Reborn as a Prophet in a Horror Movie

#077Reader Mode

#077

The sheriff barged past the middle-aged man, his heavy bottom plopping down heavily on the empty seat beside Seojun. A tingle ran up Seojun’s spine – an ominous premonition sharper than mere intuition.

“Listen up, son,” the sheriff growled, leaning in way too close. “Rules ain’t meant to be ignored. That’s just basic stuff. But you young punks nowadays, you don’t get that, do ya? Or maybe you do but choose to stick your head in the sand? Don’t you understand society runs on respecting your elders and the wisdom we’ve earned?”

He shook his head sadly, jowls wobbling. “You do what you’re not supposed to, ignore what you should listen to. You’re like jumping beans, I swear! Hopping every which way all willy-nilly. Rules, that’s what counts. Take these beans, for example.” A large hand dug into his pocket, emerging with a fistful of legumes. “Beans are good for you. Nutritious. So when I say ‘eat your beans, boy,’ what do you little snots say? ‘This one’s sweet, that’s a spicy bean, oh and look – a salty one!’ Missing the whole dang point! What does it matter if they’re sweet or spicy or salty? A bean’s a bean, ain’t it? Next you’ll be telling me peanuts are beans too!”

The sheriff’s rant reached a crescendo as he shook a fistful of peanuts, launching a stray shell that bounced off Seojun’s forehead with a dull thud.

Ah, the nostalgia, Seojun mused, recalling his old principal’s energy during those interminable morning assemblies. His premonition, sadly, had been spot-on. He was in for a long-winded lecture. Seojun braced himself, wondering if the sausage would end up in his mouth or lodged in his nostrils.

My head’s spinning…What the hell was up with that old man?

Dazed, Seojun stumbled out of the pub. He shook his rain-soaked hair like a wet dog and clambered into his truck. The intoxicated sheriff had been unrelenting, his stamina matching his slurred, repetitive droning. Seojun had echoed “beans are beans” in sync with the inebriated refrains more times than he could count. The sight was so pathetic that even the stoic bartender took pity, offering him milk on the house. Stone-cold sober, Seojun had sipped the rich, creamy milk while humoring the sauced lawman, foregoing the delights of a chilled beer.

What a waste, such a waste. But I’ve gotta drive anyway.

Seojun’s gloved hand lingered over the key, hesitating to turn the ignition. A sudden thought struck him – wasn’t it actually a good thing he hadn’t been drinking? As a bead of sweat trickled down the back of his neck, he couldn’t help but wonder if the sheriff had known all along, purposely keeping him busy to make sure he’d be sober for the drive. Glancing around nervously, Seojun saw nothing but the empty road stretching out before him.

He started the truck and steered it towards the only inn in Utahpia, the lack of options simplifying matters. Fed and watered, all he wanted now was a soft bed to rest his weary eye. Taking it slow to avoid any late-night mishaps, he soon found himself at a crossroads and peered out the open window.

A wry grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Is this where the devil’s supposed to make his grand entrance?

Seojun couldn’t help but snicker at his own dark musings. The devil, in this day and age? It was the 21st century, for crying out loud! Even after all the space monsters, serial killers, and evil spirits he’d faced, some part of him still clung to such outdated prejudices. Rubbing his tired eye, he blinked a few times to clear his vision. And there, in the elongated oval of the headlights, two pale white legs appeared.

“Ahhh!” Seojun screamed, yanking the steering wheel hard to the side. The truck’s tires screeched against the asphalt, protesting the sudden change in direction. His heart raced, palms sweating inside his latex gloves. Gasping for air, Seojun slowly raised his head, realizing he must have ducked down instinctively… but thank goodness, he hadn’t hit anything.

The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. He’d accidentally nicked his tongue in fear. But that sharp pain cut through the haze, bringing a sense of clarity back to his mind. Seojun tried to squint into the darkness ahead, using the headlights to guide his way. But just then, the engine sputtered and died.

“Hey, you can’t be breaking down on me already! Seriously?? Hey. Hey! You’re all I’ve got…I don’t even own a damn bicycle anymore!” Seojun pleaded, yanking the key out and jamming it back in, desperately hoping for a miracle. He even tried the classic “percussive maintenance” move, giving the dashboard a solid smack, but nope. Nothing happened.

Seojun’s dark eye glistened with a whirlwind of emotions – suspicion, fear, despair, and finally, a flicker of hope as he glared at the traitorous steering wheel. But the only reply was a deafening silence that seemed to mock his predicament. Anxiety coursed through his veins, causing him to tremble as he began to kick up a fuss.

Breaking down? Here? In the middle of the goddamn night?!

Curses in every language he knew cycled through his mind as he tried to come to terms with this unbelievable situation. That’s when he felt it. A gaze burning into him.

A hand, as white as fresh snow and tinged with a faint blue hue, rapped on the driver’s side window. Tap…Tap… The sound echoed in the stillness of the night. Seojun’s breath caught in his throat as he stared at the five spindly fingers, bent like the legs of a spider, scratching slowly against the glass. Those digits curled into a fist, pounding the window with an urgency that caused a groan to escape his lips.

“Hey, would you mind stepping out for a moment?” The voice that called out to him was unsettlingly naive, almost mocking in its tone as he sat slumped in the seat.

Realizing that he couldn’t stay glued to his broken-down truck forever, Seojun reluctantly stepped out. As his lanky frame emerged from the vehicle, he found himself face to face with two identical girls – the same pale legs he had glimpsed just before his engine failed. Under the dim glow of the headlights, he studied them anew.

