To be honest, Robert's story is a bit cliché. Most American thriller dramas, especially those with small town themes, start with this routine.
But as I said before, a wonderful TV series is no match for a few words of real rumors. In particular, there was something that Jian Jing was very interested in: "Are the photos from the diary? Can I see the original photos?"
"Well, let me look for it." He walked around the studio for a while, and took out an old diary from the classified file box, "Please read it carefully."
Jian Jing agreed carefully, put the diary on the table, and slowly read it page by page.
Compared to Robert's childhood memories, Reed's diary is of course clearer and more straightforward, but also more bizarre and strange.
It begins like this.
--
5.13.1982
It was the third day since Kelly disappeared, and I decided to write everything down until I found her.
First, I want to sort out the whole thing from beginning to end: Three days ago, that is, May 10, I told Kelly that I would mow the lawn in the afternoon and hoped that she could help me transplant some flowers. But Kelly said that she was going to Anna's house to do homework in the afternoon. This little liar, I knew she was going to see Bill.
But I pretended not to know that I had already warned that brat Bill that if he dared to bully Kelly, I would make him feel the pain of my fist.
In fact, I did so. The day after Kelly disappeared, I beat him up. But Bill was determined not to see her. After the sheriff and his team investigated, they confirmed that he was hanging out in the bar that night.
This is strange. According to Anna, Kelly had dinner at their house and left a long time ago. If she didn't go to see Bill, where did she go? Why didn't she come back
I am worried. Very, very worried.
…
--
5.17.1982
Today is the seventh day since Kelly went missing. Everyone says that she went into the woods and was taken away by a wolf or a bear.
I don't believe it. Kelly never went into the woods after dusk. She said there was something in the forest that irritated her.
We searched the entire town but found nothing.
I couldn't help wondering, was there a murderer in town, or a drug dealer escaping from the border? In any case, poor Kelly, my sister, I will always find you.
…
--
The following are several pages of Reed's diary in which he searches for Kelly, but always returns empty-handed.
Gradually, the diary stopped, until 1992, when the narration resumed.
7.12.1992
Five days ago, five children disappeared from our town. Yesterday, we found their bodies in the woods. I've never seen anything like it.
The children were like lambs being sacrificed, standing in a circle, their bodies pale with little blood. This was indeed the case. The forensic doctor said that their blood had been drained! And their expressions were extremely weird. I heard that people who died of freezing would have such strange smiles on their faces, but I bet that the scene at that time was ten thousand times more terrifying than that.
…
7.20.1992
The investigation did not yield any results. The parents of the five children said that they had not noticed any clues beforehand. After checking many people, a drug dealer was highly suspected...
7.25.1992
Damn, the drug dealer was ruled out. The residents were so scared that we had to inform the collective community that it would be best not to let the children go out at night.
Don't go into the forest after dusk.
What's in the woods
…
8.1.1992
All clues were gone, and my colleagues and I knew that perhaps the murderer would never be found, just as we would never be able to find Kelly.
I couldn't bear to give up, so I went to the forest again today. Guess who I ran into? Bill! I hadn't seen this kid since he went to school, but now he's back in town. He asked me if I had any clues about Kelly, and I told him.
Don't think we can just look at the tattoo on the back of his hand, Maria, she must be his new girlfriend, right? But it's my Kelly, my sister, who has already... f*ck!!!
I must find out the truth!
8.12.1992
The investigation is over, and we will never find the murderer. But I have a suspect, Frank, and I must investigate this guy carefully. He is very suspicious...
10.30.1992
No clues, my guess is wrong? I met Ben's father, and he asked me if I had any clues, even if it was just a little bit. Even if there was no evidence, as long as I knew who it was, he would kill the bastard.
I have a way to tell him the answer.
1.1.1993
Laura's parents moved away and I went to see them off. I understand their feelings so well.
Kelly, I will never forget Kelly.
God, why don't you punish those villains
--
In 1982, Reed seemed to be just a high school student, and his search for his sister was rather one-sided.
But around 1992, he was already a police officer in Twilight Town, so he had access to a lot of information that only insiders had. The autopsy report, confession, and analysis in the diary were very comprehensive, but the handwriting was scribbled and difficult to read.
The general meaning is that Roger, Theresa, Ben, Lola, and George, five teenagers aged 16 or 17, were brutally murdered, and the scene was suspected to be some kind of special sacrificial ritual.
The police spent several months questioning hundreds of people and identified several suspects, but none of them was the real murderer. The case has not been solved so far.
In January of 1993, the diary came to a temporary end.
Then came the next decade, 2002.
4.2.2002
A couple was camping in the woods, and the girl went missing. Her boyfriend couldn't find her, so he went out to call the police. My partner and I went into the mountains to look for him, and we found her and Kelly's bodies in a cave.
My poor little sister, she had turned into a skeleton, but I remember her clothes, the afternoon she disappeared, she was wearing jeans and a white lace shirt.
I was sad and angry, and wanted to know how she died. The medical examiner told me that there were scars on her body, and maybe she got lost in the woods, got injured, and died from being trapped.
I can't believe this outcome, no, it's definitely not the case.
Something is wrong.
Why did Kelly go into the forest
It's already 20 years old, can I find the truth
--
It has been such a long time that there are not many records from 2002, only Kelly's autopsy report.
But in October 2012, another incident occurred.
Forest fire.
It is said that the fire burned for three days and three nights, scorching a large area of land. Survivors claimed that a foreign man once passed by here, sneaking around for unknown reasons.
On the day of the fire, someone saw him carrying gasoline into the forest and he has never been seen since.
