Reborn as a Prophet in a Horror Movie

#047Reader Mode

T/N: Trigger Warning: May contain scenes of violence that are graphically depicted, which may upset sensitive viewers.

#047

9. “The Murderer of the Bloody Lake” (Original Title: The Surprising Truth and Lies of Black Lake, and the Murderer and the Beauty)

If the stench had a color, it’d be blood red. The closer they got to the door, the more intense and sickly sweet it became—like rotting meat dried to a crisp, the odor seeped through the cracks of the cabin… It was no laughing matter. They were right on top of the Hamon Production Workshop, which was surprisingly close by.

How did I not notice this before?

Feeling bewildered, Seojun exhaled slowly and looked around. It was way too close for comfort to the general facilities of the Hamon Campsite. Whoever was behind these killings must have some serious guts to pull off murders so close by. This was a spot where even local kids could easily stumble upon the horrors inside, unmarked on any map.

But then again, maybe that was exactly the point. Hiding the site in plain sight made it easier to stay off the radar. As much as Gas Mask’s end sucked, you couldn’t deny the killer’s audacity.

Seojun hesitated outside the cabin, his hand trembling above the worn doorknob. Chipped paint flakes fell like morbid confetti onto the ground below, sending chills down his spine. He tried to shake off the creeping unease but couldn’t dismiss the paranoid thoughts blooming in his mind.

Johan’s voice startled Jun out of his somber thoughts. “It’s all clear, Jun. No one’s around.” Johan whispered, scanning the area as Seojun inspected the door. Despite his confident tone, the tension radiating from his stiff shoulders betrayed him, showing that he had caught on to the true nature of this place.

A shudder ripped through Seojun, his jaw clenched so tight that his gums ached. The memory of Gas Mask’s gruesome end was seared into his mind’s eye: devoured down to nothing but a lifeless skull. It wasn’t hard to imagine the countless others who’d met their grisly ends within these very walls, especially on a day like today when his nerves were already frayed to their limit.

The vivid scene of the cabin, not a vague hallucination, lingered in Seojun’s mind. Was the weather always this gloomy? The air, thick and sticky with humidity, seemed to press against his skin. Even the gnarled tree branches, half-sunken in the murky, dark purple swamp, looked ominous. It was hard to believe that just moments ago, he and Johan had chatted so carelessly here.

With a monumental effort, Seojun wrestled his pounding heart into submission, telling himself that it was okay now. Both Gas Mask and the Monster X were dead. Thanks to Christina’s bravery, they had overcome the most dangerous crisis. Now, all that remained was to get the keys from Bobby’s body and get out the hell out of here.

He had dreamed of this moment his entire life—of finally escaping from this damned place and truly being free. So why, then, did an ominous sense of dread still coil in the pit of his stomach?

If only he could readily accept the hope that had finally come his way, life would be so much simpler. But no, Seojun was an awkward coward by nature, always cautious. His Adam’s apple bobbed nervously as he swallowed hard.

He wiped away the sweat beading on his brow, hand trembling slightly. Maybe it was just his instincts kicking in—after all, old habits die hard. But deep down, he knew better. Something wasn’t right…

This is it… Bobby’s gotta be here somewhere.

Seojun took a deep breath and forced himself to step forward. As if mocking his mind’s anxious imaginings, the site was dead silent. The cabin appeared empty, shrouded in complete darkness that made it difficult to see anything inside. The night sky blended with the faint blue hues of dawn, but instead of brightening the shadows, they darkened even more where the light hit.

Leaning in for a closer look, Seojun realized why. Planks had been haphazardly nailed over the windows, trapping victims inside with only their fears and the suffocating darkness. He closed his eyes briefly, steeling his nerves before opening them again. Wiping the sweat at his neck, he entered, each footstep feeling like treading through a bed of thorns.

“The smell is awful.” Johan said with a scrunched up nose. He quickly raised his arm as if to block Seojun from seeing something unpleasant, which of course only made Seojun crane his neck forward curiously. As their eyes adjusted to the gloom, vague shapes started to emerge from the darkness, but the sight wasn’t anything close to pretty. Not by a long shot.

“Ugh….”

Seojun’s eyes quickly darted away, settling on his frayed shoelaces that he had double-knotted, just in case. A fall here would be the least of his worries.

“Jun, maybe you should wait outside. Let me take a look first, okay?” said Johan worriedly as he pulled Seojun in closer protectively. Seojun, struggling not to gag or curse from the horrible smell, removed Johan’s shameless hand from his shoulder. Johan always touched him so naturally, even though they weren’t dating.

Seojun wanted to snap at him for being so carefree about everything, but held his tongue. Instead, he sighed and lifted his gaze, which had been focused on the ground as he tried to control his reaction.

