Troll

⁦⁠♡⁩ TL: Khadija SK

 

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Jin-ah’s question prompted a momentary puzzled expression from the sergeant and Mark, as if they were thinking, “Huh?”

 

However, they soon shrugged their shoulders and responded.

 

“As you said earlier, it really seems like there’s no reception here…”

 

Jin-ah’s gaze was directed to the collapsed hole in the basement.

 

“Then how did they manage to send a distress call while trapped underground?”

 

“The thing is, sometimes it dis work,” replied the sergeant.

 

Indeed, that was true.

 

That’s why people often raise their phones higher or move around to find a signal.

 

But it didn’t seem like there would be any reception here.

 

“However…”

 

“For noo, let’s leave that aside and continue wi’ the explanation,” interrupted the sergeant, gesturing to Mark to proceed.

 

“Where did I leave off? Oh, right. Anyway, once we confirmed the situation, we entered the mansion. Since the door was already off its hinges, getting in wasn’t difficult. But as you can see, the house had completely collapsed, and it was a mess. Plus, there was this rotten, foul smell. When we called out if anyone was inside, someone immediately shouted for help from below.”

 

Mark continued his explanation.

 

“It was chaotic. We had to calm them down first. People were crying and shouting all at once, and it was overwhelming. We tried to check below, but as you can see, it looked too risky to peer down there, so we gave up on that.”

 

They looked around for ropes to tie to the pillars and throw down below, but it seemed like they didn’t reach, as they only heard cries for help from the bottom.

 

Eventually, Mark decided that attempting a rescue alone was futile and said they’d bring more people, asking them to wait.

 

“Then, suddenly, the people who were causing a ruckus calmed down in an instant. They seemed relieved when we said we’d bring more help. They even started joking around.”

 

To request additional support, Mark drove the car to a place with phone signal and got yelled at for leaving the scene.

 

He hadn’t even counted how many people were inside, didn’t know their names, and hadn’t taken any scene photos.

 

“Enoof wi’ the chit-chat, jist gie us the explanation,” the sergeant said, rolling his eyes.

 

“Right. Well, there’s nothing more to explain. We immediately called for backup and entered. Then, as you can see…”

 

Mark gestured towards the ongoing rescue operation inside.

 

“The rescue operation has been ongoing for about two hours now. The people coming out now are probably the last ones.”

 

“So, how many died, and how many are injured?” Jin-ah asked.

 

Mark seemed to be lost in thought, trying to count in his head.

 

“Well, according to what the people said… um…”

 

He struggled to come up with an answer for a while.

 

Seeing this, the sergeant sighed as if he found it pathetic.

 

“You can’t even tell us how many?” he said, clicking his tongue.

 

“No, it’s not that… um, it’s strange…”

 

Was there something confusing him?

 

Mark furrowed his brows even more, looking puzzled.

 

“Never mind. Just go outside.”

 

The impatient sergeant urged, gesturing for Mark to leave.

 

Mark agreed and left without Jin-ah having to ask anything further.

 

‘Even so, not knowing how many people got injured or died…’

 

In the end, the sergeant asked another policeman and then wrote something on his phone before responding to Jin-ah.

 

“The team that came here consisted o’ five members. Let’s see, the names… Weel, for the deceased, it’s James MacCoy. Fortunately or unfortunately, there’s only one fatality. And for the injured, there’s William Evans. He’s still below. He said we had tae prioritize others because there’s a lot tae deal wi’. Weel, he’s no’ in critical condition, but he injured his legs and spine, sae he needs tae be immobilized.”

 

Continuing, the sergeant said:

 

“There are three folk wi’ minor injuries: Camilla Jenkins, Rob Fisher, and Ian Isford. So, that’s a total o’ five casualties.”

 

“Quite a lot of injuries.”

 

Jin-ah sighed, wiping her face.

 

Then, she suddenly remembered the person who had reached out to her.

