Goddess Bless You From Death

Case File 21.

The atmosphere in the car on the way to the police station was tense and silent, so suffocating that Thup could hardly breathe. When they got out of the car, his big brother walked ahead into the building without waiting, making Thup's heart sink even further.

"Sei, have you found anything?" Singha walked into the forensic department's lab. He sat down on a chair beside his friend and placed three dolls on the table.

"That's the report on the food in the victims' stomachs. Just got it this morning." Sei remained focused on the microscope, pointing to a file on the table without looking up. Despite his demeanour, he seemed to sense that his friend was in a bad mood today.

"Seventy-five per cent match?"

"Yeah, when we tested the meat and mucus from the stomach and compared them with various seasonings, we found similarities. But since some bodies had been dead for over two days, it was hard to get results. The usable samples came from the child named Kaew and Ms Meen, whose bodies still had some identifiable traces."

"No progress at all." Singha threw the file back onto the table.

"What pissed you off?" Sei stopped what he was doing and looked up at his friend. 

"And where's that ghost-seeing kid?"

"Out front, I guess."

"You guys fought?"

"No."

"But he's always with you."

"Stop asking so much, Sei. Here's the doll. Check for fingerprints and soil. I need the results by this evening."

"Nice. Just dump all the work on me when you're mad." Sei muttered, kicking Singha's chair before quickly sliding over to another table to grab a document, then swiftly sliding back to his spot. "You'll be shocked when you see this."

"What?"

"I examined the soil on the corpses and the ropes. And the soil you got from under the monk's cell? I tested that too. Guess what the result is." Sei raised an eyebrow at his friend, who simply stared back, waiting for the answer. "It's the same type of soil. It came from the crime scene."

"Graveyard soil," Singha muttered softly.

"Yeah, right. You said it was a graveyard. This truly amazes me. What else will we find?" Singha and Sei were of the same type-both had strong, resilient minds. If they encountered something credible, they would believe it, but never without scepticism.

"Check the soil on the dolls, too. I'll be back."

"Wait, wait, wait! Rin isn't here yet."

"Where did she go?"

"To the temple. She said she'd be back soon."

"Which temple?"

"The one we went to last time. By now, she might have hauled all the sacred items out of the temple."

When Singha walked to the waiting room, he found a statue of Lord Kuvera on Sei's desk, but the person who carried it was nowhere in sight.

Thup's beautiful eyes stared blankly at the morning sky. He sat hugging his knees on the floor in the walkway where he had seen Singha and King talking. He let out another sigh, unsure of how to apologise to his big brother or what would happen next if Singha was still angry.

"Damn it!! All because of that darn Jump, I'm stuck here!"

"Can't you contact his parents at all? Weren't you dating him?"

"He told me his mom died a long time ago, and his father works in the countryside, rarely coming back home. I still can't reach him," the young woman spoke in frustration. "And the cops said if we can't contact his family, they won't let us go home either. Are they crazy!?"

"Calm down. How about this? You finish up your business here and call family to pick you up. I'll stay here."

"Are you sure, Bom?"

"Yeah. And where did Song go?"

"He left this morning after complaining for a while that he wasn't at fault, even though he was the one who received that email."

"Ugh. Nothing we can do now." Bom sighed and glanced at Thup.

"Oh, hey, it's you."

"Hello," Thup stood up and greeted the two politely, as he overheard their conversation.

"Ah, you're the one Jump attacked, right?"

"Yeah. So.. where is he now?"

"The cops said they took him to the infirmary, but that's good. Who knows what trouble he'll cause next?" She crossed her arms, looking annoyed. "Or maybe he's possessed?"

"No way."

"You never know, Bom. His behaviour changed, and he said something weird."

"Wh-What did he say?" Thup asked cautiously.

"He kept saying 'Tuesday...Tuesday' No idea what he meant by that," Bom replied, shrugging indifferently.

"Wait, wasn't Jump born on a Tuesday?"

Thup pressed his lips together before bidding the two farewell and heading to the infirmary he knew well.

When he arrived, he stopped in front of the door, hearing sounds from inside. It wasn't the usual chatter or medical equipment, but a mumbling of... a chant.

"Ji. Nip... Teekang. Akaj.."

"This chant.." Thup whispered to himself as he pressed his ear to the door. He had read about it in one of Luang Pu's books. It was a chant to summon...

Bang!!!!

The door slammed with a deafening crash, red blood splattering across the other side, making Thup recoil in shock. His beautiful eyes trembled as he saw a shadowy figure behind the frosted glass door, repeatedly banging their head against it.

Blood slowly trickled down and spread in a wide arc, but Thup didn't just see one figure-there was another shadow that appeared behind, with long flowing hair, but not alluring at all. It only added to the horror as the figure's hand reached out, pulling the man's hair and smashing his head against the door.

Bang!!!

'You disrespected me! Disrespected! Disrespected!' Bang!!!

'Disrespected! Disrespected! Disrespected!

OMG! If this continues, he'll die for sure. Thup took a deep breath before rushing in to open the door. Jump's body, with a cracked forehead, broken nose, and torn lips, collapsed on top of him, and they both fell to the floor.

In a split second, Thup's neck was tightly squeezed, cutting off his breath. The terror in the eyes of the person on top of him made Thup clutch the wrist desperately, trying to lessen the pressure.

"Nightmare! Nightmare! Nightmare! Nightmare!" Jump muttered in a daze, as if trapped in an endless nightmare.

"Ugh! Mmmph.." Thup struggled to breathe, but the person above seemed to have immense strength. It wasn't that he was weaker; it was because someone else was crouched around Jump's neck, glaring down at Thup with displeasure.

