Chapter 40: Talking Dolls from the 1940s
Florida.
Danny returned to this state, and his first welcome was a three-star chase speeding down the road in a Chevrolet, with a helicopter following all the way.
To them, evading police seemed like some kind of extreme sport.
It's just that the goal of ordinary extreme sports is to break world records.
The goal of this kind is to escape police pursuit.
Afterward, it would become something to brag about.
Even though they were almost caught, when asked by a friend, "Just a close call."
Compared to these thrill-seekers, Danny drove very steadily. After all, he didn't have a license yet, so it was better to be a law-abiding citizen.
The three parted ways at a fork in the road.
Darry and Trish were going back to their family home in the countryside to spend time with their grandfather, while Danny's place was in Salem.
The two siblings said they'd come to Salem to visit him after spending time with their grandfather.
Danny watched the old car disappear, casually went into a shop to buy a lollipop, and then walked toward the surrounding fields.
This time, there was no need to call for a ride.
After confirming no one was around,
Danny chose to fuse with the Undying Body (Incomplete). At first, there was no reaction, but suddenly, severe pain came, forcing him to fall into the field.
He didn't know how long it had been, but the intense pain slowly receded as his consciousness began to blur.
Danny stood up and took out the prepared mirror to look at his body. There seemed to be no significant changes. The only change might be that his skin looked clearer, and his features seemed a bit more refined.
It had this effect too?
He didn't care about his appearance. Instead, he took out a small knife and gently cut his skin. As soon as a touch of red appeared, the wound instantly healed.
It seemed to consume stamina.
Not bad. After all, Danny couldn't inherit 100% of the abilities he extracted. The human body structure and the Creeper's body structure were definitely different, which was very reasonable.
Now it's time to try the Creeper form.
With a thought, Danny chose to fuse with the Creeper. In an instant, his body began to change. As a faint energy spread across his body, he transformed into the Creeper in just a moment.
This appearance would make children cry in fear and adults scared.
This was also why Danny had to find a secluded place to transform, especially with these wings.
The wings suddenly unfurled. Their wingspan was much longer than a human's, though the structure was irregular and leathery. Upon closer inspection, the dark wings had a membranous texture.
Let's test the speed.
With a beat of his wings, Danny shot into the sky. In an instant, the surrounding scenery quickly became tiny.
The wind whistled in his ears, and everything seemed within reach.
Birds saw him and flew away in a panic.
The only unpleasant thing was the extremely strong discomfort from his body, urging him to find a dark place to rest.
Even the Creeper didn't like to move during the day.
Night was its domain.
Also, it wasn't impossible for Danny to move during the day, as long as he could get used to this feeling.
House.
Danny landed in the backyard and deactivated the fusion. The discomfort instantly disappeared. It seemed being human was more comfortable.
He went to the living room, took a can of Coke from the fridge, took the first sip—this sip was satisfaction—then comfortably lay on the sofa, took out his laptop, and started browsing.
He also searched for Creeper incidents.
There seemed to be none. The traces had been scrubbed, and he could only occasionally see one or two news reports.
However, the horror websites were not blocked.
Videos of the Creeper were still openly displayed there.
Danny clicked in to watch. It was a blurry video of the Creeper attacking a police helicopter and killing several officers, with shaky footage.
Even so, the video's popularity was still very high—basically the most viewed post in the past few days.
"The helicopter crashed, and I can't find any official news about it."
"Guys, can anyone tell me if this thing is human?"
"This must be something supernatural."
"Does holy water work on this thing?"
"Even machine guns couldn't kill it. How did the person filming survive?"
"I have inside information. I heard a demonologist subdued this creature."
"It's comparable to the Hillickers over at the backwoods."
...
The most discussed topic regarding this video:
Can priests and demonologists really deal with these types of monsters? Do holy water and crucifixes work?
Danny saw a professional's answer that they do work.
The premise is that the creature's body contains demonic power. Mere mutation is not enough.
If Danny weren't concerned about the consequences, he'd really want to get some holy water and try it on the Creeper to see if it worked.
"Ding-dong."
Danny heard a knock at the door and went to check. He first looked through the peephole and found he couldn't see anyone.
Strange, haunted again?
Danny was very bold and opened the door directly, then he found a little girl holding a creepy-looking doll.
Wait, this doll looked a bit disturbing?
"Is there anything you need, Emma?"
Emma hugged the doll and said happily.
"You said last time that I could come play with you after you woke up, and it's already afternoon now."
"Did I say that?" Danny didn't remember very clearly. People are usually dazed when they first wake up.
Emma pouted.
"Yes!"
Danny looked at her puffed cheeks and couldn't help but smile, then gentlemanly pulled open the door.
"Alright, Miss Emma, please come in."
Emma excitedly walked in, hugging the doll, then headed toward the backyard. She remembered very clearly that this was where those men were killed.
Unfortunately, she was too far away at the time and didn't see many details clearly.
She really hoped Danny would do it again.
Danny opened the fridge and asked.
"Emma, what do you want to drink?"
"Coke, I guess."
"I think Sprite suits you better," Danny said, then grabbed a bottle of Pepsi.
Emma saw the Pepsi label and thought Danny was doing it on purpose. How could Pepsi and Coke be confused?
Danny also took a can for himself, then lay down on a lounge chair by the pool and asked.
"Emma, how old are you? Does your father know you're at my house?"
Play is play, but it's better to clarify some things.
Emma took a sip of the Pepsi. It seemed alright.
"David knows. I'm... Don't you know you can't just ask a girl's age?"
"Is David your father?"
"Yes."
"Then you should respect your father."
"Got it." Emma was unhappy. She didn't like Danny's lecturing. She liked the Danny who cruelly dealt with those thugs that night.
Danny didn't expect a few words to correct Emma's sociopathic tendencies. He stared at the doll and said seriously.
"Alright, now let's talk about the doll. Why do you like this doll?"
Emma said as if showing off.
"Because it can talk."
Danny frowned. A talking doll?
Others might not believe it, but he fully believed it.
The doll's style looked like something from the last century. Modern dolls are very polished, but this doll's material was just fabric.
It didn't seem like Chucky.
Danny took Emma back into the house and logged onto the computer, directly searching for Mary Shaw, which brought up a lot of information and dolls.
In a certain small town, there was such a legend, centered around Mary Shaw.
This person was not from the present, but a ventriloquist from the 1940s, one of the most outstanding performers. But one day, she was accused of kidnapping and murdering a little boy, simply because the boy accused her of being a fraud.
The truth of the matter was indeed so. In the end, Mary Shaw was caught by the angry townspeople, cruelly had her tongue cut out, and was killed and buried with her dolls.
The information stopped abruptly here.
Many dolls appeared in the accompanying pictures, very similar to the one in Emma's hand.
It was undoubtedly from Dead Silence.
Chapter Rewards
500 Power Stones = 1 New Chapter
10 Reviews = 1 New Chapter
Thanks for reading!
20+ advanced chapters available on P1treon: Soulforger