Chapter 14: The Blood-Stained Hallway: “Some doors should never be opened… but now, one refuses to close.”
The wooden floor creaked beneath their hesitant steps as Meen, Pim, Tan, and Praew entered Kanokwan's bedroom. The air was thick with dust, carrying the scent of time long forgotten. The pale moonlight streamed through the broken shutters, casting eerie shadows across the floral wallpaper, now peeling at the edges.
"This place gives me the creeps," Tan muttered, running a hand along the edge of an old dresser.
"Just look around," Pim whispered. "There has to be something here."
Praew approached the vanity table, its mirror cracked down the middle, reflecting their fragmented images. She opened a drawer, her fingers brushing against brittle paper. A faded newspaper clipping lay inside, folded neatly as if waiting for them.
Meen took it and read aloud, her voice shaking. "Local Girl Vanishes: Family Reports Strange Occurrences Before Disappearance."
Pim exhaled sharply. "Kanya Thitirat…"
Tan grabbed an old notebook beside the clipping. As he flipped through, scribbled notes filled the pages—desperate messages, symbols none of them understood.
The wind howled through the broken window, sending a chill through the room. Praew swallowed. "I think she must be related to at least something."
And suddenly, the shadow came again began again.
___
That night, the four sprinted down the school's deserted back road, their lungs burning from exertion. Pim clutched the crumpled newspaper article in her fist, while Tan's backpack bounced against his back, the stolen files rustling inside.
Praew kept glancing over her shoulder. "That voice… it felt so close," she panted.
"More than close," Tan muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead."It was like it was inside my head."
The school loomed behind them, its silhouette merging with the darkness. Yet, as they put more distance between themselves and the building, an unsettling
weight clung to them, as if something
had followed them out.
But the real terror was yet to come.
---
They reached Praew's house first. A small, humble home tucked behind an old convenience store. She fumbled with her keys, her hands shaking.
"See you guys tomorrow? " she asked, forcing a nervous smile.
"Yeah," Meen nodded. "We'll figure out what to do next—"
The light above the front door flickered violently, buzzing like a swarm of angry insects.
All four of them froze.
A shuddering breath rasped behind them.
A streetlamp nearby went out. Then another. The darkness swallowed the road inch by inch.
"Inside. Now," Win urged.
Praew barely managed to shove the key into the lock when a loud THUD slammed against the door—from the inside.
She screamed and stumbled backward.
The curtains over her window fluttered, though there was no wind. A shadow passed behind them.
"Someone's inside? "Pim whispered, horrified.
"That's impossible," Praew gasped. "My parents aren't home."
Win grabbed her wrist. "We are not going in there."
Then, the door slowly creaked open… by itself.
Inside, the hallway was pitch black.
But a single wet footprint glistened on the wooden floor. Small. Bare. Like a child's.
A chill coiled around Pim's spine. "We need to run."
They turned—
And the streetlight directly above them flickered back on.
For a brief, horrifying second, it illuminated a figure standing right behind them.
A girl.
Drenched in water. Her long, black hair clinging to her face like seaweed.
Her eyes—black and bottomless—locked onto Praew.
And then—
The light went out.
---
A scream tore through the night.
Praew didn't wait. She bolted down the street, dragging Meen, Tan and Pim with her. Their feet pounded against the pavement, hearts slamming against their ribs.
Behind them, wet footsteps slapped against the ground—too fast. Too close.
Win risked a glance back—and immediately wished he hadn't.
The girl was not running.
She was floating.
Her body jerked forward in unnatural, twitching movements like something controlling a broken puppet.
And her mouth was open… too wide.
A choked gurgling noise came from her throat, as if she were drowning all over again.
Win nearly tripped. "It's her—it's Naree Chaiyakan, another trapped spirit!"
Pim grabbed his arm, yanking him toward the nearest alleyway. "Don't stop! "
They turned a sharp corner—
And slammed straight into someone.
---
Tan hit the ground, hard. His vision spun.
A tall boy stood over them, his face shadowed by the dim moonlight. A single red string hung from his wrist.
"Get up," the stranger ordered. His voice was low, firm.
Pim blinked in shock. "Who—"
"No time." The boy grabbed her hand and yanked her forward. "Keep running."
Something shrieked behind them.
Tan scrambled to his feet. The air was thick with the stench of stagnant water. A dark presence loomed at the mouth of the alley.
The boy held up his wrist—the red string glowed faintly, pulsing like a heartbeat.
And then, the girl, Naree Chaiyakan, stopped.
The air shifted.
The presence recoiled, retreating into the shadows.
A long silence stretched between them.
Finally, Pim whispered, "Who… are you? "
The boy let out a slow breath before turning to them.
"You shouldn't have taken those files," he said.
Their stomachs dropped.
Because in his other hand—he was holding one of the stolen documents.
One they never gave him.
---
Back in the classroom, the group sat around a low table, their hands trembling as they examined the files.
Meen, who had just arrived, flipped through a set of old photos they had recovered from the school. One image made her pause.
A girl stood in the middle of a group of students, her hands clutching something close to her chest.
A doll.
The same doll that now sat on Meen's lap.
Her breath caught. "Look at this."
She turned the photo so the others could see.
Tan's blood ran cold.
It was the exact same doll. The stitches. The cracked porcelain face. The hollow, lifeless eyes.
Decades ago.
Unchanged.
---
Ploy Pimchanok, the senior who had reluctantly joined their investigation, swallowed hard.
"There's another story…" he began hesitantly. "About a girl who died mysteriously in the school. People say her spirit haunts the storeroom and the shut down swimming pool. Some say she had a doll with her when she…"
He trailed off.
No one needed him to finish the sentence.
Win clenched his fists. "You mean this doll has another spirit in it? "
Ploy Pimchanok nodded.
"They say it carries her curse like Kanya's."
A silence fell over them.
Then, from the hallway—
A soft whisper.
Everyone's heads snapped toward the door.
The voice was faint, but unmistakable.
A girl's voice.
Calling a name.
"…Praew…"
Praew's face went pale.
And then—
A crash.
A scream.
They ran into the hallway—
To find a student, a girl, Nida, Supanida Chansiri, sprawled at the bottom of the staircase.
Tears streamed down her face as she clutched her ankle, her whole body shaking.
"I… I heard whispers,"she sobbed. "And then… I don't know… something pushed me! "
Their blood turned to ice.
Meen slowly looked down at the doll in her hands.
Its head… had turned slightly.
---
"Secrets don't just reveal themselves. Sometimes, they follow you home."
---