The Bone Curses, Life Exchanges

But to my shock, when I checked my home's security system, I found that Drew had actually brought a locksmith and forced open my front door. Clearly, I couldn't go back there anymore.

To be safe, I temporarily checked into a hotel and decided to figure out my next move.

That night, I couldn't sleep. Around 2 AM, my phone suddenly went off like crazy.

Startled, I sat up. It was a video call from Agnes.

After hesitating for a long time, I finally answered it. But the face that appeared on the screen was completely unfamiliar.

I could vaguely make out Agnes's features, but the cheekbones were unnaturally high, her eyes had narrowed and slanted and her lips curled into a disturbing smile.

"Guess where I am …" she said.

Then, the camera turned. The screen now showed a pigpen. Under the moonlight, Uncle Joe's old sow was undergoing a terrifying transformation.

Its snout was rapidly shrinking, its eyes sliding downward and enlarging. Even the entire pig head …was beginning to take on human features.

Then, that half-human half-pig creature suddenly looked into the camera and spoke in Agnes's sickly sweet voice, "Selina, didn't we agree? To be besties for life. How could you go back on your word …"

My terror peaked, I lost control of my hands and dropped the phone. The video was cut off.

Suddenly, thunder roared and lightning flashed. I hadn't even noticed when the rain started pouring outside.

Thank goodness I wasn't at home, otherwise, this would've been a full-blown horror movie.

Just as I was catching my breath, a notification popped up on my phone. It was from the couple-tracking app I had linked with Drew. It tracked the real-time distance between lovers.

"You and your partner's distance is shrinking : 5km, 3km, 900m …"

My hairs stood on end. How did Drew know where I was? Did he install a tracking app on my phone?

But I checked thoroughly, nothing seemed out of place. Then suddenly, there was an urgent knocking came from the hotel room door.

Was it Drew? But the app still showed he was 300 meters away.

Then I heard a strange voice speaking from outside the door, "Selina … I'm your bestie Agnes … open the door …"

The voice sounded like Agnes, but also like some kind of animal.

My whole body broke into goosebumps. I slid down to the floor with my back against the door, I clutched my mouth to keep from screaming.

My hands shakes, I fumbled for my phone to call the police.

Just then, a message from Uncle Joe popped up: [Selina, where are you? Something happened at the pig farm! That old sow suddenly started talking in the middle of the night and has been shouting your name nonstop. It's creeping everyone out. I've already called the police. Do you want to come take a look?]

But outside my door …That thing, whether it was Agnes or the pig, was still standing there.

When I didn't respond, she started scratching the door with her fingernails. The sound was piercing and maddening.

Another message from Uncle Joe came through: [It's getting worse. The police can't do anything. That pig is talking like a human now. Says she wants to settle a score with you. Selina, did you mess with something unclean?]

Before I could reply, that voice outside the door spoke again, "Selina… I know you're in there … why won't you open the door …"

Then suddenly, her tone changed, gravelly, foreign and full of menace, "You think hiding means I can't swap lives with you? You can't run from this …"

The next second, a noise suddenly came from the window.

I turned my head and saw a black figure clinging to the windowsill in the pouring rain, peeking inside.

My blood froze instantly, because that shadow didn't look like human at all. And the voice I had heard from outside the door … didn't sound like Agnes either.

So who, or what, were they?

Just as I stood frozen, torn between running or hiding, my phone lit up. It was a new message from that anonymous account who had commented under my post.