GODDESSBLESSYOUFROMDEATH, Case File 11: When You Don’t Believe… You Must Ridicule

“Hello everyone, to the 284 viewers with us right now after we received news from fans about a new haunted ghost hunting location. We rushed here by car immediately, and now…” The camera, a phone that was live streaming, panned out to show the area in front of the young YouTuber, revealing a dense forest at night where even moonlight couldn’t penetrate, the atmosphere silent without any signs of life, and yellow police tape torn and lying on the ground fearlessly.

“This is definitely the place, Phii. Look, there are still markers left.” The young man who just walked past the camera pointed to white spray paint marks indicating various positions at the crime scene.

“Move aside, please.” The man holding the camera told his junior colleague, “Here, dear viewers. They say a murder occurred here just a few days ago, with seven victims. And the condition, well, it was quite horrific.”

“Someone’s asking what the condition was like.” The woman in charge of reading viewer comments asked.

“The bodies were found hanged, believed to be from this large tree… up here!!!” The host created an atmosphere by speaking loudly, startling his companion, in the quiet of the forest where only they dared to make noise.

“Scared us with that jump scare.” said the man holding another large camera, kicking his friend without holding back, even though he didn’t actually hit him.

“Jump, someone’s asking if you think we’ll encounter a ghost.”

“Well, not sure, spirits that were murdered must be vengeful, right? We might even see a ghost or something.”

“Hey, guys, guys, come look at this, there’s a doll here!” All four were staring at the same thing, a twisted clay doll. The doll was shaped like a person holding a child to its chest, but the head was that of a tiger, twisted to the back.

“Damn, it looks like a doll that’s lost its mind, everyone, look, we’ve found a doll, see?”

“Don’t touch anything, Jump.” The only woman in the group warned.

“Right. You know, these crazy dolls are usually used for warding off bad luck, everyone. I think someone might have dumped it here, or maybe… it could be from a killer still at large. Could be…” Jump’s voice deepened and stretched out before he laughed and tossed the clay doll to the cameraman.

“Damn you, Jump!” The cameraman didn’t catch it. He just dodged, but that caused the doll to fall to the ground, its neck breaking off from the body. “You beast, when you find ritual items like this, you’re not supposed to touch or mention them.”

“We’re a ghost hunting channel, man. If we don’t do this, will any ghosts show up for you to see? If one appears now, we’ll surely get famous.” His challenging words echoed in the silence of the forest, but suddenly there was a loud cry of an egret all around.

“Jump, let’s go back, let’s just go back.” The anxious girl started looking left and right.

“Yeah, I agree with Phii Dear. I’ve had goosebumps since we got here, Phii, let’s go back. I think this place is not normal.”

“That’s the point, Song.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because the legend here says it was once a burial ground for unclaimed bodies, Bom. Plus, there have been dozens of accidents. If that’s not cursed, then what is?”

Rustling sounds!

“Damn!! What’s that noise, Phii!!” The one named Song was startled, hearing stories from the older man who invited him on this ghost hunting channel.

“Just insects, Song, you’re really jumpy. Come on, let’s keep moving.”

The four continued exploring the site while filming the surroundings. Jump’s voice was the only thing breaking the silence of the forest as he chatted comfortably with the live audience, unlike the other three who followed behind, filled with unease.

“Will we have trouble with the police?” Jump read the question from a viewer on the screen, “Oh. No, there won’t be any. By now, the police probably don’t care about this place anymore. Because all the evidence must have been cleared by now.”

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

The sound from behind the bushes made all four stop abruptly. The flashlight flickered intensely before going out, leaving only darkness and the light from the phone screen.

“Damn!! Phii, let’s go back, I beg you.” Song pleaded with his hands pressed together in a wai.

“Yeah, Jump, let’s go back.” Dear immediately added, fearfully, “If you don’t want to go back, that’s on you, damn Jump. We’ll wait in the car.” Bom turned around and walked away, with Song and Dear quickly following him. Now, only Jump remained, continuing to film with his phone camera alone.

