Mysterious Awakening

Upon hearing the telltale rustle of approaching footsteps outside the bathroom, Miles instantly hushed River by placing a hand over her mouth before darkening his flashlight. He wanted to clearly convey the urgent need for silence.

Quick to comprehend the gravity of the situation, River followed suit, pressing a hand over her mouth to smother any potential noises. She even held her breath, adding to the eerie quietness.

Once their source of light was turned off, the bathroom plunged into profound darkness, a disquieting tranquility enveloping them.

Yet, the sounds of encroaching footsteps perforated the silence, amplifying their unsettling prominence.

There was no doubt, someone was inching their way into the bathroom. The interloper, neither employing a flashlight nor the glow of a phone screen, navigated the space with an ease that suggested it was not a mundane bathroom visit.

Their unwelcome presence was intensely felt by Miles. Terror widened River’s eyes, the fear she felt materializing palpably within them.

“Has it stopped moving?” Miles’ face slightly twitched as he noticed the lull in the footsteps, implying the intruder had come to a pause.

From the direction of the sounds, he deduced that the figure was likely near the first cubicle.

“What’s its intent? Is it merely here to use the restroom? Should I go check?” These thoughts began to populate Miles’ mind.

Nevertheless, after some contemplation, he brushed the idea aside.

Engaging with a ghost would necessitate the summoning of his own protective spirit, depleting an invaluable safeguard. The potential benefit was greatly overshadowed by the risk.

Just as he arrived at this decision…

“Bang!”

A deafening noise echoed throughout the bathroom.

It was reminiscent of a door panel being violently broken down.

It seemed that the door of the first cubicle had been harshly kicked open.

“Hphhhh~!” River jerked, her body succumbing to the fear surging through her. Had she not already stifled herself, a scream would have undoubtedly erupted.

After the loud clamor subsided, the figure resumed its movement, the footsteps resonating dreadfully throughout the bathroom.

The figure paused after a few paces, now by the second cubicle.

“Bang~!”

Again, the harsh sound of a door panel shattering resounded. The door of the second cubicle suffered the same fate as the first. The water tank too cracked under the assault, followed by the gushing sound of escaping water.

The tumult once more fell silent.

Yet, the footsteps resumed their ominous rhythm.

The intruder had now moved on to the third cubicle.

“Hpphh, hpphhh!” River shivered, her eyes tightly shut as fear teetered on the edge of consuming her.

She was sure that the entity outside was not human, but the ghost they dreaded.

Their discovery in this five-cubicle bathroom seemed inevitable, spelling out an impending doom.

“Is this entity specifically targeting me?” Miles pondered.

“Bang~!”

Another thunderous noise echoed, marking the forceful entry into the fourth cubicle.

“Looks like there’s no other choice. If it’s hellbent on finding me, I must face it,” Miles resolved, inhaling a deep breath. He let go of River and turned towards their cubicle door, prepared to unleash his ghostly abilities at a moment’s notice.

Emboldened by Miles’ determination, River found an unexpected surge of courage within herself. Rising to her feet, she clung to Miles tightly from behind, a vow of steadfastness in her grip.

“Please, don’t abandon me. I don’t want to die. I’ll do anything to escape, even become your girlfriend, share your bed,” she pleaded, her voice quivering with tearful desperation. The fear of Miles possibly deserting her was paralyzing.

“Quiet,” Miles commanded softly.

“Okay,” River complied immediately, biting her lip to stifle any further noise as tremors of terror shook her frame.

In that moment, Miles felt an involuntary respect for River. Her sharp instincts, her understanding of his defensive powers, and her determination to cling to him as her lifeline – it left an indelible impression on him. But there was no time to dwell on it.

Wearing an earnest expression, he honed in on the faint sounds emanating from outside their cubicle.

“Here it comes!”

That’s when he felt it.

The ghost was closing in.

The spectral entity was just outside their cubicle, separated by a flimsy wooden door, barely two meters away. It was uncomfortably proximate.

