Azure Heart Horror Short Story

Chapter 6

"Sigh! I'm getting old... To be honest, I just got divorced... I came out on a trip to clear my head and forget that unhappy marriage."

"So, you're currently single. Brother Li, to be honest, I just broke up with my boyfriend too. If we get out of here, how about I be your girlfriend?" I knew Fatty was on the verge of death, so I had to use some strong medicine; I couldn't let him fall asleep. "Don't say I'm shameless, I think Fatty is a really good person, and you've been secretly glancing at me the whole way… even when we entered this cave, you followed me in. Didn't you?"

"Hehe..." The fat man chuckled sheepishly, his voice tinged with excitement. "I never imagined Miss Jiang would have such feelings for me..."

He suddenly fell silent halfway through his sentence. It was as if darkness had rushed in from all around, completely covering our eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

"Fatty?!"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you... I know you were just trying to encourage me..."

He exposed me, and I was speechless for a moment.

While we remain silent, the earth refuses to remain silent.

A roar, a tremor.

I felt the rock face above had moved a little closer.

"Fatty! Fatty!" I called out urgently!

But I quickly shut my mouth.

Because I heard the sound of bones cracking, followed by the sound of thick blood flowing, and what seemed to be brain matter. When this sticky liquid drenched me, I was too stunned to scream.

Why...why! Everyone says that good and evil are rewarded accordingly. Could it be that we have really done something heinous and deserve this retribution?

I kept my mouth tightly shut, letting the fat man's blood soak my body. Tears streamed down my face like a leaky faucet.

About a minute later, the roar stopped.

The fat man is gone.

Xiaolan is gone, Huang Lang is gone, Huang Qiang is gone, and now Fatty is gone too.

What am I supposed to do when I'm all alone?

No! I refuse to accept my fate! I don't want to die like this. I remembered what the fat man said to me before he left.

The way out is below.

This earthquake seems to have made the space below more open. I can clearly feel that the pressure on my buttocks has lessened considerably.

So I tried swaying my body from side to side. My right hand was finally free. More than an hour of compression had left it numb. I don't know how long it took before my right hand barely regained feeling. Then I tried moving my chest. It wasn't as tight as before, but it was still a little difficult. So I first used my feet, one in front of the other, to stabilize myself on the rocks, then reached into the neckline, grabbed the foam bra, and forcefully pulled it off.

I did it!

Finally, we can move around in the cracks in the rocks.

I wiped the blood and brain matter off my face with my bra, then rubbed my slippery hands dry on the stone wall. Using both hands and feet, I slowly moved downwards.

One meter, two meters... ten meters... thirty meters...

Anyone who's been rock climbing knows that going down is much harder than going up.

Because it's hard to find a foothold! If you don't have a firm footing when you let go, you're bound to fall. Sometimes, even if you find a foothold, the speed of your fall is too fast when you let go, and it's easy to slip!

I feel like it took me at least two hours to descend that distance. My stamina was starting to give out. Plus, I slipped twice along the way, resulting in countless scrapes and bruises all over my body.

So I leaned against the rock wall and rested for a while. I didn't know how deep it was below, but judging from the sound of the water and the cold air, it shouldn't be too far. Everyone says underground rivers are very fast-flowing; I didn't know where I would be swept away, whether I would crash into the rocks and die, or whether I would suffocate from lack of air... But I had no choice. Because this was my hope for survival.

Here we go again! Damn aftershocks.

I didn't know how the mountain wall would close up this time, so I could only hurry down and continue climbing.

Unexpectedly, just as I steadied myself and let go, the intensity of the earthquake suddenly increased.

Thump... That was the sound of my body hitting the rocks.

*Splash...plop...* That was the sound of me successfully falling into the water.

The icy river water gave me a sudden burst of energy, like a resurgence of vitality before my death. What followed was a struggle and a tossing and turning in the river.

Luckily, I grew up on the banks of the Yangtze River, so I'm quite a good swimmer.

In caves, take a deep breath to get some air, then dive down and swim faster with the current.

At this point, the jagged, rocky caves were the biggest danger. I dared not linger on the water's surface for too long, because it was easy to suddenly bump into sharp rocks at the boundary between the water and the air. It was slightly safer to stay in the water.

I was scratched and scraped several times, but I didn't care anymore.

Several times, as I flowed through the narrow passage, I held my breath to the limit, just a hair's breadth away from it.

Gradually, my consciousness began to blur... I no longer had the strength to swim, so I could only try to keep my body floating on the surface of the water in a backstroke position.

It was pitch black, and I had no idea whether I was asleep or awake.

I only become aware of my condition when water occasionally gets into my nostrils.

The underground river flows on; time flows on.

I felt dizzy and disoriented, floating and sinking, as if countless cold hands were trying to drag me to the bottom of the water. I also felt that the rock walls above me were the faces of dead men, grinning at me... I could even feel long hairs wrapped around my fingers and arms, tightening more and more.

Yes, I guess I'm going to die soon.

Just then, the current seemed to pick up speed. I was tightly gripped by the whirlpool and violently swept through a narrow culvert. The icy river water rushed into my nostrils, stinging me painfully. I wanted to scream, to cry out, but every time I opened my mouth, the water sealed it shut.

Just let me die. I've had enough!

Light! I started to think I was hallucinating.

Why do I feel like there's light in front of me?

That's an entrance. It's the exit of an underground river!

Good heavens! It really is the exit.

But I no longer had the strength to paddle, nor the strength to embrace joy. I only hoped that when I broke through the hole, someone would... rescue me.

