Clang!
The sound of metal striking stone echoed through the cavern. Akane flinched and turned toward the sharp metallic ring.
A curved blade shaped like a sickle, with an iron handle connected to a chain at its base, had slammed into the rocky floor.
Then—
A girl wearing a long-sleeved white T-shirt leaped up from the ravine below. Her body arched effortlessly through the air before she landed silently in front of Akane.
"The girl in white! You're alive! I thought I lost you!" Akane exclaimed happily. Her eyes widened when she realized that the person who had emerged from the ravine was the same girl who had saved her life earlier.
"Hey, I have a name too—not just 'the girl in white,'" the girl replied with a sarcastic smile before casually walking toward Akane.
"Oh, right… sorry. I forgot to ask earlier, miss beautiful. So… what should I call you?" Akane smiled. She never expected to meet someone inside such a dark and terrifying cave.
"Fatheema Quraisin. You can call me Fatheema. Nice to meet you, Akane," the girl in white answered softly before extending her right hand for a handshake.
"Akane, we need to leave this place. Look ahead—there's another tunnel. Hopefully there aren't any predators in there like the ones behind us," Fatheema said as she slowly walked toward the tunnel entrance.
Akane nodded and followed beside her.
***
Mrs. Yuyun hurried toward the teachers' office. She had arrived at school unusually early that morning.
What she had experienced yesterday afternoon behind the school had shaken her deeply. Two police officers, Mr. Drajat, and her student Fatheema had vanished right before her eyes.
It was something beyond human understanding.
In front of the teachers' office, many people had gathered. They were dressed casually, and most of them were unfamiliar faces. They appeared to be parents of the missing students.
Their faces showed anxiety. Some mothers were crying. She could feel their fear and sorrow.
Mrs. Yuyun quickly entered the office.
The principal was speaking with representatives of the parents.
"Mr. Principal, what's the update on the search for our children? It's been almost two days and there's still no progress. What kind of school are you running? How can so many students disappear at the same time? Didn't this school have security or CCTV?" a heavyset man demanded angrily.
"That's right—we want you to take responsibility for our children disappearing!" another mother added sharply.
"Sir, ma'am, we sincerely apologize for what happened. We understand your concerns. Since yesterday, we've reported the incident to the authorities. The police are currently investigating and gathering information regarding what happened at this school," the principal explained.
"So what did the police say? When are we going to get answers about our children?" the woman asked impatiently.
The school should have had CCTV. Incidents like this should never have happened.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. At the moment, there's still no information. Please be patient."
"Wait until when?! What if our children were kidnapped? If this drags on, they might get hurt!"
The woman was clearly unsatisfied with the explanation.
Questions and accusations continued pouring in as the parents expressed their frustration.
Meanwhile, the principal could only nod and apologize.
Mrs. Yuyun stepped forward.
"Sir, ma'am, we deeply apologize for what happened at our school. Right now, we're doing everything we can to find our children. The police are helping investigate the case."
"If any of you have information or can help in any way, we'd appreciate it. Maybe your children mentioned something connected to this incident."
"What do you mean?" the heavyset man asked.
"We were attacked by a supernatural creature. Even two police officers were taken. I managed to escape," Mrs. Yuyun said quietly, almost as if she feared being overheard by the being she described.
"Yesterday afternoon, Mr. Drajat helped me. Even though he possessed spiritual abilities, he was taken by the creature."
"We need to find a way to bring those who were kidnapped back from the spirit world—maybe through a ritual or prayer."
"So according to you, our children were kidnapped by spirits?" the mother replied in disbelief.
"You're joking, right? In this day and age? Spirits showing themselves and kidnapping students? And there's no CCTV footage? What kind of school is this?"
"I saw it with my own eyes," Mrs. Yuyun insisted.
"I saw how it took people. It opened a black vortex and pulled them inside like a doorway."
"The CCTV wasn't functioning at the time, so we don't have any evidence."
"But I brought Mr. Drajat—someone knowledgeable in spiritual matters. Even he couldn't stop it. He was taken too and hasn't returned."
"Please stop making things up," the father said irritably.
"We're already exhausted and worried. Don't make this worse."
"Mrs. Yuyun," the principal interrupted firmly, "please don't spread information that will make the parents even more anxious. What you're saying can't be proven."
"But Mr. Astar, I saw it with my own eyes. This is all the work of spirits," Mrs. Yuyun insisted.
"Can you prove any of it? Do you have video evidence? Or are you hallucinating and making things up?"
The principal clearly didn't believe her.
"If you don't believe me, then fine!" Mrs. Yuyun snapped.
"Go ahead and leave it to the police."
"I'll find a way to save my students myself."
Frustrated that no one trusted her, she turned and stormed out of the teachers' office.
After only a few steps, someone from the crowd called out to her.
"Mrs. Yuyun, wait! Please stop for a moment. I want to ask something."
A woman wearing a white blouse, jeans, and a black hijab approached.
"Mrs. Yuyun, my name is Kartini. Do you have any information about my daughter, Fatheema Quraisin? Yesterday afternoon, weren't you with her at school?"
Mrs. Yuyun turned.
"Fatheema's mother… Ma'am, I'm sorry."
"Like I said earlier, we were attacked by a supernatural being. Fatheema was taken. I couldn't protect her…"
"She was the one who saved me from that evil thing."
Mrs. Yuyun spoke with deep sadness and guilt.
Originally, she had intended to perform a ritual to call the missing victims—and she had asked her student Fatheema to help.
Instead…
her student became one of the victims.
***