Khem had run to the end of the bridge, but just before he could jump, he was pulled back from behind.
Khem opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the face of his best friend.
"Hey, Khem! What are you doing?" Khem looked at Jett's alarmed face in confusion, then glanced around and realized he was standing at the edge of the balcony.
How did I get here...
Khem's eyes widened as he realized the cause, almost collapsing to the floor, but Jett supported him.
"Jett, just now, I...I was dreaming." Khem hastily recounted his dream to Jett, his voice trembling. Upon hearing this, Jett grew even more frustrated, quickly pulling Khem back into the room and locking the balcony door.
"I think the master's talisman might be losing its power." Jett said after sitting Khem down on the floor to talk. Hearing this, Khem swallowed hard, his tightly clasped hands turning cold.
"Normally, one of the master's simple talismans would last for years. This ghost must be extremely malevolent." Jett continued, noting that Khem had heard a woman's voice urging him to go to the water, when in reality, it was leading him to the balcony on the fourth floor to jump off. Such malevolence likely indicated it was the karmic creditor of Khem that the master had mentioned.
Khem's face was pale, drained of all color. If Jett hadn't woken up just in time, something terrible could have happened. The thought alone made him want to cry.
"Sorry, man, Khem, you almost went away. If no one had woken me up, I probably wouldn't have woken up." amidst the fear, curiosity arose. Khem furrowed his brows slightly, his eyes still red.
"Who was it?"
"I don't know, but it was a woman's voice, she called me Jett, and when I woke up, you were standing right there on the balcony. I think it might be
some spirit looking out for you." Khem's heart beat faster. He could only think of one person, the only important person in his life who was no longer alive in this world, the one who had always cared for him even in her last moments.
"It must have been Mom..." Khem cried uncontrollably, both scared by what had happened and relieved that his mother's spirit was safe.
Jett let Khem cry for nearly ten minutes, not being very good at consoling people, he just handed him tissues to wipe his tears.
"Jett, I'm scared to sleep now." Khem said after he finished crying.
"Yeah, me too." Jett glanced at the wall clock then turned back to say,
"Let's watch a movie. It'll be morning in two hours. We can sleep on the bus."
Khem nodded in agreement. Once he regained his composure, he didn't forget to say something.
"Thanks for saving my life, Jett." Jett ruffled Khem's hair.
"Yeah. Don't worry about it. When we get to Ubon, I'll take you straight to the monk. He'll definitely help."
Jett had planned it out. If the monk didn't want to help, he'd hand out his phone number to every young woman in the village.
Arriving at the university, both Jett and Khem were in a state of sleep deprivation. Upon arrival, they had to wait for the tour bus with others who hadn't arrived yet. Unable to bear it, Jett dragged Khem to buy some coffee.
"One iced Americano with an extra shot." Jett ordered first.
"Yes, and what would the other gentleman like?"
"An iced cocoa, um, make it strong." Khem answered hesitantly, also sleepy but finding coffee too bitter for his taste.
Hearing this, the staff smiled indulgently but didn't comment further, quickly turning to prepare their orders.
After getting their drinks, they walked out of the shop to sit in their usual spot, watching the seniors and other club members going back and forth until they felt dizzy. By the time they boarded the bus, they had just finished their drinks.
Jett suggested sitting near the back. He took the window seat and had Khem sit in the aisle, fearing that Khem might see something strange during the journey.
But after a while, they couldn't resist the sleepiness and both fell into a deep slumber.
When they reached a gas station, which was a rest stop, Jett woke up. He furrowed his brows, looking around, realizing this wasn't the usual route people took. Seeing that Khem was still asleep, he slowly got up to talk to one of the senior staff members, calling out to her by the name tag around her neck.
"Excuse me, Phii Sam, why are we going this way?"
"Oh, Nong Jett, um...the club president didn't want to arrive too late, thinking we might not have enough time for activities. He consulted with the driver, who suggested this route, saying it was shorter." Jett furrowed his brows.
"But this route is dangerous." Jett wasn't lying; from here on, there would only be forest, no more gas stations to stop at, the road was narrow and secluded. Although he had used this road before with the master, the master would never take this route unless it was an emergency.
Because it was known to be a haunt for spirits.
This road might get them there faster than the main route, but what if they actually arrive dead?
"Oh, well, too late to mention it now, Jett. I'll tell the driver to drive slowly, alright?" Sam gave a strained smile, respecting the political figure's son and the main sponsor of the event. The decision was made in the morning without informing Jett beforehand. She didn't expect him to be this displeased.
Realizing that arguing would only stress them out, and they were unlikely to change routes now, Jett nodded and went to buy some snacks and butter for Khem in case he woke up hungry.
And he quickly ate something to stay awake. From now on, he won't be able to sleep.
As the bus entered the forested area, the atmosphere began to change. Jett started seeing shadowy figures resembling people emerging from both sides of the road. But even more alarming was their number, and how they chased and clung to the bus.
Jett jolted when a spirit climbed up the window to stop right in front of him. It seemed to look past him towards Khem, who was still fast asleep, and other spirits began to gather at their window.
