horror effect

"Come in!" Julian yelled.At this moment, Herbert had already strode forward to open the door.From where Julian was sitting, he could not see the door. He heard it open, but then there was a strange silence.

Just as Julian was considering whether to use a cane to see what happened, he heard Herbert say in a lowered voice, "Uh... hello."

"Hello..." After the visitor responded softly, there was a quick closing sound of the door.

Julian asked aloud, "Is that you, Valentine?"

"Yes." The young man walked into the room, holding a large stack of books in his arms, "I brought the books you asked for, but I'm sorry, Haggard's "Her" has already been borrowed."

"Oh, it's okay, thank you." Julian asked him to put the book down, then took the library slip from Valentine and signed his name.He watched the young man stack the books neatly on the desk and stuff the borrowing slip into his satchel, but suddenly thought of Stephen mentioning Valentine's admiration for Herbert and the silence when the two met at the door just now .This made Julian curious, he wanted to know their expressions just now, he wanted to know how deep Valentine's feelings were, and Herbert knew a little bit about this kind of feelings.How should he begin?

"I'm glad that I have all the books I want to borrow. The situation Stephen encountered last time is really bad—the books he wanted to read were reserved by Mr. Warnstein."

Having said that, Julian paused, observed the young man's expression, and found that he was even more uncomfortable than before.

"What book has he borrowed recently? I didn't expect a hotel manager to like reading so much. Most of the managers I met during my travels prefer to make things difficult for their subordinates. Mr. Wernstein is indeed unusual..."

"I'm sorry." Valentine interrupted him. "If there's nothing else, I'm going back to the store."

"Oh, oh, take it easy." Julian stopped him and said, "Would you talk to me for a while. You see, I hurt my foot and I can't go anywhere, and it's a nuisance to be alone. Why don't you sit down?" ?We can talk about the town, the hotel or—”

"Mr. Raymond! What the hell do you mean!" exclaimed Valentine.

"Me? What's the matter with me?"

"Why can't you say anything without Wernstein? What did Stephen tell you! Do you think I don't know? Stephen has been trying to match me with Mr. Wernstein, and you are now obviously Do the same. I don't need your meddling."

"We want to help you."

"put one's oar in!"

"Valentin, you must recognize your feelings. Stephen and I can see that you like Mr. Wohnstein, but you don't want to admit it yourself."

A sneer twitched from the corner of the young man's mouth. "So what if I see clearly and admit it? You are too confident, do you think that everything can be solved by seeing everything clearly? It's too simple. Both of you like to get to the bottom of things, and you want to look at everything carefully. Put everything on the scale to weigh, cut the world into pieces, and treat feelings the same way, breaking it down into ruthless theorems and rules like a chemical equation. Don't do this to me, I am not in a glass clip and under a microscope insect, I have my dignity and my freedom."

"Is that why you're hiding your feelings? Is that all?" Julian said.

"Otherwise, what else can it be! Dignity and freedom are the most precious things for human beings, and you think so, right?"

"I do think so." Julian nodded, "but I just don't see how it has anything to do with your feelings for Wernstein."

Valentine looked at him in amazement, as if incredulous at his incomprehension.

"I have said that dignity and freedom are the most precious things in human beings. Whether Herbert Wernstein understands my feelings or not, it is impossible for me to bow my head to a haughty man like him and say, 'I beg you to accept me' .I can't do that. I can wait and wait for him to realize my feelings."

"Perhaps the wait will be endless?" Julian said.

"There is no other way, my dignity and freedom—"

Julian snorted through his nostrils.

"Your dignity, your freedom, yes, that's what people value. But I wonder why you - you and many others - value human beings so much. Yes, human beings So noble, so majestic! But what human beings do is just a layer of mold on the apple-like world. What face does he have to be proud, what face does he have to elevate himself to the height of the top of all things? He is just the universe A by-product of the cooling process. Human beings always explore their own nature only from their own thoughts and cultures, and reduce nature to a backdrop. You regard people as extremely important, and your own dignity and freedom It is extremely important, but you are a murderer like all of us. All life is full of pain, and there is nothing you can do to change that unless you die voluntarily now. Both you and Wernstein care too much about your own existence , if you continue to be blinded like this, I believe you will consume your life while you wait for him to understand you."

Valentine opened his mouth wide and stared at him in surprise. "Oh! God, what are you talking about!" He turned and ran to the door, he opened the door, and almost bumped into Stephen.

Stephen walked into the room, watched Valentine leave, then turned to Julian and asked, "What's the matter? Valentine looks very pale."

"I spoke to him about Herbert Wernstein. I suggested he open his feelings to him, but he refused."

"Oh." Stephen shook his head while sighing. "You shouldn't have done it. I'm afraid Valentine's going to be sad for days."

"If I don't try to persuade him, I will suffer longer than him. I really don't understand, since he likes him so much, and Wernstein has already felt it, why don't I make it clear? How long is a lifetime Time can stand such lingering.”

Stephen sat on the sofa with a smile and said, "But Valentine is the one who needs to act, not you. Don't forget, you are just a bystander to everyone else. And... "He restrained his smile slightly. "Even if you can change someone, you can't change history; even if you can change history, you can't change the cooling of the world itself."

"It's really like what you said." Julian sighed.

"Who?"

"Herbert Wernstein, he was here before Valentine."

