The Bond

Ch 99

"Bold."/"Bold italic" : animatronic is talking/animatronic is talking in mind

"Normal."/"Normal italic." : human is talking/human is talking in mind

=o^o=

Mary put her uniform apron in the locker after changing because her shift was over. The more customers who come to the convenience store, the busier she and her co-workers would be serving them. Lucy's disappearance made them a little troubled, the girl suddenly left without even saying goodbye, she didn't know where she was now. Even so, she couldn't deny that Lucy was a good friend, but weird.

She came out of the employee room, then headed to the coffee machine that was near the counter. A cup of coffee after work was the best thing.

"Oh hey, Mary. You're not home yet?"

The black-haired girl turned to hear the question, she stopped brewing her coffee then threw a smile at one of her co-workers. "I'll be home in a minute, after making my coffee," she replied casually, picking up the lid.

"Then while you're not home yet, please keep an eye on the shop first, will 'ya! The others still haven't arrived and I have business in the storeroom for a while!" Her friend tapped her on the shoulder briefly, didn't wait for her reply at all and quickly walked away leaving her there, making her grunt in annoyance. She wanted to hurry home and read his magazine.

But she didn't have a choice anymore, Mary finally exhaled tiredly and decided to do what the man said earlier. She reached into her pocket for her wallet and paid for her coffee, then frowned. Mary immediately searched every pocket of her clothes, her wallet was nowhere to be found. It couldn't be lost, she didn't feel her wallet has fallen anywhere else. Mary immediately returned to the employee room, probably her wallet still in her uniform.

For second times she opened the locker door with her name on the front, then reached for the folded uniform to shove all the existing pockets. Mary wished she had left her purse in her uniform. Before long, her smile widened as her wish came true; The wallet was indeed here. She immediately returned to where she left her coffee earlier.

Mary took a deep breath, picked up her coffee cup and took a small sip. It tasted a little odd, but she didn't really think about it, thinking that perhaps her tongue had lost its sense of taste a little considering she had been feeling sick recently. Mary looked out of the convenience store, her eyebrows raised to see that her other coworkers had finally arrived, which meant she could now go home. So Mary took her small sling bag and coffee and left the convenience store happily.

She briefly greeted her other co-workers before continuing to walk home. Enjoying coffee in the afternoon after work would always be her favorite activity.

Then her thoughts returned to Lucy and Mike.

That man ...

Every time she thought of Mike, she sent chills down her spine and the trauma came back. The man was crazy, insane, and weird. She didn't understand why Lucy was friends with him, she didn't understand why Lucy said Mike was a lovely and fun person, when he wasn't. It was like meeting a monster, everything Mike did to her back then, she couldn't help but get goosebumps. Her hand was now fine as it was before, but the memory behind the reason for the broken bones would never go away.

She was always suspicious of Mike, from the beginning Mike lived in that abandoned house, she knew something was wrong. Thus, after the small visit at the hospital, she quickly called her old schoolmate. She knew Alice was working as a scientist now, so she thought Alice could investigate, considering Alice was interested in mysterious things like that.

Mary gently massaged her sore shoulder, for some reason her body felt heavier, she started to get dizzy. Perhaps because the weather had been unstable recently, she would definitely catch a fever as soon as she got home. Mary forced herself to keep going, her vision was getting blurry and it felt like she might fall at any moment.

What was wrong with her?

The girl decided to jog into the house, opened the door quickly and closed it tightly, then went to the kitchen to drink water. She grabbed a bottle of mineral water, opened it quickly then gulped it down in one go. There was something odd in that coffee. Mary felt her breath begin to contract and she panted, her chest pounding as her legs lost strength. When she tried to reach for the telephone receiver to call help, her balance was lost and she fell.

Her vision blurred, she could feel the shivering sensation down to her bones, her fingers and her whole body trembled violently. Her brain ached, as if all of her blood was rising up and stuck in the same place, like it might explode at any moment.

"How are you, Mary?"

That voice—a familiar voice. Mike's voice. Mary looked around her increasingly blurry vision in all directions, she couldn't move her body at all, and all she could do was drag her body away a bit as soon as she caught the figure of the man stepping closer to her. She couldn't speak at all, her eyes were horrified at Michael who gave a faint smile while crouching.

"You like your coffee?" The brown-haired man asked cheerfully. "I mixed it with my old anti-depressants, about a dozen or so. They quickly melt into your hot coffee, I don't know why, maybe because the medicine has expired?" Michael seemed to think about it, before he stared back at Mary who was lying on the floor. "By the way, the side effect is to paralyze your body for ten to twelve hours, I took two at a time for several times, but I gave you more so I don't know when it will last." Michael smiled faintly.

Mary opened her slightly trembling lips, the old fear assailed her again. "Y-you ...."

"Also," Michael stood up and clasped his hands around his waist, his smile widening. "In the mineral water you drank earlier, I dissolved the painkiller I found in your bathroom because I know the anti-depressants I gave you must be torturing you. I'm pretty kind, right? Acetaminophen is quite useful, indeed." He grinned.

Michael sounded happy, while Mary tried to stand up but her whole body didn't seem to work, she couldn't feel them. Her eyes darted around quickly, then she found her empty box of painkillers lying on the floor. Her heart ached, her breath ragged, she looked at Michael who still had a smile on his face. Michael slightly bowed and closed their distance.

After a while Michael finally whispered. "Let's see how long you can last."