Chapter 0046 The Taxi
CLANG-BOOM! The heavy wooden shelf crashed onto the opposite row of shelves. The glass doors of several hundred compartments were mostly shattered. Countless urns broke out and fell to the ground. The lids of many boxes flew open, and the cremated remains scattered everywhere.
I choked on the ashes and quickly covered my mouth, knowing that the noise must have alerted the people in the lobby outside. I quickly ran, covering my head, and scurried to the safety of the shelves diagonally opposite.
The staff ran over from the lobby and stood at the doorway. Evidently, he was scared too, as his voice trembled when he spoke. "Wh-what happened?" Two more people rushed in from outside the Niche Tower, asking what was wrong. The staff member said, "I don't know! It looks like the shelf holding the niches fell!"
Someone asked doubtfully, "How could the niche shelf fall? Turn on the lights!"
The lights came on, illuminating the Niche Tower hall brightly. The three people ran to the fallen shelf to inspect it. I seized the opportunity to bolt outside, relieved that no one had spotted me. Just as I was about to escape from the lobby to the staircase, for some unknown reason, I tripped heavily, falling flat on my face and scraping it raw.
"Who's there?" Someone shouted loudly. I quickly scrambled up and ran down the stairs toward the crematorium gate. Looking back, I saw the three people emerging from the lobby, rushing down the stairs and chasing hard, yelling things like "Stop, you bastard, don't run!" and "Lao Zhao, chase that kid!" I knew I would be in terrible trouble if they caught me. Besides getting beaten up, with so many urns smashed, wouldn't the families sue me for everything I had?
Escaping through the crematorium gate, I frantically ran west toward the road. A taxi was slowly driving along the small road. I quickly stood in the middle of the road and raised my hand to flag it down. Two men sitting on the roadside chatting looked at me curiously. One of them said, "What's wrong with that guy?"
The taxi slowly stopped. I yanked open the back door and slid in. There was already a young woman sitting in the back seat. I didn't care about that and told the driver, "Quick, drive away!"
The driver asked, "Where to?"
Through the window, I saw six or seven people almost reaching the main gate. I shouted anxiously, "Just drive forward first! Hurry!" The driver started the car and drove west. I looked back and saw the people chasing me run out the gate, yelling and cursing, but they couldn't outrun the taxi. The distance grew wider and wider. I sighed with relief, leaning my head against the seat back and covering the spot on my face that was scraped raw—it was burning painfully.
West of the crematorium is the Yuhong District, mostly undeveloped wasteland with no streetlights or houses nearby. After several minutes, the pain on my face eased. I realized that the driver hadn't asked me where I was going again, and the young woman sitting next to me hadn't said a word, or even looked at me. The woman had short hair, wore glasses, and had very fair skin. I asked the driver, "Where are you two going?"
The driver replied, "Guanyin Village."
I said, "Brother, drop her off first, and then take me to Wanghua Street."
The driver said, "My car only goes to Guanyin Village."
This answer surprised me. I thought maybe the driver was going home after dropping her off at Guanyin Village. Although I didn't know where Guanyin Village was, I had no choice but to agree. At worst, I'd just call another taxi when we got there.
The taxi turned off the main road onto a small road, without making any turns. It drove for about ten minutes. The road became increasingly desolate. Occasionally, I saw people walking slowly on the roadside. Eventually, both sides of the road were just fields. Apart from the car's headlights, there was no other source of light. I couldn't help but ask the driver, "Brother, how far is Guanyin Village?"
The driver replied, "Almost there." I thought, this woman looks fashionable, but it must be tough living in such a remote village. After a few more minutes, the taxi stopped by the roadside. The woman opened the door and got out. The car continued to drive. I looked back. The young woman was standing by the roadside, and as the car drove further away, I gradually couldn't see her anymore. I was puzzled. This place was in the middle of nowhere. Where was her house? Then, I suddenly realized something: the woman who just got out seemed not to have paid. But then I thought, maybe the fare was agreed upon when she got in, and she had paid in advance.
I asked the driver, "Is this Guanyin Village?" The driver hummed in affirmation.