They couldn’t have been more than sixteen, by his estimate. The twins wore matching linen nightgowns, the pale fabric reaching down to their legs. Everything about them mirrored each other in an unsettling symmetry – their light brown hair secured with black ribbons, the softly curled ends framing delicate chins and slightly tilted eyes. There was an almost feral quality that sharpened their neat appearance, courtesy of their fierce eye shape. The only differentiation lay in their irises: the girl on the left had emerald green eyes, while her counterpart’s were a deep russet, bordering on red in the shadowed darkness.

Seojun felt a shiver of unease ripple through his body as he took in the strange sight before him. Two girls, draped in nothing but their nightgowns, stood in the eerie stillness of the late night. He had stepped out at their insistent request, but now, as they sized each other up in tense silence, the atmosphere crackled with an undercurrent of awkwardness. Even the twins seemed ill at ease, exchanging venomous glares between themselves.

The green-eyed girl finally shattered the stalemate with a sharp exhale. “I have a request!” she declared, her voice cutting through the thick air like a knife.

Not to be outdone, her red-eyed doppelganger whirled to face Seojun, her gaze blazing with fierce competition. “Tell me who among us is alive at this crossroads!”

Seojun could only blink dumbly. “What?”

But before he could even begin to formulate a coherent response, the girls erupted into a vicious verbal sparring match, their voices rising in a crescendo of bitterness.

“You fake! How dare you imitate me? It makes me sick!” the green-eyed girl spat, her face twisted with disgust.

“Hmph! Who are you calling fake? Don’t act like you’re alive! It makes ME sick!” her red-eyed twin shot back.

The insults quickly escalated into a full-blown cat fight, with the girls clawing at each other’s collars, yanking hair, and hurling curses. By the time Seojun finally managed to pry them apart, he looked like he’d been put through a wringer with a bewildered expression on his face. Why was he the one who came out looking like the ultimate loser? But, in the interest of self-preservation, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

A deep, weary sigh escaped from the very core of his being as he scratched his head, pondering the absurdity of the situation. Was the greater madness the drunken ramblings of adults or the sight of teenagers wandering around in their pajamas in the middle of the night? Seojun could only wonder and sigh again, his chest heavy with the weight of the increasingly bizarre evening.

“Alright, don’t tease adults too much and go on home to bed now. Do you know how late it is?” Seojun said, gesturing over his shoulder. “It’s too far for me to take you, but the sheriff’s probably still at that restaurant up ahead if you need help getting…”

But as he turned back around, his words died on his lips. The pub that should have been there, the one he had just left moments ago, had vanished into thin air. The once lively and well-lit establishment had been swallowed up by a darkness so thick, it seemed to devour the very night itself. Seojun stood there, blinking in disbelief, as he tried to make sense of the impossible sight before him. Had they closed up and killed the lights already in the short time since he’d left?

Fumbling in his jacket pocket, Seojun took out his phone, hoping to at least use the flashlight. But his once-reliable device seemed to have joined forces with the darkness, the screen flickering erratically before going completely dark. As abrupt as the truck’s engine failure.

“What the…”

He tapped at the unresponsive phone, only to be interrupted by twin voices chiming in an eerie harmony from behind.

“This is the devil’s crossroads.”

“You can’t escape until you grant the devil’s request.”

The identical girls, distinguished only by their mismatched eyes, fixed their penetrating gaze directly on Seojun. A knot formed in his throat as hysteria threatened to bubble up and overflow.

No way, this can’t be happening. Devils aren’t supposed to be real in this world…are they? And even if they were, they wouldn’t be like this…right? Surely not!

While he grappled with cultural whiplash, the green-eyed girl seized the opportunity to speak first.

“I’m Doade Bead. That’s D-O-A-D-E, Doade! This devil might have stolen my face, but can she come up with a made-up name, family, and lineage?” Her eyes sparkled with a fierce challenge. “You mentioned a restaurant – that’s my family’s establishment.”

“So that’s how you say B.Y.D…”

Seojun had initially assumed the letters were individual names, but it turned out to be a surname after all. As the green-eyed Doade proudly proclaimed her family pedigree, her red-eyed counterpart bristled with indignation.

“Ha! That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Don’t fall for her lies – she’s a silver-tongued devil.” She sneered. “Those accomplishments are mine. How shameless of her to claim them as her own!”

“Who’s the shameless one, you fiend?!” Green-eyes flashed with a dangerous intensity.

“Don’t listen to her wild stories. Let me tell you about my hobbies instead. Iー“

“My hobbies are dice games and funeral rites,” the other Doade swiftly interjected. “And I’m a master of cat-like stealth!”

“I was just about to say that!”

“Well, I suppose it’s novel for kids these days toー“

Seojun squeezed his eye shut, feeling a throbbing ache blossom behind it. The headache he’d temporarily escaped came roaring back with a vengeance. His future stretched out before him, as dark and ominous as tonight.

If these weren’t just a pair of mischievous trickster twins, it meant the devil itself was toying with him, wearing a human disguise! How could the world even function if such fiends truly walked among us?

Unable to hide his despair, Seojun studied each girl intently. Neither one had the telltale signs of a demon – no horns, no tail, no bat wings. They looked completely ordinary. Yet the implications of their words sent shockwaves through his mind, leaving him reeling.