Chapter 59): Body Temperature

Chapter 59): Body Temperature

Daydreams gaze went back and forth.

Pharoah was already nearing the fourth floor, beckoning Daydream to follow him.

Seeing that the two girls didnt follow, he stopped and leaned against the handrail of the stairs, urging them to follow him.

Daydream stood motionless; two or three metres ahead of the stairs leading to the second floor, they were engulfed in darkness.

Brazils gone

Something lays dormant in the darkness, waiting for its next prey.

At this moment, that familiar, white porcelain plate jumped out from the corner of her vision.

Clang!

The darkness of the corridor became thicker, and the light from her flashlight weakened as if it were being consumed by the ever-growing darkness. All she could see was a radius of less than one metre surrounding her.

Suspecting a hallucination, she blinked vigorously, but the reality was set. Her flashlight had indeed weakened, and her hands trembled as she looked for her companions.

A-are you still there? Daydream called out.

Im upstairs; hurry up! Pharoah called out.

Please dont, Bright whispered weakly beyond the darkness.

As soon as they spoke, an evil, ominous voice responded in the darkness.

What about me?

The voice was vaguely human.

Ive always been here

The voice sounded again, and Daydream could see a treacherous figure outlined in the darkness.

It was an extremely thin black shadow crouched by the corner of the stairwell, and a viscous liquid dripped from its body. Its slender fingers fiddled with the plate.

When Daydream stared at it, it stopped fiddling with the plate and raised its head, staring at her.

In the darkness, Daydream couldnt see its face clearly, but she could feel its gaze on her and its terrifying, evil smile.

Her face turned pale, and her head started to buzz violently. After swallowing hard, she yelled uncontrollably.

Pharoah! Bright! Run!

However, after hearing their responses, Daydream froze in place.

What? Daydream, did you see something?

Theres nothing here.

No! she yelled desperately. Its in the corner, l-look!

Daydream watched as the strange figure stood up, its body almost touching the ceiling of the stairwell.

It walked towards her quickly, with sticky blood on its feet.

A strong scent of death surrounded it, and its appearance became more and more apparent as it approached her.

Dried blood on a striped face

Exposed white teeth, exposed, stiff muscles

Rancid. Rotted. Disgusting.

Daydream felt dizzy, as if she couldnt breathe.

Her lips were slightly parted, but she couldnt yell.

Its right here! Why cant you see it?

In the blink of an eye, the figure approached her side, and its face was less than a centimetre away from her nose.

At this moment, a rush of footsteps came from underneath them, followed by a figure that flashed by Daydream, piercing the figure with a sharp, steep bar.

The figure staggered to the side as it exploded into a large mass of blood. Its blood surged like a bunch of tentacles, constantly expanding and growing.

Daydream immediately backed away from the fallen figure and turned to the figure who saved her.

Shining the beam of the flashlight into the room, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He turned around and hugged Daydream tightly and patted her head, saying, Its okay. Its just sandbag puppets used for venting.

Is that true?

Yes, Pharoah replied softly.

Hah! Brazil laughed. I dont blame her! Id be scared too!

But why are they all staring at the door? Daydream thought. As if they are watching us.

She felt uneasy.

After the brief commotion, everyone became quiet again, and the faint sound of tumbling plates could be heard downstairs.

Clang! Clang!

That strange figure must have returned to its former shape and started to prowl the hallways again.

However, it was wandering in the corridors downstairs as if it were destined to roam the empty third floor forever.

Could we rest? Brazil spoke up suddenly. I-I can hardly walk anymore.

Pharoah shone his flashlight on Brazil for a moment, and he noticed that his eyes were slack and his pale face was covered in blood. His legs were trembling violently as if the adrenaline had just caught up to him.

We should find a place to hide and rest, Pharoah said.

Maybe the counselling room. There might be gauze to help Brazil within there, but

The monster here might be leading us there, Pharoah thought.

Besides, he had doubts about Brazils true identity.

Ill be hanging out in the corridor. Go if you want, Bright said as she walked to the door of the venting room and sat down against the wall.

We should go take a look at the venting room while were here, Daydream said.

Pharoah nodded wordlessly, supporting Brazil with his arms and pushing open the door of the venting room.

The venting room was small, less than ten square metres, and the surrounding walls were completely sealed. It was wrapped in soft leather to prevent students from being injured when venting.

Daydream felt weird being in such a strange, windowless room. She felt as if she were standing in the maw of some huge creature.

When her eyes fell upon the sandbag puppets, goosebumps appeared all over her body in an instant.

T-they moved!

When I looked at them through the crack of the door, they were all staring at me! And now, theyve turned their backs!

W-wait! Daydream cried out. Dont go in! Those puppets moved! Lets get out of here.

Whatever, man, Brazil scoffed. I just want to rest! Youre annoying. Do you know that? You dont even seem concerned that I was dragged away by one of those ghosts!

Yeah, right, it moved, Brazil laughed as he kicked the puppet beside him. Next, youre going to tell me its going to jump and kill me, right?

Hey, quit it, Pharoah ordered.

Pharoah knelt down and checked the puppets, then walked back to Daydream and hugged her.

Dont be scared, baby. You might have seen it wrong in a panic just now. If youre scared of them, we can just stay by the door.

She nodded and left the room with Pharoah sitting opposite Bright.

Pharoah sat beside Daydream and held her hand, saying, Were safe for now. As long as we camp out here until dawn, everything will be over.

I hope, Daydream responded, leaning on Pharoahs shoulder.

She felt warm and safe in Pharoahs arms and glanced at Bright, who sat opposite her.

Was she trying to destroy our relationship? Pharoah seems trustworthy now. I find it hard to trust her instead.

A wave of drowsiness washed over her, and although she forced herself to stay awake, she couldnt help but fall into her lovers arms.

Sleep. Ill be here.

Mmm she replied, and soon, her vision went black.

There is no way urban legends could have body temperature, she thought as she fell into the void.