Chapter 1 — An Ordinary Day
RIIINGGG!!! RIIINGGG!!!
The blaring screech of the alarm woke the girl from her deep sleep.
Her eyes opened slowly, her mind still caught between dreams and reality. But the constant, loud alarm forced her to realize this was real life.
She moved slowly to turn the device off. Once the noise stopped, she yawned, and her half-closed eyes finally opened fully.
A quick thought of the scary dream she’d just had—a very real and terrifying horror—came to mind. She shook her head gently, trying to forget it, then looked at the wall clock. She froze, seeing the time was 6:30.
She immediately jumped up, the laziness and the memory of the dream vanishing, replaced by a sudden wave of panic.
She hurried to move, getting out of bed and almost falling over her own blanket. She winced softly before rushing straight into the bathroom.
She washed her face, finished her morning routine, quickly put on her school uniform, grabbed her bag, and headed downstairs.
On the way to the living area, the distinct smell of toast and scrambled eggs came from the kitchen.
She went directly into the kitchen, sat on a chair, put her bag down, and quickly ate the food on the table. In her rush, the food was gone fast. She then stood up, grabbed her bag, and ran towards the living room, stopping briefly at a large mirror on the wall. She paused only to check her uniform before moving to the front door. There, she stopped just to put on her shoes before letting out a loud shout.
"I’m leaving!"
Her shout was immediately answered by her Mother.
A moment later, her Father was seen waving and smiling at her from the kitchen window. Risa looked back and gave them a smile before running out the door.
The family was just three people: her Father, her Mother, and Risa, their only child.
Risa's school grades were average.
Despite that, she had a strong imagination and high creativity, which made her famous in art assignments.
On the street that day, she ran toward the bus stop. Nothing was different, except that she was rushing this time.
The sky was bright and clear.
A soft wind hit her skin, making her feel slightly cold—maybe because the season was about to change.
The bus stop was near. After running past a few corners, she saw the stop and the bus for school. She didn't even catch her breath and had to run quickly again towards the bus.
She finally got inside, breathing heavily. She wiped the sweat from her head. Several passengers were already sitting; some faces were familiar as they took the same bus often.
There was a mother busy with her child, an old man sleeping near the window, and several other high school students talking, while others looked at their phones or read.
The bus slowly became quiet, and Risa’s breathing started to calm down.
It felt like any normal day, but Risa felt a strange chill the whole way to school. She didn't think much of it, rubbing her hands together as she stared out the window, planning to wear a warmer jacket tomorrow.
After a while, she arrived at school, got off the bus, and immediately ran to the main gate. The school was big, but Risa knew exactly where to go first: her classroom.
She ran until she reached the hallway near her class. As usual, she saw Ellie waiting for her at the door. Risa quickly walked up to Ellie.
When Ellie heard the footsteps, she turned and saw Risa.
"It’s weird that you're not late today."
She smiled, though her words had a playful, teasing tone.
Risa was confused and asked her.
"Not late?"
Ellie, seeing Risa’s confused look, told her the time.
"It's only 6:15, didn't you check your clock?"
Risa stopped. She clearly remembered her clock showing "6:30." She hugged her arms, then suddenly remembered her wall clock was broken and needed a new battery.
She hit her forehead before laughing out loud, which confused Ellie.
"Haha, Ellieee! I forgot my clock at home needs a new battery!"
Ellie, initially confused, started laughing too, until Risa patted her shoulder, making her stop and look at Risa, who now looked serious.
"To be honest, I had a very bad nightmare, so I completely lost track of time."
Ellie asked with curiosity.
"Was it scary?"
Risa nodded. Without being asked, she explained her dream.
"In the dream, the world was destroyed… and everything was covered in blood. But the strange thing is, I wasn’t scared. I just ran, and I was laughing."
Ellie stared at her, sighed, and shook her head. She said.
"The scary part is not the dream, but that you were laughing."
They looked at each other before laughing again. Risa also laughed, but quietly, and her eyes looked a little strange. She told her dream, but it wasn't the whole truth; what she really saw was something she didn't want to talk about, so she made it sound like a funny story.
