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Chapter 8
“We’re not picking up?” I wonder.
“Minutes ain’t free!” Yuan Fei, Wu Fan and Xu Ping say in unison. The four of us all start giggling quietly. “Pay attention you all!” Wu Fan jokingly scolds before raising his right fist in the air. Xu Ping, Yuan Fei and I all raise our own to meet with his. Our celebratory fist b.u.mp hasn’t been used for a long time. I remember the last time we used it was when Yuan Fei, Kong Linglin, Mu Mu and I snuck into the meeting room to play that game. That was the beginning of everything and I hope this time it will be the ending to it all. The night is dark and quiet; the schoolyard is deserted. Chilling wind blows in from my collar. I hunch my shoulders, s.h.i.+vering as I try to retreat into my s.h.i.+rt. By now I’ve learned to distinguish between the cold that fear brings and the cold that low temperature brings. Low temperature makes your pores shrivel up and quiver. It’s a feeling on the surface of your skin that kind of goes away with a deep breath. Fear, on the other hand, makes you quiver uncontrollably from the inside of your skull, and in that moment breathing itself becomes a burden because you’ve already forgotten how to breathe and how to think. You only want your wildly beating heart to stop and if that meant you have to stop breathing then so be it. If I can make it out of this, I think to myself, I won’t have any more to be afraid of because I would’ve already experienced all the fear that I could possibly encounter in a lifetime all at once. If I am able to handle this and make it out alive and sane, then I can’t imagine there being anything else that could make me feel frightened again. Suddenly, someone gently grabs onto my hand. I turn around to meet with Yuan Fei’s concerned eyes. “Feelin’ cold?” he asks quietly. I nod and he immediately takes off his jacket. I quickly shake my head. “It’s okay!” “Oh, put it on. I’m in better shape than you.” He starts chuckling mid-sentence. “I’ll be glad as long as you’re not scared.” He leans in after seeing my puzzled expression and teases in a voice only the two of us can hear, “It’s really a torture to watch you when you’re scared. It’s like you’ll break out in tears any moment but then you try your hardest and suck them back in. Every time I see you like that I feel like I need to stop being scared and start protecting you some-.” “I don’t need no protecting!” I hiss while shooting him a dirty look. I take a glimpse at Chief and Glooms who’re walking in front of us. Thank goodness they’re talking and not paying attention to Yuan Fei and me, but my heart still speeds up. In the end, however, I put on his jacket because I actually am cold. Only after things go smoothly and we arrive at the administrative building do we take out the small keychain flashlights we had prepared beforehand and light our way with its weak bulbs. Chief is, well, the chief after all. He had prepared a whole set of keys and easily gets us into the building and start heading up to the princ.i.p.al’s office. The four of us split up when we get to the second floor. Yuan Fei and I are in charge of keeping watch at the west and east stairwell while Chief and Glooms goes straight up to the princ.i.p.al’s office on the third floor. I cautiously walk down the deserted hallway by myself. Hallways are always so much longer in the dark for some reason. It’s so quiet I can hear Yuan Fei’s heavy footsteps going the opposite direction and even the sound of Chief and Glooms opening the door to the princ.i.p.al’s office. The light coming from the thumb-sized flashlight in my hand becomes the only light source amid the darkness. Using it as my guide, I tread over to the stairwell and go down to the first landing between the first and second floor. This way I can see the first floor with a step forward and the second floor with a step backward—the most ideal spot. I don’t think there’s a high chance that some teacher’s going to come back to their office at this hour so I lean leisurely on the railings. I put my weight on them and slide down, and then I climb back up and repeat, getting a bit lost in the fun. If someone were to come now, they would notice my loud steps right away. Something starts buzzing in my pocket. I fish out my cell phone—it’s a text from Yuan Fei. He writes: Your joyous footsteps cross the dark, long night and reach my ears, the deserted halls magnifying the signs of your existence. I want to exclaim from the bottom of my heart—we’re thieves right now! Please be quiet! I giggle until my stomach starts hurting. I sit down on the stairs and speedily reply him: I thought Chief told us to