7th School Terror

It was on January 28th at 4:30 pm; me with my bestfriend, Sayaka, and the other two friends were still at school. It was our turn to picket on that day; but as we carried about our respective tasks, we chatted so cheerfully that before we knew it, it was already dark. One of my friends, Nori, whose long hair was tied up, pointed to a large classroom windows that provided a glimpse of the dark sky. The hazy cloud seemed like it didn’t want to move from its place before shooting out its liquid.

“Look!” she exclaimed. “It’s going to rain soon. Come on, let’s go home.”

Me and the rest nodded. We went to get our bags in a locker at the back of the class immediately, but suddenly Sayaka’s screaming so loudly that we all turned to her.

“What is it?” I asked her who was still standing frozenly near her desk.

Sayaka turned her head slowly to me with a sinister look on her face. “Arin,” she said it slowly. “I was about to take my book out of the drawer, but suddenly I felt something was holding my hand.”

I winced at her. How was that even possible? Was she trying to scare us?

“How could that be. Let me see.” I dared to look down to check what was inside.

It’s dark inside. There’s nothing in there. I was about to get up when something inside seemed to move and revealed something that was white and pale. I stood shocked for a moment. There was something unbelievable in the desk drawer. I had no idea what it was. I only saw it briefly, but suddenly I got goosebumps. Was it... an eyeball? Ah, no way.

Sayaka noticed my strange expression. He tapped my shoulder lightly. “Isn’t there something strange inside? What did you see?”

I turned to Sayaka who was showing a worried face. Nori and Ayano, the other two, were watching us with confusing looks.

I shook my head. No, I must have seen wrong. I think I read horror webtoons too often, my mind became weird.

“It’s nothing.” I gave my smile, did not want to frighten them. “I just saw a lizard in your drawer earlier.”

“What? Really?” Sayaka frowned. “Oh, I hate lizards.”

I smiled faintly. “Okay, you’ve got your book now, haven’t you? Let’s go home.”

***

Near the exit door of the building leading to the school ground, I turned around as I walked down the stairs. I didn’t understand why I suddenly detected a strong smell coming from out of nowhere. That smell reminded me of a rotten flesh.

“Do you smell something bad?” I asked the others.

“No, I don’t.” Ayano, the blonde girl, responded.

I decided not to bother. We walked through the wide school ground. Usually there were still some students from football and basketball club playing on the field. But why was it so quiet today?

“Ahh!!” Sayaka's suddenly screaming again, breaking the silence between us.

“What now, Sayaka?” Nori grunted in annoyance.

“I left my math book!”

“Didn’t you take it earlier?” asked me.

“I took the chemistry book that was in the desk drawer, but my math one is still in a locker. I forgot about it, we rushed out because we were scared. Arin, I need that for my homework.”

I glanced at Nori. “Come on, let’s accompany Sayaka back to class.”

Nori firmly shook her head. “Are you insane? I’m not interested to go inside anymore!”

“Why? Don’t you worry about Sayaka? She has to do her homework tonight.”

“That’s her own fault. She’s sloppy.”

I was about to open my mouth, but suddenly Ayano interrupted. “Arin, haven’t you heard about the rumor in our school?”

“What rumor?”

Ayano turned her head left and right before whispering. “In this school, students are not allowed to remain in the school after 5:15 pm. Otherwise, you won’t be able to be out of here forever.”

Suddenly my guts shriveled. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

“She’s saying the truth.” Nori stated.

“Many students have tried this myth, but until now, their whereabouts are nowhere to be found.” Ayano added.

“Never mind, forget about the book. You can get it tomorrow morning. Come on, let’s go home. Can you see what time it is?” Nori showed his phone which already showed 5:05 pm.

I turned to Sayaka who looked sad and confused. She must have been digesting what Ayano had just said. She’s looking at me with her puppy eyes.

I took a deep breath, didn’t know how to refuse. “All right. Let's make it quick.”

Ayano shook her head disapprovingly, but Nori immediately grabbed her hand. “Leave them alone. Let’s go.”

***

Sayaka and I slowly climbed the stairs to the third floor. It was undeniable, what Ayano and Nori said earlier couldn’t help but make us felt scared and anxious. And right when I set foot on the third floor, I smelt the stench once again.  My feelings were getting more and more scared. I immediately took Sayaka's hand and quickly headed to class. The atmosphere was getting tense, following the sky that was getting darker.

