《Jalan Suram : The 100 Fire Holders》


 1. Prologue

    Prologue


    In my town, there were a couple of the so-called supernatural spots. One of the spots was a whole street. Officially, its name was Jalan Sulam. It was named that way because the wives and daughters of the soldiers gathered at Jalan Sulam before the country¡¯s independent proclamation day to sew brand new uniforms for their husbands and fathers. It was a patriotic and heart-wrenching story. Sad though that nowadays, people, especially young adults like me, had taken to calling the place Jalan Suram.


    Years of neglect had turned Jalan Sulam into the gloomiest street in the town¡ªhence, the name. Despite the growing problem of the dramatic rise in the price of the lands, people still tended to avoid the cheap land of Jalan Sulam. Cars never went through there and pedestrians would often hasten their pace every time they crossed over the place. This included me.


    So, you could imagine my surprise when I received an invitation to an address on Jalan Sulam via postal mail one day. People rarely used postal mail for invitations anymore. It was cheaper, easier and safer to simply use an email. It was rare and not just a little weird to receive this invitation from a stranger.


    The sender was named Agus Setiawan. While I had met a couple of Aguses during school, none possessed the last name of Setiawan. A little bit curious and more than a little bit suspicious, I opened the plastic wrapper and fetched out a golden invitation.


    Mrs. Novita,


    100, Jalan Sumatera


    Medan


    Indonesia


    September 19, 2016


    We are pleased to inform you that you are chosen as one of the nominees of our company 100 Fire Holders contest. You had been included in the list of participants on our computer for fulfilling the contest¡¯s main condition. After rigorous elimination, our juries had approved of you as one of the lucky nominees.


    To proceed with the award, it is required for all the nominees to visit us at 10 Jalan Sulam, Medan. The nominees shall then participate in an additional elimination contest. For your convenience, we will provide living space, food and, entertainment for the duration of the contest.


    Our upcoming contest will begin this October. We sincerely hope for your participation in it. After all, you just might be the winner.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Sincerely,


    Agus Setiawan


    Head of 100 Fire Holders Team


    Putra Utama Sejati


    The dubious content frankly amazed me. Without an ounce of regret, I crumpled the invitation and threw it into the dustbin. It was amazing how creative people could get in their ways of scamming some poor souls. It was a pity because their creativeness was used in the wrong way, though. Laziness was a plague for society.


    A week later, the invitation was shoved under my door. With a frown, I found that it was the same invitation I had taken the pain to crumple and throw away. The feeling of uneasiness attacked me while my instinct told me that something was very strange indeed. Of course, I was not going to ignore said instinct, especially after all it had done to keep me alive that time.


    Wiping out my trusty smartphone, I googled for ¡°100 Fire Holders contest¡±. To my surprise, the keywords appeared on the very first link. Opening that link, I was brought to a website of a company named PT. Putra Utama Sejati.


    It sounded familiar.


    I glanced at the invitation. There, on the very last sentence, the company¡¯s name was printed in the elegant, cursive font. Perhaps, I was wrong in thinking of the invitation as a scam. Perhaps, it was a very real contest.


    Excited and eager, I started to click the entire link on that website. The introduction, the FAQs, contact information, and finally, the contest¡¯s description.


    Is anyone excited for an experience of a brand new kind of contest? Do you know how much is the reward? A shocking delicious five hundred million rupiahs! Are you excited? We are!


    The participants of the contest are going to be selected by our very own founder, Alex Adinata, objectively. The criterion for the selection is shocking and dangerously confidential.


    We aim to surprise the nominees when they receive their special invitation!


    Further information will be explained on the invitation. Get this though, there are going to be a hundred nominees. A hundred participants out of millions in Medan. Anyone can be the winner!


    To think the largest trading company in Indonesia was going to host this kind of obscure contest. I shook my head in amusement. My eyes were then drawn to the sentence about the prize. ¡®A shocking delicious five hundred million rupiahs.¡¯


    It is indeed very delicious.


