10.16. 17:15 a.m.

It's a small town on the edge of Texas. On Tongshu Street, near the station, a fast-food restaurant has entered the closing time.

"I went back. ”

Kiripa walked out of the locker room and said the bald middle-aged man who was concentrating on washing dishes after flushing the curtains. He carried his bag over his body, which contained a folded uniform and a lightweight puffer jacket.

The bag is a linen style, and I heard that it is a popular style from a big city.

As he walked to the door, a bald middle-aged man, the owner of the fast-food restaurant, poked his head out of the kitchen.

"Be careful on the road. ”

Tong Ye was slightly stunned.

The boss wiped his wet hands on the apron.

"I heard from a friend yesterday about a friend who was a police officer, and he told me something amazing - a wanted criminal had entered our Texas county. Do you remember the Northbridge incident a month ago? It seems that he did it, and it's really scary. In addition, in the past few days, there has been a strange increase in the number of missing person notices, and many people have disappeared inexplicably, but fortunately he is a member of the side department, otherwise he must be in a hurry to deal with the case now, right? What a lucky guy! In short, you should pay attention to your safety when you go back alone. ”

The boss spoke in his accent, somewhat different from that of the other townspeople, and then turned back to the kitchen.

"I see, boss, too. ”

It was the middle of October, and it was late autumn. The ground is covered with dry, crunchy sycamore leaves, with a faint fruity aroma, like a cookie or potato chip smeared with jam, which clicks when you step on it.

Recently, the temperature has turned colder, and the weather forecast shows that the temperature in the town will continue to drop in the coming days.

When the wind blew, Kiriba had to close his collar even closer, and the hot breath exhaled from his mouth floated, forming a white mist.

As he walked, he looked around, looking at this strange and familiar road, with a faint confusion in his eyes. As he walked, he kept looking for changes on the road, comparing today's road with yesterday's road.

- The uncle who cleaned the streets has changed, and the creeper has lost a lot of leaves......

Tong Ye is delicate, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a little sensitive. It's not that he's a person who gets angry easily, it's just that too little observation will always cause superfluous thinking.

- Where did the uncle go, and will he come again? What is he doing at this moment, and will the person in charge of this street change in the future......

If thinking too much can make people tired, too many thoughts may become another trouble for Kiritha.

When we reached the intersection, we were greeted with a choice that we would encounter every day - go straight or turn now. If you go straight, you can take a shortcut from the side road, and if you turn around, you can take a detour to the convenience store on the main road to buy a hot bento. As always, he chose to go straight and cut corners. He has been walking this trail for almost a month, which allows him to know everything about the road inside out.

Knowing everything naturally means knowing exactly where there are chairs, where there are street lamps or where plane trees are planted, and so on.

The most peculiar feature of this trail is the three curved corners in the middle.

Because he left work 15 minutes later than before, he now walked into the trail a little later than usual, and because the temperature was getting colder, the road seemed a little deserted.

When the weather is not so cold, there are more people walking this road, and occasionally you can see couples hugging and kissing on the slightly rusty benches, and if you think about it, this is indeed a good place for a tryst.

But after walking for a while, Kiriba still felt that something was wrong.

Although the weather has turned cold, no matter how you say it, you can't only see the bicycle that has been parked at the iron gate, the bare plane trees, the fallen leaves all over the ground, and the street lamps that are uncertain.

Not a single figure could be seen.

Because the road is remote, the repair and maintenance is not perfect, but it can quickly reach the opposite residential area, so many people who get off work will choose this road, even if the time of getting off work is later than usual, it should not be so cold and desolate.

Perhaps it is because there are so few people that the chilly air makes people feel extra cold. He took out the down jacket from his bag and put it on his body, and the wind blew on his face.

Kiripa rubbed his hands and sighed, his whole body curled up a little because of the cold.

He couldn't help but quicken his pace.

The road was not long, it was a shortcut after all, even if it was the characteristic three bends that extended its length - before he knew it, he had reached the first corner.

