Chapter 6 Night Shift at the Graveyard (5)

"This... I... I'm a little tired..." Rover stammered as fear engulfed him.

He felt that something was very strange. Akiko's attitude, voice, and actions were all very strange.

It was as if... it wasn't Akiko but someone else.

"No!" Akiko shouted: "We need to hurry; Alex and Kaito are waiting for us."

Rover was startled by her shout; in this terrifyingly silent space, her voice was even more jarring.

He didn't answer; instead, he slowly backed away, his nerves stretched taut like guitar strings.

"You... don't want to go anymore?" Akiko suddenly changed her tone; it was a little sad and a little disappointing.

Her sudden emotional shift made Rover wonder what was happening to her.

Suddenly, Akiko turned her head, accompanied by a sharp cracking sound.

Crack! Crack!

Rover: "??!!"

Although she was looking at him, the peculiar thing was that her body didn't turn; only her head.

Indeed, her head... turned 180 degrees, the skin and flesh of her neck twisted like a rag.

A chill immediately ran down his spine, making him shiver.

Fear overwhelmed him.

How could she do that?

Who is she?

Is she really Akiko?

Many questions flooded Rover's mind; however, he didn't want to know the answers; he only knew that... he needed to run.

"Don't go..." Akiko suddenly gave a strange smile, her face gradually turning white.

"Stay here with me... Don't go..."

Crack! Crack!

Her knees bent backward as she took steps towards him, and each step was accompanied by the sound of breaking bones.

Her gait and strange smile terrified Rover; even a special effects makeup artist couldn't achieve such a good effect.

Could it be... a ghost?

Rover couldn't think anymore, immediately turning and running away.

"Don't run!" Akiko's voice echoed behind him: "Don't run! I'm so scared... stay with me..."

Damn it! I'm the one who should be scared! Stay alone; don't come near me!

Although tired, Rover used all his strength to run. Fog obscured his vision; he didn't know where he was, but he knew he had to run.

This wasn't a matter of logic or anything similar; it was the life-seeking instinct of a human being.

Rover just ran along the path beneath his feet, running until he could run no more. He could only stop, his hands on his knees, gasping for breath.

He looked around, muttering: "This... where am I?"

The fog and darkness obscured everything, and Rover didn't know how to get back to the security room.

He took out his phone, but...

"What the hell?" Rover exclaimed.

The phone didn't turn on, and no matter how hard Rover tried, he couldn't turn it on.

'Damn it!' Rover cursed silently: 'Why did my phone die at a time like this?'

Suddenly, a hand appeared from behind Rover. It pierced the fog, striking his shoulder.

Thump!

"AAA!!!" Rover screamed, falling to the ground.

"Oy! It's me!" Alex shouted: "What the hell are you yelling for?"

Seeing Alex in front of him, Rover breathed a sigh of relief, then scolded him: "Damn it! Are you crazy? Suddenly grabbing my shoulder from behind like that, are you trying to scare me to death?"

"Your yelling scared the hell out of me too." Alex said scornfully: "Seriously! You're over 30, and you're scared of ghosts?"

"That..." Rover was embarrassed, he did not know what to say, but what he had just witnessed was too terrifying, stimulating his nerves to the point of almost breaking.

"Wait! Why are you here alone?" Rover asked, warily eyeing Alex.

"I wanted to go back to the security room." Alex said irritably: "The pipe is broken. Kaito told me to go to the security room to find more tools to fix it."

"Damn it! The fog is too thick; I can't find my way back to the security room, but I met you."

"And you? Why aren't you in the security room but running outside?"

"That..." Rover stammered, intending to say he'd just experienced something strange; however, if he did, Alex would probably tease him.

Besides, Rover wasn't sure if it was a ghost or a special effects makeup artist.

Finally, Rover found a somewhat flimsy excuse: "I... the room felt a little congested, so I came out for a walk, but the fog was too thick, and I got lost."

"Tsk!" Alex clicked his tongue: "Stupid."

Rover was angry but also relieved. That expression was definitely Alex's.

Remembering Akiko from earlier, Rover shivered in fear and quickly asked: "Where are Akiko and Kaito?"

"Of course, they're fixing the pipe." Alex said irritably: "Do you think Kaito would let me be alone with Akiko?"

Seeing Alex's irritable expression, Rover knew... This Alex wasn't like the Akiko he'd just seen.

