“Quick, get her out!” Chief Stone shouted. We scrambled, moving the rocks away. Lily Qian’s entire right foot was mangled, flesh and bone torn apart. She writhed in agony.
“Go... go... away, get away from me, all of you, ah...” Lily screamed. That same enormous force blasted all of us back at once.
“As long as I win, it’s fine. Win and it’s fine, hahaha...” Lily crawled on the ground, then curled up in a corner, barely clinging to life among the ruins.
“Looks like we can’t get close to her.”
Hugh Thompson said, and we could only assign a few people to watch over her, giving her some water and food.
Everyone stared at me, because I hadn’t shown any changes or reactions yet.
During lunch, an ambulance arrived. A doctor and several nurses got out, bringing equipment. These were the Ghost Burial Squad’s dedicated medical staff—I’d seen them at the scene many times before.
“Isn’t this a bit much?” I said. Chief Stone just smiled.
“What if you drown later?”
I shot Chief Stone a resentful look. Suddenly, I felt the urge to pee and stood up.
“I’m going to the bathroom.”
I looked around, then walked toward the ruined building ahead. A chilly wind blew. After I finished, I shivered and stretched my arms, feeling oddly comfortable.
A dazzling light flashed from the nearby grass. It felt strange, like something was there. I walked over. Suddenly, there was a rustling in the grass—a snake! I laughed, but as I turned, my foot slipped.
With a cry, I fell. Splash! Water sprayed everywhere as I plunged into freezing water. The walls were slick. I started swimming, my heart nearly leaping out of my throat.
It looked like a well, at least seven or eight meters deep. I kept swimming, smiling as I remembered that summer at my cousin’s house—he’d forced me to learn to swim, holding my head down every day. I shouted.
I’d have to wait for them to realize I hadn’t come back and come looking. I’d walked at least thirty meters from the group—too far for them to hear me.
I started shivering. It was autumn, so the temperature was already low, and now I was in the water. I sneezed, my nose tickled—something poked my nostril.
I raised a hand—hair?
I looked around. Why was there so much women’s hair floating everywhere? Just then, I felt something brush against my backside, sliding up along my spine.
I spun around, startled, and screamed. It was a woman’s head—her eyes bulged white, her face swollen from the water. I screamed again as the head floated right in front of me, and I kept swimming backward.