Gloria turned a few pages of pure black. "She's right here, right here."
The following five pages are all aspects of the city center. Rivers, buildings, church bells.
"Not in the office," Gloria turned around and said. Obviously, she is very angry because I am not as sharp as her. "But she is nearby."
I have been thinking hard and biting my lip.
"She came back to talk to Jǐngcha," she added.
"Did you see this in your vision?" I asked.
"I received a call from her brother," she said. "He is driving from Chicago to represent you and Ally. Ally told him that she found the girl."
"If you pretend Brad Strum pretends to be a pastor, then they must be in church," I said.
"It's possible," she said. "I heard those bells as if they were on me."
Please live, I think. Please, Allie. I beg you.
Gloria leaned forward. "I have a confession"
She spit at me as if she kept holding her breath.
"I heard people go to church to confess, but I don't think that will allow us to go in," I said, thinking about how to get Ellie back. If the fake Brad was there, he would recognize me.
"No, I want to tell you the truth." She put a palm on her head. "I messed up"
I waved to her, hoping she could tell the point.
"I'm sorry," her chest undulated, as if lifting weights.
"Why?" I asked.
"I saw Eve kill you a month ago. I didn't realize it was what I saw. Sometimes the phantoms don’t have a time stamp attached to them, especially in your case. I told the cloth about this. Linkley, gave him a picture of that person. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I don’t want you to change anything. If you change your mind, our thoughts will change, and we will fall into the dark again. It’s like starting anew. ."
I remember the picture of her in the book "Eve". Before I could read it clearly, she flipped through the pages of me and her. She showed me the same sketch this time, but there was a fake Pastor Brad in the room. Oh shit.
"If there is no one else, it’s okay. I feel it. It’s like watching someone weave a net around you and move you to a place. I have to do something. I told Brinkley before. The night before you went to Illinois, I told Ally. I need help to get rid of all this."
"Who is in charge of the situation?"
"I put you in a trap," she said. "I have taken you, Brinkley, and Ally into the trap, instead of leaving. I'm the reason Eve came to you."
"I don't know there are other players." I swear I don't have one," she said.
"I don't know what you mean by another player," I said.
"Another remote," she said. "But he doesn't follow the rules."
"Do bad guys have an audience?" I asked. Who can recruit a ZìYóu writer? I began to wonder who was the culprit again—the army, FBRD, or the church.
Gloria gave me another photo, which is the most eye-catching photo I have ever seen. Allie, Brinkley and I are in a dark place. The shadow-shrouded stone surrounds a beam of light cast by a lamp fixed on the wall. Under the light, it was obvious that I was dead, completely dead. Ellie fell on my chest, she didn't look very good herself. Brinkley was either unconscious or dead on the wall. There is a fourth person in the room.
Then I suddenly realized. Gloria is not the only one painting me this week. I searched my pocket frantically and found that Rachel’s picture was folded in front of my jeans. Thankfully, I am too busy to do laundry, and I am used to wearing my jeans for several days in a row.
I opened the paper with trembling hands.
Gloria is a better artist than Rachel, but it is almost the same picture with one exception. In Rachel's photo, I held Nisha tightly by the chest and tried to save her. Allie was dead, her stomach was blackened with blood. In Gloria's version, there is no Nisha, only the unclear fourth person.
"When I was in St. Louis, Rachel gave me this photo. She told me to choose carefully." I stared at the two comparative photos. "Damn it, Gloria, I can't save them all."
I searched the photos for clues. Allie. Brinkley. Poor little Nisha. Do I really have to make a choice? I can only replace one person.
"Why are these pictures different?" I asked.
Gloria pulled her face as if exhausted. "If I drew mine before her, then this girl may not have participated in it yet."
"When did you draw this?" I asked.
"Last night," she said. "As if he knew me."
"Your painting is up to date," I said. "Are you sure he is...?"
"He must do this," Lane said. He walked behind us and put his arms around my waist. I have no objection. "Only in this way can he see these clues."
"He is fine," Gloria added, unwilling to leave her mind. She saw my eyes again. "He convinced me that I can stop you from making this choice."
"What choice?" Ryan asked.
