American Horror Story: A Tale of Terror from Silent Hill

Chapter 146 Tracking
"They're back!" Someone in the crowd recognized the Warrens' car.

The road leading to the front yard was cleared by the crowd, and the car drove straight in. The strange looks from passersby outside the car window made the Warrens uneasy.

Why do you look at them like that?

But soon after, the Warrens learned the answer.

A few unfamiliar police officers, somewhat familiar neighbors, and uninvited, bloodthirsty spectators.

After being questioned and informed by the police, and extracting information from the various comments of neighbors and unknown individuals, the Warrens fully understood.

It turns out that the unlucky guy who encountered the strange thing was actually themselves! Haha, what a coincidence!

"No, you're lying to me, right! Right!" Ed shook the officer excitedly.

"Judy! My Judy! Where are you? How can I live without you?" Rowling cried.

"Ms. Rowling, please accept my condolences." The police officer took something from his colleague behind him and handed it back to Rowling. "This is the doll we found. I suspect it might be your daughter's favorite toy."

Holy crap! It's something dirty!
Rowling reacted strongly, as if she had been electrocuted, and quickly threw the ugly doll away with her right hand.

The case has reached a stalemate.

Police searched the house but found no trace of the child; instead, they discovered hoofprints. Therefore, they deduced that the crime was likely committed by a Western cowboy gang.

The purpose was money, and the missing cabinet full of collectibles is evidence of that.

But the Warrens knew that most of the items in the collection were strange and dangerous; if an ordinary person got their hands on even one, it could endanger their life.

Pack up the whole room and take it with you, it's practically dead.

Ten minutes later, the police officers who came to investigate said goodbye and left: "If there is any progress in the case, we will contact you. Please wait for good news."

After saying goodbye to the police, the Warrens visited their neighbors across the street, trying to dig deeper into the details of that night.

"That night was absolutely terrifying. Just thinking about it... makes me sob..."

“It was very noisy at night. We thought you were having a party and had even hired a rock band. It was incredibly noisy.”

"Ghosts! Ghosts! It's terrifying, many of us have seen them. There are a bunch of ghosts in your house. They're very fierce, they've smashed all our windows."

Regarding rock and ghost bands, everyone's opinion is almost unanimous.

The neighbor's testimony was sound; many people witnessed it, and there were indeed signs of damage to the window.

As experts in exorcism, the Warrens naturally wouldn't deny the existence of supernatural forces.

However, no one talked about the details that followed until a man who was under the influence of narcotics stepped forward and told him what happened next.

Because he was a drug addict, others didn't believe him, but the Warrens were different; they didn't let any clues slip by.

"I'm the boldest person here, so you've come to the right person."

Here's what happened: First, a big dog started barking and seemed to be panting. Then several women started yelling.

Then it got really rock and roll, and suddenly a horned demon appeared, and everyone started fighting—it was a chaotic free-for-all. Finally, a shooting star fell from the sky and landed right in your house. After that, I don't know what happened; I was totally confused.

"..."

I left the nearby buildings and returned to my own house.

The Warrens carefully examined the collapsed walls, the scorched lawn, the deep, palm-shaped crater, and other scattered traces.

Worried about her daughter, Rowling activated her psychic abilities, trying her best to sense traces of the past.

But this time, she failed.

It's too messy; there's no clear trace.

Many different evil spirits were mixed together, each containing elements of the other, making it impossible to distinguish them. Furthermore, because two real demons were engaged in a fierce battle, their fighting eroded and concealed a large part of the evidence.

The residual interference from the powerful force prevented Rowling from taking the risk; the difficulty of communicating with spirits was too high, already beyond her capabilities.

"Gone, haha, everything is gone."

Ed was ashen-faced, his heart dead. He had spent half his life exorcising demons, and in the end, he couldn't even protect his own daughter.

"Wait, Ed, I've found a clue."

At that moment, Rowling gripped Annabelle tightly. As she examined the doll repeatedly, she finally sensed the message left for them inside.

—Judy is in my hands. If you want to save her and her friends, do as I say.

—Tomorrow night at 8 PM, don't tell anyone, only two people are allowed to come to xx, xx, 412 Ocean Avenue. If this is leaked, I'll kill you!

—Hehehehe!
Hearing that sinister laughter that chilled her to the bone, Rowling knew that behind it all was a demon devoid of humanity!

But for their daughter's sake, and for the sake of the innocent people involved, they had no choice but to accept the invitation.

Rowling listened to the message repeatedly, wrote it down, and pondered and deliberated with her husband Ed, trying to find a way out of the predicament in a short period of time.

……

Rock music, ghosts in the sky, eerie melodies, giant phantoms in the sky.

By combining their own experiences with the latest ghost stories, the Warrens immediately discovered commonalities.

It's quite possible that the whole thing started in his own collection room.

The more they connected the two, the more reasonable their speculation seemed.

"Scarecrow...wings...falling feathers...singing..."

Ed and Rowling, as if on the same wavelength, recalled an exorcism not long ago—the haunting of a century-old house.

They quickly pulled out a file, the "Scarecrow Files" which they hadn't yet finished recording.

Subsequently, the Warrens investigated the paranormal events involving the scarecrow over the years.

They tried to find commonalities among them, and then traced the origins of the scarecrow to find its demonic true name.

However, the further they researched, the more panicked they became.

It seems we've discovered something incredible... a terrifying truth!
The latest version of the Greenwood County murder case, Halloween night in the town of Haddonfield.

In both cases, the two straw monsters were clearly present, and they were of different types.

The former is extremely adept at transformation, while the latter appeared multiple times in the form of Venom armor, and finally appeared as a tall figure before departing.

There happens to be some overlap between the two.

—Venom form!
It's chilling to think about. Could the bird-man version of the scarecrow from the last exorcism be one of them?
Could it be that there exists a talent in the world—the ability to shapeshift—that belongs to the Straw Clan of demons?
Or is it actually an alien creature?

The Warrens made countless guesses, but could not find the most reasonable explanation, and became more and more confused.

Time flew by as we searched for clues and devised countermeasures.

They are about to set off.

Whether it is true or not, they will eventually have to face it.

I hope my daughter and her friend are alright.

With heavy hearts, the Warrens set off without telling anyone.

(End of this chapter)