 

Colin Parker, the channel’s operator.

 

“Colin Parker? Is there no one with this name?”

 

“Who’s that?”

 

“He’s the channel operator who said he’d come here to film the mansion….”

 

At that moment, there was commotion from below.

 

Both of Jin-ah anf the sergeant turned their heads to look down.

 

They wanted to get closer to take a better look, but it wasn’t easy.

 

The area, once as wide as the entire lobby, had collapsed, and the broken edges still shed dirt whenever someone passed by.

 

“We’ve got everyone tied up! Get ready to pull them up!”

 

As the team below shouted, the police officers and team members above grabbed onto the rope and started preparing to pull.

 

Since the pillars inside the house posed a risk of further collapse, they connected ropes to the firetruck parked at the mansion’s entrance and balanced it from all sides to prevent it from swinging.

 

People synchronized their breaths as they pulled the rope according to the rescue team leader’s command.

 

Simultaneously, the firetruck outside slowly retracted its rails.

 

Lifting the person with injuries to the neck and waist took quite some time.

 

They stopped several times in the middle and repeated the same action several times, but finally, something resembling a bed was brought up to the first floor.

 

The man secured to the stretcher grimaced with every slight shock, showing signs of pain throughout the ascent.

 

As the team members lifted the stretcher as carefully as possible, the police officers who had let go of the rope clapped.

 

It seemed to be a mixture of relief at successfully rescuing someone and joy that their work for the day was finally over.

 

“Careful! Careful!”

 

As the stretcher rose, the paramedics outside cautiously moved him out.

 

Meanwhile, about ten people in the basement were examining every nook and cranny with lanterns in hand.

 

Then, the light from a team member’s lantern illuminated the floor, covered in bloodstains…

 

“Ugh…”

 

An involuntary groan escaped.

 

When Jin-ah hurriedly looked away, she saw something unbelievable.

 

What Jin-ah saw through the eyes above was the wall in the basement illuminated by the lantern light.

 

It was covered with unreadable strange characters densely packed together.

 

Not only characters but also all sorts of complex shapes and strange drawings.

 

Though unreadable, a shiver ran down Jin-ah’s spine as she looked at them.

 

Simultaneously, she had a gut feeling that they were characters meant to grasp something.

 

“What is this…?”

 

With a sudden feeling, Jin-ah wiped her arms.

 

In that moment, the light from the lantern illuminated another area.

 

“Excuse me!”

 

Jin-ah shouted urgently toward below.

 

People who were investigating lifted their heads and pointed the strong light directly at her.

 

Jin-ah covered her eyes with her hand against the intense light and shouted.

 

“The wall you illuminated earlier! Could you shine the light on it again?”

 

“Who are you to give orders like that?”

 

It was a voice of irritation, questioning who she was to give such commands.

 

“I’m the owner of this mansion!”

 

“Oh, really? Where are the stairs leading up then?”

 

“What?”

 

“I mean the stairs leading up! Since there’s a basement, there should be stairs somewhere! We’ve looked everywhere, but we can’t see any stairs! Did you make some kind of secret bunker? Like, are the stairs hidden behind a stone or something?”

 

“I’m not sure….”

 

“You’re the owner of the mansion, aren’t you?”

 

The police officer, in an annoyed tone, asked and then secured the rope to pull them up.

 

Some of the lanterns that had been set up below were sent up first.

 

As they ascended, the lantern light shook, illuminating various places.

 

However, despite the light being quite strong, the wall was strangely difficult to see clearly.

 

When Jin-ah tried to get closer, the ground under her feet shed dirt.

 

Eventually, Jin-ah had to step back.

 

The man who had been pulled up a while ago was being carefully moved out by the team members.

 

At that moment, the man lying on the stretcher shouted.

 

“No! There’s one more person down there! We’re six in total!”

 

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T.N: the mansion is creepy ~ what do you think the story behind it? 👀