"Do you know who it is?" I asked her. "Do you think of anyone?"
"What choice?" he asked again.
"I suddenly thought of someone," she admitted.
"I must break into the church" I glanced at the picture again. "This is what I must expect."
Ryan snatched two photos from me. "You can't go."
"I have to go" I pointed to the horror scene. "If I don't do this, everyone in the photo will die. It's better to save one person than to save no one."
Someone yelled to me.
I was stunned. My first thought was Jǐng Cha, but the voice was too soft and too feminine, it was impossible to catch me. It's not Gabriel, because Ryan is also nervous.
"It's not Jǐngcha," Gloria said, relaxing her shoulders. "But we are running out of time."
Kayla appeared in the corridor connecting our office to the comic book store.
"What are you doing here?" I asked. I pulled her into the shop from the small hall connecting my office and the comic book shop. I hope she will not be seen by the patrol Jǐng. To make matters worse, how did she get in? I asked Ryan to check, and he said that the office was not locked. Allie would not deliberately unlock the office, she was the last to arrive.
"I'm worried," Keira said. "I called your cell phone and the house, but you didn't answer it. I couldn't reach Ellie either. I want to stop by and see if you are okay."
The last time she saw me, I was taken away by Garrison. I should make a call first. "Sorry. They just asked a few questions and let me go."
"I also came to invite you to participate in my speech," Kyra said. She looked at Gloria, and she came over and stood beside me. "I know you may not want to come because it is in the church, but you may really like it."
"Are you giving a speech in a church?" I asked. I pointed to the street outside the large glass window. "This church?"
She nodded and put a beautiful gilded invitation in my hand. "I will talk about Baroque art and architecture. There are some very beautiful parts in the church, which I discussed in detail for a long time in the lecture. If you want to come, it will be tomorrow night."
Gloria squeezed my arm. "This is what we expect."
I slowly moved from ear to ear. "Hey, Kayla. I need your help."
Gloria and Pug were in the back together, while Keira, Ryan, Cindy and I went to the church to quickly search for Ellie and Nisha.
I didn't wear any tactical gear with a sense of xìng in the movie, such as Ninja Baby. Only the jeans, the black zip-up hoodie I usually wear, and the new matching sneakers that Ryan just gave me.
"So I plan to pretend to inspect the cathedral tomorrow," Keira said, there was a block between us and the church. "The rest of you are my technical team, so if someone stops you and says you are looking for something like a wire or a fuse box. But if you have never been in, how do you know where to look?"
I pointed to Cindy. This is one of the reasons why she was called in. I also hope that two necromancers are better than one, which means that more people can leave here alive. I have to keep her away from the toilet.
Although Cindy didn't seem to be particularly focused. After we left the office, she said nothing. She was immersed in her thoughts. Maybe it was Raphael who came to see her. She looked at her shoulder worriedly and muttered to herself under her breath, which reminded me of this.
"I know most of them," Cindy replied. "But we shouldn't be separated."
"We are adults." We can handle it ourselves," I said.
"First, this place is so big, you will get lost. Second, that's how the people in the movie die," Cindy said.
"Can't we understand anything without a movie reference?" Keira asked.
"Of course, the evolution of our culture will affect the evolution of our perception and social understanding," Lane said.
"He meant no," I replied.
"We won't be separated," Ryan said again.
"You are too old to lose your temper," I said. "What's the problem with you?"
"Nothing will happen," Kayla added. "We have a great cover story."
"Did you show them the painting?" Ryan asked.
"What painting are you talking about?" Cindy asked. Everyone stopped.
"Gloria drew pictures of everyone in the church," Lane said. "about to die"
"First," I said, because I knew that if I didn't correct this mistake immediately, I would walk into that church alone.
"Kayla does not appear in the photo. You are not even in it. Secondly, I am the only one dying. I can't help but help Ellie."
I am very firm about this, with my hands on my hips, and everything else. If necessary, I would throw myself into a window of the church. I will find a way to defeat Ryan. At least, I will go alone.
"I didn't appear in the photo?" Cindy asked.
"No," I said, and challenged Ryan to correct me.
"Then we are safe," Keira said. "Let's save the world." (to be continued) (end of this chapter)