Chapter 8: Terrifying Rumors of the Town
When Xue Landi placed breakfast in front of her, Carrie, who had been sitting for so long, was no longer as nervous. Instead, she said, "Thank you," with gratitude.
"If you feel sleepy, you can go upstairs and rest for a while. It's fine to go to school in the afternoon," Xue Landi said casually.
"No, no."
Carrie frantically refused. Although she was quite sleepy, there was still a male present. Moreover, if Margaret found out about her skipping school, she would probably face even stricter punishment.
To be honest, Carrie was a little envious of Xue Landi now. He was unrestrained, didn't have to go to school, and no one bothered him at home. He could eat whatever he wanted, and breakfast even included fried bacon and butter. At home, Carrie could only eat dried vegetables and boiled eggs every day.
Students her age all had cell phones, but her family didn't even have a decent electronic device. The only advanced thing they had was a TV that could only receive... channels. This was another reason for her isolation; she had no common language with her peers.
The crispy bacon burst with grease in her mouth, a sensation Carrie particularly enjoyed. Seeing her eat so heartily, Xue Landi spooned more food from the pot for her.
"Eat more."
Xue Landi had made a lot of breakfast, as his own depleted body urgently needed nutritional replenishment.
"Thank you."
Carrie didn't frantically refuse; she had basically let down her guard. After all, at eighteen years old, she was an adult and felt a natural closeness to peers.
"If your mother isn't home in the future, you can come find me."
Carrie's body paused, but in the end, she neither refused nor accepted. Xue Landi didn't say anything more.
After breakfast, Carrie stood up, still wanting more.
"I really have to go to school now, or else... I'll be late."
"Mm."
Xue Landi nodded, then followed her out the door. Carrie still walked timidly with her head down. She reached the roadside and got on her bicycle, but when she turned her head, she saw Xue Landi closing the wooden gate of the yard, as if he was also going out.
"You..."
"Take me to Town. Just drop me off at the school gate."
Why not take a ride if there's one? Xue Landi knew that he couldn't help but tremble after walking just a few steps now. Carrie was stunned. She looked at her bicycle and immediately felt embarrassed.
"But..."
However, seeing Xue Landi's consistently calm expression, she finally nodded submissively and offered a handlebar.
"Okay, then you ride?"
"No, I'll just sit on the back seat."
Xue Landi was not at all reserved and sat down very naturally. However, he didn't dare to go too far and didn't abruptly reach out to hug Carrie's waist. Even normal physical contact would probably be difficult for Carrie to accept. So Xue Landi chose to hold onto the edge of the seat below.
"What's wrong? Hurry up and go!"
Carrie didn't reply or move. It was a while before she slowly started, wobbling onto La Strada.
...
Due to her personality, she didn't know how to refuse and had rarely met a peer she could communicate with. Carrie worried that her refusal would make their fragile connection stiff or break it entirely.
"Later, don't go through La Strada. Let's go through the small woods; it's faster that way," Xue Landi suggested when they reached the intersection. This was to avoid being recorded by cameras.
"This..."
Go into the small woods? Carrie was a little worried if Landi had some strange ideas. So she cautiously turned her head and glanced behind her. Knowing that she was still wary, Xue Landi explained: "Unless you want the people of Town to see us, I don't mind. But what if these rumors reach your mother's ears?"
Carrie immediately snapped to attention. If her mother found out about her riding a bicycle with a male, she would definitely kill her with a knife! Now that Landi had pointed it out, Carrie felt a surge of gratitude. At least he still cared about her situation. So she pedaled even harder. She even tried to strike up a conversation on the way, just saying whatever came to mind.
"Landi... do you know? I heard that the woods are very dangerous."
Xue Landi was startled by her words.
"Why, are there bears and wolves?"
"No, no, no, that's... not it. My mother also told me that the woods and the center of Town have lost their faith and are not blessed by God. She told me it's best not to get close to the woods and the West City of Town."
Carrie first mentioned her mother's warning, which was her first rule. Derry Town is very large, divided into four areas: Midtown, the most prosperous and populous; Upper City, where the wealthy live near the coast; and the somewhat old West City. Then there's the East Suburb, which is near the coastline, where Xue Landi and Carrie's live.
Carrie continued with a thoughtful expression.
"The other rumors are what I heard from other classmates. They say there's a very dark tunnel by the stream in the woods, and a Joker lives inside... It seems to come out to do evil every twenty-something years."
A Joker, comes out to do evil every twenty-something years? Xue Landi suddenly felt this setting was somewhat familiar; many urban legends originate this way.
"I usually like to read. When I was researching the history of Town, I found that there were indeed many cases of children disappearing in Town every twenty-something years..."
At this point, Carrie looked at the gloomy woods around them, feeling a vague sense of being watched. Especially when an occasional gust of wind blew, the leaves rustled. Carrie suddenly felt a chill down her spine and sped up her cycling.
"Never mind, let's not talk about these things."
Carrie forced herself not to think about this terrifying legend, but a horrifying image of a Joker persistently appeared in her mind. The fear did not dissipate; instead, it spread throughout her body like a virus. As a result, Carrie felt the surrounding temperature turn cold. The light was blocked by the towering branches, and the environment became increasingly gloomy. So she began to pray softly.
"God bless, Holy Spirit bless..."
Xue Landi, sitting on the back seat, frowned slightly, because he saw an unusual black aura floating around Carrie's body. Xue Landi turned his head, sensing something, and saw a red balloon closely following them from behind. There was a crooked message written on the balloon.
"Keep talking, I'm listening."
Xue Landi extended his palm, and electric light gradually flashed in his hand. The balloon seemed to sense danger and immediately hovered motionless in the air. After it had pulled some distance away from the bicycle, it burst with a 'pop'. Carrie, who had been cycling with her head down, suddenly lifted her head and then stopped the bicycle.
"Landi, did you hear anything just now?"
"It might have been a branch we ran over. Anyway, it definitely wasn't a flat tire," Xue Landi explained, his eyes constantly scanning the surrounding woods. There's actually a monster hidden in this small Derry Town? How truly outstanding!