Goddess Bless You From Death

Case File 32.

Singha was sitting next to the patient's hospital bed, who had just come out of the emergency room a few minutes ago. His sharp eyes looked at Thup's pale face, and then he sighed. After leaving that house, he had headed straight to the hospital. When the kid was wheeled into the emergency room, Singha could only curse at himself because he had known this would happen, yet he had let it occur anyway. Singha walked outside the hospital grounds to smoke the three remaining cigarettes in the pack. Nicotine filled his lungs as if it were a stress reliever without any harmful effects. After arranging everything and getting Thup into a recovery room, Singha never left the patient's side.

Singha looked at Thup's hands for a moment before shifting his gaze to the charming face of the person who lay unconscious. He picked up his phone and dialled Sei. However, despite waiting for a long while, there was no answer.

"Why no answering?" Singha decided to call Darin instead, thinking they were probably in touch. A worried voice answered the call quickly.

[Hello?]

"Is Sei with you?"

[He said he had to go to the crime scene because they found Song's body]

"Where?"

[At the temple. In his own quarters]

"Where are you now? Who are you with?"

["I'm... in the infirmary with the kids from earlier. B-But Singh... Bom is missing. That kid is gone.]

"Are there police outside the room?"

[Yes, there are.]

"Then stay there. I'll try to contact Sei myself." [Okay.]

Before ending the call, Singha was fairly certain he had heard some knocks on the door. But since they were at the station and guarded, he felt somewhat reassured.

The situation was becoming increasingly tense. According to the information he had, Song, born on Sunday, had been found dead. Dear, who had just been rescued, was born on Monday. Jump, born on Tuesday, was still locked in the infirmary. Darin, born on a Wednesday, was also there. Lieutenant Khem, who had previously gone missing, appeared to be the victim of the Thursday incident. Bom, born on Friday, was now missing. Thup was still with him. If the perpetrator didn't plan to find a new Saturday victim, there was no way they could get to this kid if he were around.

The abbot, initially suspected, was still in custody. Uncle Keun had become the main suspect owing to the concrete evidence. King was tracking Uncle Khem, Sei was missing, and Singha was stuck here without any additional information.

"Damn it!" Singha cursed as he thought about it. He stood up and walked out of the recovery room. He went outside the hospital grounds, pulling a cigarette pack and a lighter from his pocket, but he threw the pack to the ground, having forgotten he had smoked the last one less than an hour ago.

"Would you like one of mine?" A pack of cigarettes of the same brand but a different flavour was offered to Singha. At this moment, his frustration outweighed the annoyance against the person in front of him, so he decided to take one.

"Thanks." Singha lit the cigarette and inhaled the cool nicotine deeply. White smoke rose into the pitch-black sky in two intertwining streams. "I thought doctors would be more health-conscious."

Singha glanced at the person smoking beside him. His irritation lessened somewhat since Charn was handling Thup's case.

"You wouldn't want to see doctors breaking down and doing everything they tell patients not to do."

"Guess it's breakdown-worthy."

"That kid was just in shock and had lost some blood. The wounds weren't deep. But what I want to know is what happened to him."

"Exactly what you see."

"I think the skills that got you to this position can tell that the wounds aren't normal," Charn asked, inhaling the nicotine as well.

It wasn't that Singha hadn't noticed. He had seen the wounds on Thup's palm at that house. The direction of the knife was odd; it wasn't from someone else's hand. The wounds were self-inflicted.

"Yeah."

"Should I inform his uncle?"

"He has to know anyway. Tell him."

"I heard you're investigating a decades-old murder case."

"Yes."

"I think I have information you might want." Singha glanced at the person next to him. "That house. The one in the middle of the forest."

"You know it?"

"I'm somewhat familiar with it. As a kid, I liked to test my courage. I once went to that house at night, thinking I might see ghosts, as the villagers said. But what I saw was stranger."

"What did you see?"

"I don't know. Even now, I'm not sure if what I saw was real," Charn said calmly before extinguishing his cigarette in the ashtray sand. "I saw a man dragging something into the house... Something I was sure looked human."

"Why didn't you say anything then?"

"Because when I followed to look inside, it was gone. I only saw him playing with his son."

"What about others?"

"Not to make you doubt yourself, Inspector," Charn looked at Singha seriously, "but I watched for half an hour. I only saw the father and son. Nobody else."

Singha went back to the room. The tall figure stood beside the bed, his dark eyes fixed on Thup under the bright, full moonlight from outside. His large hand gently stroked Thup's soft hair, his fingers brushing from the hair down to the temple and smooth cheek. He raised the phone to his ear again, his face expressionless.

