Mysterious Awakening

Suddenly, an ear-splitting roar erupted from the right side, disrupting the peaceful atmosphere of the classroom. This abrupt chaos sent a shockwave of surprise among the students. However, their innate survival instincts quickly overcame the initial shock, prompting them into action.

Jing, demonstrating leadership, commanded in an urgent tone, “Follow me if you want to live!” Without wasting a moment, he darted towards the classroom’s rear exit. His movements were so swift and nimble that he astounded the other students.

Their classroom, located on the fifth floor of the building, posed a daunting challenge to their escape plan. With his audacious nature, Jing might have considered jumping from a lower floor, but from their current altitude, such a move was akin to suicide—an unthinkable risk.

Inspired by Jing’s quick thinking and decisive action, the other students reacted similarly. They were like dominos, each one triggering the next, and soon, a wave of adrenaline-fueled fear propelled them forward. Miles found himself swept up in the tidal wave of bodies. He was counting on Right’s ability to hold his ground, despite knowing that the man’s endurance was dwindling.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck when the old and decrepit floor collapsed suddenly, unable to bear the weight of the fleeing students. Several students tumbled into the gaping hole, their terror-filled screams reverberating through the entire building.

“William, Grace!” Miles called out in panic, narrowly avoiding the gaping hole that had appeared beneath their feet.

“I’m fine. Whoever pushed me better prepare for a beating!” William retorted, tending to his bruised posterior and panting from the shock. He had fallen into the classroom below—a three-meter drop, causing pain but not threatening his life.

However, his heart skipped a beat when he saw the other unfortunate students who had fallen with him. One of them, a talented young classmate, lay sprawled on the floor, her eyes wide with terror. Blood oozed from her neck, where a piece of rebar had pierced her throat, presenting a horrific sight that sent a chill down William’s spine.

Her injury was beyond any quick first aid, and their dire circumstances didn’t afford them any time to offer help.

“Everyone, get up and move! We can’t waste time,” Miles shouted, his authoritative tone not leaving any room for disagreements as he led the way out of the room.

“Miles, you don’t need to remind me. I’m on my way out,” William snapped back, “And don’t count on me sharing my collection later.”

An influx of students poured out of the classroom, desperately navigating the stairway in a frantic bid to escape the impending danger.

Doubts gnawed at Miles’s mind as he tried to maneuver through the pandemonium. The mental image of the elderly man clad in black lingered ominously. Could Right, the sole individual seemingly capable of combating the ghost, protect them?

The chilling thought that Right could potentially be a ghost himself sent a shiver coursing down Miles’s spine. Could it be that they had been unknowingly attending a ghost’s lecture all along?

In the corridor adjacent to the classroom, Right was locked in a fierce battle with the old man, valiantly attempting to thwart the reactivation of the ghost domain. Should the domain become active again, every student within its radius, regardless of whether they had fled the classroom, would face imminent danger. The old man’s formidable power exceeded even Right’s darkest fears, leaving him unsure about the duration of his resilience against such an onslaught.

Engulfed by a whirlwind of chaotic frenzy, the students scrambled down the spiraling staircase, their frantic, haphazard movements mirroring the erratic behavior of frightened rabbits escaping from their once-safe burrows. One after another, they descended; one level, two levels, then three. The allure of escape and safety was slowly but steadily coming into focus, enticing them with its promising embrace.

However, as Jing descended to the halfway point of the forsaken staircase, a sinister hissing sound crept into their ears, turning their blood cold with dread. Suddenly, the lights began to flicker, casting eerie, misshapen shadows on the walls before succumbing entirely to the encroaching darkness. An all-consuming blackness swallowed the staircase, so dense it felt as though it could be physically touched.

The ensuing silence, ominous and foreboding, was abruptly broken by a terrified scream from a female student. The chilling sound of her shriek cut through the oppressive darkness like a razor-sharp blade, marking the dreadful realization that they were trapped in a lightless void.

