บท 6: Sweetest Taste
After the scare, Jason immediately reacted. Even if he couldn't kill this thing, he had to teach it a lesson. How could he let it scare his kid every day and still have any face left as the Red Hood?
Jason chased after her. The creature, suspected to be a female ghost, sensed something wrong and turned to run. Her hands and feet were exposed, but they were twisted and eerie, like they had rotated a circle before sticking to the wall.
Moreover, she crawled on the walls and floor at a very fast speed. Bullets hit her, clearly making contact, yet no blood or similar liquid appeared. But the bullets were effective; she screamed a few times and ran even faster.
Human feet couldn't match the crawling speed of the strange creature—Jason really couldn't call that thing human. He lost track of her, and the locator he had attached to her disappeared as well.
Jason thought of the child alone at home, so he quickly went back to check on her. Besides being scared, nothing else had happened.
Janice tightly gripped the knife and rushed to Jason's side when she saw him return, scanning his body carefully. She didn't find any wounds or smell any blood, so she relaxed.
Jason laughed at his own discovery and ruffled her hair. "I'm fine."
The girl's fear gradually faded, and she bit her lip, somewhat curious. "Can you beat her?"
"Of course," Jason replied without changing his expression. "If we scare her off, she won't come back."
"Not a ghost?" Janice asked expectantly.
Jason paused, debating whether to deceive the child or tell the truth. She was a smart kid and would eventually figure out the truth herself, but she was so afraid of these unnatural things.
He said, "Janice, you need to know, there are always things in this world that exceed our understanding."
Janice looked at him dumbfoundedly, seeming to understand yet not understand.
Jason cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Well, anyway, your homework is done, the bad guy is gone, so go to sleep. You still have school tomorrow."
Janice grabbed his clothes, just like last night.
Jason: ...
He understood her actions, and they locked eyes, neither compromising.
Later, Jason worried that the unknown creature, whether human or ghost, might come for Janice when he wasn't around. After sending her to her tutoring class in the daytime, he didn't leave but stayed nearby to keep watch.
However, it seemed that the creature had no intention of appearing during the day. Jason wondered if it was also afraid of daylight.
Normally, after being discovered and chased, it wouldn't appear again for a short time, regardless of its plans. But last night, after being chased away in a sorry state, the creature appeared again, stubbornly scratching at the glass.
The entire glass pane was now marred.
Jason scared her off again but didn't pursue her. As expected, the locator was still malfunctioning.
Another night came, and once again, the creature appeared. Jason gritted his teeth in disbelief at how annoying this thing was. After shooting her in the head, she fell from the wall, but soon after, she got up and ran away.
Jason: ???
What the hell is this thing?!
Janice was still scared, but not as much as before. "What does she want?" she asked.
Jason wiped his gun, chuckling coldly. "We'll find out."
Janice tightened her grip on the dagger Jason had given her.
Jason: ...
Jason: "Kid, go do your homework."
Janice: ...
At night, as expected, the power went out again, but there were no familiar crawling sounds or stubborn scratching at the glass.
Jason glanced out the window and chuckled. He stepped away from the room, heading for the rooftop.
Confused, Janice followed him up. When Jason stopped and looked down at her with a smile, she stiffened. He lowered his gaze and asked with a smile, "Not scared anymore?"
She hesitated, shook her head, and said, "Because you're here."
Jason clicked his tongue and motioned for her to follow.
The doors leading to the rooftop were usually locked, but Jason had a way of getting up there. He discerned the creature's consistent route based on the scratches left by her nails and set up a trap accordingly.
Upon reaching the rooftop, they found the pale-skinned woman securely bound, struggling and writhing, emitting hoarse growls.
Janice immediately hid behind Jason, clutching his clothes and peeking out with wide eyes.
Jason wanted to tell her she didn't have to come up if she was so scared, but leaving her downstairs might make her even more frightened.
He checked the woman; she showed no signs of life like body temperature or breathing. This was a dead person. However, despite not being hit by bullets and showing no signs of blood, the traces of her being hit were gone.
Jason was certain this thing wasn't human.
Jason, expressionless: "Gotham's really gone to hell."
Janice followed Jason's every move, squatting when he did, moving forward when he did, and stepping back when he did, almost like she was his shadow.
The scene looked somewhat ridiculous yet adorable.
This creature had some level of intelligence. Jason asked her what she wanted, but she only responded with hoarse growls.
Jason guessed she might have lost the ability to speak. He told her to nod or shake her head if he guessed right. After she nodded, he asked if she came to prank, find someone, or kill.
She nodded at the second option. Her movements were stiff, slow, and eerie.
Janice closed her eyes behind Jason, unable to bear the closeness.
Jason asked, "You came for me..."
"Or her?"
She nodded at the latter.
Jason: ...
A strange thought crossed Jason's mind. Since Janice's skills weren't simple, he asked, "Did Janice kill you?"
She shook her head.
Jason wasn't particularly concerned whether Janice had killed someone before. Even his own hands were stained with countless people's blood. Knowing this thing wasn't killed by Janice relieved him.
He asked a few more questions, but the creature didn't seem to understand.
Jason pondered. This creature didn't die at Janice's hands, yet it came looking for her. It had appeared continuously for several days, only scaring her without harming her. Even when attacked, it ran away. Jason guessed it didn't intend to kill her.
He tentatively said, "Don't appear again. You scared her."
While Janice, behind him, didn't catch it, the tightly bound creature heard it clearly. Her struggling stopped, and she hung her head, seeming somewhat regretful and defeated.
Jason: ... Did I actually guess right?
He released the creature. Whatever her purpose was, she didn't seem to want to harm Janice. That was enough for him.
Before leaving, the creature tried to climb up behind him, but Janice, with her eyes tightly closed, didn't notice. Dejectedly, the creature left.
Only then did Jason pat Janice's little head. "Okay, she's gone."
Janice cautiously opened one eye, didn't see the strange creature, and breathed a sigh of relief.
He dismantled the trap and took the girl back. After a moment of thought, he asked, "When you saw that thing, did you feel anything familiar?"
Without hesitation, the girl shook her head.
Jason didn't ask further. A dead person wouldn't remember anything. But why would a dead person, with such persistence, come looking for a forgetful little girl? Did they have no connection at all?
The next night, Jason stayed in again. At nine o'clock, he noticed that the power outage that had been happening for the past few days hadn't occurred, and there were no strange sounds either.
Jason confirmed something in his mind: that thing really didn't want to harm Janice. After realizing she scared her, she stopped appearing.
He patted Janice's puzzled little head and said, "She won't appear again in the future. You can relax now."
Janice swatted away his hand placed on her head.
Jason raised an eyebrow and retaliated by messing up her hair.
It was good news. For Janice, this little rascal, Jason thought of how hard she had been studying a new language and teaching herself elementary school knowledge diligently, making him reluctant to disturb her.
So Jason suggested, "Girl, how about going out for a late-night snack together?"
Janice looked quietly at him and replied, "I'm not hungry."
Jason: ...
Her response was quite ruthless, but Jason wasn't discouraged. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a candy, which he had bought at the convenience store a few days ago to round up the total amount while shopping.
He handed the candy over, and after asking what it was, Janice ate it.
With a determined look on his face, Jason said, "Since you've eaten my candy, you have to go out with me for a late-night snack now."
As the sweet taste lingered in her mouth, Janice's eyes suddenly lit up. She said, "Late-night snack with candy!"
Jason: ???
Jason smiled, realizing she liked sweets! But—
Jason smiled, "Nope."
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