08
Howard Lee was clearly taken aback that my reaction to his predicament was heartless
laughter, even congratulations.
My smile stung him, and in response, it broadened, laced with undisguised mockery.
“Spare me your pathetic display. I’d sooner see you dead. Why on earth would I save you?”
“Besides, you’re perfectly aware this disease is a dead end, aren’t you? Didn’t you proclaim you’d live and die with Vivian Lynn? Well, your wish has been granted. You should be ecstatic.”
At this, Howard Lee’s expression soured. Realizing I wouldn’t help him, he immediately
adopted a different tack, accusing me with venom.
“Madeline Chase, you knew all along. Why didn’t you stop me this time?”
I looked at him, finding his words laughably absurd.
Listen to that. Is that even human language?
My gaze turned glacial.
“If you’re so determined to self–destruct, why should I intervene?”
“Besides, haven’t I tried to dissuade you? And haven’t I told you, repeatedly, that Vivian Lynn
has AIDS? But you wouldn’t believe me, would you.”
“You not only disbelieved me, but how did you subsequently treat me?”
Three days and nights of inhuman torment, and the lives of my parents… each and every
event is as vivid as if it occurred yesterday.
Night after night, I’m afraid to fall asleep, terrified that countless hands will reach out in my
dreams, tearing at my clothes.
Now he asks why I won’t help him. As if I would dare.
Then again, had he not strayed, he wouldn’t have contracted the disease. Ultimately, it’s a consequence entirely of his own making.
Howard Lee was rendered speechless. If only he lacked the memories of his previous life, but alas, he remembers everything with perfect clarity. He knows he is culpable, yet he remains unwilling to accept his fate. His life, once so promising, is now ruined. How could he possibly
reconcile himself to this?
And so, a rather desperate idea took root in Howard Lee’s mind.
Just when I presumed he had vanished, seeking some secluded corner to quietly await his demise, he reappeared, and, regrettably, drugged me.
Everything transpired with such abruptness. When I finally regained consciousness, I discovered myself bound in a dimly lit basement.
It was there I saw Howard Lee, along with several individuals who had tormented me in a previous life. A video camera was even positioned against the wall nearby.
The entire scenario mirrored my past life with unsettling precision. A deluge of those wretched memories overwhelmed me.
D
I huddled into a fetal position, attempting, futilely, to mitigate my terror. My tears, however, continued to flow uncontrollably.
11:21 Sat, 3 May
་་་ཕྱད་ ས་་ཅ་ ་་ཕྱ་ ་
..…ཡ་་ས་་
dreams, tearing at my clothes.
Now he asks why I won’t help him. As if I would dare.
96%
VIII
Then again, had he not strayed, he wouldn’t have contracted the disease. Ultimately, it’s a consequence entirely of his own making.
Howard Lee was rendered speechless. If only he lacked the memories of his previous life, but alas, he remembers everything with perfect clarity. He knows he is culpable, yet he remains unwilling to accept his fate. His life, once so promising, is now ruined. How could he possibly reconcile himself to this?
And so, a rather desperate idea took root in Howard Lee’s mind.
Just when I presumed he had vanished, seeking some secluded corner to quietly await his demise, he reappeared, and, regrettably, drugged me.
Everything transpired with such abruptness. When I finally regained consciousness, I discovered myself bound in a dimly lit basement.
It was there I saw Howard Lee, along with several individuals who had tormented me in a
previous life. A video camera was even positioned against the wall nearby.
The entire scenario mirrored my past life with unsettling precision. A deluge of those
wretched memories overwhelmed me.
I huddled into a fetal position, attempting, futilely, to mitigate my terror. My tears, however,
continued to flow uncontrollably.
It was then that one of them addressed Howard Lee.
“Hey, you hired us. What exactly do you want us to do? Surely not just kidnap some little girl?
Hearing that devilish voice, I couldn’t help but tremble.
Howard Lee fixed me with a malevolent stare, a wicked smile playing on his lips.
“There are some bottles of water on the table. Drink up, and then I’ll tell you.”