    My instinct suddenly warned me that it was a bad idea. I argued that there were going to be a lot of people there. The image of Jalan Suram assaulted me. The darkness, the gloom, the feeling of utter abandonment. Who knew what was going to be in there?


    My eyes were drawn again to the hundred million rupiahs part.


    As a college student, I needed a lot of money to pay the College¡¯s fee. As a young adult, I needed a lot more money for supplies and building connections. As a woman, there were a lot of demanding necessities that were not cheap. And five hundred million rupiahs was a lot. It was enough for me to get through college and live leisurely for years.


    It was settled. I would go.

 2. Surya (1)

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Surya


    Jalan Sulam, October 3rd, 12:33


    I squinted at the building plate of the building in front of me. It was an ancient school building that surprisingly didn¡¯t look as wrecked as I would have thought given how old it was. While it doesn¡¯t look as good as new, the roof of the building was still intact. Yellowed stains could be seen occasionally on the wall, but none of the paint was peeled off. The wooden floor looked clean albeit kind of old and the field around the place was tidy with some grass and flowers thriving on the edges.


    The school plate unfortunately didn¡¯t give me any name to the building for it was badly scratched off. Fortunately, I could barely read the number 10 on the smaller plate under the bigger one. 10, Jalan Sulam was where the contest I had¡ªunknowingly¡ªparticipated in was going to be held. I was not going to complain though. Not with that amount of prize. I had sworn that day I was going to get out of this shit city. And I would realize it no matter what.


    A sudden feeling of pain suddenly assaulted me and I raised my hand with a frown. Crescent shape wounds could be skin on the skin of my palms. Without realizing it, I had clenched my fists too hard. Taking shuddering breaths, I forced the memories of that day to the innermost corner of my mind and pushed the gate of the old school.


    Ignoring the glares of sunlight on my eyes and skin, I looked around. Even though I have thought of it before, I was once again surprised at how¡­ normal¡ªnormal if you would have ignored some things that simply could no longer be seen in the modern world¡ªthe school looked. When you looked at the school from the outside, you would find out that it only consisted of three floors. It was wrong though to think of the place as small because the place was actually ridiculously broad.


    Hurried footsteps could be heard from one of the school corridors. I tensed as I saw an older stern-looking woman in traditional Batik attire approach me. I was ashamed to admit that I zoned out from staring at her.


    ¡°Welcome.¡± She bowed stiffly. ¡°You should be one of the nominees. Apologize, but did you bring your invitation?¡± An eyebrow was raised when she didn¡¯t receive a reply. ¡°Mister?¡±


    ¡°Ueh?¡± Shit. ¡°Right.¡± A cough. ¡°The invitation.¡± After she received and inspected the golden paper, she nodded and gave me back the invitation.


    ¡°Please follow me.¡± The walk was for the lack of a better word, eerie. As I followed the girl, I took a peek at each classroom we passed by. Each of them looked clean. The long tables and chairs showed no sign of decay. There are scribbles on the blackboards that I couldn¡¯t read from the door. White black photos were stuck on the walls. The only missing thing was the sound of children learning. Apart from that, I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if I was told that the school was still in operation.


    The lady opened the door that greeted us after we climbed up to the third floor. From beyond the door, I could hear the voices of the living and I let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Please.¡± I walked inside the School Hall and saw a variety of people. The golden paper some of them were holding told me that they were participants of the contest like me. Out of habit, I took off my shoes and took a step on the wooden floor that was covered by rattan carpets. Finding an empty space I took a seat and once again look around.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    At least thirty people had already sat and were either, chatting or browsing their phones. Some of them were in groups or some of them were alone like me. All of them looked like they came from different types of lifestyles and I was reminded once again that the invitation never said why I was chosen. None of the seats near the podium was taken and I was not surprised by that. The rows of unlit candles over there were too uncanny.


    Trying to ignore my uneasiness, I took out my phone and messaged my little sister to tell her that I had arrived at my destination.


    ¡°Take a photo of the place!¡± Was her reply. Feeling a little bit silly, I took an awkward selfie, another selfie showing the outside scenery from one of the windows, and last but not least, the interior of the hall. I sent all three of the photos to my sister and let out a sigh.


