December 12th, 2005
I will never forget that night.
It happened when we were driving back home from our vacation at a house we rented for two weeks. It was already evening. My mother and my fiancée, Elizabeth, were asleep, and like always, I was listening to music. I remember it was a clear evening—with no stars or clouds in the sky.
Until suddenly… my body froze, like a mannequin. I looked into the side mirror.
Rapidly, I turned to my dad and said, "Look in the mirror! Quickly!"
The others were paralyzed, unresponsive to my words.
My dad, half asleep and bawling his eyes out from tiredness, looked into the side mirror while driving—and we were both terrified of what we saw.
A woman in white was standing next to the street. Her eyes followed me, like she was staring into my soul. She was smiling broadly. Her expression looked as if she was waiting for someone.
Was she waiting for us? Or perhaps... was she waiting for me?
As we drove further, she vanished into the pitch-black darkness.
Now, I had heard many spooky stories about women in white haunting people—but to experience it for myself? That was something else.
After that, my dad and I never spoke about it again, nor mentioned it to my mom or Elizabeth. Out of sheer exhaustion, we chalked it up to our imagination playing tricks on us. But something deep in my gut told me it was real.
It had to be.
Later, my parents dropped us off at our small house. It wasn't the biggest place, but it was just enough for the two of us. Elizabeth had turned 21 a couple of weeks ago, while I was still 20.
Out of sleepiness, we both went to bed quickly that night.
What I didn't know was that this would be the last time I'd ever see her.
Suddenly, I woke up in the middle of the night, breathing heavily.
Weirdly enough, I had a nightmare about that woman in white from the road.
I immediately noticed someone had left the window open, and the wind was blasting through it, making the curtains dance. The sound was eerie… like a harp playing in the distance.
Weird.
Elizabeth turned toward me and asked, "John, did you have one of those nightmares again?"
I smiled at her and said, "Yeah, I'm fine though."
I ran my hand through her hair and kissed her on the cheek. As I looked at her, I noticed how her hair shimmered under the moonlight's illumination.
I decided to get up and grab a glass of water from the kitchen. The old wooden stairs creaked with every step I took. When I arrived at the kitchen, the glass filled quickly under the tap, the clock on the wall went:
"Tick… tack… tick… tack…"
Suddenly, I heard someone walking upstairs—slow, steady, heavy steps.
Startled, I dropped the glass. Water splashed everywhere, shards of glass scattered across the floor beneath my bare feet. But I didn't care. I was full of adrenaline. All I could think about was—
Elizabeth.
I rushed upstairs, not even noticing whether my feet were bleeding.
At that very moment, I opened our bedroom door and saw…
Nothing.
It was all quiet. The only sound was the wind, luring me to the window.
Just as I looked outside to check for intruders—I saw something.
I mumbled to myself, "No… it can't be…"
"Tsk. The woman in white."
Like before, she was smiling. Floating next to the window. Terrified, I was glued to the spot.
I asked her, "What do you want from me?"
No response.
She didn't say a word, but after a few seconds, she slowly lifted her arm and pointed toward something.
I turned to see where she was pointing—and immediately, I fell into a state of shock.
She was pointing at… Elizabeth.
As I turned back to the woman, her smile had grown broader… unnaturally wide.
Suddenly, a black, lanky hand with pitch-black nails appeared from under the bed.
It reached for Elizabeth.
She screamed, "John! What's happening to me?!"
Without thinking, I dove toward her—but it was too late.
She was dragged into some sort of dark tunnel. Flames ignited around the opening as it closed behind her.
"No no no no—"
"Elizabeth!!!"
Filled with rage, I turned to the window and screamed, "What kind of monster are you!?"
But she was gone.
Nowhere to be seen. No trace that she had ever been there.
I collapsed next to the window, trying to process what had just happened.
Lying there on the floor, I whispered,
"She's gone…"Is she… dead?
Tears streamed down my face when I noticed a note lying beside me. At first, it looked cryptic—but I managed to decipher it.
It read:
"Memento Mori."
Four Months Later – March 21st, 2006
After months of trying to find Elizabeth, I finally found someone after extensive research. He claimed he might know where Elizabeth could be.
At the very least… he could give me a hint, right? Haha...
These past months have been incredibly hard.
Apparently, he's an exorcist. All I know is that he calls himself Father Thomas. He mentioned there had been strange, paranormal events happening in his city—and maybe, just maybe, they were connected to Elizabeth.
He gave me the address of his church, located in a city not far from where I live.
As I drove there in my 1970 Cadillac Eldorado, I noticed a sign ahead on the road.
It said:
"Welcome to Judgement City."