My House of Horrors

The footsteps sounded hurried, like the person was running away from some scary beast. When Chen Ge exited the classroom, he saw the person responsible for it. The 1.8-meter-tall Zhu Jianing rushed out of the female dormitory, screaming for dear life. His face was blanched, and he raced down the corridor like a mad bull.

What’s going on? Based on his running direction, he probably ran into something scary inside the female dormitory, but there’s nothing scary inside the female bedrooms. Zhu Jianing was already scared out of his mind before Chen Ge even did anything. This gave Chen Ge a sense of helplessness.

Didn’t they say they’re not afraid of anything? Weren’t they very calm when they entered the scenario? Why is he running amok like a rabid dog now? Chen Ge also did not know what encounter they had experienced in the newly unlocked scenario. For the sake of safety, he decided to intercept Zhu Jianing to ask him for details.

Zhu Jianing, who had raced out of the female bedroom, did not even have a chance to catch his breath before he saw a shadow moving inside the sealed classroom!

The school uniform has come alive‽ The thought appeared in his mind immediately. He was racing so fast that he did not have the momentum to stop himself. When he reached the classroom door, he saw a bloody shadow slide out from the classroom. Time slowed for Zhu Jianing. His gaze fell on the person’s face; it was a face sewn together by many different faces, and every single one of them captured emotions of fear, terror, and pain.

I knew the classroom was not safe! Unable to stop himself, Zhu Jianing rammed directly into the wall of the corridor. Ignoring the pain that shot through his body, he pushed himself off the wall and turned to run!

The combination of pain and fear had muddled his mind. Without seeing where he was going, Zhu Jianing saw the first exit and he rushed into it. When he entered, he realized it was the corner toilet.

Why would he trap himself? Chen Ge was becoming more and more curious about what exactly this man stumbled across in the female bedroom. Also, why is he alone? Where is his friend?

After giving it some thought, Chen Ge thought it was best if he could get the answer directly from the man. He touched the skin mask on his face before entering the toilet. It was not until he was inside the toilet that Zhu Jianing realized he had taken the wrong turn, but there was nothing else he could do. He yanked open a random cubicle, which was the fourth one and hid inside it.

He clamped his palm over his mouth and squeezed his muscular body to fit beside the toilet, his heart racing and his pupils darting about nervously. Zhu Jianing was really scared out of his mind. When they were playing the Pen Spirit game, he had sat across from Fei Youliang, and while his friend was busy analyzing, he had seen the Pen Spirit slowly appear behind Fei Youliang. When the woman’s bloated face appeared in his mind, he also felt like the air was getting sucked out of his lungs.

That wasn’t an actor! This Haunted House is really haunted! They had searched the bedroom, including under the bed, before starting the game. They were sure there was no one hiding inside the room; that poor woman had appeared out of thin air!

It has to be a ghost! The woman’s face refused to leave Zhu Jianing’s mind. Even when he closed his eyes, the woman could be seen swaying from the hanging rope. He felt extremely helpless as he leaned against the wall. He felt weirdly exposed.

Youliang is still inside the room. The ghost was standing on his shoulders. A scene like that wouldn’t appear in real life, would it? Zhu Jianing took several deep breaths. He felt like he was going light-headed from a lack of oxygen.

I need to contact the people outside; this Haunted House is problematic. He tried to tell himself not to be afraid, but his muscular arms kept shivering. He rummaged in his backpack for a long time before he found his phone.

“Xiao Zhu? Why are you calling me? Are you guys done with the video?” The squat middle-aged man’s voice came from the other end.

“Brother Yuan, please come in to help me! There are actual ghosts inside this Haunted House!” Zhu Jianing’s voice was trembled with tears. “I don’t know how long much longer I can hold on. There are god knows how many ghosts looking for me.”

“Isn’t it normal for Haunted House to have ghosts?” The middle-aged man thought Zhu Jianing was joking.

“Not ghosts played by actors but actual ghosts!” Zhu Jianing hissed urgently. He did not dare raise his voice lest the ‘ghosts’ outside heard him.

The middle-aged man finally noticed the seriousness in Zhu Jianing’s voice. “Give the phone to Youliang, let me talk to him.”

“Brother Liang was possessed by the ghost; he is still trapped inside that cursed bedroom.”

“Possessed?”

“I saw it with my own eyes; the ghost was standing on his shoulders. It was a hanging ghost, the face was purplish white, and her eyes were popping out from their sockets!”

“Standing on his shoulders? You guys were assaulted by the workers? Okay! We’re going in now!”

“Not the workers, it’s real ghost; there are no worker inside this Haunted House…” Before Zhu Jianing could finish, footsteps came from the toilet entrance. “Has the ghost entered‽”

“What are you talking about? Hello?” The middle-aged man’s voice came from the phone. Afraid that it might catch the ghost’s attention, Zhu Jianing quickly ended the call.

Hopefully, it doesn’t hear me. Please don’t let it discover me, and I won’t ever visit this place again. Zhu Jianing turned off the phone, bent down, and stared straight at the wooden door of the cubicle.

He did not know when the door before him would be pulled open, and he did not know what might be beyond the door. Various scary images filled his mind like the scary woman’s face appearing behind the door or a school uniform fluttering on its own into his cubicle.

What should I do? Brother Yuan, please come soon! he prayed to himself. The sound of footsteps came closer and closer!

CREAK…

The door to the first cubicle was pushed open. The old wooden door creaked audibly, and it caused Zhu Jianing to hold his breath in fear. After a small pause, the second cubicle door was pushed open.

It’s getting closer! After another long pause, as he expected, the third door was pushed open.

It’s right next to me! It’ll open this door soon! The muscles all over Zhu Jianing’s body tensed. Fear and terror were tormenting his sanity. Time trickled by, but weirdly enough, no one opened the door to his cubicle. He waited for half a minute, and the door to his cubicle was still unmoved.

It left? He gathered all his courage to pull open the door a sliver. There was nothing outside. It really left?

He pushed the door slowly open, and there was really no one outside. That was lucky. I was almost discovered.

After sighing in relief, Zhu Jianing called the middle-aged man’s number again. As the light shone on his phone, he saw something reflected on the phone display. He looked behind him, and on top of the door of the third cubicle, a disjointed face was silently looking at him.