[Took you long enough to call. Your case is a real headache.]

"Mek, I need you to find some information."

[Didn't King already catch the culprit?]

"He did, but we're not sure if it's the right guy."

[Alright, what do you need?]

"Before this, at Kantharalak Police Station, there was an officer named Isoon. I need all his information, and I need to know his son's name and if there's a history of name changes."

[Where are you?!

"Sisaket."

[Why not ask there?]

"Too slow. I have urgent matters."

[Alright, hang on.] The sound of rapid typing came from the other end. Meanwhile, Singha gently patted Thup's head. Waiting for Thup to wake up would take too much time, and he didn't have much left.

Singha left the room, got in the car, and drove towards the path given by Doctor Charn. The road, initially illuminated by streetlights and traffic, gradually gave way to a dense forest on both sides. The further he drove, the dimmer the lights became, with only the moonlight providing illumination. If Thup were here, he would probably have his eyes closed the entire way, as the road Singha was driving was filled with wandering spirits staring hungrily at the car.

Inside the police station infirmary, Darin sat sighing on the couch. She looked tiredly at the doors of the two recovery rooms. The first room was for the young girl who had just escaped the clutches of the killer, while the other was for the unconscious boy. Three people were in the same room, or rather, the three victims were gathered together to survive this time.

"Ugh." Darin sighed again and leaned back against the couch. Her beautiful eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. Everyone was doing their job; she should do hers as well. As she was about to get up to check on the two children in the rooms again, the lights in the room flickered on and off before stabilising. Even that small disturbance made Darin's heart race.

"Ahh!!" The phone's sudden ringing startled Darin, causing her to shriek. When she picked it up, she saw the name of one of her close friends on the screen. The conversation with Singha went on for a while until they were about to hang up.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The sound of knocking at the front door made Darin turn. She placed the phone on the table and walked to open the door, thinking that Sergeant Prom must have something to discuss. Is something wrong?"

"Well, Dr Darin, here is some food and water. It's late, and you might be hungry."

"Thank you, Sergeant." Darin accepted the food box and cup of water with relief. As someone was looking after her, she felt a bit reassured. "And how is it out front? I heard some commotion earlier."

"Oh, some villagers were protesting in front of the station. All the officers are out there standing by and dealing with them. It should be sorted out soon."

"And... what about the abbot?"

"He's still in custody. He seems very calm, almost like an innocent person. Additionally, it appears that Head Investigator King's team is nearing the temple manager's location. They might need to restart the whole investigation."

"I see. That's alright. How about the missing child and Lieutenant Khem? Has the search team found anything?"

"Uh, they haven't found either of them yet." Darin nodded in understanding. "Thanks again."

"Call me if you need anything."

Darin smiled at the sergeant before returning to the room. As she turned back, she was shocked to see the food box drop to the floor.

"Dear! Are you awake? Why are you out here? How do you feel?"

Darin quickly went to support the girl, who stood with her head down at the door of her own room. She guided Dear to the couch and hurried to fetch a glass of water. 

"How do you feel? Are you in pain? I'll get some checking equipment. Just wait."

Before she could walk away, Darin's wrist was grabbed. The squeezing grip made her look down at the girl, who kept her head bowed.

"Mon-"

"What did you say?"

"Monday."

"Dear... Let me go get "

"Wednesday."

Darin recoiled, trying to pull her wrist back, but she was unsuccessful. How could the girl, who had just woken up from sedation and was smaller than her, have such an unnatural strength? Darin took a deep breath and shook off Dear's hand. She stepped back, not taking her eyes off the girl. But instead of entering a space, Darin's back collided with a warm chest that shouldn't have been there.

"Tu..es." Dear continued to speak; the light bulbs that had once been bright went out abruptly, replaced by a deep, ominous voice that made Darin's legs go weak.

"Tuesday."

The previously extinguished lights flickered rapidly, revealing that Dear was holding a statue of Lord Wessuwan and was about to throw it out the window. The vacant expression on her face made Darin collapse to her knees, tears streaming down her face. It wasn't the look a normal human should have; it was an otherworldly emptiness as if there was no soul left.

Without any sacred protection, it felt like hell night had broken loose in the police station. The lights of the entire station blazed brightly enough to show a final, clear image: Jump, who shouldn't have been out of handcuffs, was standing behind her. Before all the light was taken away, leaving only darkness in the atmosphere... and the people's minds.

"สาษ"

"ลาบ"

'Hee! Hee! Hee!'

'ลาษ"

"เลาษ'

'Hee! Hee! Hee!'

