Chapter 116: Running Straight into His Arms
Upon entering, the room was completely dark. Riley tightly clutched the hands of the two young ones as Harper took the lead. Landon and Winston stifled their laughter, surprised by Riley's fear of ghosts.
However, after the fright they experienced in the haunted house that day, they both silently agreed to put aside those trivial matters, disregarding the fact that their mom was tightly squeezing their hands in discomfort as they quietly urged Riley forward.
The further Riley walked, the more her nerves tightened.
Since she was a child, she had been afraid of all sorts of frightening things.
Even though she was aware that the ghosts inside were not real, the music and lighting still made her feel uneasy, particularly because she was unsure when the NPCs would show up.
The three individuals in front, who had recently promised to guard her, were now eerily silent, intensifying Riley's fear and prompting her to consider turning back.
Despite this, remembering Landon's earlier words and wanting to be a role model for the two young children, she gritted her teeth and pressed on.
Just as Riley was feeling anxious, a pair of stiff legs suddenly appeared in front of her.
Riley was startled and instinctively looked up.
Under the dim light, a pale face with a protruding tongue appeared before her eyes.
Seeing this, Riley's heart almost jumped out of her throat, and she was so scared that she couldn't even make a sound.
By the time the two children noticed that something was amiss with their mother, it was already too late. Riley brushed off their small hands and frantically ran back. The situation was so frightening that she had to escape from there.
"Mommy!" The two little ones were stunned by her actions but quickly turned around to chase after her.
Harper looked back and saw the hanging ghost that had dropped down at some point, feeling helpless.
The NPC showed up in perfect timing. It didn't appear when she and the two little ones passed by, but it showed up right in front of Riley.
The three of them hurriedly followed Riley, but after rounding a few corners, they lost sight of her. Harper and the two children were momentarily anxious.
They were aware of Riley's fear of such situations and had only brought her along to lift her spirits. They had not anticipated this turn of events.
If she encountered another scary trap alone, she might be terrified.
“It's my fault. I shouldn't have pushed to involve Mommy," Winston admitted, bowing his head in guilt. Harper struggled to find the right words to comfort him.
Landon glanced around, took hold of Winston's hand, and reassured him, "This isn't the time for self-blame. Let's find Mommy first. If we can't find her, we'll go out and ask for help.”
The three of them quickly started searching the haunted house.
Riley was oblivious to their concern, her mind almost entirely consumed by fear. Her head was filled with images of those stiff legs and the NPC's pale face. She even forgot about the three of them, wanting only to get out of there as quickly as possible.
After running for a long time without finding an exit, Riley felt a bit desperate. She ran while muttering to herself, "Don't scare me, please don't scare me."
In the dim light, Riley suddenly knocked onto a firm chest.
Riley froze, then screamed in terror, her mind going blank.
After Donovan entered, he couldn't see the four of them. He had taken a different entrance and hadn't found them despite searching for a while. Just as he was feeling frustrated, someone ran straight into his arms.
He was about to push the person away, but upon hearing a terrified scream, he paused and instead pulled the person into his arms to comfort them.