    It had been a while since I visited an unfamiliar place. I felt glad that this place did not feel funny though because if it did, then the prize did not matter. I would get out from here.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I admitted that the sudden call made me jump. Glaring at the caller, I let out a pissed, ¡°what?¡± The caller was an obese teenager. He had, at least, the decency to look guilty and sorry.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± He said sheepishly. ¡°Everybody else is in their own world and you look the friendliest so... well, I¡¯m Agung.¡±


    ¡°Surya.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Who did you come with?¡± I doubt his parent would let Agung attend this kind of contest alone. The boy looked too naive and in this kind of dangerous town, his naivet¨¦ could put him in danger.


    ¡°With my parents.¡± Agung scratched the back of his head. ¡°They can¡¯t enter the school though. Miss Maya said that only I can use the invitation.¡±


    ¡°Miss Maya?¡±


    ¡°The scary-looking lady, you know. She reminded me so much of one of my teachers. No way, I¡¯m going to disobey her.¡± The boy chattered on. ¡°I didn¡¯t see anyone else when Miss Maya led me here. Do you think she¡¯s the only worker here, brother?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it.¡± The school was just too well-kept.


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think so too.¡± Agung nodded solemnly. ¡°What¡¯re you going to do with the prize money, brother? I¡¯m going to buy all the existing game platforms!¡±


    Now how am I going to explain this? ¡°I¡¯m going to continue my study abroad.¡± Technically, I didn¡¯t lie. I really was going to study abroad.


    Agung stared at me with wide eyes. ¡°That¡¯s very cool. Mother kept nagging me to take Medical as my major later in college. I did like Biology once, but....¡± Agung grumbled. ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t think Medical is for me. What was your major, brother?¡±


    ¡°Economics,¡± I smirked. ¡°It was a fun time.¡± If I excluded the days after that incident. ¡°Well, my college is one of the easygoing ones so I could get away with ditching class or playing jokes during lectures. I heard from my schoolmate that his was never as fun.¡±


    ¡°You mean each college is different?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The door to the hall was swung open again. A gloomy-looking girl entered and then scanned the hall. She frowned when her eyes fell upon the podium. Without hesitation, she approached the rows of candles.


    ¡°She¡¯s kinda pretty albeit maybe somewhat intimidating.¡± Agung commented. ¡°You like her type, brother?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that....¡± My uneasiness returned.


    A ring from my palm showed that my little sister has replied to my message. From the front screen, I saw her sentence.


    That guy is so hot! Who is he?


    Before I could process the message, a burst of light caught my attention and I saw with my own eyes when all candles on the podium lit by themselves.

 3. Eka (1)

    Eka


    Jalan Sulam, October 3rd, 13:20


    When we drifted apart on that faithful day, I never would have guessed, here was where all of us meet each other again. Ayu, Utami, Ade, and Bayu. All five of us were once the best of friends. Right now though, I could no longer feel any intimacy that once existed among us.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± Utami whispered when all of us unconsciously gathered together. The girl in glasses had always been the shyest and also the most sensitive. That was why, when all of us started to go our own way, she was the last to give up. She refused to accept that we had changed.


    When no reply was given to the shy girl and her blushes kept getting deepened, I sighed. ¡°I think it¡¯s been three years? How are you guys?¡±


    ¡°Been alright.¡± Ayu answered. Even in high school, Ayu was enchanting. Three years later though, she was downright gorgeous. And I¡¯m not the only one to think that if the glances Ade and Bayu kept giving her were any indication.


    ¡°Just so, so.¡± Ade distractedly said. ¡°How about you, Ka? Saw your book in the bookstore. I guess you manage to realize your dream, huh?¡±


    And there it was. The intimacy and closeness we once had. With a big grin, I gave him a peace sign. ¡°You betcha! Nothing is impossible for this one, after all.¡±


    All of them laughed. Bayu suddenly put his hand on top of my head and messed my hair. ¡°Nothing except getting taller.¡±


    Spluttering, I pushed his arm away. ¡°Take that back!¡±


    ¡°I think I hear someone talking,¡± Bayu said to Ade. ¡°how about you?¡±


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s just your imagination. I only see Utami and Ayu here and they aren¡¯t talking.¡± The two girls giggled.


