(A/N):
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Jojo didn't waste a single second.
The moment he identified where the screams were coming from, he walked straight toward the bedroom.
Beth instinctively reached out.
"W-Wait!"
But he had already reached the door.
Without hesitation, he turned the handle and pushed it open.
The room came into view.
A young man standing near the bed immediately stopped reciting the Bible and turned around in surprise.
He looked to be in his early twenties, wearing ordinary jeans and a soaked jacket. His face was pale from exhaustion, and his hands trembled slightly as he clutched the open Bible against his chest.
He wasn't a priest.
He wasn't an experienced exorcist.
He was simply a neighbor trying to help because no one else would.
For the last several hours, he had done the only thing he knew.
Reading chapter after chapter from the Bible, hoping the words would weaken whatever had taken hold of Ellie.
His frightened eyes moved between Jojo, Leah, and Lorraine.
"...Who are you?"
Jojo didn't answer immediately.
His attention remained fixed on the woman chained to the reinforced bed.
Ellie.
Or rather...
The thing occupying what had once been Ellie's body.
The corpse slowly turned its head toward him.
Its movements were unnaturally smooth, almost like a puppet whose strings were being pulled by invisible hands.
Its pitch-black eyes locked onto Jojo.
Neither of them spoke.
For several long seconds, they simply stared at one another.
The room became deathly quiet.
The entity's grotesque smile slowly faded.
It no longer looked amused.
It looked... cautious.
As if it were trying to understand what had just walked into its nest.
Behind Jojo, Lorraine stepped forward and gently placed a hand on the young man's shoulder.
"My name is Lorraine."
She smiled reassuringly.
"You've done enough."
The young man looked confused.
"I... I was just trying to help."
"I know."
Her voice carried genuine appreciation.
"And you probably saved them more than once."
The young man blinked.
"I did?"
Lorraine nodded.
"The constant reading kept it occupied. It couldn't fully concentrate on spreading itself while you were interrupting it."
A mixture of relief and disbelief appeared on his face.
"So... I wasn't making things worse?"
"No."
She smiled warmly.
"You bought them time."
The young man finally let out the breath he had apparently been holding for hours.
"My name's Bruce."
"I live across the hall."
"I just..."
His eyes drifted toward Ellie.
"...couldn't leave those kids alone."
Lorraine gave him a respectful nod.
"You did more than most people would."
Bruce lowered the Bible, visibly relaxing for the first time since they had entered.
"I'll take over from here," Lorraine continued.
"We're professionals."
Bruce looked at Jojo again.
Somehow...
That silent young man standing before the possessed woman inspired more confidence than every police officer who had visited earlier combined.
Meanwhile, Leah slowly circled the room.
Halfway around the bed, she suddenly stopped.
Her nose wrinkled in disgust.
She instinctively covered it with the back of her hand.
"...That's horrible."
Everyone looked toward her.
Leah frowned deeply.
"I don't mean the corpse."
Her golden eyes remained fixed on Ellie.
"I'm talking about the smell."
She slowly shook her head.
"It smells rotten."
"Like thousands of things died inside her."
"The scent isn't physical."
"It's spiritual."
Jojo nodded without taking his eyes off the entity.
"I noticed."
The room fell silent again.
Finally, Jojo turned around.
His gaze landed on Beth first.
Then the three children standing behind her.
Danny stood protectively in front of his younger sisters despite the terror clearly visible on his face.
Bridget clung tightly to Beth's arm.
Kassie couldn't stop crying.
Jojo's expression remained calm.
But his next words struck everyone like a hammer.
"The woman this entity possessed..."
He paused briefly.
"...is already dead."
Beth stared blankly at him.
"What...?"
"The body you're looking at is no longer your sister."
His voice remained steady.
"Whatever killed Ellie has been using her corpse as a vessel."
The room became silent.
"So when you're speaking to her..."
He slowly looked toward the chained body.
"...you're speaking to the thing wearing her."
Beth's knees nearly gave out.
She stumbled backward until Lorraine caught her before she fell.
"No..."
Tears immediately filled Beth's eyes.
"No..."
"That's impossible..."
Jojo didn't soften the truth.
"The real Ellie died before you contacted us."
Those words finally shattered what little hope Beth had been holding onto.
She covered her mouth as tears streamed freely down her face.
Behind her, Danny lowered his head.
Bridget began sobbing loudly.
Kassie simply stared at the floor in silence before whispering...
"...Mom..."
The single word carried enough heartbreak to make even Bruce turn away.
Jojo allowed them a few moments.
Then he asked the question that mattered most.
"I need everyone to answer honestly."
His tone became noticeably more serious.
"Has anyone been scratched?"
The room looked confused.
"Bitten?"
"No..."
"Did any of Ellie's blood touch you?"
Beth quickly wiped away her tears while trying to remember.
"I... I don't think so..."
Jojo didn't respond.
Instead, he looked toward the children.
"Danny."
The boy swallowed nervously.
"No."
"Bridget?"
The little girl shook her head immediately.
Then Jojo looked toward Kassie.
The young girl hesitated.
Very slightly.
Before silently raising one trembling finger.
She pointed toward the kitchen.
Everyone followed her gaze.
Jojo walked there without another word.
He pushed open the kitchen door.
The smell hit him immediately.
Not ordinary decay.
Corruption.
The entire kitchen looked like a slaughterhouse.
Dark red blood had splattered across the floor, cabinets, and walls.
Several patches of dried vomit covered the tiles near the sink.
But what caught Jojo's attention wasn't the blood itself.
It was moving.
Tiny black threads crawled slowly through it like microscopic worms searching for something alive to infect.
His expression hardened.
Without stepping inside, he quietly closed the kitchen door again.
Then he looked back at everyone gathered in the living room.
"No one opens that door."
His voice left absolutely no room for argument.
"No one enters that kitchen."
Beth looked confused through her tears.
"But..."
Jojo cut her off.
"That blood is contaminated."
"If anyone comes into direct contact with it..."
He glanced briefly toward the bedroom where Ellie remained restrained.
"...you'll eventually become another host."
A heavy silence settled over the apartment.
The meaning of those words slowly sank in.
Lorraine stepped beside Beth, gently supporting her before addressing everyone in the room.
Including Bruce.
Including the elderly neighbor, Mr. Fonda, who had quietly remained near the doorway since Jojo's arrival.
"The entity isn't spreading like a ghost or a curse."
She spoke slowly so everyone could understand.
"It spreads biologically."
"The blood, bodily fluids, and contaminated tissue have all become carriers."
She pointed toward the sealed kitchen.
"Think of that room as a quarantine zone."
"If anyone walks through that blood..."
"...there's a chance microscopic parasitic organisms could enter the body through even the smallest cut."
Bruce instinctively looked down at his hands.
Mr. Fonda quickly checked his shoes.
Lorraine noticed.
"If you've stayed out of the kitchen, you're fine."
"But from this moment onward..."
Her voice became firm.
"Nobody touches anything stained with Ellie's blood."
"Nobody cleans it."
"Nobody even opens that door."
Jojo looked back toward the bedroom.
The thing inside Ellie had stopped laughing.
Instead...
It was smiling.
Because it had been listening to every word.
And somewhere beneath that smile, it was already trying to think of another way to spread.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N):
Check my new Fan fic: Karuppan: King of Openings
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