The authorities managed to trace the gun I had used because of the bullet they found lodged in the ceiling of the abandoned room, the place they suspected Bryan had fallen from. It matched the firearm registered to Daddy.
Since the CCTV footage of the gates never showed Dad entering GLU, and the only ones who could possibly have brought his gun were Mommy and me, they could not prove he committed the crimes. Still the investigators did not stop until I became the primary suspect.
Besides the suspicious way I had acted on the CCTV when I entered the main gate, they also found my fingerprint on the wire I left behind at GLU-net, the one I used to kill Carl. The girls I ran into right after I killed Joseph also pointed me out. Mommy cried hard when the results of the investigation came out, yet she still insisted I was innocent and that I could never have done those things.
One night I overheard Mom and Dad arguing. Daddy wanted to turn me over to the police and begged Mommy to agree, saying it would be better for me in the long run. He could not bear the thought of me hiding for the rest of my life. Mommy refused. She said I was still too young to go to prison and that she was ready to spend every last cent she had on a lawyer if it meant getting me out of this situation.
I was in my room at the time, already preparing the blankets I had tied together so I could climb down from the window, while their argument continued. Then I heard the police cars approaching. They stormed into our house at once and searched for me. I could still hear Mommy's panicked voice asking why they had suddenly forced their way in, even though she already knew exactly what they had come for.
I was only halfway down when I had no choice but to let go and jump. In my hurry I did not even look back. I grabbed the bicycle Misaki and I used to share. Our front porch was a fair distance from the gate, and the police were standing there facing the door while talking to Mommy and Daddy. I thought I could carefully slip past the gate with the bicycle without them noticing, but I was wrong.
"The suspect is escaping!" The moment I rode out of the gate I heard one of the officers shout, and they all started running after me. Mommy and Daddy rushed out as well, along with Nanny Tessie. I pedaled as hard as I could while gunshots rang out behind me.
"Don't! Don't shoot! Don't hurt my child! I'm begging you!" I could still hear Mommy sobbing and almost losing control while Dad held her arms tightly from behind.
"Please, don't hit him!" Daddy shouted too.
I pushed the bicycle with everything I had and managed to put some distance between me and the house. I thought I had already escaped the police, but a moment later I heard the approaching sound of sirens.
I reached the front of GLU and still could not bring myself to stop the bicycle. They fired at me, so I turned to look behind me in shock. When I faced forward again a large dump truck was coming straight at me.
Everything happened too fast for me to brake. I crashed into the front of the massive vehicle and my body was thrown through the air until the entire world around me gradually went dark. The accident happened right in front of GLU.
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I slowly opened my eyes when someone started shaking my body and shouting "Wake up!" The voice still seemed to echo in my ears. When I first opened my eyes all I could see was blinding light. Eventually the surroundings came into focus. A messy room filled with broken furniture greeted me. The place looked abandoned.
I lifted my head to look at the two men who had probably woken me. I jerked upright and scrambled backward while still sitting on the floor the moment I saw their faces.
"W-who are you? Why do you look like that?" I asked in fear. They did not answer me right away because another man arrived carrying a little girl. She clung to his neck and leaned against his shoulder while crying. I guessed she was around seven years old.
"Ssh… It's okay, baby girl. Look, big brother's here." The man rubbed her back, trying to calm her. He pointed at me, so she turned to look before he set her down.
The little girl stared at me with a disgusting wound on her neck, and my fear only grew when she started walking toward me. I screamed as if she were about to slaughter me.
"Don't come near me! I don't want you!" I shouted while pushing her away.
"Dude, don't be scared of us," said the man standing in the middle. Looking at faces like theirs, how could he still tell me not to be afraid?
"Where am I? What is this place?" I asked.
"You're in the place where restless souls stay," answered the man who had been carrying the child, clearly just trying to frighten me. Was this a Halloween party? Why was there no scary background music?
I stood up and brushed myself off.
"Hey, you guys! Stop messing with me. Just admit it, you're on drugs. That's why you look like that," I said while pointing at each of them. From their appearance alone it was obvious they were addicts. Their skin was pale and their eyes were dark, as if they had not slept for a week.
"I'm Ayan, by the way." Instead of answering me, the one in the middle suddenly introduced himself.
"And I'm Joseph," said the man who had carried the girl earlier.
"I'm Carl," added the last one.
"And that little girl is Serenity," Carl said, pointing at her. When I looked down she was already right in front of me, and I jumped back in surprise.
"Why does she look like that? And you, why do you all look like that? You're so ugly." Sorry, but I really could not lie right then. Their faces were truly disgusting. Joseph reacted at once.
"Hey! Don't be like that, dude. I used to be handsome, I'm telling you." I didn't reply and only frowned.
"Do you know why my bangs are so long now?" He was right. His hair almost covered his eyes. I had only just met them, so of course I had no idea what he used to look like. And why should I care about his bangs now?
"Because underneath them I have a disgusting wound on my forehead," he explained, making me grimace even more.
"So what are you doing? Why are you dressed like zombies?" I asked again.
"We're part of the restless souls who can't find peace inside this university, Anthony." I was startled when the one named Ayan called me Anthony.
"Anthony?" The three of them looked at each other and then back at me.