    ¡°You both are assholes.¡± I growled.


    ¡°Oh, so this is where the voice comes from.¡± Ade exaggeratedly knelt in front of me. ¡°Little girl, your parent never told you not to cuss? It¡¯s bad. BAADDD.¡± He lengthened the last word excessively.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Feeling pissed off, I kicked the brown-skinned man on his shin. He cursed as he rubbed the abused part. ¡°So violent.¡±


    ¡°You deserve it.¡± Snorting, I helped him get up. ¡°So, all of you get an invitation too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Utami took out said invitation from her ever-present sling bag. ¡°I almost decline to attend today. Now I¡¯m glad I change my mind. It¡¯s really overcrowded though.¡±


    All of us nodded. There were a lot of people waiting in the field of the sole school in Jalan Sulam. The only worker looked completely unperturbed as she slowly checked each invitation before telling us to wait. She flat out told us that we¡¯re forbidden to run around the school at this point of time¡ªodd choice of words, I noted.


    ¡°This place doesn¡¯t seem that scary now, huh.¡± Ayu muttered. Each one of us unconsciously straightened our back while eyeing our surroundings warily. Gradually though, the voices of people around us calmed us down and the tension bleed out from our bodies. ¡°Sorry.¡± Ayu apologized.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Ade gave a half-hearted grin. ¡°It¡¯s our turn.¡± The man approached the woman in Batik and gave her his invitation. After a while, she nodded and gave his invitation back. She checked each of ours and then left us to our own devices as we waited.


    ¡°It almost feels nostalgic.¡± Someone exclaimed and I wholeheartedly agreed. Now that we were grown up, the old days of running around the school and laughing without a care in the world had become a fond memory.


    ¡°You know what? Time for photo session!¡± Ayu grabbed our arms and shoved her phone to Bayu. The tall man obediently became our private photographer while Ade gave some unwelcomed commentary¡ª¡°You look like you¡¯re suffering from constipation.¡±, ¡°Shut up bastard!¡±


    After taking a dozen of narcissistic photos for a while, a clapping sound drowned out all the cacophony of voices around us. ¡°Thank you for waiting.¡± Her sole voice oddly sounded clear above the chatters of the mass. ¡°Please follow me to the hall and do not wander.¡± She commanded sternly.


    Like sheep following their shepherd, we formed a somewhat orderly line behind her. She led us to the third floor. We passed through dozens of empty classes before we arrived in front of a big wooden brown door. With arms as thin as a broomstick, the older woman pulled the door opened and ushered us in. As soon as we went inside, from the dais, hundreds of fires suddenly ignited, washing the hall in the orange lights.


    Everyone including us newcomers and those inside the Hall showed a shocked look. Amongst the freezing figures and deafening silence, the sound of the closed door echoed around the hall.


    ¡°Welcome.¡± A man suddenly appeared on the podium. He was¡­ exquisite.


    As if his albinism was not eye-catching enough, he also had two different colored eyes¡ªHeterochromia, my mind whispered. With a gentle smile and calm voice, he said to us. ¡°Welcome my 100 Fire Holders.¡±


    And that was the beginning of our story of tragedy and futility.

 4. Agung (1)

    Agung


    Jalan Sulam, October 3rd, 14:37


    I swore on my life that there was no one on the stage before. The fact that there was now a man on the podium talking to us baffled me. Due to the sudden light from before, all of us were looking at the stage. One moment there was no one there, a blink and suddenly, a white-haired young man was on it.


    ¡°Nice to meet you all, I¡¯m Alex Adinata.¡± I felt my tense body relaxing; the man had a very calming voice with soothing cadence. ¡°As you may have guessed, I¡¯m the organizer of the 100 Fire Holders¡­ contest.¡± The way that he paused before he said the word contest was odd, to say the least. ¡°Now let me explain to you what this competition entails.¡± He bent down to grab one of the candles and brought it near his face. Under the light of the dancing fire, his mismatched eyes became eerier. Even the smile that was supposed to be calming turned mocking.


