The Yaoguai: Finale (special preview)

Mari was the child of her mother’s second marriage. Her brother, James, from the first, never quite warmed up to the idea of having a sister, let alone a father at all. Mari never knew much about her mother’s first marriage, but it was suggested he had accidentally fallen from one of the top stories of the hotel. 

When she was still quite young, her own father befell a similar fate after a tree in the garden fell on top of him. To this day, Mari could not recall a funeral even though her mother insists they had one.

Growing up in the old hotel, Mari had grown accustomed to several things. She had memorized the layout of the hotel, even though every so often it changed inexplicably. She had also gotten used to the residents of the hotel; new, old, and other. She could walk by a room and have an understanding of who was inside. She was never aware there was anything weird about it until she grew up.

Unlike James, Mari was adamant about going to college. After reading about it in a book, she so badly wanted to go. No matter what, though, her mother always tried to squelch the idea because, in her words, Mari had a guaranteed career when she grew up. It never stopped Mari, though, she managed to save up money and went to college for exactly one year. She was called home, though, when her aunt tragically passed away.

By then, Mari knew enough about the real world to realize the hotel and her family was much stranger, even scarier than she had originally assumed. Mari took on a role of guarding her family, not because they needed protection, but because she felt that the world needed to be protected from them. There were things collected in the hotel that didn’t need to get out. Not to mention what her mother kept in the garden.

Fei Qiangwei had once been in love with a Yaoguai named Zhanglang. Mari had heard the story directly from her mother once when Fei was drunk. She described the affair in detail, even how she gave birth to a child before James. But eventually, the romance turned sour and Fei imprisoned Zhanglang on the hotel grounds, using him as a beacon to all the spirits that now resided within the hotel. 

Mari was never sure how her mother kept a Yaoguai trapped until she died. Once she did, she realized her mother used her roses, which were imbued with her own magic, along with the decapitated heads of many of the Qiangwei family. This included James’ father, her father, aunts, uncles, cousins, and most recently, James’ wife and Mari herself. The headless spirit of each ancestor was just another link in the chain that kept Zhanglang tethered to Fei’s malicious intent. Mari, as the newest link, kept him shackled. 

Now, the chain was broken. Each link was scattered and sent into the winds. With the bond that Zhanglang had formed with Sun, he was free, and his anger was strong. 

Mari had tried to stop it, but she was too late to save her husband. She was tossed away as well, finding herself in a graveyard miles from the hotel. As she stood from the ground, she looked around to see others looking lost and confused. The headless that had come with her were now wandering, begging for their head.

As Mari gathered herself, she could see the lights of the hotel in the distance. “Please Sun, please-” She prayed, hands clasped above her empty neck. “Stay strong.”

She felt a tap upon her shoulder and, when she turned around, she saw an old woman standing there. “Who are you?”

The old woman smiled. “Give me your hand, young lady.”

Mari extended her palm and the old woman placed a cockroach there. “What is this?”

“A way to save Sun,” she said. “Crush it before the Yaoguai and you will have a small window of opportunity to overpower him.”

Mari clutched the bug close to her chest. “Thank you. But who are you?”

The old woman chuckled and nodded her head. “I am Sun’s grandmother. Someone who loved him as much as you do.” She faded away as she spoke, turning to dust in the breeze and blowing away into the night.

Mari instantly raced back towards the hotel, careful to keep the cockroach in her hand.

Back at the Wild Rose, Sun was coming down into the dining hall. He had never been before, but what he saw chilled him to the bone. All around the table were grotesque and frightening specters. Their mouths were wide open as they shoveled food from the table into their gaping maws. 

Bai was bouncing around the table, grabbing at food and screaming at the slobbering specters. James, Fei, and Bo sat at the head of the table, watching as Sun came into the room. Fei glared harshly at him, rising from her seat and fetching him. Her sharp fingers dug into his wrist as she dragged him to the table.

“I told you not to be late!” She forced him into a chair. “Now stay there!” She shoved a plate before him and served him.

“You know I don’t eat meat,” Sun said calmly.

“You’re a Qiangwei, you do.” Fei grabbed a pit of meat with her bare fingers and started to force it to his lips. “Try it.”

Sun kept his mouth shut.

“Try it,” Fei’s voice started to hiss and snarl.

Sun looked at her with anger.

“Eat it!” Fei started to smash it into his mouth when her wrist was captured. She looked up, seeing Zhanglang standing over her and Sun.

“Fei, my darling,” Zhanglang hissed, “you haven’t changed a bit.”

Fei smiled and started to laugh. She looked at Sun and shook her head. “Oh, you stupid, stupid boy.”

Zhanglang grabbed her neck and, with a simple twist, he snapped her neck. Fei crumbled to the ground as James and Bo screamed. Bai clapped his hands from the other side of the room. The specters in the room all rushed in, clambering on top of Fei and feasting upon her flesh. 

“Now this is a party!” Zhanglang laughed triumphantly.