at the empty space above, and said, "I know losing your child is a terrible tragedy for you. But Kate, we can't dwell on the past any longer."
"You asked me to go back to your hometown with you, and I did. I gave up a promising future in Chicago and transferred to this obscure little town. You wanted to go back to your aunt's house, and I went with you, even though she was very unfriendly to me, I didn't say anything. But now you suddenly want to drag me away, why is that?"
"You don't believe our child's accident is because of this town, is that it?" Kate sneered, glancing up at the empty space above her head before saying, "Didn't you want to know what I saw in the bathroom? Fine, let's go back, I'll show you."
After saying that, she turned the car around and drove towards the town. Half an hour later, she returned to the old house. Aunt Kane was fiddling with something in the backyard. When she saw the two of them return, she didn't come out to greet them, as if she hadn't seen them at all.
Kate dragged Peter all the way up to the second floor, pushed open the door to Aunt Kane's room, and then pushed open the bathroom door.
Peter followed her slowly into the bathroom, where the place was even more decayed and dilapidated than the rest of the house.
What shocked him most was the skeleton lying in the bathtub, dressed exactly like Kane's aunt.
At that moment, time seemed to stand still in the town. In the darkness of the circus warehouse, the thing lurking in the shadows, carrying a terrifying aura, flashed by in the shadows beneath everyone's feet.
Kent withdrew his hand, and as the dust gradually dissipated, the opened black box revealed a mummified male corpse dressed in a clown costume.
While everyone was stunned, a sickeningly painful sound of bones grinding together came as the corpse slowly began to move.
Don't worry, there are no sudden, terrifying scenes; it's mainly thriller, suspense, and mystery.