    ¡°Each of you can tell a tale to the candle. If the candle accepts your story, the fire will go out. Simple isn¡¯t it?¡± He grinned but no one answered him.


    I wanted to reply. I needed to reply. The man felt like my teacher and you never ignore your teacher when they asked you something. That was like a one way ticket to a red mark on your monthly report.


    But there is¡­ something that blocked out my thoughts. It was like everything inside your brain is getting sucked out leaving you with a blissful blank mind. Well, not everything because every word that the albino man said was getting etched in my memory.


    ¡°For example,¡± he said. ¡°One late night a girl was driving back home in her modest Brio. She was hard at work today trying to finish her cherished project. Who knows? Maybe with this finalized she would finally get her well-deserved raise.¡± A sardonic smile bloomed on the albino face. ¡°The road was dark. Some of the streetlights were turned off. The occasional light was enough for her to see the road but not enough to chase out the feeling of isolation inside the car. Unsettled, she turned on the radio but only silence greeted her. Frowning she looked at her phone only to find that it had run out of battery.¡±


    The man took a seat on the chair that was on the podium, the candle still clutched on his long fingers. ¡°She could stop the car to charge her phone of course but something inside her was telling her not to stop. She had to reach home now or she would never will. So she hardened her resolve and stepped on the gas. As the car went through the road she could have sworn she saw something in the middle of the street. Something like a sleeping person. But the voice in her mind was so loud and when the car passed through the sleeping person, she felt no bump no obstacle at all. Only smooth road.¡±


    The albino smiled at us. ¡°The end.¡± I thought he would blow on the candle to signal the end of the story but he did nothing. He just swept his gaze at everyone inside the Hall still with a gentle smile. ¡°As you can see the candles don¡¯t accept that story. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll figure out why. I have faith in all of you.¡±


    ¡°Now, I¡¯ll give you the correct example.¡± Suddenly I felt goosebumps along my arms. I would like to rub my arms but there is no will inside me. I simply couldn¡¯t move. ¡°There is a school in Jalan Sulam. It was the only school around. A building of magnificent beauty with history and memory. Although not to you, not to those born after.¡± He whispered.


    xxx


    ¡°It¡¯s time.¡± Irwan let down his arms as he nodded at his friends.


    ¡°A¡­ Are you sure this is a good idea?¡± Sabrina shuttered as she pushed her glasses. ¡°I mean we¡¯re technically trespassing on owned land.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine it¡¯s fine. As long as no one finds out, it¡¯s not a crime.¡± The other girl, Laila, waved her hand carelessly. ¡°Besides, if anything happens, Irwan and Erik will protect us.¡±


    The two boys nodded earnestly. Knowing of Irwan¡¯s crush on Sabrina, Erik decided to be a good wingman and grabbed his girlfriend¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go, dear.¡±


    The couple entered the unlocked gate, leaving Irwan and Sabrina behind.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go?¡± Irwan asked the distracted girl. The girl nodded absentmindedly as she followed her classmate, her eyes still on the ground. She really couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of being looked at. In fact, ever since they had arrived in front of the school, Sabrina had felt the intense stare from the abandoned building. She tried to chalk it up as her imagination but was it really?


    Sabrina shook her head and decided to focus on the other. Seriously in these dark surroundings, Irwan seemed to glow as a contrast. She knew other boys in class tend to tease Irwan because he¡¯s sickly due to his genetic disease but in Sabrina¡¯s eyes, the boy was one of the strongest people she knew. Irwan¡¯s body couldn¡¯t stand sunlight and yet the boy persisted and still went to school with them.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Alright, maybe Sabrina had a little bit of a crush on the foreign-looking boy.


    The four of them went inside and as expected the school was shrouded in darkness. Sabrina took out the flashlight she had prepared beforehand and was rewarded by an exclamation of surprise from the others. Sabrina went speechless at how unprepared her friends were.