"How do we get back to the security room now?" Alex frowned.

Rover shook his head: "I don't know, maybe... We look slowly. This place isn't that big; it's just the fog that's too thick."

"Besides, the security room is right by the road; if we just follow this road, we'll definitely find it."

Alex nodded: "That's right; let's hurry; I don't want to stay in this damn fog anymore."

He walked ahead; Rover sighed and followed behind Alex.

Less than a minute later, Alex suddenly said: "What kind of person do you think Kaito is?"

Hearing Alex's question, Rover found it strange, but he still answered: "Um... intelligent, brave, calm... He has the qualities to be a team leader."

"Anyway, our relationship is cooperation, not competition, so I think having him on the team is a good thing."

Although Rover finished talking, Alex didn't reply; he just walked forward in silence.

Rover felt puzzled, frowning and asking: "Why did you ask that?"

Alex suddenly stopped; without turning around, he softly said: "Don't trust him; he's not what you think."

"Heh?!" Rover frowned, feeling something strange: "What do you mean?"

"Don't trust him! Stay away from him!" Alex said, then suddenly ran into the thick fog.

Bap! Bap! Bap!

Rover: "..."

Damn it! Why are you all so weird? I just want to sleep here for a night, then get my $5,000. Do you need to make it so difficult for me?

Rover couldn't think much, so he quickly chased after Alex.

However, he had only run less than 10 meters before escaping the fog.

"Ah! The fog... Ack!" Before Rover could rejoice, he immediately fell silent because... in front of him was a church.

Rover shuddered at the sight of the church and what it represented.

Inside the church were three corpses wrapped in body bags; two of them lay on the floor inexplicably.

Although Rover reassured himself that it was all set up by the company, the fear, like the fog, enveloped his mind.

Rover looked around for Alex, but he couldn't see him anymore.

Suddenly, he remembered Alex's footsteps, identical to the sound of someone knocking on a door.

'Could it be... Alex is from the company, and he's trying to give me a hint.

Rover shook his head, feeling incredibly confused. He didn't know what the hell was going on anymore.

Behind him was thick fog, and no matter which way he went, he couldn't see the end.

In front of him was the church, but inside were three corpses waiting for him.

Whether he chose to advance or retreat was the same.

Rover gritted his teeth, cursing silently: 'Damn it! Even if ghosts exist, so what? Compared to starving to death, ghosts are nothing.'

He decided to enter the church because he believed that if ghosts or devils really existed in this world, the church would still be safer.

Would they dare enter the church? Not afraid of the gods?

Therefore, Rover moved his feet, entering the church.

The church door wasn't closed; it was slightly ajar, the light inside spilling out, reassuring him.

Rover frowned, remembering that before, the church door was closed, not ajar as if inviting him in.

'It seems... There's really someone hiding inside the church. Maybe it's a company employee.' Rover reassured himself.

He pushed the door open and went inside.

Krit! Krit!

The heavy wooden door seemed like it hadn't been opened for a long time, as if someone was pushing back from inside. Rover had to put in a lot of effort to push it open.

Inside, the lights were still on, as he had seen on the security camera; however, everywhere was dusty, as if the church had been abandoned for a long time.

Around him, chairs and tables were scattered, as if a whirlwind had swept through.

In front was the pulpit; on top of it should have been a statue of a god, but now it was empty.

The floor was covered in dust, with only a few footprints, as if someone had just walked through.

Wait!

Footprints?

Rover was startled, looking again. There were indeed footprints on the ground, leading from the door to the room in the distance.

They were truly footprints, not shoe prints. The footprints were very clear, as if intentionally left to let others know that someone had just passed through.

Suddenly, at this moment, a dark shadow slowly approached Rover.

Thump!

"AAA!!!" Rover screamed, once again falling to the ground.

"It's me!"

Hearing the voice, Rover calmed down and saw Kaito standing at the door, drenched, wearing only a jacket.

"Damn it!" Rover angrily shouted: "First Alex, now you-how many times are you going to scare me?"

"Alex?!" Kaito frowned upon hearing Rover mention Alex, his expression a little strange: "You mean... Alex met you?"

"Yes..." Rover also sensed something strange; remembering what Alex had said, he carefully asked: "Is something wrong?"

"When did you meet him?" Kaito didn't answer Rover's question but asked further.

"Just now, less than five minutes ago."