"Come on! Come on! Come on! Hurry up, guys! It's getting dark!" Andi shouted excitedly as he directed his team to set up the tents on the school field.
That afternoon, the school was holding a camping event as part of an extracurricular activity for students participating in the Scout program.
They were busy setting up several tents on the field—
two large Scout tents that could accommodate up to seventeen people each, and four medium-sized dome tents, each fitting four people.
Andi was the event officer in charge, responsible for overseeing the camping activity for the newly recruited members, who were mostly first-year students.
This was their basic training program, known as DIKLATSAR, for Scout enforcers.
As the afternoon passed, the sunlight completely faded, replaced by the darkness of night. A thin crescent moon hung in the sky, casting faint light, while only a few stars were visible, most of them hidden behind layers of clouds.
The Scouts gathered around a bonfire for the opening ceremony of the training program. From the opening speech by the Scout leader, the initiation ceremony, games, and various other activities—it was lively and full of excitement.
The participants were enthusiastic and full of energy, laughing and enjoying every part of the program. The evening continued with a communal dinner.
The final agenda for the night was free time and rest.
"Hey, what do you think Fatty is doing right now?" Anik started the conversation while lying down, propping herself up on her elbows.
"Ah, probably playing games—'Noobqueen,' right? Hehehe," Odah replied with a mischievous grin.
"Hey, have you noticed? Ever since that bet the other day, she's been acting kind of weird," she added, moving closer to Anik.
"Yeah, you're right. There's definitely something off about her behavior," Anik agreed.
"What happened to Hesti was exactly like what happened to Nurul—they both lost consciousness."
"I went to visit them... it was really pitiful. They completely lost their memories," she said, slowly shaking her head.
"Do you think it's all because of that Ha—"
"Sshhh! Don't say that name!" Odah quickly cut her off.
"Don't mention it again!"
"She might come and haunt us."
"Earlier today, Fatty was acting really strange too. She suddenly panicked and ran off to find Hesti, who was found unconscious in the back restroom," Odah continued in a hushed voice, as if afraid someone might overhear.
"And I still remember what happened last week during the flag ceremony… that was terrifying!" she added.
"Stop! Don't talk about scary stuff—I'm getting freaked out!" Anik said as she turned over and covered her head with a pillow.
"Why didn't Fatty join the Scout activity anyway? Ugh!" she continued, trying to push away the disturbing thoughts.
The two fell silent, closing their eyes, trying to fall asleep and forget the unsettling things that had been haunting their minds.
The DIKLATSAR participants had finished all their activities and were getting ready to sleep in the tents they had set up earlier.
The two large tents were assigned for the new male and female members, separated by four dome tents in between.
The patrol leaders had already instructed their members to rest so they could be refreshed for the next day's activities.
The night watch was assigned to selected members: Andi, Maman, Agus, Ramli, Silvi, and Ratna.
They divided themselves into two groups: Andi, Maman, and Silvi in one group; Agus, Ramli, and Ratna in the other.
Every hour, they would take turns guarding the post and patrolling the area.
At eleven o'clock that night, Andi's group began their patrol, walking along the right side of the school area, each carrying a small flashlight.
"Let's go! Time to patrol!" Andi called out.
After passing through several school corridors, Silvi, who was walking at the back, suddenly stopped.
"Hey, wait up, guys!"
"I think I just saw someone in the infirmary," she said, confused.
Each classroom had glass windows, making it easy to see inside.
"Really? Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?" Maman asked.
"I don't know… let's go back and check. Maybe someone is messing around or moved to another place to sleep," Silvi suggested.
"Alright. You and Andi go check. I'll wait here," Maman said, leaning against a pillar in the hallway.
"Okay, ten minutes. We'll be back. Don't go anywhere!" Silvi replied as she walked back with Andi.
They headed toward the infirmary, which was located slightly apart from the classrooms.
Meanwhile, Maman remained leaning against the pillar.
"Man, it's getting really cold. I should've worn a thicker jacket," he muttered.
"Guess I'll have a smoke to warm up."
He pulled out a cigarette pack and a lighter.
Just as he was about to light it—
A hand suddenly tapped his shoulder!
He spun around in shock.
"Oh, it's you! You scared me!" he said, seeing Silvi standing in front of him.
"Where's Andi?" he asked.
"He went back to the post. Said there was something to take care of. He told me to come here," Silvi replied flatly.
"Oh, okay. I'm gonna smoke for a bit," he said, lighting his cigarette.
Silvi said nothing.
Then—
"I need to pee. Come with me to the restroom," she said softly.
Maman sighed. "Seriously? Fine… let's go."
They walked along the first-year classroom corridor, then headed to the third building, and continued along a narrow path lined with waist-high cherry-like shrubs on both sides.
They finally reached the far back corner of the school, where the restrooms were located along the boundary wall.
The area was dimly lit, with only a few garden lights providing illumination.
"Go on, hurry. I'll wait here," Maman said, standing near a lamp post.
Without a word, Silvi walked toward the girls' restroom.
After waiting for quite a while, Maman grew impatient and walked toward the stalls.
"Silvi, are you done yet? Hurry up!"
"You're just peeing, right? Not taking a dump?"
"We need to get back to the post!"
No response.
All the stalls were dark.
He frowned. Why weren't any of the lights on? Was she really doing it in the dark?
Before he could make sense of it—
A strong gust of wind blew from in front of him.
All the restroom doors slammed open at once as if something inside had forced them open.
Bang!
All the garden lights went out simultaneously.
The area fell into darkness, lit only by faint moonlight.
And in front of him—there was no Silvi!
Instead, a girl stood there.
She wore a white-and-gray school uniform, a short-sleeved top with a skirt reaching below her knees. Her shoulder-length wavy hair framed her face—yet Maman had never seen her before.
"Who are you!? Where's Silvi!?" Maman shouted.
The girl grinned and let out a chilling, high-pitched laugh.
She raised her right hand, which trembled slightly.
"Black Vortex!"
A swirl of black smoke appeared, forming a spinning vortex.
From within it emerged a massive black serpent made of smoke, its red eyes glowing as it hissed and slithered.
Maman froze.
His tongue felt stiff. His entire body was paralyzed.
"He..help.."he tried to shout.
His eyes widened in terror as he stared at the girl—her eyes now glowing bright red.
And then—
The black serpent lunged toward him with a deafening hiss!
That night, the terror began once again.
Hanako had made her move, for reasons still unknown and shrouded in mystery.
The students camping on the school field were about to experience a nightmare unlike anything they had ever faced.
***