“Those guys are total wimps. No worries, dear viewers, today, I will definitely take you on a tour through this haunted forest. We’ve already started, and now all that’s left is to challenge, and here it is!!” Jump picked up incense, finding a spot to position the camera so viewers could see what he was doing. Once he found the spot, he held up a lighter and explained while preparing, “This, folks, a single Thup is supposedly used to pay respects to corpses, spirits, and more. Especially when done like this…”

Jump lit the tip of incense and then blew it out until the flame was completely extinguished, leaving only white smoke floating in the air. He inverted the incense stick, sticking the smoldering end into the ground. Satisfied with the result, he approached the camera again to communicate with his audience at home.

“Inverting incense like this is said to summon spirits. If I meet a ghost, I’ll ask right away who the killer is because these damn cops are useless, can’t solve this case, huh?”

Crack!

The sound like footsteps on leaves behind him made Jump turn around.

“What’s that?” he muttered quietly to himself before turning back to read the comments again:

: What’s that shadow behind?

   : Looks like a woman.

   : Did anyone just see a dark shadow?

   : Wasn’t it a man’s shadow?

   : Scary, man.

   : More, more, more.

   : Again.

   : Again.

   A flood of comments that he can barely keep up with reading, which only encourages the young YouTuber even more. Previously, his small channel didn’t have many viewers. Mostly, the comments were negative, saying it wasn’t realistic, deceptive, or nonsensical. But suddenly, someone sent an email about a murder case and this location. On the first day he posted it on social media, people started paying attention to his Youtube channel because it was a fresh case that not many knew about. He quickly gathered his team to come here immediately, though he wished they could have come sooner; by the time they prepared everything, it was almost 3 AM.

While Jump was intently reading the comments, he felt an inexplicable chill and a shiver down his spine. His heart was pounding, but he tried to keep his composure because if he showed fear on camera, the viewers would surely stop following.

“I’ll go get that head-dropping doll again. Don’t know where Bom tossed it.” Jump said, steeling himself as he walked towards the area marked by spray paint. He used his phone’s flashlight to search the ground. The stream now showed leaves, grass, mud, but suddenly, there was an image of bare, pale feet, with purple and green bruises indicating that what he saw was definitely not alive. “Shit!!!!”

Jump was so startled he fell backwards. He scrambled away from that area before fearfully pointing his phone forward again.

: What, what are you scared of?

   : Was it a snake?

   : I don’t see anything at all.

   : Are you imagining things?

   : Are you faking it?

   At this moment, Jump no longer paid attention to the comments. He shone his light forward to see what he had encountered, but all he found was emptiness.

‘You called for me, didn’t you? So here I am!’

   The icy tone of the woman behind him made Jump’s hands tremble, even though viewers in the stream might complain or curse at him, he no longer cared.

‘You called for me.’

   ‘You called for me.’

   ‘You called for me.’

   ‘You called for me.’

   ‘You called for me!’

   ‘Then come be with me!!!’

   Jump quickly got up and ran out immediately, not caring about anything else. He only knew he had to survive and get out of there, not realizing he left his phone still streaming, and what he grabbed was… the doll with a broken head that shouldn’t be touched.

…

Singha turned over again with a tight frown; the clattering sound was annoying him due to lack of sleep. The young inspector had to remember to wake up before heading downstairs, his sharp eyes searching for the source of the noise, only to find Thup standing facing the kitchen counter.

“Noisy.”

“Ouch!” The young man jolted and cried out. Singha approached and saw that Thup was chopping pork into pieces, and what he just did was startle the kid into slicing his own finger with the knife.

“If you’re going to be this jumpy, Thup…”

“Did I wake you up, Phii?” Thup asked with a concerned face. He was used to waking up early and didn’t realize he might have woken this older guy

“Yeah.” Singha handed him a tissue before sitting down at the dining table. He glanced at the wound; it wasn’t too deep. This kid should be able to take care of himself.