"I want more to eat! Don't interfere!!'

Her bulging white eyes seemed ready to pop out of their sockets. Suddenly, a force knocked her away. Thup seized the moment to push Jump's body aside. As soon as his neck was free, he gasped for air. "Cough! Cough!!"

"Thup!!" Singha rushed in to support the young man, who was coughing violently and had a flushed face. Sei ran to check on Jump, who lay unconscious on the floor. 

"Call Darin."

"Got it."

Singha looked down again at Thup, who was now lying in his lap, eyes tightly shut and body trembling. He gently stroked Thup's head.

"P'... Ugh... P'Singh... It... It will…."

"Tell me later."

"Hello, Rin? Where are you? Get to the station immediately. It's an emergency," Sei said, pressing a handkerchief to Jump's facial wounds while holding his phone.

[What? I'm at the temple, about to pour the blessed water. What's happening?]

"Can you get here now? It's urgent."

[Okay, I'll be…..]

"Hello? Rin! Darin!" Sei looked up at Singha as the call abruptly ended

"King, head to Santidham Temple immediately! Search everywhere until you find Darin. Now!" Singha called King, who was investigating the last place the victims were found.

[What's going on?]

"TIl explain later. Just go."

[Alright. Make a U-turn!]

King's voice ordered his subordinates from the other end of the line. After his command was fulfilled, Singha helped Thup up from the floor, and Sei hoisted Jump onto his shoulder, carrying him into the infirmary.

"Wh-What happened?"

"What happened?"

Bom and Dear ran in, faces full of concern after hearing the commotion as they were returning.

"Both of you, stay here. Contact Jump's relatives if you can."

Singha instructed before taking Thup inside as well. In the infirmary, a group gathered around the two occupied beds. Singha stood by one bed, while Sei attended to Jump's wounds on the other, with Dear trying to reach Jump's family and Bom looking on anxiously.

"I'm-I'm okay now," Thup rasped, his voice hoarse from the earlier strangulation.

"I said, don't talk yet."

"His head is cut but not deep, his nose is broken, and his lip is torn.

I've stitched it up, but he needs to go to the hospital," Sei said, putting his tools down. "Has King called back yet?"

"Not yet," Singha replied, unsurprised by his friend's urgency; he felt just as restless himself.

"P'-Singh," Thup gripped Singha's hand, shaking it lightly. When Singha looked down at him, Thup mustered the strength to speak. "It's going to... happen again."

"What will happen again?"

"Sacrifice... It's looking... for a new... victim."

"Doesn't it happen every five years?"

Thup shook his head vigorously, trying to sit up. His eyes darted around in fear. Seeing this, Singha sighed and closed the curtains around the bed, leaving just the two of them.

"The protections... worn out... Need more offerings," Thup croaked, his voice barely forming words, but Singha understood. His sharp eyes gazed at the bruises on Thup's neck. He gently touched the marks.

"I'm sorry I left you alone."

Thup paused a bit, then smiled and leaned his head against Singha's hand.

"I'm sorry...for asking...What I shouldn't." Thup rubbed his cheek against Singha's hand, eyes filled with guilt. He didn't know what had happened to Singha, but he was just an outsider. If Singha didn't want to share, he wouldn't pry anymore.

"Umm, forget it," Singha said as his phone rang, prompting him to answer. "What's up? Did you find her?"

[Yes, we're on our way back.]

"Is she okay?"

[She's silent. Is that okay?]

"Silent?"

"Did they find her?" Sei walked over upon hearing the conversation.

"Yes," Singha replied before focusing back on the call. "We're in the infirmary."

[Why were you there?]

"Just a minor issue. Once you get here, bring her in."

[Got it.]

After hanging up, King glanced at the person sitting beside him in the car. When he arrived at the temple, he found Darin sitting quietly on the top step of the temple. She looked up when he greeted her, then stood up and walked to the car without saying a word. She hadn't spoken since.

"Singha had an incident at the station. He's waiting in the infirmary." Silence was the only response he got. "Are you okay?"

Darin shook her head, not even turning to look at him, her hands clenched tightly together, her eyes trembling with the memory of what she had seen.

As soon as the car stopped in front of the station, Darin hurried out before the vehicle had fully halted. She rushed to the infirmary, her eyes burning with unshed tears. The blood-stained door didn't deter her from her focus on seeing her friends.

"I'll have the police follow up."

"And then what?"

"You guys, hic," Darin burst into tears as Singha and Sei turned to look at her.

"Are you okay?"

"Why did you suddenly go quiet? I-" Sei stopped abruptly as Darin ran to hug both him and Singha, sobbing and trembling, leaving both men to stand there, waiting for her to be ready to talk about what happened.

"Hic.. I saw... hic," Darin released their necks, wiping her tears hastily and pulling out her phone.

Singha and Sei immediately frowned as they saw the images: a pit filled with the remains of dogs and cats, some dried out and others looking freshly dead, their bellies slit open, intestines spilling out. The next image was a shaky video. The camera's instability made it nauseating to watch, but the events were still clear enough to make out.

'Another one dead.. how unfortunate,' the abbot said, using a spade to dig a hole and tossing a black cat's carcass into it before covering it with soil. After he finished, he walked away as the footage went black.

"Guys, hic, I remember reading that when people make offerings to ghosts, they use fresh meat, animals, and rotten things. This... this means the abbot might be..."

"Might be our new suspect," Singha finished her sentence, opening the video again.

He would have to return to the temple, this time with a search warrant in hand.