    ¡°¡­ I only brought one.¡± She said weakly.


    Laila grinned. ¡°No worries, we have our phone.¡± And she took out her Vivo 1907. Turning on the flashlight application, she shone on the surroundings and muttered a ¡°Wow.¡±


    Because no one maintained the place, the school field had completely grassed over. Some of the patches of grass were as tall as 165 cm Erik. Needless to say, both Sabrina and Laila would practically be drowned in if they tried to walk past those patches.


    ¡°We should hold hands.¡± Erik stared at the two girls. ¡°I¡¯ll lead.¡±


    It was a logical decision so no one protested. All of them formed a line with Erik in front followed by Laila then Sabrina and finally Irwan. The group of friends then proceeded to traverse the turf.


    Sabrina felt miserable and she was sure even the optimistic cheery Laila felt the same. Her skin was scratched by the grasses and she felt itchy everywhere. She tried to ignore the feeling but it was futile for every step she took, she was jab all over again. She wanted to talk but her logic told her that once she opened her mouth she would get a mouthful of greens so she kept her mouth shut.


    After minutes that felt like hours, they finally stepped on solid ground. Heaving a relief sigh, Sabrina shone her flashlight on the school corridor. As expected the place was a wreck. Most of the wall had already exfoliated, leaving the bricks inside to brave the elements. Dust and cobwebs were everywhere and Sabrina could only thank God that her hair was covered well by her hijab. As it was, she knew she was going to take a long thorough bath when they went home.


    ¡°Shit.¡± Irwan cursed when a loud BANG! Could be heard echoing in the school. His friends turned to him to see him nervously chuckled. ¡°I was trying to see if there¡¯s anything on the school bulletin.¡± He gestured to the now fallen board. ¡°We haven¡¯t even started and I hate this place.¡±


    Sabrina felt it again. As soon as Irwan¡¯s voice disappeared, the stare from before came back with twice the intensity. Unlike before, the stare now was filled with malice and hate. ¡°We should go back.¡± Sabrina tried to persuade the others.


    The other three traded a silent glance. ¡°Let¡¯s explore the place first at least. Seems like such a waste to return since we have already come this far.¡± Laila gave an uneasy smile to Sabrina.


    Sabrina bit her lips. Maybe she should tell the others that they were not alone. That there was something inside the building having their eyes on their group. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t think we¡¯re alone.¡± The instant she said the word ¡®alone¡¯, Sabrina froze. She was pinned by the gaze. It had now zeroed on her. Whoever was at the end of it now knew that they had been found by Sabrina!


    ¡°¡­brina. Sabrina!¡± Laila gripped both of Sabrina¡¯s shoulders as she shouted her name. Sabrina didn¡¯t realize that she had closed her eyes but when awareness came back she opened her lids to look at Laila¡¯s black orbs. The other girl had turned pale and was looking at her in concern. ¡°Sabrina, are you okay?¡±


    Sabrina raised her trembling hands to grab at Laila¡¯s arms. ¡°Don¡¯t leave me please.¡±


    Laila didn¡¯t feel good. The most composed and mature girl in the class had vanished. What was left is the shell of her best friend that was scared out of her mind. ¡°I think we should go back.¡±


    ¡°But Laila¡­ We told everyone we¡¯re going to explore and take photos of the place.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care! My best friend is losing her mind because of this shitty place. I¡¯m leaving. If they want to look at this school they can come and look by themselves. Screw them!¡± Laila hugged the other girl and then dragged her to retrace the way back, not even caring that the boys didn¡¯t follow her.


    Erik sighed. When her girlfriend made up her mind, there was no way to change it. He could only let down the others in class tomorrow. ¡°Well, you heard the boss. Let¡¯s go back Ir¡­ wan¡­ Irwan!¡±


    Hearing the panicking voice of her boyfriend, Laila turned her head. The tall muscular boy was turning his head left and right, trying to find the last member of their little group. Laila could feel her heart sink down to her stomach. ¡°This isn¡¯t funny Irwan! We¡¯re leaving you!¡±


    But there was no answer from the usually soft-spoken boy.


    xxx


    I never knew that the sound of my heartbeats could be this noisy. It filled everything inside my head, forcing me to concentrate harder to hear the content of the story. As the story reached its end, the candle in Alex¡¯s hand went out. Without any outside help or even any wind, the candle died by itself.


