Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 13: Sleepwalking in Dreamland

1553: Nightmare of the Birthplace

Something suddenly exploded in Wu Yiliu's mind. He grabbed the edge of the thin blanket and yanked it off his shoulders, his heart nearly bursting from his chest. Could it be that Abby wanted to harm him? She was right behind him, and he had exposed his back to her. Just as he was about to turn around, he caught a faint sound that was almost an illusion.

The sound was so soft that for a moment, he couldn't even identify what made it. The thin blanket was thrown down from his hand, its blue pattern streaking across the dark glass, like a curtain that was inadvertently pulled open. As it fell, a blurry shattered shadow suddenly flitted across the glass.

With a heartbeat like the pounding of drums, Wu Yiliu's body stiffened, and the intention to turn around dissipated deep within him. He stared at the place on the glass where the shadow had appeared, recognizing in the vague reflection the porch, a corner of the living room leading to the bedroom, and... the half-open door of the first bedroom.

Behind that half-open door, all was pitch black.

It took a great effort for him to slowly turn around.

The murmuring voice was now completely inaudible, and behind him was still the empty living room, with Abby asleep not far away. No, it couldn't be her wanting to harm him; otherwise, she wouldn't sleep so unprotected by his side. Since he hadn't thought that the fourth item would be a blanket, Abby might also have not considered it.

Wu Yiliu didn't wake the sleeping woman; he just swallowed and tiptoed forward a few steps. He moved away from the window and came to a wall in the living room. From the bedroom's angle, he effectively hid his silhouette behind the wall, making himself invisible from the room.

But he had a way to see into the bedroom.

Wu Yiliu fumbled twice in his prop bag, his fingers finding something shaped like lightning, and pulled it out. It was a piece of glass, used like a lens, allowing him to see with a curved vision. He took a shallow breath and held it up to his eye.

His gaze went out, the view turning ninety degrees at the corner of the wall, following the hallway, across two steps, and reached the doorway of the first bedroom. Behind the half-open door was nothing but darkness, except for a small patch of wooden floor immersed in dimness. Wu Yiliu stood motionless by the wall, his breathing barely audible.

After waiting quietly for nearly half a minute, something stirred slightly in the dark behind the bedroom door.

As if growing impatient.

A few seconds later, the door was pulled back a bit, opening slightly wider. Rain was falling outside the window, and the room was dark, almost as if night had fallen. Wu Yiliu dared not even blink, his eyes practically glued to the glass, staring intently at the shadow emerging slowly from the room's gloom.

The shadow, afraid of making a noise, stealthily and quietly poked a face out from behind the door.

Wu Yiliu's stomach tightened, and he nearly vomited. All his strength went into not screaming, his body trembling slightly. In the corner of his consciousness, he vaguely understood that the shadow might be Pence.

Might be because all the recognizable details on his face were gone. The only thing that allowed Wu Yiliu to recognize him was the pullover he wore, the same one Pence had worn two days before.

The man's entire skin seemed to be melting and sliding off his face, forehead drooping into a thin, shiny layer, eyebrows, eye sockets, and nose all sagging down. Only the two round eyeballs still clung in place, as if trying to hold back the melting skin like ice cream. They were mostly covered, swaying left and right, obviously looking for Wu Yiliu's whereabouts.