"Don't you remember anything?" Carl asked, and I shook my head. The truth was I really couldn't remember a thing. I didn't know where I had come from. I had simply found myself waking up in this place. I didn't even know my own name or who I was.
Ayan let out a sigh before speaking.
"You're going to become one of the souls who stay in this university too, Anthony," Ayan explained.
"Welcome to the others' world, dude," Joseph joked, as if he were actually welcoming me as a ghost. Unbelievable!
I could not believe what I was hearing at the time. It even reached the point where I challenged them to a fight because I thought they were only messing with me that day. But I ended up staying with them for a long time inside the university. The other ghosts here found me strange because they said I was too handsome. Yikes!
I also kept failing at my task of scaring people because I was the one who got startled whenever a student suddenly appeared while I was waiting to scare them. The Supreme ghost was always scolding me too. He kept telling me I was the one bringing bad luck to their ghostly existence and that it would have been better if I had never died. Incredible. When you are alive people tell you it would have been better if you had never been born. That was when I learned that once you are dead, they reverse everything.
It took me a long time to accept the truth that I was one of the restless souls here. The only problem was I still did not know why my soul could not find peace. What exactly had happened to me inside this university when I was still alive?
"Dude, why are you spacing out?" I stopped thinking when Ayan tapped me on the shoulder. We were in the abandoned room now. I did not know why I always preferred hanging out here during free time. The place just felt so light and easy on me.
We were just joking around with my ghost friends when those thoughts suddenly returned. I looked at Serenity, who was resting her head on my thigh while she slept. The four of us were sitting on the floor, talking about the people we had scared earlier.
"Why does she cry whenever someone asks about the reason for her death?" I asked Ayan. Because of that, Carl and Joseph, who had been joking a moment ago, also looked at me. The two of them stayed silent and did not answer.
"Why can't her soul find peace?" I already felt sorry for Seren. She was still so young to have died. There were still so many things she should have done and experienced in life. What really happened to her?
"She will only find peace when the time comes that the wound in your heart heals," Ayan explained. That was also what the other ghosts here kept saying. Until now I still could not understand what they meant. Besides, I had never once felt any heaviness in my chest.
"We're going to have a sharing later," Carl suddenly cut in. Honestly, I had also noticed that whenever I asked about this they often changed the subject.
"The sharing later is first for the new ghosts." Sharing? That must be what they meant by having to confess the reason for our deaths and why we still could not rest. That was another problem for me. I had nothing to share because I could not remember anything about myself.
I looked at Ayan again. Among the four of us he was the one who seemed a bit braver and more serious.
"What about you, dude? What's the reason for your death?" Carl's and Joseph's eyes widened. Only Ayan stayed serious, but before answering me he smiled and scratched the back of his neck.
"Ah, well… a ghost suddenly appeared in front of me. I got so scared that I jumped out of the classroom window." That was his explanation. From what I knew of Ayan, he was the type who was brave and afraid of nothing. I never expected cowardice to be the reason for his death. So that was why there seemed to be anger and a desire for revenge in his aura.
"As for me, because of my addiction to computers I suddenly got infected by its virus and died," Carl said. So computer viruses are contagious? This Carl really died from pure stupidity. I can honestly say his death was truly disgusting.
"How can you say a computer virus is deadly?" I asked him. The truth was I already knew he was only joking. Maybe he still could not bring himself to admit the real reason.
"Because it was part of our study. I was an IT student when I was alive and worked as a working student assigned to GLU-net." Ayan and Joseph both turned to look at him at the same time, frowning. Joseph even elbowed Carl in the side, and Carl elbowed him right back. I knew it. These guys were just messing with me.
"As for me, I went into the ladies' room to peep. I climbed into the next cubicle where someone was using the toilet, but the girl saw me. In my shock I fell and slammed my forehead against the toilet bowl." From what Joseph said, I wanted to tell him he deserved it. He died from pure perversion.
"You know, before I died I saw pieces of torn paper scattered on the floor," Joseph added.
"Really, dude? I didn't see any, but I heard someone behind me tearing paper," Carl said as well. Until now I was still confused about what those torn pieces of paper had to do with anything.
"Why can't you rest yet?" I asked. I had wanted to know this for a long time, but they never took it seriously whenever I brought it up. Ayan suddenly stood and walked toward the door.
"We can only find peace when the day comes that we are forgiven by the person we wronged." I could not see his expression because his back was turned to us. But before he finally stepped out he stopped and looked back. That was when I saw the slight smile on his face.
"We need to leave now. Vacant time is almost over," he said, so the rest of us stood up as well. I simply picked up the sleeping Serenity. This kid really always tagged along after me. She even acted like a stalker whenever she followed me around. Did this little girl have a crush on me? Well, sorry, but she had no chance.
Joseph said Serenity cried whenever I disappeared from her sight. Ha! I was sure she had been a crybaby when she was still alive. But I envied her a little. At least she could sleep.
Ever since I became a ghost I only got to rest but never actually sleep. I was also the only one among these ghosts who ever got tired. They kept calling me a freak who did not belong in their world. Was that my fault? Who even knew that being handsome and having abs was forbidden in the world of ghosts?