Panic surged within Jing as his thoughts began to spin. Cold sweat formed on his brow, trickling down his flushed face. “Has Right met his match?” he wondered. “Is the dreadful ghostly domain reemerging? Just how formidable is that old man? This situation is truly horrifying.”

Gathering his courage, he knew he could not afford to stand paralyzed in the engulfing darkness. Swiftly turning, he commanded with all the authority he could summon, “Keep moving, don’t stop!”

While he did not necessarily aim to be their savior, he was painfully aware that any casualties within this ghostly domain would only serve to strengthen the fearsome entity lurking in the shadows.

Navigating the staircase they knew so well in the smothering darkness proved to be less of a challenge than they initially feared. However, after a while, Jing came to an abrupt stop, a wave of unease washing over him. Miles, following closely behind him, seemed to share his sense of dread. It felt as though they had descended more than the five flights that made up their school building, yet the staircase still plunged deeper into the all-encompassing darkness.

“Hold on, everyone. Don’t go any further,” Jing ordered, his voice slicing through the growing panic like a reassuring beacon. The students, floundering in their fear, found solace in his collected manner.

“Why have we stopped, Jing?” A girl’s voice, tremulous with fear, punctuated the silence.

Impatient and reluctant to remain trapped in their apprehension, one of the boys decided to brave the shadows. He quickly disappeared into the lightless chasm.

“Don’t disrupt the momentum, Jing. We are gambling with our lives here,” another student pleaded, the strain in their voice clearly revealing the tears they were desperately holding back.

“Quiet! Did any of you take note of how many flights of stairs we descended?” Jing retorted.

“And who in their right mind would keep track in a situation as dire as this?” The other student shot back defensively.

In the throes of such chaotic circumstances, such minor details were easily overlooked. Not everyone was capable of maintaining the mental clarity to keep count.

After a few moments of silence, Miles chimed in, “Before the lights went out, we were on the third floor, heading to the second. If we had descended one more floor, we would have reached the ground level. But since the darkness descended, we’ve navigated at least three, if not four flights of stairs. Logically, we should be underground.”

“But… our school building doesn’t have a basement…”

“Can we stop discussing such unsettling things, Miles? This is hardly the time for that,” a disgruntled voice objected from the darkness.

“So, what’s the plan now? Do we continue descending, or do we stop?”

“Why not keep descending? Maybe Miles’s count was off,” one student suggested, his voice barely a whisper in the engulfing blackness.

Their conversation was abruptly cut short as a faint glow penetrated the heavy darkness. A girl, trembling as if caught in a fierce wind, had managed to activate the flashlight on her phone.

“Wait, are our phones still functional?”

A collective sigh of relief washed over the students at the sight of the dim but comforting light. They hurriedly fumbled to retrieve their own phones, their hands trembling as they swiped screens to activate their flashlights. Over a dozen beams of light now pierced the oppressive darkness, casting an unsettling glow on their panic-stricken faces. Yet, when compared to the total number of students, the amount of light seemed woefully inadequate. Had some of them scattered in their panic, lost in the labyrinth of fear?

Furthermore, the beams of light emanating from their phones, typically bright and dependable, barely managed to puncture about a meter into the dense darkness. Beyond this radius, a wall of pitch black swallowed everything, creating a suffocating void that loomed ominously, threatening to engulf them without warning.

“We need to press forward,” Jing declared with a resolute grit, the firm determination in his voice barely disguising his undercurrent of anxiety.

In the face of this overpowering, malevolent force, individual strength was pitifully insignificant. Their solitary lifeline lay in Right’s ability to distract the ghost and hinder the ghost domain’s resurgence. If this failed, they faced the daunting prospect of being imprisoned in this ghostly abyss indefinitely, lost in its terror-inducing expanse.

With this chilling prospect driving their actions, they restarted their descent, mentally tallying each floor they descended.

One floor, two floors, three floors…

Each floor heightened their mounting unease. When they reached what logically should have been the ground level, only to be greeted by more steps spiraling into the abyss, they froze in their tracks. A surge of dread swept over them, prompting terrified glances to be exchanged and causing one girl to collapse onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

“We’ve… we’ve already descended five flights…”

“I also counted five flights… We’re… we’re trapped. There’s no way out.”