“Sorry about that.”

“You don’t need to look so down, it’s annoying.” Thup pressed his lips together before walking to the sink to wash the wound. “The first aid kit is in the upper cabinet.”

“Okay.”

“Once you finish, then go take a shower and get dressed.”

“Where are you going, Phii?”

“To work.”

The sound of the doorbell at the front of the house made Singha furrowed his brows. He walked over, opened the curtain at the door to see who it was, and found it was the person he had just hung up on last night.

“Why the hell are you here?” Singha muttered to himself before opening the door, “What the fuck do you want?”

“To pick you up.” said King, leaning against his fancy sports car, now holding onto the fence instead.

“For what?”

“Just felt like coming.”

“And then?”

“To go to work together.”

“Who’s there, Phii Singha?” Thup came to the door with a rice scoop in hand. Upon seeing who was standing at the fence, he paused before nodding respectfully.

“Open the gate, Singha.” Singha didn’t do as told. He just stood there, staring back emotionlessly.

“Thup, go take a shower first, then come eat.”

“Yes.”

“Singha, open the door.”

“You’re not my dad, don’t boss me around. Go back the way you came. I can go by myself.” Singha slid the glass door shut, ignoring the protests from outside.

“You’re really not going to let him in, Phii?”

“My house, my rules.” Singha glanced at the young man who was now removing his apron, “And why are you still holding that scoop?”

“Oh, I’m waiting to serve rice for you, Phii.”

“Serve rice for me?”

“Yes. It’s my first night staying at your house, so I want to do something for you. Come sit down quickly.” Thup gestured to the chair.

“Isn’t cleaning the house this much considered doing something?”

“That was for the house, this is for you, Phii. Do you eat a lot of rice?”

“Just serve it.” Singha replied dismissively, still eager to have it done, but the young man persisted.

“I don’t know what you like or dislike, but if there’s any dish you want, just tell me.” Thup said as he served two scoops of rice into a bowl and placed it in front of Singha.

“Did you cook?”

“Yes.”

“Are you planning to stay here until the case is closed?”

“Well… until I find the Buddha amulet… is that okay?”

“What if I say no?” Singha turned to raise an eyebrow, but all he got in return was a dejected dog-like face.

“Singha!” A shout from outside the house made Singha sigh. He picked up his phone and called the station. It didn’t take long for someone to answer.

[Yes, inspector?]

   “Come get King back.”

[Oh!? Detective King?]

   “Yes, he’s standing outside screaming.”

[He brought documents for you, inspector.]

   “What document?” Singha talked on the phone while seasoning the stir-fried vegetables in front of him, the flavors blending smoothly in his mouth, causing the inspector to move his lips too. The young man glances at Thup again, “Sit down and eat.”

“Shouldn’t I go take a shower first?”

“Eat while it’s still hot.” Thup smiles before sitting down opposite, “So, what document did they bring, Lieutenant?”

[Well, last night four teenagers broke into the crime scene, and after checking, we brought them back to the station.]

   “All four of them, right?” I’m sending someone.

[Yes, all four. They’re waiting for the inspector to interrogate them. They said they found a doll at the scene.]

   “A doll? Like the one with the tiger head, right?”

[Not sure, Inspector.]

   “Then I’ll hurry over, but first, let’s get King back.”

[Sure, sure.]

   Singha hangs up then turns to look at King, who’s sitting on the car hood, smoking, his irritated look not intimidating him at all.

“Should I invite him to eat with us?”

“No need, if he came uninvited, let him stay there.”

“So… am I invited then?” Thup looks at Singha with sparkling eyes.

“You’re clinging to me, you little brat.”

They chuckle lightly because judging from the face, the older one doesn’t seem to seriously scold him, and what’s even better is that the food he made seems to please Singha, which is no small feat.

  

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