have the numbers ready? You can’t be texting. What if someone comes right now? Yuan Fei replies in a few moments: Efficient mobile phones of the modern age—we introduce to you the speed-dial function! I brood for a second before replying with a clenched jaw: Ah’m sarry. Ah’m frum down sowth and still be usin’ them keypad-dial funkshun. I actually did forget about the speed-dial function on my cell phone, so I stop checking Yuan Fei’s texts and start setting Xu Ping’s number to speed-dial. Just as I’m setting up speed-dial with a grin on my face, still feeling light and cheerful from the funny conversation with Yuan Fei, something sounds in the silence that completely ruins my mood. Drip-drop. My fingers freeze on the keypad. My mind blanks out. Did I just hear-. Before the question even forms properly, I hear another one, as clear as ever. Drip-drop. My breath hitches. This isn’t the sound of some loose faucet.... This sound that’s so clear that it seems to be in my head.... It can only be.... But, how? I can’t be 100% sure that the sound is related to it but I’ve heard this mysterious dripping every time the wretched thing has appeared. I can’t help but connect the dots. If it really is it, why would it appear here out of all places? Hasn’t it already chosen Mu Mu as its target? Or am I wrong? Is the real target actually Yuan Fei or me? I had been able to laugh and have fun only because I thought that ‘the next one isn’t me’! That I’d be safe until its business with Mu Mu ends. It’s only because of this lowly, pathetic, and shameless reason that I’d been able to temporarily stay worry-free. That reason was obliterated the moment the water sounds started. My arms stay rigid in their previous position. The phone has already locked itself and the screen has gone dark. I’m surrounded by complete darkness once again. I keep telling myself ‘Run! Run!’ but all I’m able to do is stare wide-eyed at the black cell phone screen and listen for the sound that’s closing in on me. Drip-drop. Drip-drop. It’s not my imagination—it’s getting closer! It’s me! It’s after me! My mouth opens by itself but the scream about to escape gets stuck in my throat. Nothing comes out. Drip-drop. Drip-drop. I can feel it getting closer but I’ve lost count of how long I’ve been holding my breath for. By the time I snap back, I’ve slowly started to curl into a ball, sticking myself right against the wall and sliding downwards bit by bit, as if it wouldn’t notice me like this. I go to the corner and align myself in an angle that I a.s.sume it wouldn’t see. I think my phone’s about to snap under my grip. Can’t move too much…’cause it’ll find me. Can’t make too much noise…’cause it’ll find me. I only have to…. If only I hide…. It’ll be fine if it doesn’t find me. It’s like there’s a naive and frightened voice in my mind persuading me. If you can’t see it then it can’t see you, it says. I don’t even have the guts to make a break for it. Because I’m terrified. Terrified that my running would attract its attention. So terrified that I can’t consider anyone else’s safety. Do people ultimately think of themselves first in the face of danger? Drip-drop. Drip-drop. I cover my mouth. I’m not sure what this achieves but somehow I feel like it’ll keep my hiding place concealed. I shut my eyes tight. I don’t want to see anything horrifying with my eyes even if I’m a moment away from death. I won’t be able to take it. My heart and mind can’t take anymore. I can’t believe I had the courage to look at it the other night. I actually opened my eyes and turned around to look at it! Why was I so brave then? Where did my courage come from? Where is it now? Why don’t I have the courage to even breathe? I despise this me. I hate this gutless me. But still, I want so much to live on safely. Drip-drop. Drip-drop. It might be my imagination…but I think it went above me and drifted off somewhere farther. I have my eyes shut but I can somehow picture a hazy figure pa.s.sing the second floor, drops of water dribbling down its side, one step, two step, moving upwards… Steps? Upwards? My eyes snap open. It’s going to the third floor? Who’s on the third floor? Wu Fan! And Xu Ping! But why would it go up to the third floor? There is no evidence that indicates its target is Chief or Glooms. No signs that says they’re next! Unless something has already happened to Mu Mu! Has the next round of curses begun without me knowing? A loud noise interrupts my frantic thoughts. It sounded like a large metallic cabinet falling, along with some tinkling of broken gla.s.s. The frightening sound then disappears instantly and everything falls silent once more. My breaths quicken. What was