Sister's House 10

Gasping for air, she noticed a door ahead, standing ajar and spilling out a sliver of light. Struggling to her feet, she stumbled toward it. Pushing the door open, she found herself in a vast room. In its center sat a massive chest, its surface covered in strange, etched symbols.

Xu Si approached the chest with extreme caution. Suddenly, the lid creaked open, and a blinding light erupted from within. Instinctively, she squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, she found herself back at the bus stop where she had first boarded. Everything around her had returned to normal; the streets were brightly lit, and vehicles and pedestrians moved in a steady flow.

Unable to believe her eyes, she hurried toward home. Once inside, she locked herself in her room, her body still trembling as she replayed the night’s events. She decided to go to the police the next morning to report her terrifying experience.

The following day, Xu Si went to the police station and provided a detailed account of the bizarre events that had occurred on the bus and in the abandoned factory. The officers listened with grave expressions and immediately organized a team to investigate the site.

When they arrived at the abandoned factory, however, they found none of the horrors Xu Si had described. Although the factory appeared long-abandoned, there were no bloodstains, no deep pits, and no chest covered in strange symbols. After a thorough search, the police found nothing out of the ordinary.

Xu Si was stunned. She remembered everything clearly, yet now, there was no evidence. With nothing substantial to go on, the officers told her to return home and promised to continue the investigation.

Back home, Xu Si could not find peace. She began to wonder if she had suffered a hallucination, yet those horrific scenes remained etched in her mind with terrifying clarity. Determined to uncover the truth, she resolved to ride the bus once more.

That night, she went to the bus stop to wait. As the minutes ticked by and she was on the verge of giving up, the familiar bus pulled slowly into the station. Its license plate remained shrouded in mist, and the lights inside were dim. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her courage and stepped aboard.

The scene inside was identical to before: aside from the driver, a few passengers sat silently in their seats. Once the bus pulled away, Xu Si stared out the window, looking for any deviation from her previous journey. Yet, the scenery gradually shifted just as before, turning unfamiliar until it dissolved into that desolate, barren field.

Xu Si stood up and approached the driver to ask about the route again. As before, he replied coldly, "Don't worry, this is a temporary detour; we'll be there soon." Instead of returning to her seat, she stood beside him, observing him closely. She noticed his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that the veins on the back of his hands bulged, as if he were struggling to restrain something.

Suddenly, the bus jolted violently, and Xu Si stumbled, nearly falling. She looked out the window to see the bus traveling along a rough, uneven dirt road surrounded by darkness. Just then, the interior lights flickered, and the little girl’s voice echoed through the cabin: "Mommy, I see the faceless man again."

Xu Si followed the girl’s gaze and saw a blurred figure in the corner—a faceless person with a twisted body standing perfectly still. Her heart raced. Fighting through her terror, she pulled a flashlight from her pocket and shone it directly at the figure.

As the light hit the entity, its body began to warp and contort, emitting a blood-curdling screech. The other passengers screamed in terror; the young couple clung to each other, and the little girl and her mother trembled violently.

Suddenly, the bus screeched to a halt. The driver turned to look at Xu Si, his eyes glowing with an eerie light. "You shouldn't have come back. You’ve broken the rules," he said, his voice deep and raspy. As he spoke, his body began to swell, his skin splitting to reveal black, rotting flesh beneath.

Xu Si backed away in horror. She turned to force the door open, but it wouldn't budge. The faceless figure slowly advanced toward her. Xu Si raised her flashlight, keeping the beam trained on it. Suddenly, she remembered the note she had seen on the window earlier; perhaps it held the key to her escape.

She strained to recall the words: *When in danger, find the hidden red button on the bus and press it to escape the peril.* She began to search the cabin frantically, ignoring the horrific scene unfolding around her, scouring the spaces between seats and the walls of the bus.

Finally, in a corner beneath the driver's seat, she found a red button. Without hesitation, she pressed it. In an instant, a flash of light blinded her, and the horrors vanished. The bus started to move forward again.

Through the window, Xu Si watched the scenery become familiar once more. She knew she had found the way out of this uncanny world. The bus eventually stopped at the entrance of Sunshine Residential Complex. As she stepped off, looking at the familiar gates, she was overcome with a mix of emotions.

From that day on, Xu Si never saw the mysterious bus again. She didn't know if the other passengers remained trapped in that nightmare world; she only knew she was lucky to have escaped. That terrifying memory would be forever etched in her heart, a constant reminder that there are many unknown dangers lurking in this world.

Back home, Xu Si hoped for peace, but the memory of that bus was like a wound that refused to heal. Every night, the horrific scenes replayed in her mind, leaving her unable to sleep.

To rid herself of the shadow, she decided to investigate further. She gathered information, consulted experts on paranormal phenomena, and searched online for others with similar experiences. Finally, on a mysterious forum, she found a mention of a similar incident, with a lead pointing to an abandoned bus depot on the outskirts of the city.

On the weekend, with a heavy heart, she arrived at the depot. It was dilapidated, overgrown with weeds, and the rusted gate stood half-open. Stepping inside, she was greeted by the smell of decay. She began to search through the dust-covered offices.