Haroku sat alone in the base house, staring blankly at the dark monitors. Ten minutes had passed since I left for the city.
He sat up suddenly, patting the empty space beside the couch.
"Wait..." he muttered.
His gear bag. He had left it in the school's old wing. He let out a loud sigh and dragged a hand down his face. "Great."
He didn't waste time overthinking it. Haroku grabbed a flashlight, marched back across the street, and pushed through the school's main doors. He made a beeline straight for the old section. In and out. That was the plan.
He reached the staging room. His bag sat exactly where he had dropped it. He grabbed the strap, turned on his heel—
And froze.
"JASON... JASON... JASON..."
The chanting echoed down the empty corridor, loud and perfectly synchronized.
"SIR JASON..."
Haroku swallowed hard. "So..." he whispered to himself, "Jason really exists."
He rushed to the temporary surveillance setup we'd left behind, hoping to catch the entities on the local feed. He flicked the power switch. Nothing. Dead screens. No signal.
He stood there for a second, his grip tightening around his flashlight. His expression hardened. "I'm a professional, too," he muttered. "I can't just run away."
Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the room, heading deeper into the wing.
Meanwhile, I was halfway back to the city when I instinctively patted my pockets.
I hit the brakes. No house key.
"Damn it," I exhaled, spinning the steering wheel and whipping the car around. I wasn't that far out yet. I pulled out my phone and hit Haroku's speed dial.
It rang out. I tried again. Voicemail.
A sharp realization hit me. "Don't tell me," I muttered, flooring the accelerator. "He went back to the school. That idiot..."
I didn't bother parking properly when I arrived. I bailed out of the car and sprinted through the school's front entrance.
The moment I crossed the threshold, the voices hit me.
"JASON... JASON... JASON..."
It was deafening. I stopped dead in my tracks. For the first time in a long time, genuine shock rooted me to the floor. Who the hell is Jason?
A hand clamped down hard on my shoulder.
I spun on a dime, fist raised to strike, but stopped an inch from the target.
"Bro! It's me!" Haroku hissed, his eyes wide.
I dropped my arm, exhaling a sharp breath.
"You're insane."
"This place isn't safe without your papers," He fired back, completely ignoring the insult.
"We leave. Now."
I didn't argue. We bolted.
We burst out of the front doors and nearly collided with the principal, who was pacing near the gate.
"Sir!" he jumped, looking between us. "Have you had dinner? I can arrange food—"
"We already ate," I cut him off, brushing past him. Explaining could wait. Getting out of there couldn't.
Back at the base house, the silence was deafening. No jokes. No casual banter.
I dropped into a chair and leaned forward.
"Whp is Jason ?" I said, my voice dead serious.
Haroku didn't answer right away. He stared at the floor, piecing something together. When he finally looked up, his expression was grim.
"I don't think Jason is just a spirit," he said slowly. "He's something... stronger."
He leaned across the table, his eyes locking onto mine. "Do you remember the hospital case?"
I frowned. "Which one?"
"The one where we fought the shadow entities."
The memories hit me instantly. "Yeah."
"After we cleared that ward," Haroku said, his voice dropping to a whisper, "we found that note left behind."
My eyes narrowed as the final piece clicked into place. "And on that note..."
"Just one word," Haroku finished. "Jason."
Silence flooded the room. This wasn't a new contract anymore. This wasn't an isolated haunting.
This had already begun once before. And now, it was back.