Unlucky Car(1)

Author: Qing Deng Ke

A month ago, I bought an 'unlucky car', a second-hand BMW that originally cost more than 75 thousand dollars. It had only been on the road for a year and I bought it for 30 thousand dollars.

I thought I had gotten myself a sweet deal, but unexpectedly, several strange incidents took place after I got the car.

For example, when I was alone in the car, the dashboard indicator would suddenly light up with a message that the seatbelt on the passenger seat had not been fastened.

There were a few occasions too when I was listening to music in the car and suddenly the song started to break up. It sounded like someone used a hard object to scrape across a piece of glass. It gave me goosebumps. Sometimes, I could hear drifts of conversation halfway through the songs, but I could not make out what it was.

Once, I worked overtime late into the night. On the way back, I suddenly heard someone knocking on the back window. The sound was not loud but it was very distinct. I looked back and almost hit a car in front of me. I was so scared that I broke out in a cold sweat.

My intuition told me that there was something a bit off about this car, but I didn't bother too much about it. I told myself that the knocking I heard on the window might have been caused by a bout of gusty wind that hit the glass. Then last week, an incident happened that made me really terrified!

Last Saturday was my girlfriend Lily's birthday. She invited several friends out to a party. They drank and sang until midnight. After we sent them home, we drove around a corner and headed for the river bank. We didn't leave the car, but climbed directly into the back seat and started canoodling...

Just as we were about to make out, a faint voice suddenly came out from under me, "You're pressing down on me." I propped myself up, but the voice didn't stop. "You're crushing me..."

I immediately realized that something was wrong. My mind went blank. I was kissing Lily, so it couldn't be her. Where did that voice come from?

I shivered and goosebumps broke out on my back. I looked around in a panic but didn't find anything unusual in the car. It was dark outside and I couldn't see anything.

Lily was confused. "What's wrong?"

I asked her, "Did you hear anything?"

She said no and reached out to me. "Hurry up."

I pulled her up, tugged her pants back, and said, "Let's go."

At that moment, there was only one thought in my mind. "I had to leave this accursed place as soon as possible."

Lily didn't understand what was going on and she touched me unhappily. "What happened? Why did you suddenly stop?"

I did not want to scare her, so I didn't dare to tell her about the voice. I just said that I suddenly lost my ardor and drove away.

Sometimes, a woman's brain works differently. I was so scared that I almost peed my pants. On the other hand, Lily burst into tears as we drove off. She cried and asked me if I had been unfaithful!

This accusation came out of the blue. Of course, I said that I did not cheat on her.

She didn't believe me. "You'd better spill it out. You couldn't wait to have sex with me before. If you didn't have another woman, why were you not interested in me when I laid there in your arms? Am I not attractive anymore?"

Only then did I realize that I had given her the wrong impression. I quickly raised my hand to the sky and swore that I really didn't mean it that way.

She said that I should prove it with evidence as a back up.

I gave her my phone and asked her to check through it if she could find anything incriminating.

She didn't check my phone. When she got home, we tried a few more times. Uh-we didn't succeed.

She threw a tantrum and refused to listen to me no matter what I said. Then, she rushed out, slammed the door and left.

During the past few days, I had been constantly calling her, sending her messages to pacify her, and even tried to explain why I suddenly couldn't perform that night, but Lily didn't believe me at all. She even posted it on Twitter: "When a person doesn't love you anymore, even the explanation is so perfunctory."

Lying on the bed, I tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. I had been with Lily for almost three years, and we had a good relationship all this while. Recently, we talked about meeting each other's parents on May 1st. I had already bought the car and hoped to score some favorable points with my future mother-in-law. Unexpectedly, before this could even happen, I suffered from erectile dysfunction.

Just when my imagination started to run wild, I heard a knock on the door.

I glanced at my phone. It was already 12 o'clock. Who could it be? Did Lily come back?

I opened the door, but it wasn't Lily, but the guy upstairs. He was drunk and reeked of liquor fumes.

I told him, "Bro, this is my home. You went the wrong way. Your house is upstairs." The guy said, "Mike, did you quarrel with your girlfriend?"

"How did you know about that?!"

I was a little embarrassed. "Were the walls not so sound-proof at all? Did that mean he could hear me all this while?"

"I came back after I had a few drinks and heard the sounds of a woman crying in your car. Her cries sounded so heartbreaking! I looked through the window and saw your girlfriend sobbing her heart out in the back seat."

When I heard what he said, my hair stood on end. "Are you sure you saw my girlfriend?"

"I can't be wrong!" He looked serious. "I tried to comfort her for some time, but she ignored me. I think you two must have quarreled. We're men. Don't be so mean. Go talk to her."

The guy then staggered upstairs.

I took out my phone and called Lily but her phone was turned off. On second thought, I went downstairs.

Under the dim streetlights, my car was parked at the corner. Contrary to what the guy said, there were no sounds of crying.

I straightened up and walked to the front of the car. I wanted to open the door, but I got cold feet when I looked at the dark window. "You're crushing me." The voice still echoed in my head.

I didn't dare to open the door, so I stood outside and shouted, "Lily? Are you inside?"

No answer. My voice sounded particularly loud in the dead of night.

"Lily..." I called her again.

There was still no response.

"That guy could have been mistaken? Maybe Lily is still angry with me and chose to ignore me?" I thought.

I held my breath, pressed my face against the window, and looked into the car.

I nearly died of fright. A pale face that had a pair of red eyes and a creepy smile looked back at me through the car window!