The voices were in a language Darin couldn't understand, and the laughter made her try to scramble towards the front door. If she could get out, she would meet Sergeant Prom waiting outside.

"Ouch!!! Ugh!" As she tried to escape, someone grabbed her ankle. The pain from the claws digging into her flesh made tears run down her cheeks.

Darin struggled to grab her phone from the couch and turned on the flashlight to shine on her leg.

"Ahhh!!" Several spirits were clawing and licking the blood from her leg in a horrifying manner. The noise in the room came from Jump and Dear hurting themselves, banging their heads against the walls until blood flowed, and stabbing their hands with knives until their flesh was exposed. But their faces showed no signs of pain, only smiling as if they felt nothing. 

"Namo... Sob! Namotassa... Sobb! Namotassa Bhagavato… Namo... Namo..."

Darin chanted prayers incorrectly as she crawled her heavy body toward the door. The icy cold she felt made her cry harder, the tears blurring her vision.

'Wrong chanting. I'll help you chant. Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa.'

'Chant!'

The mocking voice repeated the chant, emphasising each syllable, showing no fear. Darin bit her lip tightly before propping herself up to grab the door handle, while spirits and ghosts clung to her legs like a feast.

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

The knocking on the door gave her the strength to muster all her energy to stand up. Finally, the door opened. Darin quickly pushed herself out of the room. Once outside, all sounds were gone. ...Too quiet. Darin turned around and found that all the ghosts had vanished.

Both Jump and Dear lay unconscious on the floor. She tried to distance herself from the room as much as possible, but the wet feeling on her palm made her stop. Her breathing quickened again. The light from her phone slowly moved toward the back, revealing a body lying there. The light travelled from the feet upward until it reached the torso. The chest was covered in bright red liquid, and the stench of blood filled the air.

When the light finally reached the face of the barely breathing person, Darin cried out.

"S-Sergeant. Ugh, Sergeant Prom!" Sergeant Prom, with his face and head drenched in blood, was breathing weakly. Fear tightened its grip on Darin's heart, pushing her to the brink of losing consciousness.

Overwhelmed by fear, Darin desperately tried to call for help, searching for Sei, Singha, or anyone who might be able to help, but every call was futile. There was no response, no help. Her chances of survival seemed almost nonexistent.

'Hee! Hee! Hee!"

The mocking laughter from behind made Darin slowly close her eyes before angrily throwing her phone toward the sound. If she were to die, she had no reason to fear anything anymore.

"What do you want?!!! What do you want, you damn ghost?!!! You're not going to be reborn!! You're just a ghost!!!" Darin shouted furiously. The ghost girl, who had previously worn a mischievous smile, gradually lost her grin. Her face now showed anger at the words she had heard. "Angry, huh!? That's good!! Be angry! If I die, I'll become a ghost. I'll curse you!!! Do you hear me?!!!"

"Doctor Darin!!!" The voice calling from behind, along with the force that helped her up, made Darin feel as if her heart was revived.

"Bom!" 

"Get up quickly! We have to run. We have to get out of here!!"

"Y-You? Why.."

"I went out to buy supplies. When I came back, the station was completely dark, and there were police lying in pools of blood everywhere. What the hell happened here?!!!" Bom helped Darin run through the building's connecting corridors.

"The monk! Is the abbot still in the cell?"

"I didn't see anyone."

"I-I need to call someone. I need to tell them that the murderer is the abbot." 

Darin cursed herself for her momentary lapse in judgment that led her to throw her only communication device at the ghost earlier.

"Phone! Find a phone!"

"Wanna use mine first?" Bom handed over his phone and quickly supported Darin as they continued moving, his face full of concern. "Let's call Mr King now!!"

They took refuge in the forensic department room. Bom placed Darin on the sofa before locking the front door and pushing a table against it in a hurry. Darin was also waiting for a call from King.

[Hello?]

"King!! There's a crisis at the station. Ugh, the killer has escaped. Th-The abbot! S-Some officers are injured too!"

[What? Where are you now!]

"I-I'm in the forensic room with Bom."

[Bom?]

"Y-Yes. Hurry up! Come over here right now!" [I'll be quick.]

"What about Sei? Bring Sei with you. There are injured officers."

[I can't.]

"What do you mean?"

[On the way back, we found Sei's car overturned. Officers are trying to rescue him.]

"N-No way. That can't be true..."

[I'm on my way. Wait there.]

Darin was in shock, unable to think clearly.

"What the hell is happening? Where is my friend?! Where is my friend?!?"

".. We're all going to die."

Darin had no idea how she would survive now. Meanwhile, Singha was also about to face something just as terrifying.