The cabin resembled a medieval butcher shop – meat hung in abundance, the wooden floor slick with blood and greasy fat beneath their feet. Neat rows of severed arms lay on a rectangular workbench while carefully selected thighs dangled from the ceiling on ropes like disgusting decorations.

What Johan had tried to shield Seojun from was a view that would have made most people turn away in disgust or horror, but for some reason, Seojun couldn’t look away. His eyes were drawn to the bodies impaled on sharp hooks, their insides meticulously cut open and emptied; A large torso without its head or limbs stood open-mouthed, revealing nothing but emptiness where organs should be. Most flesh and muscle clung to the bones, but the organs were missing, likely removed and stored separately.

Seojun couldn’t help but think about his own organs as he stared at the gaping rib cage. Were his heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys still in place? Or were they tucked away inside one of those containers, next to the neatly coiled intestines? His mind recoiled at the thought that someone might have turned his long intestines inside out and cleaned them with cold indifference.

A chilling hallucination assaulted him: the slimy tentacle slithering down his throat, invasively filling the cavernous void where his organs should be. The horrible sensation of the appendage caressing his insides! Fear gripped him—perhaps, his insides have been empty all along. Ah, that’s right. the monster must have devoured his organs, leaving him hollow! The empty space must have been filled in with straw by Johan.

One unbelievable hallucination after another surfaced in his mind. But he couldn’t make them stop. Meaningless thoughts began piling up, growing increasingly strange and nonsensical, fluttering through his head like snowflakes. Even the idea that he understood the purpose of this place was arrogance in itself. The raw scene around him of bodies that hadn’t been ripped apart and broken by the power of an alien like Monster X, was burned into his memory. This was all carnage that had been done by human hands alone.

Sweat trickled down his face, and strength drained from his hands and feet. His breathing grew more labored with each passing second. The only people who could stomach such a gruesome scene were either the twisted minds behind this hellhole or those devoid of empathy.

Johan noticed Seojun’s ashen complexion and quickly reached out a concerned hand with a look of urgency. Seojun looked like he could fall over and faint at any moment.

“This place smells awful, doesn’t it? And there are so many strange things… Maybe you should step outside for some fresh air?”

Seojun wanted nothing more than to escape the horrors around him, but before he could take Johan’s hand, his weak useless knees gave out, and he stumbled forward. It wasn’t just nerves; the floor was as slick as ice from Gas Mask obsessively polishing the wood to an extreme. If one’s legs weren’t firmly planted, anyone could lose their balance and fall at any moment.

As he stumbled, his body tumbled to the ground with a thud, and as if that wasn’t enough, he had the misfortune of bumping into something in the dark, sending it crashing to the floor. Through the noise, he realized it was a large, bulky oak barrel now rolling noisily over the wooden boards. The scene might have been comical under different circumstances, but Seojun was anything but amused.

He scrambled to regain his balance, desperately pressing his hands against the floor. Instead of the cold, hard wood he anticipated, his fingers sank into something wet and squishy, sending a wave of revulsion through him. And then—a sickening crunch, his index finger sunk in deeper. His mind went blank. Panic-stricken, Seojun looked down to see what was underneath him.

Then, a dim stream of light poured in through the wide-open doorway, casting an eerie glow on the grisly scene before them.

“Ah…”

The sound escaped Seojun involuntarily, something between a sigh and a gasp as his lips parted in horror.

The floor was littered with countless human heads, their necks cleanly severed just below the jaw. The desiccated skin made it hard to discern their genders, as the shriveled lips, eyelids, and cheeks were unrecognizable. However, the hair color provided some hints, with most of them being either blond or black-haired. The one underneath Seojun’s hand was a short black-haired one.

Seojun shuddered as he realized where his finger had unknowingly sunk into—the eyeball. It collapsed under pressure, oozing outward like overripe fruit.

A strangled sound escaped him, an unholy mix of revulsion and shock. His voice felt trapped in his throat, unable to even scream. Johan reacted quickly, his strong arm wrapping around Seojun’s shoulders and hauling him upright. As they stumbled away from the unspeakable display, Seojun’s bloodied fingertip emerged with a sickening pop, leaving behind the head with its now-empty socket, staring lifelessly up at them. The ringing in Seojun’s ears intensified, drowning out all other sounds.

Johan’s calming voice barely pierced the ringing in Seojun’s ears as he tried to soothe him. It wasn’t Johan who broke him from his trance, though – it was a sharp gasp from across the room.

“Ahhh…”

Huddled in the corner was a cowering figure – eyes wild with terror, sniffling pathetically and snot dripping uncontrollably from his nose.

“Aaaaack! Ah, ack! Ahh!”

Shrill screams cut through the air. Seojun would recognize the owner of that voice anywhere.

Of course, it was Bobby.