    ¡°And that¡¯s how you know the candle accept your story.¡± The man stood up and placed the candle on the floor back. ¡°There are 99 candles left. Your job is to extinguish them all. There is no time limit in this¡­ competition. As soon as the last candle goes out, you can leave and receive your prize.¡± Alex smiled at all of us. ¡°If there¡¯s any question, you can find me. I wish you all the best.¡± And then right in front of our eyes, the young man slowly turned transparent until there was no longer any trace of anyone on the podium.


    There was a moment of complete silence in the hall. Everyone was still unable to comprehend their situation. Like the airhead I was often accused of, I broke the peace with, ¡°He¡¯s a ghost.¡± I winced when I heard my own loud voice inside the hall. All eyes turned to me.


    As in on cue, the Hall exploded in a cacophony of noises. There is a lot of screaming and scrambling. Sobs could be heard amongst the chaos and I was not surprised to find out I¡¯m among those that are sobbing and screaming.


    ¡°Make way!¡± There are pulling and pushing as people ran out of the Hall. In a matter of minutes, the full Hall has become almost empty save for those that had been paralyzed by fear.


    Tears keep dropping down my face blurring my sight as tightly gripped on Surya¡¯s arm. The man himself was looking kind of green and was silently hyperventilating. I would¡¯ve been concerned if I was in my right mind. As it was now, there was only one sentence repeating in my mind.


    ¡°I wanna go home. I wanna go home. I wanna go home!¡±

 5. Bastian (1)

    Bastian


    Jalan Suram, October 3rd, 15:15


    I slammed my hands on the front gate and yet it didn¡¯t even budge even though it gave way quite easily before. ¡°Help.¡± I called for assistance. Whether it came from behind me or beyond the door didn¡¯t even matter anymore. Sadly, none came. ¡°Dammit, someone help!¡± Finally, several men joined me in pushing the gate.


    It still wouldn¡¯t budge.


    Around us, people had also climbed up on the gate, trying to climb over it, and were met with an invisible blockage. They tried to punch the transparent wall but it was futile. They could see the world outside them¡ªeven though it was a lifeless gloomy world of Jalan Suram¡ªbut they couldn¡¯t go out.


    They were trapped in the school.


    Broken animalistic roars and screams rang throughout the school when the realization hit everyone there. I was never quite a believer of the supernatural but after everything, I was inclined to believe it now. You could argue the disappearing man was a result of some kind of light trick but an invisible wall?


    That was not the work of a human being.


    ¡°Move!¡± I stared in disgust as a burly man pushed a little girl aside to rush onto the wall with a wooden chair. As everyone scrambled to evade the mad man, I was pushed and fell on top of someone. ¡°How idiotic.¡± An impassive voice reached my ears. I soon realized the body under me was a stoic-looking albino. I tried to stand up at once but was pushed down by the mass again. Having no choice, I could only thicken my skin and brace my hands on the ground so I didn¡¯t crush the white-haired man.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    As if he didn¡¯t notice our awkward position, with an expressionless face, he laid down and looked around the chaos. Both of us were in silence even when we heard another scream after a loud crash from the gate. I turned my head just in time to see a body fall down. A piece of wood was stuck on the front of the body¡¯s face.


    It was the burly man from before.


    The chaos was multiplied by a tenth after that. Everyone was rushing to leave the scene while screaming their heads off. Since I was on the ground, I had to endure the stampede of the mass. Luckily, I was standing in front of the crowd before and there were not a lot of people there.


    Still, it was a weird feeling to feel the constant pressure on my back without knowing what happened.


    Not long after, the place was deserted. I stood up and reached out to my back to come back with red liquid. I don¡¯t know if it was my own blood or from the dead man. Making a disgusted face, I turned and face the dead body. Broken pieces of wooden chair were around the body with the largest piece¡ªthe leg of the chair¡ªstuck firmly on his face.


