Surviving in a School of Ghost Stories-Chapter 8

"Yeah. Melody will be loved wherever she goes. She's a lovable child."

"If that’s how you felt, you should’ve let her go sooner. It’s been a year—too late now, isn’t it?"

"Truth is, none of you really want to let her go, right?"

"Oh? I smell Melody."

Suddenly, the villagers all turned to look at me at the ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) same time. I met the gaze of dozens of pupils.

My legs were trembling so badly I could barely stay standing.

I need to think. Think, Melody.

As I scrambled to find an idea, my eyes landed on a window covered by a curtain.

The small clock sitting on the nightstand pointed straight at noon.

It was nap time for the village elders.

Maybe...

I gauged the distance to the window. If I took about five large steps, I could make it.

The villagers were still staring straight at me. As if waiting—watching—just to see what I’d do next.

And the moment I took a single step forward—

"IT’S MELODY!!!!!!"

A deafening roar slammed into my ears. The shock nearly made me collapse.

A sharp ringing pierced through my hearing, but I forced myself to snap back to reality and ran toward the window.

The villagers jumped up, limbs twisting into unnatural angles as they rushed at me.

Two steps. Three steps. Four—

And with my final stride, I yanked the curtain wide open. Bright sunlight poured into the room.

Screech!

The villagers froze, startled, then scattered like cockroaches, fleeing toward the darkness.

I broke out in goosebumps.

From the shadows, they watched me in silence. As if waiting for me to step into the dark with them.

That’s when I noticed a puddle of blood pooled on the floor—and I remembered what the Student Council President had told me.

“They cannot read the red letters written by Miss Hastings.”

If they couldn’t perceive red ink, maybe they couldn’t perceive the color red at all?

Desperately, I rolled onto the floor, covering myself in the blood.

Then I stood up, spoke in reverse, and walked backward—slowly.

“giL ot kcaB og ot deen I”

Thankfully, the villagers all turned away, as if nothing had happened. As if they couldn’t even see me anymore.

I carefully walked between them until I reached the door.

The black cat that had been quietly following me sat nearby, gazing up at me curiously.

What struck me as odd was that the villagers didn’t seem to notice the cat at all.

Even now?

I turned the doorknob with a quiet click.

And just like that, no one in the Village Chief’s house recognized me.

I made it out safely and slipped into the next place.

Thankfully, there were no villagers here.

Not even a hint of movement. The only living beings were me—and the black cat.

Which made it worse.

The hallway stretched endlessly, lined with door after identical door. I had no clue which one led to escape.

“Do you know?”

After wandering aimlessly, I ended up asking the cat that had been trailing behind me.

The cat blinked its blue eyes and let out a soft meow.

As if to say, Why the hell would I know that?

Its icy blue eyes looked exactly like the Student Council President’s.

I didn’t know where this cat had come from, and for now, I had no way to figure it out.

I was still pacing through the corridor, peeking at doors, when—

[I can’t believe you made it out of there alive.]

The voice came from right next to me. No—below me.

From where the cat was standing.

"AHHH!"

I yelped and fell right over.

The cat was talking.

[I’ll get penalized for stepping in like this...]

The cat let out a sigh as it looked at me, startled and stunned.

[If you want to live, follow me.]

Then it turned around and began trotting off somewhere, paws light and precise.

In a daze, I picked up my dropped bag and followed it.

What the hell is this cat?

But, once again, I had no time to figure it out.

The cat suddenly stopped and turned to look back at me.

[You must’ve been pretty loved in that village. I think I get how you survived. Never seen one of ‘those things’ show affection to a human before. What are you?]

It tilted its head at me.

Its bright blue eyes narrowed into slits.

I couldn’t answer. My mouth opened, but no words came out.

And yet, it continued, as if it had been waiting to say this.

[I’ve never seen someone so quick to assess a situation, so fast to react. Should I call you clever? Honestly, I thought for sure you’d die back there.]

I almost had.

But the cat didn’t give me time to sink into reflection.

It flicked its chin forward and gestured ahead.

[Let’s go.]

I gave up entirely on trying to make sense of all this and followed the commanding little cat.

We walked for a while. The cat’s gait was oddly dignified—almost noble.

Then it stopped in front of a door marked with a large red X painted across it.

It sat down and swished its tail, gazing up at me.

"This one’s the exit?"

The cat didn’t answer. It simply stared. A silent yes, I assumed.

I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and took a deep breath.

If I opened this door... would it really take me outside the village?

Can I trust this cat?

...No. I’m not trusting the cat.

Thousands of doors stretched out before me, all the same.

Updat𝒆d fr𝑜m freewebnøvel.com.

Only one was different.

This one. The door the cat had pointed out.

The one marked with a red X in paint.

The same mark the Student Council President had told me to look for when escaping Chesswind Village.

I drew in one last deep breath and turned the handle.

Click.

The cat followed me inside.

Creeeak—

The place I stepped into wasn’t Chesswind Village. It wasn’t the outskirts. It wasn’t even a nearby town.

“...Where am I?”

It was a massive hall filled with people.

Dozens of desks were arranged in rows. People sat at them, some standing around.

And when they spotted me—when they saw what I looked like—they recoiled in shock.

A middle-aged man nearby frowned and scolded me immediately.

"Student, why are you coming out of there? That door isn’t for students. Good lord. And what are you wearing?"

He clicked his tongue as he eyed my outfit. I was drenched in blood, head to toe.

It made sense they were horrified.

"If you’re here to register for the entrance exam, come in from that way. Go wash up first. You reek."

The man pinched his nose, shaking his head in disgust as he pointed behind me.

I looked.

There was a line of people at the back of the hall.

At the end of that line, someone behind a long table was collecting documents and registering applicants.

Above it, a sign read:

Saint Gloria Private School Transfer Exam Registration Desk

Saint Gloria Private School—built on an island 118 miles off the southern coast of the Kingdom of Brenden.

I had somehow arrived directly at the transfer exam site for that distant school.

I rubbed my eyes in disbelief.

Was this a dream?

No matter how many times I blinked, it felt real.

Esc... escape?

Did I actually escape?

Did I really make it out alive?