A faint, putrid smell seeped in, reminiscent of the odor they’d first encountered upon reaching the mall two days ago.

It was not overpowering, but rather subtly insidious.

“Bang~!” A harsh noise shattered the silence. Their cubicle’s feeble wooden door seemed to buckle under the onslaught of a mighty force, threatening to splinter at any moment.

The impact nearly flung Miles and River backwards, until they found themselves pinned against the wall.

“Creak~!”

Simultaneously, the wooden door started to creak open.

Through the barely perceptible gap, nothing was visible but engulfing darkness.

Miles could sense the ghostly presence beyond. Their blindness owed only to the pitch black.

“It didn’t burst in? It seems to have halted.”

Miles was on the verge of activating his ghost sight but reconsidered at the last second.

Because if the ghost hadn’t attacked, it suggested that neither he nor River was its primary prey.

This realization was critical.

Miles peered into the abyss with intense concentration, cautious to avoid acting recklessly.

He wouldn’t deploy his ghostly vision as long as the ghost outside held back.

As such, man and ghost were now in a tense deadlock, separated only by a barely ajar wooden door.

Just like the ghost beyond, Miles remained motionless and silent.

The situation seemed to hang in an uneasy stalemate.

Moving with utmost caution, Miles slowly extended a hand to close the slightly opened wooden door.

The eerie quiet outside suggested that the ghost was not after him or River.

Just as Miles began to think they had reached some semblance of stability, River, attuned to his taut energy, subtly shifted her position.

In the very next moment…

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The door was assaulted with violent force again, teetering on the brink of collapse.

“It’s back,” Miles alerted, swiftly moving to reinforce the door.

Despite her terror, River was not helpless. She joined Miles in his effort to bolster the precarious wooden barrier.

Nevertheless, the attack on the door intensified, each hit more forceful than the last. The door threatened to give way several times, but each instance, Miles managed to secure it shut.

At this point, he was strongly considering deploying his ghost domain.

But why had the ghost hesitated earlier, only to launch an assault when River shifted?

“Don’t lean on the door, turn around,” Miles directed, guiding River with a gentle hand.

As soon as River obeyed, the chaos outside the door dwindled, eventually ceasing altogether.

Silence resumed its reign.

“I see,” Miles murmured, a flicker of understanding in his eyes.

He’d deciphered what provoked the ghost’s lethal aggression.

Sure enough, the quiet persisted.

With the ghost outside staying immobile, Miles found confidence in his deductions.

“Since neither River nor I are provoking the ghost to attack, and it hasn’t gone on a senseless rampage, the ghost’s threat level is only a C, meaning it’s restrained.”

As he pondered, the ghost outside stirred again.

However, this time it didn’t gravitate towards Miles but instead began a slow retreat from the bathroom.

Gradually, the footsteps faded, signaling the ghost had left to seek new prey.

“Leaving so soon? But I need to discern the ghost’s true identity.”

Miles’s eyes gleamed with determination. Swiftly, he pulled out his phone, activated the camera, and captured a photo aimed at the retreating footsteps outside their cubicle.

“Snap.”

The flash briefly lit up the scene.

“What… what are you doing? What if it lures the ghost back?” River recoiled, her voice barely a whisper as she tightened her grip on Miles.

“Simply taking a photo. I need to identify that ghost. You suggested Blush is a ghost, but I met her yesterday, and she seemed very much alive, not at all dead. If she is indeed a ghost, I should be able to capture her image, even if it’s just a fragment of her face.”

Miles replied calmly, “This is my responsibility, so don’t worry. The ghost held back from rushing in, which suggests we weren’t its targets. If anything happens, I’ll bear the burden. I won’t knowingly put you in danger.”

However, he was taken aback when he looked at the photo he had just snapped.

“How can it be him?”

The photo only captured a partial view of the ghost, the rest obscured by the corner of the bathroom wall.

The visible portion, astonishingly, showed a figure dressed in a security uniform identical to his own.