that? Did the two of them tip over a file cabinet by mistake? And then the cabinet broke some gla.s.s? And then? And then what? My eyes are glued on the phone in my hands. Please vibrate! Turn on! Please receive their evacuation call! Come on! But there’s nothing. Nothing at all. It’s so quiet my breathing seems to resonate. There are no footsteps coming from the third floor. No running from the west stairwell. It’s as if I’ve been abandoned. There’s only me. What about the guys? With a noise that loud, people will be coming to check soon. So how come I haven’t heard them leaving? I call Xu Ping’s number with shaking hands and listen anxiously to it ringing. Beep-beep. Pick up. I’m begging you, Glooms. Please pick up. The call is connected and I cry out in joy, “Glooms! What’s going on with you?” Tschhhhhh. Tschhhhhh. Tschhhhhh. I hear a fuzzy scratching sound from the speakers, as if the signal is bad. I move to a different spot and keep shouting into the phone. “Glooms! Can you hear me? It’s me, Sunny!” Tschhhhhh. Tschhhhhh. Tschhhhhh. I’m just about to try banging the phone on something when I hear something from the other end. Drip-drop. I fall quiet and listen dumbly to this menacingly haunting sound. Tschhhhhh. Tschhhhhh. Tschhhhhh. It’s still this strange noise. Slowly, an eerie feeling starts spreading starting from my nape like countless icy cold tentacles unhurriedly inching across my body. I’m soaked with a sheen of cold sweat. Then the noise stops momentarily before the sound of gla.s.s falling on to the ground comes through the phone, as though someone tossed a piece of gla.s.s away. The dripping comes back the next moment, followed by more scratching, and then another piece of tossed gla.s.s…. A picture begins to form in my head. A hazy figure holding a shard of sharp gla.s.s keeps slas.h.i.+ng at something, which is what made those scratching sounds…After so many slashes, the shard becomes dull so it throws this one away, picks another piece up and keeps cutting… “Let us…go…please. I’m beggin’….” I’m crying. I’m pleading for the unfeasible possibility to live, pleading to the phone, to whatever is on the other side of the phone. Bip-bip-bip. The call has ended. Has my pleas been rejected as well? I was just calling Glooms’ number…. Did disaster befall on him? What about Chief? And Yuan Fei? Is tonight…our last night? The scene of the four of us chatting and laughing suddenly pops up in my mind. Of us b.u.mping fists in trust of one another. Of us sharing our wishes for success with each other. These scenes seem to play like a slow-mo from a movie, flas.h.i.+ng across, pausing and replaying in my mind. I scamper up the stairs to the second floor and drag my wobbly body up to the third using the railings. If it was a matter of order, I would pray that I be the last one, but if today’s the end for everyone, then the order is no longer important! I want to confirm with my own two eyes who’s left—how many of my comrades are left! The princ.i.p.al’s office is in the middle of the hallway. The only sounds in the entire hallway are my scurrying footsteps and breathless pants. The door to the room is opened. It’s a mess inside. A row of cabinets knocked over. Broken gla.s.s and paper everywhere. But no Chief or Glooms anywhere. This all seems eerily familiar, like a cliché comic scene. I’m still here, only in another dimension which is why I can’t see anyone else. If not, I can’t come up with any other explanation why the rest of the school hasn’t acted after such a loud commotion on the third floor. Not one person has come to check. Furthermore, Wu Fan, Xu Ping and Yuan Fei are nowhere to be found. Not a trace. And there’s only me… I zone out in front of the chaotic mess, not sure what to do now. Suddenly, a chilly feeling rises and lightly, vaguely enshrouds me. I’m rooted to the spot, not moving a finger. I don’t know how but I know…it’s behind me…. Ice cold. Lifeless. Soulless. It’s standing behind me, almost right behind me. I know I would come in contact with it if I moved the slightest bit. That’s why I’m staying still, not moving a muscle, despite the fact my limbs are about to give out. “Why…me?” I know that’s a useless question. My roommates were killed off by him one by one. I’m not special. There’s no special reason for coming to me. It’s simply my turn. “The guys…. Are they still alive?” My words seem to roll out of my mouth uncontrollably. My wavering voice reveals my apprehension. Moving is no longer an option; it’s as if I can only express my anxiety through my words or else I might suffocate. I start catching whiffs of a strong medicinal odour. It’s very pungent. I think I’ve smelled it