Long Ya swallowed, forcing back the tears that were about to spill from her eyes.
She would not open the door. She knew the dean's temperament all too well.
The real Dean Granny always took the children into hiding when danger came. She would absolutely, absolutely never... stand in the fog in the middle of nowhere at midnight, calling for someone to open the door.
"Ya, open the door. Granny's right here."
The voice outside kept calling.
This time, it changed its tone, adding a little reproach and hurt.
"Why won't you answer Granny?"
"Don't you want your little brothers and sisters anymore?"
"They're so scared right now, all alone, just waiting for you to come over."
"All you have to do is open the door, and our whole family can be together."
Long Ya clenched her teeth, veins throbbing on her forehead.
"It isn't safe in the truck. Something evil has its eye on this vehicle."
"Just open the door and come with Granny, and you can escape all danger."
"Don't trust anyone else. Only Granny truly wants what's best for you."
The voice repeated itself over and over, as if trying to burrow into her brain.
Long Ya trembled all over with anger, her finger hooked around the trigger. Several times, she nearly lost control and lowered the window to blast that impostor's face apart.
But she held back.
There was clearly something strange about this fog.
She had no idea whether bullets would work on Eeries.
If she acted rashly and enraged the thing outside, she would only cause trouble for Master.
Time ticked by, second by second, as Long Ya endured the torment.
The voice outside grew bolder, gradually losing "Dean Granny's" tone. One moment, it became a child's milky call; the next, a woman's sobbing,