"What holiday is today? Everyone is rushing to visit you."

"Phantom Celebration. Seriously, the paper we found in room C307 somehow ended up in Wernstein's hands, and I'm assuming Bergers did it, between him and Wernstein Definitely not a normal connection. I think we'll need to get to know him more in the future. But it's odd that I don't see a motive for Wernstein if he has anything to do with the unusual things that's going on here. Seth Oros' death will do him no favors."

"What about revenge?" Stephen said with a smile.

"You read too many thrillers."

"But I hope so, what a thrill it would be! Witchcraft, mystical monsters, huge caverns filled with the treasures of former monarchs, spells written on ancient fabrics that could unravel ancient religious mysteries, wielding ripple blades A knight with a sword and a beautiful woman with a great mission—”

"So you're a fanatical Fordist. You're here to talk about these childish fantasies?" Julian interrupted him rudely.

"Of course not. I came just to see you. Also, I found a service desk in the hallway with an attendant on duty. I don't think any idea of ​​re-entering room C307 will work - Herbert Wernsch Tyne is watching you."

The answer really surprised Julian.

Lying in the dark at night, Julian thought over the people who had entered and left his room that day.

Some of these people are working, such as Nicholas who inspects him; some are threatening, such as Wernstein; some are preoccupied, such as Valentine; .But he couldn't think of Stephen's purpose—he didn't seem to have any purpose, even though he told him that he was being watched, did Stephen really just come to see him?

This made Julian feel a little incredible.

In Julian's eyes Stephen was clever and learned, but he also had an incorrigible taunt and mischief which sometimes irritated the young man.For example, when Stephen told him that it was impossible to enter room C307 again in the morning, the smirk on his face even made Julian think for a moment that Stephen was an accomplice of the white lion.

But Julian then thought that after the ridicule, Stephen talked about Julian's injury with great concern, and his tone was so gentle that he was completely different from just now.In fact, he didn't know Stephen, everyone he saw could see it, and he didn't know anything about the subtle reactions that happened under that young and beautiful head.

Shaking his head, Julian picked up today's newspaper and saw the last page from the first page.There was nothing new in the newspapers: workers somewhere went on strike; a girl was raped in a certain park.The workers are always on strike and the girls are always raped, almost every day.he thought nonchalantly.

Twenty years ago, young people in every country were full of enthusiasm. They protested, they demonstrated, they rebelled, and they liked to change the world into what they liked.

Today's young people will learn a certain technology seriously, work hard, and then carefully calculate their bank accounts, and happily be satisfied with such a life.That's all right, he thought, that's all well and good, but there was something wrong with him.

If he hadn't been with Stephen for more than two months, he would probably have regarded him as an ordinary young man who can be seen everywhere nowadays-with a clean haircut, walking briskly, carrying a briefcase, and doing high-tech work.But Stephen is the opposite. He is a bit sloppy, his movements are lazy, and he seems to have no goals in life. Although his brain turns quickly, he never uses it on the so-called right path.

And this image—Julian realized—was really himself.

Stephen is very similar to him, both are a bit out of place in this society.

And the shrewd "successful man" recognized and promoted by almost the whole society is exactly the image of Lidi that he likes but wants to stay away from.Yes, modern people are a lot like Lydia, young and pretty, so grown-up, so insightful, so accomplished--and so boring.

He thought he understood what the problem was: too many "Lydes" in the world and too few "Stephens" to balance them.Society makes all men so fast, so impatient, so impatient for success, like whirlwinds, that the few who want to stop and think have to be driven away.If he knew the incantation to slow time down, he would wave a little magic wand and pronounce a key rune letter, making people idly for the 10 minutes between each step.But of course he knew it was impossible...

The night was deep, and the clang of the great clock in the hallway was carried through the walls into the room, and became the echo of distant drums.Julian Raymond is being tormented by persistent dreams in which those unforgettable people exchange their heads, bodies, and voices, and appear in his dreams in various ways, jumping, shouting, struggling, and crying, as if with all their strength. Keep yourself from being forgotten.

The silence was broken by the ringing of the phone, a piercing scream.Julian woke up from the dream, drenched in sweat.He picked up the receiver, and Stephen's voice came from it, a low, hoarse voice that seemed to come from a gravel throat.Julian didn't recognize it for a moment.

"I'm at the infirmary," said Stephen. "Come over here at once. I know your foot hurts you, but you must come here."

"What happened?" Julian felt seriousness.

"Father Collivan may not live until tomorrow. Dr. Hostatova is giving first aid, but there is little hope."

"Could it be a white lion?"

"I don't know. The doctor said his liver disease was finally starting to kill him, but Sister Tofana thinks—"

The name surprised Julian.

"What did you say?! Sister Tofana is in the medical center?!"

It was hard to imagine that the couple of old ladies who never left the house and never saw outsiders actually showed up.

"They are indeed here. Anyway, you come here as soon as possible, and I hope that when you arrive, Father Collivan will still be breathing."

Stephen hung up the phone.

Suddenly Julian felt that the ticking of the great clock had grown abnormally louder, and that every step was like a hammer hitting his nerves.This incident was too sudden,

Although Julian knew that an alcoholic like Papa Collivan would die of alcohol sooner or later, it was too coincidental that Theoros' funeral had only been three days past.

Does the white lion really play a role in it?