(1)
Old John and Shelly had an extremely bad father-in-law–son-in-law relationship; they could be said to detest each other. After deciding to take Everly away, John spent that very afternoon packing, only bringing the essentials like bottles and diapers, then picked up his granddaughter and left Pukati.
Originally, he hadn’t even considered bringing Everly’s beloved plush toy. In Old John’s eyes, such crudely made industrial products were a dime a dozen; he could easily buy a new one for Everly once they reached their new home. But Everly, clinging to her toy crocodile, cried so bitterly before leaving that it was as if the sun and moon had gone dark. Even Shelly, watching from the side, couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with paternal love, tears streaming down his face, insisting that his daughter simply couldn’t bear to leave him.
Everly: ???
Was he being polite? Even a banshee couldn’t tie her down—why would she be stuck on him?!
Once Old John understood what she meant and put the crocodile toy in the luggage pile, Everly’s expression changed in an instant, and she stopped crying immediately.
As it turned out, the tears didn’t disappear—they had just shifted from Everly’s face to Shelly’s. At the moment of parting, Shelly finally felt reluctant to let go. However, as the saying goes, belated fatherly love is like cheap grass; his streaming tears and lingering gaze had no effect on Everly’s iron-hard heart. The little baby completely ignored her father, happily leaping into her grandfather’s arms, and was carried by Old John into the departing car.
It was a bright, sunny day, with no fog over the town.
As the car left Pukati and began descending the hill, Everly craned her neck for one last look at the town. Just as when she had first arrived, the ancient town stood quietly atop the towering sea cliff, like a silent monument, recording in its countless scars the weighty past buried in history.
A cold breeze swept past, and distant ripples appeared on the surface of the sea. The shimmering water reflected the golden sunlight, flowing and swaying. For a fleeting moment, Everly thought she saw her banshee mother’s glittering serpent tail flick beneath the waves…
Goodbye, Pukati Town.
Goodbye, my banshee mama…
Everly tucked her head into her grandfather’s chest, suddenly feeling a pang of sadness.
…
Old John lived in Dwight State. It was located in the western part of the U.S., more than a thousand miles from Yalijifu State on the eastern coast.
The journey was extremely long. Old John had to take Everly by car all the way from Pukati to Masri City, the capital of Yalijifu State, 127 miles (about 204 kilometers) away. From there, they would fly to Sunken City, the capital of Dwight State, and then transfer to another vehicle to reach Micano City, where Old John lived.
The trip had already taken Old John two and a half days on the way there. Now, with a little baby to care for, the time required increased sharply.
Fortunately, Everly was an exceptionally easygoing baby. When she was hungry, she drank her milk; when sleepy, she napped. The rest of the time, she obediently held her crocodile toy, sitting in her car seat with big watery blue eyes, curiously watching the world outside the window. Except for occasional diaper changes, she barely ever cried.
Old John had never seen such a well-behaved baby; her gentleness almost made him ache with affection.
The journey from Pukati to Masri was mostly smooth, aside from the bumps of long-distance travel. Everly had never ridden a long-distance U.S. bus before, so this trip gave her the chance to experience, with her grandfather, what it was like to travel on a sleeper bus with a toilet.
The bus arrived in Masri in the evening. The two looked for a place to stay, and Everly quickly realized that her grandfather was fairly well-off. Unlike Shelly, who usually stayed in cheap little inns, Old John had chosen a proper, long-established chain hotel—several hundred dollars a night.
Staying just one night in such an expensive room felt a little wasteful. But there was a reason for the cost: the hotel was extremely well soundproofed, offering top-notch safety and privacy.
Their flight to Sunken City, the capital of Dwight State, was scheduled for 11:30 the next day. Early the next morning, they checked out and took a taxi to Masri International Airport.
They arrived a bit early. After passing security, it was only 10:10 a.m.
Everly was already seven months old, her teeth beginning to poke through, and she was reaching the age for solid foods. At this stage, relying on formula alone often left babies hungry. She had just eaten before leaving, but soon after security, her stomach started growling.
Being a smart baby, Everly knew how to signal her hunger. She made soft “mm-ah” sounds and patted her little tummy with her hands.
After spending a couple of days together, Old John had already learned to read his granddaughter’s body language. He patiently carried Everly to the waiting area, opened his thermos, and poured milk into her bottle. Meanwhile, bored but curious, Everly sucked on her fingers while taking in the sights of the U.S. airport.
To be honest, it was a little small, a little old, and even couldn’t compare to the airport of an ordinary second-tier city she had known in her previous life.
Just as she was inspecting her surroundings, a figure walking past caught Everly’s attention.
The person was tall and slim, wearing a black hoodie, jeans, and sneakers. The hood of the oversized sweatshirt was pulled down low over his head, shading his nose, making it impossible to see his face. This was an extremely common outfit in America—walk into almost any neighborhood, and you could find countless people dressed even more casually than him.
But for some reason, the moment she saw the person in the hoodie, Everly’s heart leapt violently. An indescribable sense of repulsion and dread surged through her, like prey caught in the gaze of a predator. Her spine went cold, her tiny hairs stood on end, and an overwhelming urge to flee gripped her.
Run… run fast! This place is dangerous…
Her sixth sense was screaming warnings, urging its owner to escape immediately.
The feeling was familiar. Not long ago, in the underground stone chamber, after finishing a precognitive dream, Everly had experienced a similar premonition.
