Chapter 1: The Howling Night!

DEADLY CARD

Nights are always frightening; Maria was thinking this, looking at the moon hidden in the clouds and listening to the sounds of crickets and night insects. She was nyctophobic and a doctor. She recently relocated to Gatlinburg, a village in Tennessee, US.
She had a private clinic, and above it was her apartment, where she lived. She was a general physician and one of the most popular doctors in the village.

Ting ting! (Doorbell rang)
The sound of the doorbell awoke Maria from her thoughts, making her more nervous, as who could be there this late?! It was 1 am.
She went near the door and asked, “Who is there?”
An unknown voice replied, “Patient, it’s an emergency, please, we need you, doctor!”
She immediately opened the door, and there was a young boy who had tried to attempt suicide by cutting his wrist, was bleeding profusely.
His parents were crying, “Please help!!”
Maria made him lie on the bed and put a bandage, but unfortunately, it was too late, and he died!

This was Maria’s first case, which failed! She was afraid of nights, and now this was the cherry on the cake!
Maria asked his parents, “Why did he do this?”
His parents replied, “We don’t know…. (Sobbing)…. Everything was good…. He was a very lively boy…. (Sobbing)…. What made him do this, we don’t have any idea!”

As Maria sat beside the lifeless boy, she noticed something odd. A playing card—The Joker—lay hidden beneath the boy’s bloodied hand!
Slowly, she picked it up with her breath choked in her throat. It was not out of an ordinary deck, but was old and battered, and the edges color were destroyed by burning. On the back, in shaky handwriting, was written:
God has elected him.

Maria stared at his parents, "What about this card? Do you know about it?”
The eyes of the mother went wide, “No God, not again” ….
“What do you mean?” Said Maria, in scarcely above a whisper.
The father appeared to be pale. “Another boy… three years ago… same card. Same… death.”
In the outdoors, the crickets ceased their chirping. Much less, even the wind appeared to take a breath.

If you’re hooked and want to uncover the chilling mystery behind the boy’s death and the strange playing card, don’t stop now — dive into Chapter 2. Every card has a story. Every story hides a secret.

-V