That, that obviously wasn't like that before.
Pull the radish, pull the radish,
Pull, pull, pull…
Grandpa pulls, Grandma pulls,
Little dog pulls, little cat pull,
Zhao Mei pulls, Chen Fang pulls
Liu Ying pulls, Xu Hua pulls
Who will pull the radish.....
You!
A blood curling scream echoed in the room and Shen Yu's leg were already dragging him to the door before he even realised it was coming from his own mouth.
"No, no, no..." The knob rattled as he turned it desperately yet he door refused to budge as if it had been locked from the outside.
Shrill cries broke out in the room and the melody rose sharply drilling into his middle ear like nails on a chalk board.
Pull the radish, pull the radish,
Pull, pull, pull…
You have to pull, you have to pull.
Shen Yu felt something yanking on his pants.
He looked down and a chill went pass his head, down to his spine.
The children were clothed in white sleeping gowns with pale white skins and barefoot were everywhere in the room.
They looked normal except for the pitched black, round eyes that seemed to absrob all the light. Like two beaded eyes glued to the face.
Then more cold, white thin arms reached out, pulling him towards the center of the room.
Hot....thick sweat rolled down his forehead, and beads of sweats poured out of his skin.
Something is burning!
Shen Yu tried to yank their hands off but they were clammed down strongly. His fingers holding onto the door knob slipped off.
His throat trembled, as he flared his limbs about with all his strength.
Cough spilling out of his lips, Shen Yu realised to his horror that it was actually the room that was burning.
Are they planning to burn me to death with them?
Smoke filled his lungs, and his vision swirled.
"Someone is still in the orphanage! There is still a child left." Someone was shouting in his ear.
"Hua Lian! Hau Lian!"
A harsh voice quickly silenced the cries. "It's too late. The fire has already grown too big. Why would someone risk their life to save her?"
"Yes. It's better she just dies with the curse she is carrying." Another person spat. "Why didn't she just die with her parents? Such a sin."
"Evil child!"
I don't want to die like this.
Shen Yu forced his eyes open. Through a small slit he saw a blurry child different from the other children with two pony tails standing right at the door. The most eye-catching thing about her was the streak of red blood that dyed half of her white pyjamas.
"Hau Lian." He croaked.
The sudden called seemed to stun the little girl. Drawing strength out of nowhere, Shen Yu broke free from the bonding grip ran up to her and snatched the small music box tied with a red string around her neck.
It took a moment for her to react.
"Give it back! Give it back to me!" Her big round eyes swelled with blood, she stabbed her long, black, fingers at his abdomen.
Shen Yu huffed loudly as he stepped to the side and awkwardly twirled around her while avoiding the children who lunged at him.
Without turning back he dashed though the door which was no longer locked, tumbling down the stairs.
"Give it back!!" The ground below him shook. Frames broke apart, cupboard fell and it felt like the whole house was about apart .
Shen Yu ignored it all, bolting out of the orphanage.
Glancing back, it looked just the same. No sign of a fire.
Outside, the little girl doesn't continue chasing after him but he didn't stop, running right back to where he was when he first arrived. The bridge.
Atleast it was safe there.
He collapsed on the floor, chest heaving heavily.
"I escaped...I did it." After a moment of calm he suddenly burst into laughter. "I can't believe it. I am so cool!"
He sat with his back against the guardrails and his gaze subconsciously drifted up to the skies.
The moon sat there like an red eyeball that nothing could escape from. There was this instinctive horror that clawed on his chest as the bulging veins that squirmed around it swell and relax. It throbbed without rhyme, seeming as if it was about to burst.
Almost alive.
It was if the whole city was slowly stirring awake. Shadows twisting, and whispers echoing off the walls of the streets and sinking into the shadows.
Shen Yu now knew that even without the death penalty, the could still easily die here.
This place, the pathway, what exactly is it?
Putting away the thoughts, he obsevered the small music box he snatched from that little ghost.
The little square was about the size of a clenched adult first.
"So ugly." Shen Yu scoffed, annoyed.
The original pink color was corroded by rust and had faded into a dull reddish brown. Nothing more than ordinary.
It seemed to be responsible for the tone and he dared not play it.
Shen Yu stood up and added it to the contents in his pocket.
He had to hurry up and find that door fast.
It would have been better if there was someone to ask.
I will have to stick to the map then.
Plop....
A sudden smack of water came from behind him.
Shen Yu's eyes move to the stagnant river below the bridge he was standing. The water was black and it was impossible to see past the still surface that was just too eerily calm.
The odour was foul.
It was as if the water itself was decaying? But how is that possible.
Ears strained, he lightened his breath and listened.
Plop...
A thick bubble struggled free from water surface, drifting for less than three seconds then....pop.
More bubbles started to rise and the water started to churn violently....
Something is coming out of the water!
Then suddenly, as if it had all been his imagination it all turned still.
Shen Yu's throat constricted. He might have doubted his eyes before, but after the encounter from earlier Shen Yu dared not.
"Help me." Just then, a soft whisper floated from no where. Carrying a hint of a sob.
Shen Yu's leg almost gave out but somehow he managed to make 90 degree turn and ran.
Its a ghost....it's a ghost... Why is there another ghost here...!!
He had barely taken two steps when something wet and slimy wrapped around his right leg and yanked him to the ground.
What's up with you ghosts just pulling people around? His shoulder hit the ground squarely and the pain immediately brought tears to his eyes.
"Help me! I said to help me or die!!" The horse voice scratched the back of his neck like long, wet nails that had been submerged in cold waters.
"let go first! How am I going to help you if you don't let go?" The gears in Shen Yu's head turned quickly but she seemed to be unable to hear anything.
"Help me or die....sob..sob...don't leave me here....die!!" The voice behind him refused to give up. The quiet city carried her cries and scream. Followed by an high-pitched laughter that shook the ground.
It was now that Shen Yu gets a full veiw of her appearance.
Legs dragging behind, her stomach was bloated and the light dress whose color he could no longer make out, stained with green algae stuck to her thin frame. A veil of dirty black hair covered the whole of her face.
She dragged herself forward, clawing on the ground with her bare hands. Extremely fast!!
"Calm down. I won't go anyway. I will help you..." Foul, fishy smell smacked him on the face as she appeared in front of him.
A slit opened in the curtain of black hair as she leaned down towards him, from within two eyes emerged. Ice cold and burning with deep hatred.
Slimy drop of water slid from her hair and fell on him, the cold sipping into his skin and into his bones. His teeth clattered.
Its over. Shen Yu was sure he was going to die this time.