“Come on, focus,” Edward Cullen’s voice carried a hint of urgency. I was at a loss for words.
“Let me take over for you,” he offered, gently nudging me aside to take my place by the operating table.
I sat to one side, my mind a whirlwind of unease, a sense of impending doom lingering over me. There was one body left unprocessed, and I spoke up, “Edward, I’m alright now. I can continue working.”
Edward glanced at me and nodded in agreement, “I’m almost done here. Could you work on stitching up the child from B-Family? Be mindful of the internal organs.”
Nodding, I put on my mask and gloves, and approached the operating table where the child’s body lay. Unlike the adults, the child’s body wasn’t as severely mutilated, but the delicate flesh made the sight even more heart-wrenching.
I took bamboo sticks, carved to the right size, and inserted them into the skull to stabilize the connecting parts. The operating room was dead silent, so much so that even the sound of breathing was deliberately subdued.
As I was fully concentrated on my stitching, Edward’s phone rang, the sudden noise making me jump. I shot him an annoyed look. He removed his gloves and mask to answer the call. Midway through, he glanced at me and stepped outside. A few minutes later, he returned, his face etched with concern as he motioned me over.
“Claire, come here for a moment. I need to talk to you,” Edward spoke solemnly, causing a sense of trepidation within me. I reluctantly walked over.
“Claire, have you... heard from your brother recently?” He lit a cigarette and took a slow drag.
“Yes, he sent me a message a week ago, saying he’d make enough money and come back to take care of me,” I replied, puzzled by the sudden question about my brother.
“Well... yesterday afternoon, the criminal police found a headless corpse in an abandoned fish pond to the east of Penelope Hill. They found fragments of a torn ID card near the body. Through identification and comparison of characteristics, they suspect it’s your brother, Jamie Fraser. The police would like you to come and take a look.”
Edward, after a brief internal struggle, mustered the courage to tell me this and took a long drag of his cigarette.
“Don’t joke like that. You know I have a taboo against such talk,” my mind went blank, my own voice echoing in my head.
“Claire, don’t worry, it’s not necessarily Jamie,” Edward discarded the cigarette butt, his hands firmly gripping my shoulders. “You go get some sleep in the duty room. I’ll take you there at dawn to see.”
I shook my head weakly, my thoughts in turmoil, “Edward, it can’t be Jamie, right?”
“Yeah, it’s not definitely Jamie. Don’t worry yet,” Edward led me back into the operating room, settling me on a chair next to the sink, “If you can’t sleep, just wait here for me. Once I’m done, we’ll go at first light.”
I sat there, dazed, thinking about Jamie’s recent activities:
A month ago, he had mysteriously told me that he had found a good job. If it went well, he could earn a lot in commissions.
Half a month ago, he said he was going on a business trip, went home to pack a few clothes, and cheerfully said that he would use his bonus to make a dowry for me.
A week ago, he sent me a message, saying that he was about to make money and could finally come back to take care of me.
My brother, whom I had Hard work raised, how could he be murdered and left headless?
The body they spoke of must not be my brother.
Lost in these chaotic thoughts, my gaze swept over the body of the A-Family elder, and I was shocked to notice that his position had changed! I was very certain that when Edward had finished handling the body, he had placed the old man’s hands by his sides, palms down, as per the regulations. But now, not only were the old man’s palms not facing down, they were also dangling on one side of the operating table.
The incomplete and mutilated palms were gently swaying. I stared at the palm, and then the old man’s hand suddenly convulsed, causing my heart to convulse as well.
“Edward! Edward!” I leaped up in terror and ran towards Edward who was working with his back to me. “Quick, look, that old man, he moved!”
The metallic noise of the operating bed jarringly rang out, and I looked over in panic. The old man sat up straight, looked at me with a crooked head, raised his hand stiffly, pointed to the needle in the collection tray, made a sewing motion, and then raised his left hand which was missing two fingers.
I grabbed Edward’s hand, shaking it frantically, but the Edward in front of me gave no response. He stood stiffly, unmoving. This bizarre scene filled me with inexplicable panic, “Edward?” I shouted in horror.