I regretted it immediately. In this desolate place, where would I find another car? I asked again, "Brother, can you take me to Wanghua Street?"
The driver said, "My car only goes to Guanyin Village." He repeated the same phrase.
"Then where are you going now?" I asked.
The driver replied, "The next stop is Wujiagou."
I found this very strange. This wasn't a bus. Why did it have fixed stops? I quickly said, "I don't want to go to Wujiagou, Brother. Let's make a deal. Send me back the way we came, near the crematorium. I'll give you extra money, okay?"
The driver looked at me. "The third stop is Majiawa, and the next stop after that is Dongshancuizi." I quickly told him I didn't know or want to go to any of those places. Either take me to Wanghua Street or back to the crematorium.
The driver looked at me with confusion. "If you're not going to any of these places, why did you get in the car?"
I couldn't help but laugh. "This is a taxi, right? It should go anywhere. Why are you stopping like a bus, stop by stop?"
The driver said, "This is not a taxi."
"Then what kind of car is this?" I asked.
The driver replied, "A ferry car."
"Ferrying from where to where?" I didn't understand.
The driver said, "From Four-Seven to Five-Seven."
I was completely confused, thinking the driver was mentally ill. I really wanted to get out of the car, but both sides of the road were desolate fields. I couldn't even tell the direction. How would I get home if I got out? I was sitting in the back right seat. The car was very dark. I took out my phone and asked the driver to turn on the interior light; I needed to make a call. The driver said, "The interior light is broken." I thought, just my luck. I glanced to the side and suddenly noticed that the dashboard in front of the driver was also completely dark. No wonder it was so black inside the car.
I asked, "Brother, is your car broken? Why is the whole dashboard dark?"
The driver hummed noncommittally.
I asked again, "Then how can you drive this car? You can't see the speed or the fuel consumption."
The driver didn't answer, continuing to drive. I felt uneasy, increasingly sensing that this driver was not a normal person. After another seven or eight minutes, I asked the driver how much longer until the next stop. The driver still didn't answer, just kept driving. I couldn't resist reaching out and patting his right shoulder. "Brother, I'm talking to you?"
The driver slowly turned his head to look at me. "Almost there."
I didn't dare to speak again. My heart was pounding, threatening to jump out of my throat. My brain raced, trying to figure out how to escape. Just then, the driver stopped the car. I asked, "What's wrong? Out of gas?"
"I need to relieve myself," the driver said. He then opened the door and walked toward the weeds by the roadside. I wondered if I should take the opportunity to get out and leave. But it was so desolate nearby. I didn't know which direction was which. How would I find my way home? About five minutes passed, and the driver hadn't returned. Ten minutes, still not back. Was he having diarrhea? After nearly ten more minutes, I couldn't help but climb out of the car, walk to the spot where the driver went to relieve himself, and shouted a few times. No one answered. I turned on my phone's flashlight and searched the nearby weeds, but there was no one there.
I shouted, "Where is he? Hey, where are you?" My voice sounded unusually loud in the open wilderness, but there was still no reply. I knew the driver was definitely strange. I didn't wait any longer, quickly got back into the car in the driver's seat, started the engine, and drove the taxi away.
I drove for about ten minutes, and both sides of the road were still just large fields. Forget houses; I hadn't even seen a single fork in the road. I found this very odd. Even if I couldn't tell the direction, no matter which way I drove, I should eventually encounter a village, right? Looking out the window, the sky had neither stars nor a moon. But wait, didn't I remember there was a moon when I first arrived at the crematorium?
After a few more minutes, the headlights illuminated a man standing by the road about a hundred meters ahead, appearing to be urinating. I became alert, slowly stopping the car, and leaned out to watch. The man turned and walked toward me. His figure was very familiar, looking exactly like the driver of this car.
Sure enough, the driver reached the car, opened the door, and I quickly moved to the passenger seat. The driver got in, sat down, put the car in gear, and started driving. I asked, "Why did you take so long to relieve yourself? It was almost half an hour."
The driver looked at me. "I only peed for two minutes."