Ramli, Agus, and Ratna gathered at the guard post near the campsite.
"It's been over an hour. Why hasn't the patrol team come back yet? It's supposed to be a shift change—they should be taking over the post while we go on patrol," Ratna said, puzzled.
"Yeah, and there's been no updates on our phones either. Try calling them, Gus," Ramli replied, scratching his head.
"You do it! I don't have data or phone credit," Agus shot back.
"Seriously? You guys are broke!" Ratna said, pulling her smartphone out of her small sling bag.
Beep... beep... beep...
"The number you have dialed is out of coverage," the operator's voice replied.
"No answer. Even after calling them one by one, no one picked up"
"What are they even doing?!" Ratna said, starting to get annoyed."
"Gus, Ramli, go look for them. I'll stay here."
"What a hassle…"
"Fine. If you get scared, just wake the others and have them keep you company," Ramli said impatiently."
The two of them headed toward the back area of the school, walking through the classroom corridors. Ramli, still irritated, kept complaining.
"We already gave clear instructions, and they're still being undisciplined. What if the new members see this? It'll ruin our image!"
"As organizers, we're supposed to set a good example!" he grumbled.
After walking for a while, they reached the corridor near the school infirmary. The lighting there was decent, and at the far end of the hallway, they saw a female student standing with her back turned to them.
"Huh? Isn't that Silvi?" Ramli said.
They walked closer.
"Hey, Silvi! What are you doing just standing there? Where's everyone else?"
No response.
"Hey! Why aren't you answering?" Ramli pressed.
"We've been waiting for a long time! The shift schedule was clear!"
"You, Andi, and Ma—"
Before he could finish—
The girl turned around.
Both of them froze in shock.
Standing before them was an unfamiliar girl—with glowing red eyes!
She grinned, revealing sharp fangs at the corners of her lips. Then came a high-pitched, terrifying laugh.
Ramli froze, unable to move. Agus, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly turned and grabbed Ramli's hand, pulling him as he ran.
"A ghost! Run, Ram!"
They had barely taken fifteen steps when they suddenly stopped. Their legs felt rooted to the ground.
Black smoke spread across the surface, covering a radius of about twenty steps. The ground itself seemed to transform into thick, dark smoke.
From the ground in front of them, a girl's head slowly emerged—her red eyes glowing.
Then her body rose, as if growing out of the earth.
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
Agus steadied his breathing, forcing himself to be brave. He managed to break free from whatever was holding his feet and leapt forward, throwing a punch at the terrifying girl.
But it was like hitting a shadow.
He swung again with his scout staff—
Still nothing.
Just like hitting the air.
Without thinking, he ran as fast as he could, completely forgetting about Ramli, who remained frozen in place.
Ratna sat anxiously at the guard post. Her friends still hadn't returned from patrol.
Every few moments, she checked the WhatsApp group on her phone.
"Why hasn't anyone updated us?"
"Standing guard alone is so boring…"
"Maybe I should wake the others…"
She stood up and walked to the girls' tent, peeking inside. A dim LED light illuminated the interior.
She saw that some members were still awake.
"Hey, you guys not asleep yet?"
Anik and Odah turned toward the entrance.
"No, we can't sleep."
"Want to help me stand guard? I'm alone at the post. The others are on patrol," Ratna said in a lowered voice.
"Come on… I'm scared to be by myself," she added, pleading.
"Alright, we'll come," Anik said, getting up.
The two of them stepped out to accompany Ratna at the guard post.
Meanwhile, Ramli remained frozen in place.
Slowly, he began sinking into the black smoke released by the mysterious girl.
"P-Please! Have mercy! Don't hurt me!"
His vision darkened. His consciousness faded… and then vanished.
When he came to, he found himself in a vast room with walls completely shrouded in darkness.
At the center of the room floated a glowing red sphere, about the size of a basketball, surrounded by thin black smoke. It was the only source of light.
"W-Where am I?"
"What's happening?"
In several places, he saw people sitting inside large, egg-shaped, translucent spheres tinted dark.
They appeared unconscious—he couldn't tell if they were alive or dead.
Fear overwhelmed him.
"Are they dead?"
"Am I going to end up like that too?"
Then he recognized one of them.
"Huh… Maman?"
He ran toward him. Nearby, he also saw Andi and Silvi.
"Oh my God, what happened to you guys?!"
Suddenly, a horrifying laugh echoed through the room.
Ramli froze, searching for the source.
From the smoke-covered floor, the head of the same girl slowly emerged again, her red eyes glowing. Then her body rose, as if growing out of the ground.
The sight made Ramli tremble.
"Y-You… who are you?!"
"This is all your doing, isn't it?!"
"You're a… a demon! That toilet ghost!"
"You're right. I am Hanako, the spirit."
"You humans are my prey."
"I will make you all my servants."
She let out a chilling laugh.
"H-Hanako?"
"Please… don't hurt us… let us go!"
"Hee hee hee… now, prepare yourselves!"
From the ground, black smoke formed into serpent-like shapes, slithering and hissing—
And then—
They lunged at Ramli with a thunderous force!
His scream echoed in terror…
Then suddenly stopped.
Replaced by Hanako's maniac laughter.
***
Ratna, Anik, and Odah sat together at the guard post near the campsite.
"Ratna, why are you guarding alone? Weren't there a lot of seniors earlier?" Anik asked.
"Yeah… the patrol team left over an hour ago and still hasn't come back. Two others went to look for them, but they haven't returned either," Ratna explained.
"I got scared being alone."
"Why didn't you just call them?" Odah suggested.
"I did! I called everyone—they're all out of coverage!"
"Isn't that weird? We're still within the school area. Even though it's big, it doesn't make sense!"
"That's why I'm scared," Ratna said.
"Do you think they—"
Before she could finish, someone came running from the school corridor.
"H-Help…! G-ghost!" Agus stammered, gasping for breath.
"What happened, Gus?! Where are the others?!" Ratna jumped up, half shouting.
"They were taken by a ghost!"
"I managed to escape," Agus replied shakily.
Suddenly, a woman's laughter echoed across the entire campsite—high-pitched and shrill, as if reverberating from a deep valley.
"Hi hi hi! You are all my prey!"
"Prepare to become inhabitants of hell!"
"HAHAHA!" Hanako laughed like a maniac.
The sound filled the area. The students inside the tents were startled awake.
They rushed out in panic, trying to find the source of the voice.
Chaos erupted.
But then—
From the rooftop of one of the school buildings, a vortex of black smoke appeared.
From within it emerged a girl in a white-and-gray school uniform, with shoulder-length wavy black hair.
She seemed to walk on air.
Everyone present froze—unable to move, unable to speak.
The atmosphere turned silent… and terrifying.
Hanako grinned.
She slowly raised her right hand.
***