Chapter 448: The Burned Stranger

The fire didn’t hurt Darell at all. After all, it was only a dream, not reality. At last, he found the source of the voice. The flames had reduced it to a blackened, charred shape. Its features were gone; even the hair burned away completely. Darell had seen photos of people burned to death before. What lay before him looked exactly the same. Even though he couldn’t make out its mouth, he could still hear words coming from it.

“It wasn’t me. I didn’t do it. I never hurt anyone. Why won’t you believe me? I’m your daughter. I’m your sister. Why do you believe everyone else so easily but not me? When I spoke, you brushed me aside. You even watched me die. What did I do so wrong that you had to treat me this way? Why? Why?”

Most people would have run away in terror when they saw this scene. Even if it was only a dream, everything felt so real to Darell. He even caught the smell of burned flesh that clung to his nose. His mind told him that, dream or not, this was a nightmare with no good ending. The safest thing would be to stay away from it and stop digging for answers, at least until after tomorrow–when filming wrapped up. He had worked for months with the crew, traveling overseas and back to the country again. He should just focus on finishing his film.

But… why? Looking at the burned figure, Darell felt something stir in his blood. A strange pull connected him to the one in the fire, like they shared the same bloodline, like they were family. He couldn’t turn that person away. Almost against his will, he spoke.

“W–who are you?”

Why had she appeared in his dream? Why did someone so unfamiliar feel so important to him? Why did it seem like he had seen her before?

“B–brother…” The voice trembled. “You finally came back to save me. You believe me, don’t you? You know I’m innocent. None of this was my fault.”

Darell froze. Why is she calling me brother? The voice belonged to a woman. Is that Kyla? No, something doesn’t add up. A sudden image flashed through Darell’s mind: a woman he had only seen in old photos and heard mentioned a few times–Tilda. Could it be her voice? He wasn’t sure. He saw her picture more than half a year ago–too long to remember clearly. In the later video call with his family, Darell never asked about Tilda. He had never met her. Yet the question kept tearing at him.

“Are you Tilda? Am I right? Why do you keep appearing in my dreams? What is with these nightmares I’ve been having for the past two weeks? Are you behind them? How did you do this?”

Darell was a believer in science, but the strangeness of what he’d seen forced him to ask. He needed an explanation for the dream, some reason that made sense. Tilda opened her mouth to speak. Suddenly, flames that had been wrapped around her flared higher with a snap.

“AAAHHH!!”

Her scream was a raw, painful thing–like nails on a chalkboard. It split Darell’s head until it felt like it might burst. At the same time, eight dark shadows rose up around Tilda.

“What makes you think you’re worthy to be a Jenson?” “We must have been blind to welcome you back as family.” “You don’t deserve to be one of us. You’re not worthy to have the same blood flowing in your veins!” “How dare you hurt Kyla? She’s innocent and kind. Tilda, you have no conscience.” “You belong in hell–burn in flames and fall as a demon!” “Kyla, don’t look. Let’s leave her. Let her rot here.” “Daddy, Mommy, I think Tilda didn’t mean it. Let’s help her…” “She did mean it! She should die! Anyone who hurts you should die!”

Darell froze. The voices were too familiar. It was the voices of his family: Russell, Blair, Kyla, Dominic… and even his voice, echoing inside his head.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Darell felt his head splitting.

“Dammit! This is killing me! My head hurts. What is happening? If this is a dream, please let me wake up."

Darell dropped to his knees and clutched his head, rocking, overwhelmed by pain. Meanwhile, Tilda was burned by the flames. She watched her family walk away and spat out a curse through clenched teeth.

“U–unforgivable. I will never forgive any of you. If I could do it all over, in another life, I would sever every tie with all of you. We will have nothing to do with one another!” Her voice broke, full of finality and a cold, terrible resolve.