    I had seen a lot of dead bodies in the movies but this guy could be counted among the top in the list of shittiest ways to die. As I was investigating the scene with my eyes, I shuddered when I felt a fleeting touch on my back.


    ¡°You have a high pain tolerance.¡± A whisper-like voice was heard. Turning, I saw the albino I was protecting before staring at his blood-stained hand. ¡°I suggest you cleaned up and took care of your wounds.¡±


    So I was indeed injured. That¡¯s¡­ not good.


    The man in the loose white dress shirt calmly turned without any change in expression even though I was sure he saw the dead body in front of us.


    ¡°Come on.¡± He turned and stared with pale blue eyes.


    ¡°What?¡±


    He sighed in irritation. ¡°I despise owing anyone. So come on let¡¯s take care of your wound.¡±


    It was indeed not good to leave my wound untreated. Not to mention the open wound had come in contact with blood from another person which¡­ was worrying. Without any other choice, I followed the stoic teen. Not even five steps forward, I heard an irritated sigh from behind me.


    Staring forward at the teen, I resolutely ignored the goosebumps on my arms and left the place.

 6. Sari (1)

    Sari


    Jalan Sulam, October 3rd, 14:55


    I didn¡¯t understand what was going on. Aunty and I were happily entering this really big hall when the candles were suddenly lit, surprising us all. The next thing I knew, a pretty brother appeared on the podium and told us two stories. Both stories were very scary but I wasn¡¯t afraid because aunty was holding my hand and the brother kept reassuring me with a gentle smile. And then everyone went crazy when said brother flickered out and aunty hurriedly held me up.


    I was really scared. Aunty tightened her grip on me as she followed everyone out. I bit my lips to hold out my tears. I knew something bad was happening that was why I don¡¯t want to distract aunty but I was scared. I was really really scared.


    We were back at the school field. I saw everyone trying to go out by pushing the gate or climbing the wall but it was like something was blocking them. I felt that these adults were so silly. Even a kid like me knew that we mustn¡¯t leave the school before it¡¯s time to go home or we would be in big trouble.


    ¡°Not here.¡± Aunty¡ªstill carrying me¡ªleft the place. We followed the corridor and passed through a lot of classes. The further we went, the smaller the tables and chairs inside the classes until we arrived in a side smaller field. Aunty let me down and I ran to the nearby swing. Sitting on it, I started to move back and then raised my legs. Just like that, the swing started to move in constant motion as I occasionally move back when the motion slowed down.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    As I was playing, aunty looked around the place. She exclaimed in happiness when she saw a small gate there. She pushed the gate but even when she pushed with all her might, the gate wouldn¡¯t budge.


    But why would it budge? After all the big sister with the pretty pattern dress was blocking the gate. That big sister caught my eyes and smiled at me. I heard people in the Hall say she looked scary before but I don¡¯t understand why they said that. She shook her head at me and bring a finger to her lips.


    Guess I shouldn¡¯t tell aunty?


    With that, I decided to focus on playing on my swing while looking around the playground. I was on the swing of course. On my left, I saw two spring riders. Beyond them there was a slide¡ªit was the slide with a dome at the top. To complete the lineup a climber could be seen at the very end of the playground equipment.


    I let out a startled laugh when I felt a gentle push behind me and the swing brought me higher to the air.


    I really really like this place. The white-haired elder brother and elder sister with the pretty dress were very nice.


    ¡°Sari. I¡¯m going to check inside the class. If there¡¯s anything, I want you to shout really loud okay?¡± Aunty told me when she was done playing pushing and pulling with the elder sister. I nodded to her question and looked at her as she entered the room in front of me. Shrugging, I told the elder brother behind me.


    ¡°Can I play on the spring rider?¡±


    ¡°Of course little one.¡± He stopped the swing and then carried me to the rider.


    As if it was a real horse, the spring rider moved by itself and I pretended that I was a prince on a quest to save the pretty princess.