Ellie, not noticing Risa's strange look, grabbed her wrist and, still laughing, pulled Risa into the classroom. Inside, Ellie led her until they reached their desks, where they sat next to each other.
As she sat down and put her bag away, Jhon quickly glanced at them. But when Risa looked back, he immediately looked away. Risa paused, then looked at the rest of the class, which was already noisy, before continuing to talk with Ellie.
A few minutes later, the school bell rang. Students in the hallway quickly rushed into the classroom.
Risa stopped talking to Ellie and quickly took out her notebook. She glanced briefly at the empty whiteboard. With her book ready and a soft sigh, she knew the board would soon be full of notes she had to copy.
The door opened, and a young teacher with a serious face appeared. His name was Mr. Edward, the teacher for the first class. His arrival meant the class would start.
He walked in, closed the door, and went to the desk near the whiteboard.
He put his books on the desk, looked at the students, and greeted them.
"Good morning, students."
He said, looking at everyone.
The students answered all together.
"Good morning, Sir."
Without waiting, attendance was taken, and the lesson began.
Students copied the material from the board, including Risa, though she often looked out the window.
Risa loved watching the sky from her seat.
The unique cloud shapes often made up stories in her mind when she was tired. This time, she saw a cloud that looked like a bear sitting with a pot of honey, making Risa smile softly at the image. Then she went back to her notes.
Time passed. Risa looked out the window again. She was shocked by the loud sound of chalk hitting the wall, followed by Mr. Edward's sudden shout.
"Hey, Odin! Focus!"
The whole class looked at Odin and laughed when they saw him, having been playing a game on his phone, jump up in surprise and stand straight.
"Oh, Sir! I was just about to get a head—I mean... I was just about to find the answer!"
Odin replied nervously, his eyes looking at his phone, which was still on in his hand. It was clear he was caught and couldn't deny it.
Mr. Edward shook his head, holding back his anger. He looked at the phone in Odin's hand, then spoke calmly but seriously.
"What answer? We are supposed to be taking notes, aren't we?"
Hearing this, the students’ laughter got louder.
Risa also laughed softly, then tried to focus on her notes, which were still unfinished.
As she looked down to write, a strange sound came from the corridor outside.
Thud… thud…
Risa turned her head. The sound was like someone tripping… or maybe dragging their feet?
Ellie raised an eyebrow, then turned to Risa.
"Did you hear that?"
Risa answered quietly.
"It sounds like it's from the hallway…"
Before they could talk more, a scream came from outside the classroom.
It was followed by other sounds: more shouts, things falling, things breaking, and many other loud noises.
The sudden noise instantly made the classroom silent.
Mr. Edward looked confused and worried, but he firmly told them to stay calm, though his voice sounded anxious.
"Everyone stay calm. Keep writing notes, I will go check."
He walked slowly. Before he reached the door, the sound of many fast footsteps echoed in the corridor.
Despite the noise, he kept walking, fighting his fear. Just as he reached for the door handle, the door was suddenly pushed open. Mr. Edward recognized the person as a student from the next class.
His clothes were torn, and his uniform was covered in a red color that looked like blood.
His face showed pure panic. He seemed like he wanted to enter, but he suddenly looked back. His face went white, and his mouth stayed shut. He didn't enter and instead ran fast in the other direction without closing the door.
Mr. Edward was shocked and curious. He walked to the door, which was now open. He looked out a little, and his curiosity was instantly answered and replaced by horror.
Something appeared near the door, making everyone in the class freeze in fear.
He was terrified, but he knew that if he waited, something terrible would happen.
Fighting his fear, Mr. Edward quickly and violently slammed the door shut, then immediately leaned his body against it to keep it closed. The horror was still there, but his body moved on its own, perhaps because he felt a great responsibility for his students.
What they had seen changed the classroom from calm and happy to terrifying and tense.
Then, Risa realized that her nightmare was no longer just a dream but a reality right in front of her—a reality she might have to face starting right now.