Chapter 12: If You Find Me, I'll Let You... Hehehe
Edward finished his school day, and as soon as he walked through the front door, he headed straight for his mother Sarah, who was busy in the kitchen, and eagerly asked about Carrie's situation.
Sarah stopped what she was doing, turned around, and with a gentle smile said softly, "It's all taken care of. Carrie's mother is in a very unstable mental state and will be committed to a psychiatric facility for treatment. As for Carrie, she'll be staying with us for now."
Hearing this news, Edward nodded slightly. Just then, his father John called everyone to the dinner table.
The family gathered around, the aroma of home-cooked food filling the air, but it couldn't quite break the somber atmosphere.
John made some light conversation, trying to help Carrie relax, but she still seemed shaken. She kept her head down, taking small bites of her food.
After dinner, John smiled and took Sarah's arm. "Honey, how about we have a date night?" Sarah nodded happily, and the two headed out together.
Now only Edward, Lilith, and Carrie remained at home.
Edward looked at Carrie with encouraging eyes, then turned to Lilith. "Lilith, you should work with Carrie and teach her how to control her abilities."
Carrie flinched, uncertainty and doubt flashing in her eyes. She stammered softly, "C-can I really do it?"
Edward met her gaze with determination, his expression full of confidence. "I believe in you, Carrie. You can definitely do this."
Carrie bit her lip gently, hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Okay."
Lilith's lips curved into a confident smile.
For her—a demon—teaching Carrie to control her telekinetic powers was child's play. She walked over to Carrie and patiently began explaining and demonstrating.
Under Lilith's careful guidance, Carrie gradually became absorbed in the practice.
After a while, something amazing happened: Carrie was able to control the movement of relatively light objects. A small coffee mug slowly slid across the table under Carrie's mental command.
"Carrie, that's incredible!" Edward praised excitedly from the sidelines.
Hearing Edward's praise, Carrie's cheeks instantly flushed pink.
She looked up, her eyes sparkling with surprise and pride, as if in this moment she'd found new hope for her life.
Just as they were about to continue practicing, the phone rang.
Edward frowned, quickly walked to the landline, and picked up the receiver. "Hello, Connor residence."
"Hehehe, Edward Connor... your parents just left, didn't they?" A strange, distorted voice came through the line, sounding hollow and unnatural, exuding an indescribable creepiness.
As soon as Edward heard it, he realized the caller was using a voice changer. He frowned deeply and said sternly, "Who is this? Stop messing around."
"Hehehe, why don't you guess who I am?" The caller seemed intent on toying with Edward, that eerie laughter echoing through the receiver, sending chills down his spine.
Edward scoffed and responded without hesitation, "I'm not playing games." Then with a sharp click, he hung up.
Carrie looked at Edward with concern. "Who was that?"
Edward waved it off. "Just a prank call. Don't worry about it." He turned and sat back down on the couch.
However, before he could get comfortable, the phone rang shrilly again.
Edward reluctantly picked up the receiver once more. The same low, distorted voice was still on the other end.
"Who the hell are you? Enough with the games!" Edward's tone carried clear anger now.
"Come on, just guess!" The caller remained persistent, their mocking tone deliberately testing Edward's patience.
"Guess whether I'm gonna guess." Edward was done playing along and hung up decisively again.
But the phone, as if cursed, rang again moments later.
This time, Edward simply hit the answering machine button. Beep: "You've reached the Connor residence. Please leave a message after the tone."
"Oh, Edward, you really think the answering machine's gonna help?" The voice came through again.
Edward's heart skipped a beat, and alarm bells went off in his head: How does he know that? Is he watching the house right now? The situation gave Edward an eerie sense of déjà vu, like he'd seen this in some movie, but he couldn't quite place which one.
"Look, kid, this joke's gone way too far. You'd better hope I don't find you."
Edward picked up the phone, speaking into the receiver as he quickly walked to the living room's bay window and yanked the curtains shut with a sharp swish. He turned and gave Lilith a look, signaling her to take Carrie and hide.
Immediately after, Edward focused his mind and pulled his twin pistols—Ebony and Ivory—from his system inventory.
"Hehehe, Edward, you think I don't know what you're doing just because you closed the curtains? What are you gonna do with those guns?" The sinister voice came through the phone again, as if it could see Edward's every move.
Edward's mind raced: Could this guy actually be hiding somewhere inside my house right now? He immediately scanned the entire living room, his gaze sharp and alert, checking every possible hiding spot.
Under the couch looked suspicious, the cabinet had space to conceal someone, or maybe this psycho was hiding upstairs in one of the bedrooms?
However, if this guy was really hiding inside the house, logically he should be able to hear Edward's voice without the phone.
Edward held his breath, stayed silent, and listened intently, trying to pinpoint the source of the mysterious caller's voice.
But aside from the continuous voice coming through the phone line—which frayed his taut nerves—the surroundings were dead silent.
"Edward, you wanna play a game of hide-and-seek with me? If you find me, I'll let you... hehehe!"
(Ghostface — Scream)
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