somewhere before but I can’t remember what it is. Puzzled, I try to pinpoint the origin of the odour. It seems…it’s coming from behind me? Is it coming from it? It’s very untimely but I think it’s kind of funny. What did I expect the odour to be? Its perfume? Eeeeee. I divert my attention to where the sound is coming from. Under the hazy moonlight, I can make out a safe behind the swivel chair and its number wheel turning steadily on its own. I stare at it with wide eyes until its stops spinning. Ka-lik! I guess that signifies that the lock’s been opened but I don’t know what that means for me. Then, out of nowhere, I feel a hand on my back! It takes all my efforts to keep from screaming my head off. It’s its hand. Just like any other hand, only it’s cold beyond description. I move forward robotically under its push all the way up to the safe. Only then does its force lessen. I look dumbfounded at the mounds of cash, several official stamps, some files and contracts, and also a few familiar paper envelopes that look like the ones Chief got us to help check. Could it be? Are those the files of Room 308 students? My brain that was supposed to be blank unexpectedly starts running again. It opened the safe. It pushed me over here. Does it want me to take them out? But what for? We wanted to see the files because we feared death, because we wanted to find the reason for its targets, and because we didn’t want to be the next one. But what does it want me to have the files for? So we can find the reason? How is that even possible? I might be able to make more guesses if I were in a calmer state. I might not be shaking like a leaf right now but I’m definitely not in the shape to think critically either. I instinctively notice the problem but I can’t figure out the solution. Therefore I can’t tell what will happen next if I were to cooperate. If I do what he wants, maybe I’ll be the only one he lets off the hook. But really, is that possible? If I do what he wants, maybe I’ll be played with before I’m killed. But really, will that be the case? I reach out stiffly and take the files in my hand. There are not eight, not nine, but exactly seven. The hand on my back slowly leaves. I stay still in my spot, trying to sense with every single pore whether it left or not. It’s actually not hard to do. If there was a huge chunk of ice behind you, you could tell its whereabouts even with your eyes closed. It hasn’t left. It’s still behind me. I don’t know what it’s waiting for—perhaps it’s waiting for my next move to decide its next move. My fingers tighten around the files. I can only stand here pa.s.sively and wait with no aim like I have my back to a cliff. Maybe it’ll leave on its own, if I’m lucky. Then I’ll be safe… Illusory thoughts fill my cowardly head. I let them so I won’t have to deal with the fear. Suddenly, it starts moving behind me. Slowly, lightly, it starts moving. My eyes go wide and I stare straight ahead. My breath stops short—I’m too petrified to even exhale. The pungent odour is even stronger. I feel it to the side of my face. I’m too scared to look away because I don’t want to see it accidentally from the corner of my eye. However, it’s getting closer and closer to my face until finally something ice cold touches my earlobe. All the logic and sense I’ve tried to maintain crumbles apart in an instant. I roar loudly and hurl the files to my side. They land on the ground with no obstructions but my eyes tell me that I’ve hit it! Because it’s right there before my eyes! It’s still a blob of dark, soul-eating black with no b.u.mps or ridges to it as though it’s made of shapeless smoke and mist. I see it all very clearly with my eyes but it’s only in that one moment when I had turned to throw the files at it because the next second I’m racing out the room. However, I still want to cry out in regret for doing that because that one glimpse proves to be too much for my heart. It’s far from a ghastly sight but I feel like every hair on my body is standing. I haven’t even considered what kinds of misfortunes doing that would bring upon me. I only know that touch was my breaking point. My naive inner voice has finally woken up and it says: That thing can’t be thought of as a human! And right now that thing wants to kill you, to murder you! I run like a madman down the pitch black hallway as fast as my legs can carry me. I need some kind of mental support to give me the strength to keep running. I need it before my energy runs out, before my legs give out! Thoughts roll before my eyes so messily I can’t tell one from another. Until one name, and only one, rises above them all. I shout it out with all I’ve got. “Yuan Fei!”