“Click... click...” The Edward in front of me made strange noises, and his entire head turned 180 degrees with the sound of bones cracking, looking down at me from behind.
“Evil... evil...” I was so frightened that I fell to the ground. Edward took a few steps forward, knelt down, and in a grotesquely twisted manner that was beyond description, he slowly lifted his hand, removed his head from his neck, and placed it on the ground. I clearly saw the process of his flesh being torn, and he moved his mouth, “Sister...”
I finally made out the strange sound; he was calling for his sister.
“Jamie?” I tremulously called out my brother’s name.
The head on the ground began to bleed tears of blood, and then he lifted his head, which was streaming with blood, put it back on his neck, and then pulled it off again to place it on the ground. He kept repeating these two actions. At that moment, the floor of the operating room suddenly collapsed, and countless withered and corrupt ghostly hands emerged from the ground, pulling my ankles downward.
“Ah!” I couldn’t control my emotions and felt my body falling from the air. Everything before my eyes became blurry.
The glaring sunlight seeped through the gaps in the glass, and I moved my numb limbs. A sharp pain shot through my head.
“Claire, change your clothes; we’re leaving,” Edward said as he walked in from outside the operating room, already changed.
I rubbed my temples and didn’t respond. Another dream, whether real or not, was inauspicious for me. The feeling was too real, as if I were experiencing Inception, full of eerie and terrifying experiences.
I silently put on my coat, and in my heart, I seemed to have a premonition of something.
We got in the car, and Edward came over to fasten my seatbelt for me, “You need to be mentally prepared.”
Twenty minutes later, we arrived at my workplace – the Easton Funeral Home in the south bay of Easton City.
Wu, from the criminal police squad, saw us and nodded solemnly, his expression heavy as he greeted, “Sister Guo.”
Edward subtly separated Wu from me, “Don’t be nervous.”
I had a premonition, a very bad one.
As a mortician at the funeral home, I walked with familiarity to the claim area. The long corridor amplified the echo of my footsteps, each sound striking my heart. The dull pain could only be endured by gritting my teeth.
The white cloth covering the body had traces of soil and the seepage of corrupt liquid. I trembled as I pulled back the cloth to reveal a headless corpse.
The body had begun to decompose; gases from the decay filled the abdomen, and due to the blood starting to break down, the entire body had turned red.
Edward, wearing gloves, began to examine the body, “Were there any distinctive birthmarks or marks on Jamie’s body?”
“On the inner thigh, there is a circular burn scar the size of a one-dollar coin, on the right leg knee there is a vertical scar about an inch long, stitched with three stitches. There is a red birthmark on the chest in the shape of the map of Easton City, and there is a wrist cut on the left hand, stitched with thirteen stitches,” I answered mechanically.
In my heart, I desperately hoped that none of the marks I described would appear on this body.
After about five minutes, Edward’s voice rang out, “Claire... I’m sorry.”
I was in turmoil and confusion. If I didn’t speak up, maybe this body wouldn’t be my brother’s? Perhaps this was just a cruel joke my brother was playing on me?
Every mark on his body held memories of us siblings relying on each other for survival. How could I believe that this decomposed, disfigured, headless corpse was my sensible and obedient brother?
“Sister, Jamie doesn’t hurt. When I grow up, I can protect you!”
“Sister, I don’t want to live anymore. I don’t want to be a burden on you...”
“Sister, once I make money, I’ll provide your dowry. Once I make money, I’ll come home and take care of you...”
Jamie, your sister doesn’t want anything, she just wants you to come home...
Grief to the extreme brings no tears. As someone accustomed to dealing with life and death, I don’t need anyone to comfort me with words like the deceased is at peace. I just want to know who so brutally took the life of my closest kin!
My brother, whom I raised with such hardship, cannot die so unjustly! Even if it costs me my life, i must find out the cause of my brother’s death and tear the culprit limb from limb!
My hands clenched tightly, the wound I had bandaged yesterday probably started bleeding again, my palm sticky with blood.
“Edward... I request a forensic examination!”