Filippa noticed the collar around the cat’s neck and attempted to cut it with a knife, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t break it. Filippa eventually gave up; after all, time was of the essence, and she couldn’t waste it on a collar. She continued to hold the cat’s jaw, forcing it to open its mouth, then firmly grasped the pliers around its sharp teeth: “I will make you want to bite me, and I will pull out all of your teeth to see if you still want to bite.”
Mimi’s body trembled as it lay on the ground, its limbs bound, unable to move, and being just a cat, it couldn’t even plead for mercy.
Filippa’s eyes were cold and determined. With a sudden force, a “crack” was heard, as if the sound of bones breaking and tearing through flesh, accompanied by Mimi’s wail.
“Meow…” The cat’s mouth was full of blood, staining its once clean fur red. Helplessly, it lay on the ground, with Elisa’s image filling its small mind at that moment.
“Elisa, I still want to spend more time with you… I really want to see more of you…”
…
Not long after Elisa had finished her meal, the director asked her to prepare to continue filming. Glancing towards the door, she saw that Iris had not returned. A sense of unease crept into her heart, and she called Iris.
Although the wait only lasted a few seconds, Elisa felt unusually anxious, as if every second felt like an hour. The call went through, but all that came from the other end was the cold, automated voice, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her from head to toe.
“We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off. Please try again later…”
A chill ran down Elisa’s spine, and she could barely control the shiver that overtook her. This situation had never happened before. She had entrusted Mimi to Iris’s care, insisting that her phone remain on at all times in case of emergencies. Iris always carried a power bank with her to keep her phone from turning off. Moreover, when Elisa linked the locator to Iris this morning, her phone’s battery was clearly full, so there was no reason for it to be switched off due to a dead battery.
What could have caused her phone to shut down?
In just a few seconds, Elisa had pondered many things, from Iris’s unusual behavior throughout the day to Lorelei… various anomalies. Why had she only just noticed that something was amiss?
Iris was in trouble.
A sudden chill surged through her back.
Asher called Elisa several times, but she did not respond. He walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder: “We’re getting ready to shoot, today we’ll film your indoor scenes, and tomorrow we’ll do the outdoor ones…”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Kentala, but I need to take a leave today. I have something very important to do, and I must leave.”
Asher was taken aback. He looked into Elisa’s crimson eyes. Elisa had always been dedicated – she had been acting for so long without ever using a body double, performing even the most difficult stunts herself. Sometimes, she would get injured while doing these challenging actions, and she would still refuse to rest. This was the first time she had requested leave on her own initiative.
Asher wanted to ask her if something had happened, but seeing her panicked and helpless crimson eyes, he was momentarily speechless.
“I agree to your leave. Go and take care of your business.”
As soon as he spoke, he saw Elisa clench her phone and rush out, not even changing out of her costume or makeup.
“Hey…” Asher called out, but ultimately did not stop her.
Elisa was so agitated; it was clear that something very important had come up.
…
Elisa was so preoccupied that she didn’t even notice the passersby filming her. She hailed a taxi on the roadside.
The driver, upon seeing her, was momentarily stunned and blurted out, “A celebrity!”
A driver with professional ethics, he quickly steadied his nervous and excited heart and asked Elisa, “Where to?”
Elisa took out her phone and opened the GPS, pointing to the location marked by the red dot on the map. “Go to this place.”
“Okay.”
The red dot on the GPS remained unmoving, which made Elisa even more uneasy. The lack of movement could mean only one of two things: either Mimi had encountered some trouble there, or the collar had been broken and left there by someone.
Either way, it was related to Mimi’s plight.
At the thought of Mimi’s distress, Elisa’s heart felt as though it had been bitten by something, and she struggled to breathe.
For a moment, she felt immobilized, as if she were an old, broken machine unable to summon any power to function.
Leaning forward, one hand covering her head, the other clutching her phone, Elisa continuously called Iris as she made her way, but each attempt resulted in the same outcome – the phone was switched off.
“Don’t turn it off, please pick up… Don’t…” Mimi was all she had left; she couldn’t bear for anything to happen to it.
Elisa remembered the time when Mimi had tried to save her from the fire, and her heart shattered in an instant.
The driver took her to the designated location and reminded her, “Miss Powell, we’ve arrived.”
Elisa suddenly looked out the car window and realized – they were at a garbage dump.
She got out of the taxi and followed the GPS on her phone. As she approached the location marked by the red dot, Elisa found it increasingly difficult to keep moving.
Her heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly, as if by a tightening rope, making it hard for her to catch her breath.
Elisa was desperate to find Mimi, yet she was filled with anxiety and hesitation. She was afraid of what she might discover and was terrified of being unable to find peace. She began to run, stumbling several times on her long skirt, holding it up as her footsteps echoed loudly.
As Elisa turned a corner, her expression contorted in anguish.
Her sense of smell was acute; amidst the stench of garbage, there was a distinct odor of gasoline, mingled with the scent of blood. The faint smell of blood wrapped around her like a vine, tightening its grip.
Suddenly, Elisa stopped in her tracks, drenched in cold sweat, consumed by fear and dread.
She was afraid – afraid that the scent of gasoline and blood came from Mimi. She feared that if she approached the red dot, she wouldn’t find a whole Mimi, but instead, her beloved would be lying dead before her eyes.
Within five paces, just behind that pile of discarded goods.
“Mimi…” Elisa called out, her voice strained, as she took hesitant steps forward.
There was only silence in response. Drawing closer to the pile of discarded goods, Elisa finally heard a faint sound, a sound of agony. It was coming from inside.
Elisa finally reached the heap of discarded items and found herself surrounded by blood and cat fur.
Her eyes narrowed, fixing on a bloodstained rope, pliers, a utility knife, a lighter, an empty gasoline bottle, and in the midst of these items, a mass of flesh and blood… a shapeless, blood-soaked form, resembling a soaked and distorted plush toy, unrecognizable.
That was… Mimi.
Elisa stumbled forward and knelt on the ground. She wanted to pick up Mimi, but it was covered in wounds and blood, and she didn’t even know how to hold it.
The blood was still warm, and apart from its head, its entire body had been burned, its fur completely singed, leaving only grotesque, decaying flesh. It had always been so afraid of fire…