I was very lucky. I was spotted by a group of villagers as soon as I rushed out of the cave!

Armed police and soldiers arrived shortly after. Together, they pulled me ashore in the shortest possible time.

"It's another woman."

Why did they say "again"? Could it be... could it be that Xiaolan has also been saved?

I was too lazy to move; the river had drained my strength and body heat. I just lay there, gazing up at the blue sky and white clouds, and at the crowd of onlookers. Ah, it felt so good! I was seeing the light of day again.

I want to take a nice hot bath, I want to have a big meal, and I also want to... burn some paper money for Fatty... My eyes are wet, I don't know if it's water or tears.

Before I could even sort out what I needed to do, I overheard a soldier next to me saying something to the person next to him.

"This woman's body had been submerged in water for quite some time, so she must have perished in the earthquake two days ago..."

A white cloth was placed over my face.

The world has turned dark again.

Sweet

When I was little, I often had a nightmare—I dreamt that I was being buried in the ground. The foul-smelling soil slowly filled my mouth, ears, eyes, and nose, burrowed into my long, proud hair, and stained my favorite pink princess dress… And that wasn't all; I felt an itch all over my body, as if snakes, insects, and rodents were licking my skin. Biting and swallowing, I felt like a sponge riddled with holes. Before I could even decompose, I became their excrement, turning into new soil.

Every time, I would wake up screaming. I can't remember how many times my parents took me to see a psychologist, but as I grew older, I gradually stopped being bothered by this strange dream.

Until last week, I received news of Bai Ge's death.

From birth to starting work, I've never left this small town in southern China. Except for my four years of university, I've lived here almost the entire time. My beloved family and friends are here. I can't bear to leave.

On my way to the funeral home, I saw that crazy old woman who had been begging on the streets for over a decade again. Every time she was scorned and chased by passersby, I felt a pang of heartache. I didn't know much about her story, only vaguely remembering that she was a widow who lost her child years ago and went insane. No one wanted to hire her, so she was forced to beg on the streets for a living. Every time I saw her, I would give her some money or other items. I don't know why, but I genuinely pitied her. My friends laughed at me, calling me foolish, but I felt a sense of peace after doing good deeds.

At the memorial service, Bai Ge's mother cried until she was almost breathless, and his father, a strong man who had retired from the army, also wept uncontrollably. This was something I hadn't expected.

Later, after hearing Xue Hui's description, I understood why Uncle Bai was also so sad.

Because Bai Ge's death was not simple.

Bai Ge had always been in good health. But recently, for some unknown reason, he always seemed exhausted. Sometimes, if a friend or colleague suddenly tapped him on the shoulder, he would scream and jump away nervously. This had been going on for about half a month. A week before his death, his parents often heard him wailing in his room at night, saying things like "Don't come near me! Waaah..." and "Sweetie..." But when his parents asked him more questions, he was vague and only said that he had nightmares.

Just a few days ago, he stopped eating and drinking, only complaining of stomach pain and loss of appetite. Before he could even go to the hospital for a checkup, he passed away. In broad daylight, he simply rolled his eyes and collapsed at the dinner table, never to rise again. A man over six feet tall vanished before his parents' eyes. Who could accept such a sudden farewell?

Bai Ge's father insisted on having an autopsy performed on his son. The results were undoubtedly another blow to the elderly couple.

Bai Ge's stomach was stuffed full of something. But it wasn't food; it was a whole bag of hair.

Driven by some unknown force, the hair burrowed out of his stomach, causing massive gastric bleeding that led to his death. Moreover, the jet-black hair seemed to possess a life force, extending from his esophagus to his intestines.

The forensic examiner used scissors to peel back the layers of black hair, discovering that inside was a piece of flesh with skin attached. All the hair had grown from this piece of flesh.

Did Bai Ge eat people?! This strange thought startled me.

Bai Ge, Xue Hui, and I are childhood friends. As for the "Sweetie" that Bai Ge mentioned, that was our "daughter"—a doll we used to play house with when we were little. But it's been so long, I can't remember where that doll, my once beloved, is now.

Could it be that Bai Ge was calling for another woman named "Tian Tian"?

"Hui, who do you think Bai Ge is calling 'Sweetie'?" I thought Xue Hui would know more about Bai Ge's circle of female friends. "It can't be that doll from when we were little, can it?"

Xue Hui's expression froze for a moment, then changed: "What did you say?"

Do you know a woman named 'Sweetie' in Bai Ge's circle of friends?

"No. I'm wondering too, there really isn't one... unless it's a nickname."

"So, could it really be our 'daughter' from when we were little?" I said casually.

Unexpectedly, Xue Hui's face turned ashen: "I don't know what you're talking about. I have something to do, I'm leaving now."

"Hey!"

I didn't expect him to actually get angry. But I didn't say anything wrong, so frustrating!

Just then, a hand landed on my shoulder.

I turned around and saw a handsome face. It seemed familiar, but I didn't recognize it.

"Xu Lele?!"

"Who are you……"

"What kind of memory do you have? You've actually forgotten me! I'm Feng Li!"

I searched my memory bank carefully, but I really can't recall such a person.

Seeing my blank expression, Feng Li seemed a little embarrassed and slowly withdrew his hand from my shoulder.

I said awkwardly, "Oh... I'm so sorry. Could you give me a hint?"

"You forgot? When we were little, we swam together, caught cicadas, and even played house together on the hill behind the school. You also had a doll you brought back from Hong Kong. What was its name... Sweetie! Right?"