Confronted with this harsh reality, a wave of despair washed over them.

Even Jing, typically exuding confidence, was enveloped in an unusual shroud of despair. His reluctance to perish in such a disorienting and frightful state was palpable in his stoic silence.

“Miles, you’re not dead yet, are you?” Jing’s voice shattered the stunned silence with an enraged roar.

“Jing, I haven’t crossed you in any way. Quit bringing up my death so casually,” Miles retorted, his voice cold.

Ignoring the others, Jing forcefully pushed his way through the crowd, gripped Miles by the collar, and growled, “If you’re still alive, then take the lead. With your latent potential, you ought to be able to find an escape route. There’s no way you’re dying in this godforsaken place.”

Miles shot back, “You have more insight into this situation than I do. If you’re clueless, what am I supposed to do?”

Frustration contorted Jing’s features. “Are you going to contribute anything or just stand there helplessly?” he snapped.

At this impasse of despair, Jing’s only sliver of hope was anchored in Miles. If Miles could indeed tap into the wellspring of potential he seemed to possess, Jing was convinced they wouldn’t meet their demise here. Jing’s interest in Miles had been progressively intensifying, particularly in the wake of the shared trials and adversities they had encountered.

Consider, for instance, the brief duration in which Miles had managed to successfully decipher the rhythmic patterns of the knockings produced by the ghostly entity. In addition to this, he had also accurately kept track of the number of flights of stairs they had hastily descended during their frenzied escape. This demonstrated a level of adaptability that was absolutely extraordinary.

Typically, individuals who are confronted with the terror of a ghost domain and a threatening ghostly entity for the first time would be incapacitated by fear. Yet, Miles had exhibited a remarkable capacity to maintain composure. This exceptional ability to stay calm amidst such horror was a virtue few could claim to possess.

Of course, such a skill might appear insignificant, even unnecessary under normal circumstances. Indeed, one might go through their entire life without ever needing to exhibit such a talent. However, in critical situations like the one they were trapped in, this sort of capability could substantially tip the balance of survival in their favor. For someone who aspires to be a ghost tamer, having such a trait could offer a considerable edge when dealing with paranormal phenomena.

“Jing, putting me under pressure isn’t going to help,” Miles retorted, keeping his voice steady. “This is my first brush with a situation this extreme. If I had a clue about an escape route, don’t you think I’d have put it to use by now? Every extra moment we spend here heightens the risk of running into that ghost. I’m not exactly thrilled about the prospect of meeting my doom, you understand?”

Caught off guard, Jing was abruptly reminded that despite his outward poise, Miles was as inexperienced as the rest of them when it came to dealing with such anomalies. The irrationality of his expectations from Miles in this predicament suddenly hit Jing.

Had his judgment been clouded by the potential he foresaw in Miles?

“Jing, something’s not right, look!” A student’s trembling voice echoed in the hallway, his quivering finger pointing towards the bathroom door.

Situated midway between the second and third floors, the bathroom was a notorious spot in the school’s architectural blueprint.

“Damn it, we’ve looped back to the same location. We’re still stuck between the second and third floors. This is hopeless.”

“No, not that, look behind the door. I think I can see a shadowy figure.” The student’s voice wavered as he illuminated the area with his phone’s flashlight.

Collectively, everyone shrank back, their hearts pounding in terror.

A large, indistinct shadow was visible through the frosted glass door of the bathroom.

“Who’s there?” someone managed to summon the courage to yell, hoping it might be another student trapped inside the bathroom.

A long, spine-chilling creak echoed through the corridor as a pale hand slowly emerged from the pitch-black darkness of the bathroom, gently nudging the door open.

“It’s not a student. It’s another ghost.” Jing’s pupils shrank, but his facial expression remained stoic. “Miles, if you’re as clueless as you claim, it’s time to prove yourself.” Without giving Miles a chance to respond, Jing grabbed him and pushed him towards the bathroom.