East Wing

The gate to the school creaked open with a moan that sounded far too human. The fog clung to their ankles like it didn't want them to leave.

The group stood still for a moment, staring at the building. In the daylight, it looked normal. Quiet. Almost… empty. But they knew better. The shadows were just hiding, waiting.

"Feels like we're being watched," Ellie muttered, hugging her laptop to her chest.

Barto didn't respond. His eyes were locked on the building's east side, where the old music room was.

Dami pushed the door open, and the sound echoed down the hallway, sharp and wrong. The lights overhead flickered. The floor creaked under their steps.

The school was dead quiet. Not even a single teacher or janitor in sight.

Sofia walked close to Barto, whispering, "Where is everyone?"

"Gone," he said simply. "Or hiding."

They reached the corridor that led to the east wing. That's when it started again.

The humming.

Low. Distant. The same lullaby Lila had sung during her performance.

Ellie froze. "Nope. Nope. I hear it. Not again."

"It's trying to scare us," Dami said. "Don't give it what it wants."

But then came the first real sign of trouble.

A classroom door up ahead opened slowly, creaking open without a single hand on it. And from the darkness behind it, a figure stepped out.

At first, they thought it was a teacher. But it wasn't.

It was a man in a suit, face pale and stretched, eyes wide and dry like he hadn't blinked in years. He didn't speak. He just pointed down the hallway. Toward the music room.

Then he vanished.

No fade. No blur. Just gone.

Bryan swore under his breath. "Did anyone else—"

"We all saw it," Barto said, walking forward. "Let's keep moving."

The walls started to change as they approached the east wing. Cracks formed patterns—strange, branching symbols that glowed faintly. The air felt thicker, heavier.

The music room door was ajar. Cold air blew from the crack like it led outside… but it didn't.

They stepped in.

The instruments were all where they'd been left after the last performance. Dust hadn't settled. In fact, it looked like the room had just been used.

That's when the piano played itself.

A single note. Then another.

Then the melody. The lullaby.

The group backed away, but Barto stepped forward. "Let it finish."

The song completed its loop. Silence.

Then… a girl appeared.

She stood by the window, hair long and wet, her school uniform burned in places.

"Lila?" Sofia asked, but no—this girl wasn't Lila.

The girl turned around. Her eyes were hollow. Her face… flickered, like a broken film reel.

Then came the voice.

Not from her mouth. From the room itself.

"One month. One soul. You broke the rhythm."

The windows slammed shut. The instruments flew off their stands, crashing to the ground.

Barto stood tall. "Who are you?"

The air trembled. Then came a face in the wall—pressed from behind the plaster, like someone trying to claw their way out.

"I am what was sealed. You let me breathe."

John was already pulling at the door. "It's locked!"

Dami looked at the symbols on the floor. "The seal—it's not broken. It's changing!"

Sofia screamed as something grabbed her ankle—thin fingers from the floorboards trying to pull her down. Barto grabbed her, yanked her back.

They heard chanting now. From the walls. The symbols pulsed red.

Ellie dropped her laptop, now glowing with static. "We need to disrupt it—play something else!"

Bryan grabbed the nearest drumstick and smashed it against the piano. A sour, clashing sound echoed—and the symbols blinked.

The ghost-girl hissed. "Out of tune… out of line…"

Then a shriek rang out, loud and long. Everyone covered their ears—except Barto. He walked toward the center of the room and stomped on the main sigil.

It cracked.

Everything stopped.

The fog vanished. The ghost disappeared.

The door unlocked.

They stood there, breathless. Then Ellie spoke.

"…I think we just pissed it off."