A muffled scream came from my panicked throat and I dashed back to the fourth floor. I wanted to go home but then remembered that I was alone at home. I decided otherwise and ran straight to the fifth floor and pounded frantically on the guy's door.

The door opened. Without waiting for him to speak, I rushed in, closed the door, and leaned against it, gasping for breath.

"You... What's wrong with you?" The guy was a little confused.

"Can I stay with you tonight?"

I didn't know whether my appearance led him to misunderstand, or he had just drunk too much. He suddenly became vigilant and said, "Although my wife returned to her parent's home, I... I can't mess around."

"I don't mean that. I don't dare to go home now. There is a female ghost in my car. Try to recall carefully. Did you see the woman's face clearly?"

After hearing what I said, the guy frowned and looked frightened. As if he had thought of something all of a sudden, he grabbed my hand and said, "Mike, you should stay here tonight. My wife is not at home. I... am afraid of being alone."

We both laid in bed with the lights on, and neither of us could sleep. The guy asked me, "Was your car involved in a major accident before?"

"I don't think so. I checked with the owner of the car shop when I bought it."

"A second-hand car?" He pursed his lips and asked again, "Other than tonight, did any other strange incidents happen before?"

I told him about all the weird occurrences that had taken place.

After he heard what I said, he looked at me sympathetically and said, "You must have bought an 'unlucky car'. Only a car that had been involved in a fatal accident would be so inauspicious. You must have been cheated!"

He also gave me an example. "In my hometown, there was a young man who didn't believe in this sort of thing and bought a second-hand car. What happened was that the original owner of the car was hauling boulders on the mountain and the car rolled over and crushed him to a pulp. When they finally managed to extricate his body, it was mangled beyond recognition."

"The young man bought the car at a low price and met with an accident after driving it for less than two months. At a T-junction, it was going downhill. He tried to turn the steering wheel but he could not do so. At that time, he said that it was as if there was a hand that held the steering wheel in a vice-like grip and resisted all his moves. He then stepped desperately on the brakes, but the brakes failed inexplicably. In the end, the big car went straight into the ditch. He did not die, but he lost his left leg. The last time I returned to my hometown, I met him, hobbling on a crutch with one empty trouser leg."

Hearing his words, a cold wave of fear swept through me.

"Fuck, I was sold an 'unlucky car'. I'm going to get even with him right now!" I got up in a hurry and wanted to look for the owner of the car shop, but when I saw the dark sky outside, I was scared again. "Why don't I wait until tomorrow?"

The next day, I went straight to the Glory Second Car Shop even before I had breakfast.

I came too early and it was not open yet. But this car shop had living quarters above it and the boss could be staying there. I lifted my foot and kicked the door.

After a few kicks, a man shouted. Soon the door opened, and the boss stuck out his big bald head.

Without saying a word, I punched him in the chest and caused him to stagger back a few steps.

The boss reacted quickly. He picked up a mop, pointed at me, and shouted, "What the fuck are you doing? Are you looking for trouble?"

"I'm here to settle something with you. You evil bastard, you dare to sell any type of car? I'll smash your shop today."

Hearing my words, the boss threw the mop to the ground, sat on the chair and said, "I'm not afraid, go ahead and smash up the shop. You can beat me up too. If you beat me to death, you'll pay with your life. If you don't, I'll go and look for a room in the afternoon."

His utter lack of shame made me stop my impulsive action. I pointed to the car outside the door. "It's haunted. How do you explain that?"

The boss looked outside and then looked at me and said, "Oh, it's you."

"Damn it, he didn't recognize me until now." I thought.

"Did someone die in this car?"

The boss's facial expression became a little strange. "I don't know. I'm just a middleman."

He didn't deny it.

"According to what you said, you already knew that there was something wrong with this car? Why didn't you say anything when I bought the car?"

The boss was still angry that I had hit him. "Is there a need to be so detailed about everything? Cars that have been through accidents are common. I bought and sold all of them at such low prices. You should've known why. If this car is 'clean', why didn't I sell it for 50 thousand dollars?"

I was furious. Now it seemed it was all my fault for my lack of perception.

The boss said, "It's not your fault. I've sold a lot of cars like this, but I've never heard of anyone having any problems."

"You think I'm lying?" I knew he didn't believe me at all and thought I was being unreasonable. I then decided to wait at his place until nightfall. I would tie him up and take him to the car and let him see the ghost personally.

The boss threatened to call the police if I refused to leave.

I told him to do whatever he wanted. I was going to sue him for deceiving customers.

He couldn't do anything to me, so he asked me what I wanted to do.

I said, "Either ask the lady ghost to leave or refund the money I paid for the car. In addition, compensate me for the mental trauma I went through during those days. If this matter is not resolved, I will stay here for good."

Seeing that I was serious, the boss frowned. "What do you mean? Is there really a ghost?"

"Would I lie to you about something like that? Tell me, what happened to this car?" I asked.

"I really don't know. At that time, I saw that the car had undergone massive repairs and the price was low, so I asked for the reason. The original owner didn't attempt to hide anything. He told me about the accident. I figured that someone had probably died. After all, it's not easy to ask for more details about such an incident."

After the boss finished explaining, he asked, "What ghost was this? What happened?"

I told him about the hauntings I had experienced.

After hearing this, he was also scared. "Is it true? Why not let me find a master for you? He lives in my village and specializes in this. When I was a child, there was a time what I got a massive shock and I asked him for help."

The boss did as he said. He took out his mobile phone and called the master. "Grandpa Hayes, this is Hudson."