Deep Sea Embers

A slight dizziness and a vague sense of disharmony permeated again. At the last crossroads on the way home, Heidi stopped in confusion and looked back at the direction she came from.

A thin mist covered the streets, clouds pressed low on the roofs, and the street lights emitted a cold and dim glow. Some shadowy, swaying and creeping shadows rose and fell in the mist, occasionally making chaotic noises that were difficult for humans to understand, like dream talk, but it didn't seem unusual.

She frowned, and out of the corner of her eye she saw a line of text carved by someone on the wall next to her. The crooked symbols on it gave her a headache.

A stout lady was standing at the door on the street not far away. She probably noticed Heidi who was daydreaming on the road, and cast a curious look at her: "Good evening, do you need help?"

"...No," Heidi hesitated and replied, "I'm fine, just a little dizzy."

"You should take care of your body, dizziness is not a trivial matter," the stout lady smiled friendly, "If you feel uncomfortable, you can come in and sit down, I have hot tea here."

Realizing the other party's pure kindness, Heidi smiled and waved her hand: "Thank you for your kindness, but I'm much better now."

"Really? It seems that breathing fresh air is really good. Today is a good day..."

Heidi nodded, thanked politely and retracted her gaze, and then she saw a stranger in a long blue coat walking out of the fog. The other party was holding a heavy-looking package in his hand, and he was in a hurry, with a bit of panic in his eyes - as if something terrible was chasing him in the fog, making him look around anxiously while walking, but he didn't dare to make too big a move, as if he was afraid of disturbing something in the fog.

Heidi frowned subconsciously and walked towards the panicked man: "Hello, sir, are you in trouble? I am a psychiatrist..."

The man in the blue coat was startled, stopped and stared at Heidi's direction. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to speak, but then he seemed to find something in Heidi. His eyes suddenly became nervous and alert. He waved his hand almost rudely and turned his head to walk into the depths of the mist without saying a word.

Heidi frowned in confusion, looked down at herself, and felt that there should be nothing disgusting about her.

The slight dizziness and vague sense of disobedience became stronger again.

Heidi's heart was faintly alert. Although she didn't know what she should be alert to, her spiritual perception that had been dormant for a long time seemed to suddenly revive. On the streets around her that seemed to be normal, she gradually felt... danger and coldness.

Something... is wrong, right in her sight, right around her, but she ignored it... those things that are out of place...

Heidi quietly retreated to the side of the road, carefully observing her surroundings while silently reciting the name of Lahem. She lowered her hand, and a sharp golden spike slipped into her hand silently.

But she didn't know what kind of "enemy" this golden spike could be used to deal with... Are there really enemies?

The pendant on her chest gave off a slight heat, as if reminding her of something.

Heidi's eyes swept around her, and those "graffiti" carved on the wall by someone unknown once again came into her eyes. Those crooked lines creeped and trembled, and suddenly appeared to be readable: "Waves, death, the temperature of fire..."

Heidi was suddenly stunned.

The roaring reason and memory surged in like the waves that once disappeared in her cognition, and inevitably descended on her like death. She began to understand, began to feel, and began to realize the changes that had taken place in the world. The panic that had been suppressed for who knows how long almost knocked her down in the first second - but the mental training she had been doing for many years allowed her to stand firm. With a faster adaptation speed than everyone else, she forced herself to maintain her reason and courage, and looked up and looked around.

The dark red shadow like flesh and blood permeated the night, covering all the surrounding walls and roofs. The clouds hung down above like another piece of land that was crushed down. The cold light of the creation of the world passed through the clouds and turned into a series of shapeless, weird and shaking shadows, licking and wandering over the entire city as if they had life, and on the streets covered with mist, the confused human figures swayed like zombies, making low murmurs and sobs.

A man in a gray coat came over, holding a piece of rotten and suspicious substance in his hand, and stuffed it into his mouth while mumbling.

A bicycle without anyone driving it was slowly moving on the street, the rotten wheels and chains made a creaking noise, and there was only a creeping shadow the size of a human head on the seat.

A huge flesh and blood limb emerged from a house not far away, and thousands of eyes at the end of the limb blinked in the fog. The horrible piece of meat turned around. In the cold night, those eyes looked around randomly in every direction, but a human voice came out of the meat:

"Good evening... It's a good day today..."