"Come on, quickly."

"Yeah, just a minute. Don't rush me like that." said Sayaka as she pressed the combination lock on her locker.

Kretek!  Kretek!

I looked back.  I thought I heard a noise in the classroom hallway. I ventured to take a peek. I was very scared but my curiosity was bigger.

Empty. There wasn't anyone, or anything in there.

"Sayaka, are you done?" I couldn't wait anymore. Not a single minute I wanted to be in this school any longer.

Silence. No one answered.

Okay. I'm terrified right now.

I looked back towards the locker, and didn't find Sayaka there. Did she secretly leave me alone? But how come? I was still standing in front of the classroom door.

"...or you'll never get out of this school forever."

"Until now those students have not been found."

Ayano's warnings suddenly entered my mind. I was really stupid to think it's just a hoax. And look what happened now!

"Sayaka!" I dared to scream for Sayaka. My voice echoed loudly down the hallway.

Kretek! Kretek!

That sound again. I was really frantic. I didn't know what to do now.

The sound was getting closer. I immediately worked up the courage to leave. However, my steps suddenly stopped.

There, about 2 meters away, a girl lay curled up on the floor. She wore the same school uniform as me, but without a vest. She didn't wear any shoes. Her white shirt was full of brownish red spots, like dried blood stains. Her long hair fell loosely covering her face. Her skin is pale white.

I was rooted to the spot. I couldn't even move my legs to get out of there. Even when that girl slowly began to stand up in an odd way and let out the voice I had previously heard. The girl, who I was quite sure wasn't a human, was standing awkwardly with her head down and her tummy raised. I froze as soon as the hair that had been covering the face area was parted, showing those white eyes, exactly the ones I saw in Sayaka's drawer.

I was terrifying but all of a sudden could move my body and quickly ran away from there. I didn't even have time to think about where Sayaka was back then and how she was. I didn't even know if I could get out of here alive?

I rushed down the stairs with a hunting breath. However, when I set foot on the second floor, the girl was still there. She even started moving towards me. My breathe was getting erratic. I didn't want to interact with this ghost. She clearly seemed unfriendly. I ran back down the stairs. But somehow, I felt like I came back to the same floor again.

I almost cried out. I didn't want to die silly here. Once again, I tried to go down the stairs. But again and again, I kept coming back to the third floor. And by those times, she was also getting closer.

After trying to go down the stairs repeatedly without success, I cried sitting on the stairs. I was fainted, stress and had no energy left. I have resigned myself to the situation. I looked up at the large glass window on the stairs. What time was it already? I was quite sure that I had already went down the stairs dozens of times, but the day wasn't moving to the night. It still remained as an afternoon.

Kretek!  Kretek!

I closed my eyes and hoped to die. I gave up to the situation and God. I didn't care what would happen to me anymore after this. But I knew deep inside, I actually didn't want to die silly like this. I ventured to stand down the stairs once more. But when I turned the corner, and there, coming towards me was 'it'.

I sat limp and cried loudly. I huddled in the corner of the stairs, ready to accept whatever was coming.

The sound was getting closer and I could feel her presence in front of me. The stench was getting thicker. I screamed loudly and thrashed when a cold hand touched my arm. I shook my arm violently, trying to break free from her grip.

Then suddenly all was silent. I heard my name being called from a distance.

"Arin!" This time the sound was loud and very close. And there's someone holding my hand. It didn't feel cold. It was not the same hand as before.

I was startled and opened my eyes. Sayaka was in front of me, a worried look stayed on her face.

"Are you all right? God! You're sweating so much." She wiped the cold sweat pouring from my forehead. "Physics hasn't even started yet, but you're already flooded like this."

I felt dizzy and confused. And I just realized that it was already light.

Was it a dream? But how could I fall asleep on the stairs? And why was I wearing the workout clothes I was supposedly wearing this morning?

"Arina, are you okay? You fainted because you fell down from the stairs. Come on, I'll take you to the medical room."

Me? Falling from stairs? I really didn't understand what's going on. Or was I actually dreaming? Or even I was already... dead?

"What time is it now?" I asked quickly, "and what date?"

Sayaka frowned for a moment before answering. "January 28th, 9:45 am."

-Fin-

Story by Imelda Bajetha.

#Undira #CreativeWriting #FinalExam #FreeWrite