Reed was obsessed with this forest and began to investigate the case.
Witnesses described the strange British man as follows: His face looked a little strange and very unnatural, as if it had been repaired after being burned by fire. He brought some strange items, yellow paper, red ink, and a copper plate that seemed to correspond to the stars.
At that time, we were talking about previous events, and he suddenly joined in and said that the reason so many people died was because of evil spirits.
To seal the evil spirits, you must find the demon's lair and use fire to drive them back deep into the earth.
Reed wrote in his diary: "This man called himself Sky. I found a piece of paper for writing in the cave. There was a big dipper drawn on it and letters I didn't understand."
Sandwiched between the papers on this page is the pattern of the Big Dipper.
--
Jian Jing suddenly raised her head. The light dimmed and the setting sun through the window looked like blood.
Robert drank a hot Americano and asked, "Would you like a cup? You seem so absorbed in the scene."
"Okay, thank you." Jian Jing took the coffee and took a sip.
When she was looking at the Big Dipper in the wooden house, she did not have a strong intuition, but felt that the details were too realistic, especially the dead people in the photos, which were not made up effects, but were infinitely close to real dead people.
So out of curiosity, I decided to find out the story behind the scenes.
Who knew that they would see such a record!
sky, heaven, Big Dipper... Such characteristics can't help but remind me of Qi Tian, the sorcerer who used seven children to set up the Seven Star Coffin Sealing Formation and harmed Xie Wei.
Calculating the time, he had just had plastic surgery around 2012. And the domestic real economy system was gradually starting, so it was quite reasonable for him to flee abroad at this time.
After searching for it everywhere, I finally found it without any effort.
Jian Jing immediately decided to find a way to go to Huanghun Town.
But before that, she had to find out more information, so she smiled and said, "These records are really bizarre. Now it's not just you, but I'm also full of inspiration."
Robert patted his forehead and smiled. "Yes, I remember, you are a writer. What did you write? Oh, Doctor Demon. I have read the book. To be honest, it lacks some religious discussion. Do you mind if I say it directly?"
"of course not."
Then, Robert spoke eloquently about his views on religion. In general, he believed that religion was a need in people's hearts and did not really exist.
Jian Jing wrote it down carefully, and then pretended to ask Reed casually: "I killed him, is he okay?"
"Old Reed is as strong as a bull, but his memory..." Robert pointed at his head, "is stuck in decades ago. If he says anything strange to you, please don't take it to heart."
"He always misses his sister." Jian Jing said, "Even when he is old, he has never forgotten to protect her."
Robert followed suit with a sigh.
She then asked tentatively: "Can I take a few photos as a souvenir?"
Robert hesitated, but with the support of the trust card, he nodded.
Jian Jing didn't overdo it, and only took photos of the more important information in the diary, then thanked him gratefully: "I'm sorry to bother you for so long."
"No problem, I'm glad you like it here."
After saying goodbye to Robert, Jane went to dinner as if nothing had happened.
Because there were important scenes to be filmed that night, most of the crew members were on the set. She ate quietly and went back to her room to rest early, thinking that she would have to get up early the next day.
Then, he began to look up relevant information about Dusk Town.
It is located on the border between the United States and Canada, about three hours' drive from Seattle. It has no special features, so few people go there, and there is almost no information about it on the Internet.
Tsk, going alone to a remote and strange town, it looks like the beginning of a horror movie.
Jian Jing thought so, but she didn't have any intention of backing off. Instead, she became more excited. After turning off the lights, she tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.
I don’t know how long it took, I felt groggy and like I was dreaming.
In the dream, there was a dark forest. There was a strange owl squatting on a tree, a sheep under the tree, and two animals were talking.
Owl: "Someone is coming again."
Sheep: "~Baa~~Baa."
The moon was obscured by dark clouds, and someone walked out of the cave and raised his face.
His face was very strange; it was stiff and tense, with obvious signs of skin transplantation, which looked very inconsistent.
"It's you," he said.
Then, the dream ended.
The door is a wake-up call for the stylist: "Ms. Jian, are you awake? It's time to do your styling."
Jane sat up quietly, no longer remembering the content of her dream.
She struggled to get up and open the door: "So early?"
"It's already a quarter past three. We have to hurry. It will be dawn at around 4 o'clock." The makeup artist was probably still asleep. She busily opened her makeup box, helped her do her hair and makeup, and also asked her to bring clothes that fit her size.
"Teacher Jingjing, breakfast." Jiang Baiyan came in, bringing hot dumplings and milk.
Jian Jing was surprised: "Where did the dumplings come from?"
"I made it yesterday afternoon. I guess you're tired of Western food." He didn't try to take credit for it, but just urged her to eat it quickly, "Eat it while it's hot. It won't taste good if it gets cold."
Jian Jing quickly picked up her chopsticks.
The morning performance was rushed, so she managed to finish a plate of hot dumplings in between, and then the performance began.
On a farm in the wilderness, the morning light was dim, with only a faint gray-blue rising in the sky. Deep in the depressing woods, the roars of wild beasts could be heard.
There were rustling sounds of "Hurry, hurry up," and the disheveled guests crawled out of the woods. You supported me with my injured leg, and I supported you who was vomiting blood. It was so embarrassing.
In the script, they have gone through many hardships, but at the last moment, they are chased by a group of monsters.
The guests resisted and cried: "You go first", "No, we can't abandon our companions", "If you want to go, let's go together".
The bloody plot actually happened.
"Roar!" The monster came chasing with its minions, about to pounce on someone. Suddenly, a sturdy figure appeared in the distance.
Gunshots rang out.