The air was moving slowly, with an indescribably pungent smell, like the smell of blood in a slaughterhouse. The smell leaked from the side of the corner, and it became stronger as the corner progressed, until it became a very strong stench. Kiritha pinched his nose and tried to walk over quickly, but he felt that he had stepped on something strange, and from the feeling of his feet, it seemed to be made of fabric.

Through the dim and flickering street lights, he saw a torn coat stained with sticky liquid, and patches of dark black color.

The most striking thing is the big tear in the back of this coat.

INTERVIEWER Why is there such a dress here?

He felt a little uneasy, which made him want to go back, but when he thought that he had come here, he didn't want to give up. After a hard day's work, he just wants to go home and stay motionless in bed. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to move on.

It was dark, and the tree-tall street lamps in the middle were almost non-existent, which made the air feel eerie.

Soon, the second corner was in front.

Maybe it was because of the previous experience that he felt a little apprehensive when he walked around the corner, but when he stepped out of the corner, he stepped on something soft again.

Kiriha took out his mobile phone from his pocket and shone it on his flashlight.

He saw a foreign object on the ground.

He felt his breathing shorten, and he quickly screamed.

"Ahh

The foreign object on the ground turned out to be a dead body.

With a panicked scream, he fell to the ground. It took a moment for him to regain his composure and take a closer look at the corpse.

The deceased was dry, with loose skin hanging down to cover the hard bones underneath, and the cheekbones on both sides were very high because of the deep sunken eye sockets. The corpse's eyes were wide open, almost as if they were about to burst out, and there were a few dry bloodshots in the whites of the eyes.

Rather than a dead corpse, it would be better to describe it as a dried corpse.

The body was down on its side, so it could be seen behind it. There was an open tear in it, the same one in the coat that had been in place before. Looking into the body of the dried corpse from behind, there were no organs in it except for the blood stored in the stomach.

Kiriha took the lamp and shone it all the way back, but found that the road was full of blood.

He felt his legs even go a little weak, but at the same time, he couldn't help but start thinking about some messy things.

How did this man die?

Why did he die so miserably?

Where is the murderer?

What else is ahead?

Kiritha found himself moving on.

He walked all the way forward and paused until he saw the second body lying in front of him.

Unlike the first corpse, this one was mutilated, and the appearance of flesh and blood was even more disgusting.

He didn't stop, even though his heart was beating to his throat, and his chaff leg had repeatedly caused him to fall.

Along the way, the number of corpses gradually increased.

One, two......

Five, six......

Eight......

He counted as he walked, and counting the first man, there were nine dead people on the road from the second corner to the third.

He couldn't understand why he hadn't fled at this point.

Now he was standing in front of the third corner, and there seemed to be a sound coming from the other side of the corner.

Maybe the truth is just ahead.

"One step away and I can see what's ahead of me. ”

As if to convince himself, with such a mood and thought, Kiripa slowly leaned towards the corner.

The smell of blood in the air was thick and pungent enough to make him feel his stomach juices churn violently.

Now, with a single peek, he could see the side around the corner.

He hesitated again, feeling that perhaps the truth of the matter lay ahead, but the fear and uneasiness in his heart made him feel a little suffocated.

"Just take a look at ......"

He poked his head out and saw a man with a disheveled hair squatting in the grass in front of him (?).

"What's that? he's—"

Thoughts freeze in a split second.

What Kiritha saw was a humanoid creature covered with carapace, its mouth wide open, embedded with Sensen's white fangs, hot air and blood mist exhaled with the scorching breath, sticky saliva fell to the ground, and the strong corrosion made the ground hiss.

The monster was looking down and gnawing on something. In his horror, Kiriba found that it was a stump that I didn't know if it was an arm or a calf. The monster eats quickly, and looks like it's gnawing on a sweet corn cob.

"Uh-huh......"

Kiritha couldn't hold back his vomiting anymore, and the sound of his vomiting attracted the attention of the monster.

The monster turned its head and saw Kiritha. It slowly lowered the stump in its hand, its eyes staring straight at him, with a greedy green glow inside. It pursed its mouth, revealing the two rows of white fangs behind its thin lips.

It emerged from the woods, climbed over the fence, and stood on the concrete floor of the path, its whole body bathed in the cold white light of the flashlight.