Chapter 3

"Hello? Hello!" I called out.

After the line cut off, I tried calling back, only to hear a mechanical female voice say, "The number you have dialed is not in service. Please try again later."

What could I do?

Panic surged through me as my fingers flailed across the screen. Finally, I managed to call the police and, voice trembling, said, "H-Hello? I want to report a crime. There's a killer at the Blackrock Tunnel. A 29-year-old woman and a four-year-old child are in the killer's car. Please send officers as quickly as possible!"

"Do you have the license plate number? We'll track it immediately."

"N-No… I don't have it. But the car was about half a mile away from the next rest stop about three minutes ago."

After explaining everything clearly to the police, I tried Delia's number again, but the same automated voice answered each time.

"What's wrong, honey?" Felix asked as he handed me a glass of water. "You don't seem to be in the right state of mind since yesterday. You're very on edge. What on earth is going on?"

Hearing his concern, I couldn't hold back anymore and burst into tears.

"I heard Dad's voice…"

Felix stiffened. "It's been over a week since Dad passed. Are you sure you didn't imagine it?"

"No," I cried, shaking my head. "It's real. He just told me that something's going to happen to Jasper. And then sure enough, I can't reach Delia on her phone anymore. What do I do?"

One tragedy after another had occurred this week, and my nerves were frayed to their limit.

"It'll be okay. Everything will definitely be okay. You already called the police, right? They're on their way. They'll be fine."

The words had barely left his lips when my phone rang.

I answered it, and Delia's crazed, unhinged voice came through the line.

"They're all dead," she exclaimed before bursting into deranged laughter. "They're all dead! Dead!"

Then the call was abruptly cut off.

When I tried calling again, the phone had been switched off once more.

…

The next day, Delia—and Jasper's body—was brought back into town.

She had completely lost her mind. She ran through the village laughing maniacally. "They're all dead… Dead! It's good that they're dead… Why wasn't it me?"

Asher was dead. Jasper was dead. Delia had gone completely insane.

I forced myself to finish burying Jasper, then made a call to Delia's family.

After they came and took her home with them, I went home with Felix.

Billy seemed to have grown up overnight. He brought me water and my house slippers, staying unusually quiet and reserved the whole time.

Why, even after being reborn, could I not save my family?

Tears slid silently down my cheeks as I buried my face in my hands, completely breaking down. I didn't know what I could do anymore.

Right then, Billy's voice came from the corner.

"Grandpa, don't cry… I'll give you a hug. Hugs will make you feel better…"

I spun around and found him crouching in the corner, talking to the air and opening his arms wide.

"Don't cry, Grandpa…"

A chill ran down my spine. My eyes widened as I stared fixedly in the direction Billy was looking, and my heart jumped into my throat.

No!

"Billy, come here!" I screamed, lunging forward and grabbing him tightly. "Who are you talking to?"

Because I was so terrified, my voice came out shrill, scaring Billy into tears. "No one… Mommy, I wasn't talking to anyone… Mommy, you're holding me too hard… It hurts…"

Hearing that, I reflexively loosened my grip and hugged him close. "I'm sorry, Billy. Mommy didn't mean to. I was just scared…"

"Scared of losing you again…" I finished silently in my mind.

Billy sobbed in my arms. I kept comforting him until he finally fell asleep, then stared blankly at his sleeping face, dazed.

"Why? Dad, Billy is your grandson. He's my everything… Please, I'm begging you… Spare him, please?" I whispered softly into the air, my mind already on the verge of a breakdown.

As soon as the words left my lips, Dad's blurry figure suddenly appeared in the shadowed corner. He looked at me, his eyes full of grief and sorrow. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but suddenly, the shadows twisted briefly, and he vanished.

I stared at the flickering shadows, and I suddenly understood. So that was how it was!

I immediately called the police again.

"Hello, officer. I want to report my son. I suspect he might be the serial killer!"