Jett steadied his mind, silently reciting a mantra, staring intently at the dark mass in front of him.
"Itisukato, Araham Puttho, Namoputthaya..."
The dark masses in front of him started to retreat, some jumping away, but new ones kept appearing incessantly. Jett chanted continuously, thankful he had brought a large bottle of water. Otherwise, he would have died of thirst.
At that moment, Jett didn't realize that someone else, sitting across the aisle from him, was watching him with suspicion.
"What is Jett doing, mumbling to himself for nearly half an hour
now?" That was what 'Chanwit' was thinking.
Chanwit knew Jett and Khem as freshmen from the same club, but they weren't particularly close. He was sitting in the aisle seat next to where Jett and Khem were, giving him a clear view of what they were doing.
'They look like they're playing with spirits like in the movies,' Chanwit glanced at the sleeping Khem. Although he wasn't one to believe in black magic or occult practices, he found Jett's actions unsettling for some reason.
Jett and Khem were close, but Khem seemed naive, possibly being tricked. He should find a moment to warn Khem to be careful of Jett.
At that moment, Jett, who was in the midst of chanting, suddenly forgot the verses he had learned when he looked up and saw dozens of tall, shadowy figures emerging from the forest.
"Shit..." Jett exclaimed in disbelief.
"Ghosts of the dead." with such numbers, and encountering them in broad daylight like this, honestly, Jett had never experienced anything like it before in his life.
A piercing, ear-piercing screech reached Jett's ears, but it seemed like no one else could hear it.
They're following Khem.
Jett broke into a cold sweat, frantically trying to recall the monk's chants and started reciting again, but to no avail; none of the spirits disappeared from his sight. Some of them were so close they were almost touching the bus's window. One of the ghosts standing in front of the bus made a gesture towards them, prompting Jett to raise his arm to shield Khem and immediately close his eyes.
All these actions did not go unnoticed by Chanwit, who was watching intently, his brows furrowed, his demeanor suggesting he was still questioning.
Screeeeeech!!
"Hey, what's happening!"
"Scream!"
When the bus suddenly braked and started swerving, Jett decided to get up from his seat and make his way to the driver's area with difficulty. Chan wanted to follow but was held tightly by his friend sitting next to him, unable to move, and could only watch Jett go.
Jett reached the driver's zone where both the driver and his assistant were passed out, unconscious. The driver's eyes were rolled back, his mouth agape with drool hanging, indicating his spirit had left his body, likely from seeing the apparition clinging to the front windshield, which Jett could only see as a dark, blurry female-like shadow hanging its head down.
Jett quickly took off his own Buddha pendant and put it on the driver, holding the steering wheel with one hand while the other was clasped in prayer, asking the spirits of the forest to return the driver's soul, or "khwan."
Then he chanted a newly remembered mantra:
"Sabbe Deva Pisajewa Alawakathayo Pi Ya..." The dark shadow in front of them writhed briefly before being whisked away by the wind.
Gasp!
The driver's assistant woke up first, and upon seeing the situation, he screamed in shock, quickly took over the steering wheel from Jett, and shouted to wake the driver. After a few shouts, the driver jolted awake with a dazed look, and together they managed to steer the bus back into its lane.
Jett, breathing heavily, wiped the sweat from his face, thinking the danger had passed. He turned back, planning to ask for his ancestral pendant back from the driver once they reached their destination.
"Jett, what happened?" Khem asked when Jett returned to sit beside him.
Woken by the shouts and chaos, Khem had seen the bus swaying dangerously close to the edge of the road.
Khem figured Jett must have gone to the driver and done something, because soon after, the bus stopped swaying and realigned itself on the road.
"I'll tell you when we get there." Jett said, not wanting others to overhear.
Khem nodded, making room for Jett to sit and rest, then handed him water to drink.
"You truly are my friend." Jett, who had been chanting until his throat was dry, drank almost the entire bottle. Khem gently patted his friend's head.
"You did great, Jett."
"Should I start barking now?" Jett asked, causing Khem to laugh before getting a light tap on the head. They chatted about other things for a while before both fell asleep, as Jett assured they were now out of danger.
All these actions were almost constantly observed by Chanwit.
The tour bus arrived at the village in Ubon Ratchathani in the late afternoon, where the village chief and familiar villagers came out to welcome them. After that, they helped unload the luggage from the bus.
Jett took the opportunity when not many were paying attention to him to go and retrieve the sacred necklace from the driver.
"Hey kid, thanks a lot for stepping in to help. Otherwise, things would have gone really bad." 'Uncle' said as he placed the necklace back into the young man's hand. The assistant driver had recounted the incident when he woke up to find the young man helping to steady the bus, and even gave him his own sacred necklace to wear.
Jett nodded, took the necklace, and put it back on before asking out of curiosity,
"Uncle, what did you see? Did you know you were so shocked you lost your spirit? I had to call out to you for so long before you came back." The driver swallowed hard, brought his own Jatukam amulet to his forehead in a gesture of apology, and said,
"I saw a woman in ancient Thai dress, who looked like a servant from the old times, very pale with visible veins, long hair hanging down from above, small black eyes, and dark lips that were grinning."