Chapter 17 The dilapidated village

Several cold fingers pressed against her jaw in the dark and a deep voice rang in her ear, "If I die, you will have the worst future."

Wynne was gasping in pain, but she swallowed it and replied, "Got it."

Dooley, however, had no intention of letting her go. he calmly continued to command, "Now, drop the bell!"

Wynne clutched her pocket and shook her head at Dooley.

"Drop the bell!" His tone of voice got severe, and his fingers almost broke her jaw! Wynne, holding back the dull pain in her mouth, gritted her teeth and shouted "No!" With that, she felt the fury of his wrath, and even aware of the taste of blood in her oral cavity as his fingers squeezed.

"Phone ringing..." The bell was noisy, broke the standoff between them, Wynne glanced at the screen of the phone, George called.

"Ring, ring, ring... " Cell phones kept ringing.

Dooley finally released her chin, picked up the phone from the floor, and handed it to her. Wynne took a look at him, and then answered.

"Hey, what's up? What took you so long to answer?" George's voice came through on speakerphone.

"It's all right, so what's your problem?" Her voice was a little hoarse.

"Do you agree to take the order? If you do, we will go to the countryside tomorrow. Dude, $6000 is waiting for ya!"

Heard George, Dooley's eyes, had constricted by anger, slowly relaxed.

"Say yes!" His voice rang in her mind.

After Wynne comfirmed with George, Dooley snorted and hung up the phone.

"If you really want to get rid of me, its a chance within this trip. As long as you handle what George said by yourself without anyone's help, then I will leave." He overlooked her, with a sneer on his face.

"Can I use that whistle?" Asked Wynne, she fought back the pain and got up from the ground. Her response was not what he had expected, and his temper seemed to be on the verge of breaking out again, he drove it back, and coldly replied "yes." Wynne relaxed a bit and gave herself a pep talk; "to be free, to get rid of the freak snake, tomorrow, she must fight spare no pains!"

Thankfully, Dooley didn't bother her again that night, and she slept well until next morning. Strangely enough, she couldn't find any bruises on her body in the morning, and even the pain was gone as if the hurting last night was a dream! She was completely refreshed.

After washing, Wynne still drove to George in the old rental car.

The man who sent George the pictures and messages was Shunbr, and his home was just outside the city. It was only about an hour's drive, but it was a bumpy ride on a rocky road, and the cheap old car shook so hard that they wanted to throw up. Besides, George tutted at her; "Wynne, why are you so poor? you're the only one who can rent this car! Poor and ugly, a perfect match! Ha ha ha" He made himself laugh with his self-righteous humour.

"Asshole!" Wynne couldn't help but hit the brakes, and picked up the backpack, started to smash him. George immediately clasped his head with his hands in fright, and said," You're still driving. Take it easy! I was just kidding. I noticed you seem to have grown a little prettier these days. How?"

Wynne regarded his words as an irony, glowered at him and required him to shut up.

When they arrived at their destination an hour later, Shunbr, a garish young man in skull studs, met them. He put his hands in pocket and sized them up without a word. Knowing that they came for the reptile spirit thing, he snorted with disdain and led them into a narrow village path. It took about half an hour on walking, Shunbr pointed to a dilapidated village in a ravine on the opposite side and said to them, "Well, that's our village."

The village was small and seemed to have only fifteen or twenty families. The giant willow he sent picuture to George through cell phone was just across the entrance of the village. The actual tree was huger and its strong green branches extended out in all directions, like a huge green umbrella, covering most of the village area.

It was the first time Wynne had seen such a giant tree. It took four or five people to hold the trunk and it looked like it had been for thousands of years. And the strangest thing was that the tree, so old, was still full of vitality. Every leaf of it seemed to have been just painted, bright green and shiny, and out of place in the dilapidated village.