Chapter 1: The desk
In a dim classroom, a four-person squad that had just been teleported in was scanning their surroundings. Suddenly, Max Day, a tall guy with a buzz cut, turned his right arm into a dark, Evil arm in an instant, shooting out to grab a pale, sneaky hand reaching for Mavis White from the desk hole nearby. It was a freaking ghost hand!
Everyone immediately took a sharp breath!. No one expected a ghost to pop up the second they stepped into the haunted zone—silent, deadly, and way too fast. On the other hand, everyone admired Max for being so bold. Sensing the ghost approaching, he didn't dodge—instead, he instantly morphed his right hand into a ghostly form and grabbed the spirit.
Worried that his friend might be in danger, Miles White, an 18-year-old bespectacled buddy, immediately drew his spirit-chasing dagger, ready to cut off that pale arm. But then, his red-haired twin sister Mavis, who stood beside him, shouted, "Wait!"
The ghastly arm struggled wildly, but trapped in Max's grip, it couldn't break free. The wrist was caught, while the rest of the arm remained hidden in the dark desk hole—a scene both eerie and terrifying.
Miles was confused. Why did his sister stop him from chopping off that ghostly hand?
"You've caught this ghost—let's see what it's up to?"
Mavis' voice suddenly turned icy cold, and her whole presence shifted dramatically, like a ghost standing in the dark. At the same time, the ruby ring on her right hand began glowing red, clearly ready for action. Inside the ring was a red-clothed female ghost passed down through her family. If that desk-dwelling ghost made any dangerous moves, she would release the ghost right away.
After struggling uselessly against its restraints, the ghostly hand slowly calmed down. Instead, a pitiful wail seeped from the depths of the desk's cavity. In the dead silence of the midnight classroom, that eerie sobbing sent chills crawling up everyone's spines! Max didn't even flinch. His face stayed stone-cold as he roared viciously, "Shut the hell up with that crying! Damn annoying—zip it!"
The wailing cut off instantly. Dead silence.
"Seriously, bro!" Miles' eyes nearly popped out of his sockets with surprise. "Even ghosts get scared of you? Do demons fear badasses or what?"
"It's not that ghosts are scared of tough people," Mavis' icy voice cut in like a ghost's whisper, a faint red shadow flickering behind her. "This ghost isn't here to kill us. It's probably to give us a hint!"
Typical Mavis. Even after sizing up the ghost as low-risk, she didn't let her guard down for a second. After the crying stopped, that ghostly pale arm also ceased struggling, lying limp in Max's grip. After a short while, another eerie voice, trembling and shaky, emerged from the desk hole.
"I didn't do anything... really, nothing at all..."
"Please... let me go! I just wanted to scan that ring..."
Would a ghost actually beg for mercy in such a weak and pitiful way? All members' faces showed the same look of shock. Still, no matter how strange and pathetic this ghost's pleas were, since it was their first clue, they could never let it go easily.
Leo, a mysterious leader with silver hair, thought for a second, and then cut straight to the chase, "How did you die?"
The motionless arm trembled again, and from the depths of the desk, a scary face slowly emerged. It was a boy's face with glasses.
But this weird face was twisted in agony, looking pale and green, with his tongue sticking out. There was also a purple mark around his neck. Apparently, the ghost student in the desk hole was a full-on hanging victim.
Yet, totally opposite to his horrifying look, his vibe was pure fear. It seemed as if he was giving up the resistance; he shot a hateful glare at Mavis' ruby ring, and then stretched out his other hand, shoving a folded piece of paper at them.
Max let go of him and took the paper. Then he suddenly dashed up toward the ceiling and disappeared.
Everyone's gaze turned to the paper with the ghost vanishing. On the white sheet, words slowly started to appear:
"I'm not an anti-social, I'm just pro-alone! But I've been trying so hard already in school!
Wake up earlier, sleep later, and work harder than anyone else every single day—yet still end up at the bottom of the class!
All dislike me and push me away. They laugh at me, pick on me, and gossip about me behind my back. Even the teachers always find fault with me, trying to get me kicked out of the class!
I hate all of you!
What I do is to fight back! I just created some minor troubles.
Unluckily, that horrible girl Rachel Barber had caught me stealing things. I thought she would report me, but worse, she makes me help her do all those terrible things. I never wanted to do any of it, but with her holding that over me, I had no choice but to agree!
Now, these things would soon be found out. There's no question that a 'top student' like her would never have been suspicious. So all the guilt would fall on me—I'd get kicked out of school and even have to face legal charges.
I really can't take it anymore! The only way to be free is to die!
I will die because of all of you! All students and the teachers in Class One, Senior Three in Green Valley School! I'll never forgive you!
—Jack Cobb."
Finishing reading, the team members cast each other a look of compassion. With a sigh, Leo dug around in the desk hole. Out came a bracelet, coins, keys, and other small stuff. Finally, a student ID card dropped out, with the name printed on it—Jack Cobb.
"So the ghost is Jack Cobb."He declared.
The suicide note left by the ghost Jack provided a key clue to the story behind this haunted place. Obviously, the root cause of this event was centered around Class One, Senior Three.
"Two people have come to light so far. One is Jack Cobb, a ghost hiding in the desk after his suicide, who has a habit of stealing things. The other is Rachel Barber, mentioned in the note. She is a top student with excellent grades." Mavis summarized.
"But that Rachel seems to have secrets of her own. The suicide note says she pressures Jack into carrying out a series of cruel actions. But with so few clues to go on, we still can't figure out what exactly Rachel Barber made Jack Cobb do," her brother chimed in.
Leo opened his mouth, ready to share his guess, when all of a sudden, a paper-tearing noise echoed from somewhere in the corridor.
The four opened the door and saw bits of paper scattered across the corridor, slowly turning red as blood soaked into them. It looked like an invisible person was walking along, tearing up papers and gradually moving deeper into the corridor.
Another ghost had shown up! The four looked at each other—the sound of tearing paper, the bloody pieces, and a faint burning smell in the air—all seemed to be telling them to follow. Yet, the fact that the ghost Jack refrained from killing participants did not guarantee the same for other spirits. Could this specter be one of the ghost students as well? If so, how might they obtain the clue clutched in its spectral grasp?
A faint smile lingering on his lips, the brash Miles now clutched a dagger glinting with a cold, menacing light. His pupils, sharpened by the darkness, gleamed ever brighter—he stood ready.
Blood-stained papers were scattered along the corridor continuously. After walking through it, they slowly climbed the stairs one after another, as if an invisible ghost was leading the way ahead.
Second floor!
Third floor!
Fourth floor!