Having a precedent made her inclined to trust her instincts. This hoodie-wearing person was dangerous. Because of him, the waiting area—and possibly even the flight itself—was no longer safe. She had to leave as soon as possible.
If Everly were an adult capable of acting, this would have been easy. But as it happened, she was still a little baby who could barely speak.
Wait… this script feels familiar… is this right?
Everly didn’t understand why, as a mere infant, she always seemed to attract so much trouble. Fortunately, her experiences had taught her enough to stay calm in a crisis. She even managed to think of a way to get Old John out of the waiting area: fake being sick.
It just so happened that Old John was about to feed her. She could sacrifice a little dignity, pretend to have no appetite, and throw up milk wildly…
The plan was solid—but Everly underestimated how much her grandfather cared for her.
When his usually hearty granddaughter took a sip of milk and then suddenly began vomiting, Old John panicked.
With a swift motion, he stood up on the spot, completely forgetting the luggage, scooped up Everly, and strode toward the emergency medical room just outside the waiting area.
For Old John, this reaction was perfectly normal. He carried all the valuable items with him, and his suitcase only contained a few worn clothes—losing them wouldn’t have mattered. Naturally, his granddaughter’s health was far more important.
But Everly couldn’t accept it. Before leaving, Old John had also tossed her beloved crocodile toy—the one containing her banshee mother’s eyeballs—into the suitcase!
This was America, a place where people were generally honest, but leave something on the street for even a moment, and it could mysteriously disappear. If someone unfamiliar grabbed the suitcase and discovered the eyeballs—or worse, destroyed them—the outcome was too terrible for Everly to even imagine.
She tried crying while reaching toward the suitcase in the waiting area, hoping Old John would understand and take it along. But it was no use. He didn’t slow down at all—in fact, he quickened his pace. In his eyes, his granddaughter’s sudden distress was a sign that her condition had worsened, and he had to get her to a doctor immediately.
Seeing the exit of the waiting area just ahead, Everly panicked.
Once the suitcase was out of sight, who knew who might end up with it next? If Old John didn’t report it later for the sake of convenience, she would never get the eyeballs back!
In an instant, she changed tactics. She suddenly straightened in Old John’s arms, wrapped her little hands around his neck, and became perfectly obedient—no vomiting, no crying.
“…”
Old John reached out to feel the baby’s forehead, then leaned closer to examine her face carefully. A hint of suspicion appeared.
His granddaughter seemed completely normal… so why had she suddenly vomited just now?
Seeing Everly pat her tummy with her hands, letting out urgent “mm-ah” sounds to signal she was still hungry, Old John had no choice but to turn back and give her a few more mouthfuls of milk to see what was going on.
Because his full attention was on Everly, Old John momentarily got distracted while walking and accidentally bumped into an airport security officer in uniform.
“Thud.” A dull sound hit the floor as the officer’s hardbound notebook, clutched under his arm, fell to the ground.
Old John apologized, steadied Everly, and reached down to pick it up. The notebook’s owner also bent down at the same time. Their hands briefly met in midair, but Old John, being closer, grabbed the notebook first.
He stood up again, holding Everly. Due to the angle, she looked up and happened to see the officer’s collarbone, where a familiar, snake-like, twisted tattoo was partially exposed.
It was the same totem she had seen in the hospital!
The massacre in the newborn ward had been the first nightmare Everly experienced in this world. That night, the mysterious totem that had appeared alongside the black-robed men was burned into her memory—she could never have been mistaken. The tattoo on the officer’s collarbone was identical to the one embroidered on the sleeves of those men in the newborn ward!
At that time, because she had been feverish, she had missed people’s discussions about the case. She only vaguely heard that the hospital incident might have been related to some cultists, but the police never caught anyone… And now, she realized this cult’s influence was vast enough to infiltrate even airport security!
How coincidental—just as she sensed danger in the waiting area, she ran into a cultist… Could the imminent threat at the airport also be connected to the cult?
Everly pretended to be curious, sucking her fingers while keeping her gaze fixed on the security officer.
He had an honest, ordinary-looking face—completely normal at first glance. After taking the notebook from Old John and politely saying, “Have a pleasant trip,” he continued walking, notebook in hand, and turned into the airport restroom.
A few minutes later, when the officer came out of the restroom, the notebook he had been holding was already gone. Half a minute later, Everly saw the hoodie-wearing man—the one who had triggered such a strong sense of danger—emerge from the restroom as well. In his hands was a familiar hardbound notebook.
The cultist security officer had handed the notebook to the hoodie man. It had to be something important. What was written inside? Was it connected to the impending crisis?
Everly didn’t know, and she didn’t have time to think about it.
Just moments ago, she had finally managed—through her little tantrum—to get Old John to take her beloved plush toy out of the suitcase and hold it for her. Mission accomplished, and with only a little time left, Everly took advantage of the moment. She quickly put her fingers into her mouth and scratched at her own throat.
“Ugh… bleh…”
Her stomach was still full from the bottle she had just finished. Scratching her throat triggered a strong gag reflex, causing her esophagus to contract and stomach contents to rise. Following the instinct, Everly opened her mouth and successfully vomited a large mouthful of milk.
“Everly, why are you vomiting again?!”
Old John’s heart, which had just settled, jumped back into his throat. One instance of vomiting might just mean she drank too quickly—but two times in such a short period was definitely not normal!
Thinking this, Old John hastily dropped the milk bottle he was holding, scooped up the baby, and rushed out of the waiting area.