Heidi took a breath of cold air, and the coldness that could almost freeze her heart and lungs penetrated deep into her blood vessels.

She suddenly remembered the extra graffiti and scratches she saw on the road every day these days, the inexplicable disharmony she felt, and the man in a blue coat who was panicked and hurried.

I think of my mother who is staying at home!

She took a sharp breath, turned around and ran towards the mist-shrouded street, flying towards home as fast as she could -

Someone seemed to be whispering in the fog, and someone in the distance seemed to be calling her name. The dark red flesh-like shadows on both sides of the road squirmed and trembled together, and then slowly separated to both sides in a disgusting way. Next door Gunshots were heard in the neighborhood, as if someone had caused a commotion in fear. A steam walker with many eyes and mouths staggered from the opposite side, with a pressure pipe cracking its mouth and humming a weird monotonous song.

Heidi didn't seem to hear or see this. She blocked everything that could interfere with her mind and just ran across the street without any distractions. Through the mist, the light at the door of her home finally appeared faintly in front of her. in the field of vision.

She grabbed her long skirt and ran the last few dozen meters without a ladylike manner. But she stopped for a moment before opening the door. She hesitated and handed the sharp "golden awl" to her left hand. , adjusted his breathing again, then carefully took out the key, unlocked the door, and turned the handle.

The door of the house opened, and the cold and bright light in the living room came into view. Heidi saw that everything in the house seemed to be the same as usual - although some creeping shadows could still be seen vaguely in the corners, at least it was better than the streets outside. "Normal" countless times.

Mother was sitting by the fireplace at the end of the living room, seemingly engrossed in reading a newspaper that had been delivered at an unknown time.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, the old woman by the fireplace raised her head with a gentle smile on her face: "Heidi, you are back - did your medical visit go well?"

My mother was still her usual self, and there were no expected "intruders" in the room.

Heidi quietly breathed a sigh of relief, put away the golden cone, then straightened her face, and walked quickly to the fireplace: "It's too late to explain, mother, you come with me now, we have to leave this place, this neighborhood is not safe, there are Things are outside..."

As she spoke, she paused hesitantly.

Because the mother only had a gentle smile on her face, without any surprise or doubt - after Heidi stopped hesitantly, the old woman nodded, then got up and walked to the stairs on the other side of the fireplace.

She retrieved two suitcases from under the stairs.

"The necessary things are all here, the shelter has basic living facilities, and the supplies are quite sufficient - Dante Wayne has always done a good job.

"Your 'medical kit' is also packed and is on the table in your room. Go get it yourself. They are still needed at the shelter.

"Take your revolver with you and a few extra boxes of bullets - try not to use them, but if you must use them, shoot well, the bullets are still effective against things that are flesh and blood and crawling around."

As the old woman spoke, she came to the fireplace again, stood on tiptoe slightly, and with some difficulty took off the old rifle hanging on the brass hook.

After a few clicks, the old woman skillfully checked the condition of the gun, pushed the bullet into the chamber, then pulled it out and reloaded it.

"I'll just use this one. I used it when I accompanied your father on outings. This old guy is very reliable. He can shoot every cultist with one shot."

Heidi stared at this scene dumbfounded, and it was only then that she gradually came to her senses and looked at her mother in disbelief: "Mother, you are...already..."

"They were ready when they posted flyers on the telephone poles for the first time, and the rest of the day was just waiting for you to 'wake up'." The old woman looked up at Heidi, "It's not bad, I didn't wait too long. Long."

Heidi was stunned and speechless for a long time. It wasn't until her mother began to urge her that she finally woke up and hurriedly agreed and ran to her room upstairs - she found the small suitcase and handbag on the table that her mother had helped organize. There are several cardboard boxes next to the box.

Opening the carton, there are shiny yellow pistol bullets inside - each bullet has the sacred motto of Rahm, the God of Wisdom, printed on it with special ink:

“Let knowledge enter the mind.”

Heidi looked at the yellow bullets, calmed down, hid some of the bullets in several pockets on her body, carefully wrapped the rest and put them in the medical kit.

After doing all this, she turned around and ran downstairs quickly.

"Mom, I'm ready, let's..."

Heidi stopped suddenly on the stairs.

She saw the door to her home open, and a familiar figure standing at the entrance.

Wearing a slightly old but clean woolen coat, a monocle, and a pipe in his mouth.

Father came home.