Chapter 24:

DAYMARE 11: Revive the Unalive

YOUR ONLINE READER KILLER


*bell rings*

Oh, what good timing!

I hung on to what Lorean would have said to me.

Some of our classmates hurriedly put on their bags and left the room. I can't remember all of their names yet because my mind is all about thinking about Lorean’s unfinished statement.

Classes, recess, and lunch are over, but Lorean doesn't want to continue telling me about it.

And now, it’s time to go home.

"Why won't you tell me?" I asked the two as we went down the school stairs to go home.

They didn't say anything until we were out of school.

"Hey," I poked their backs.

They ignore my question.

Vance finally turned around, but Lorean still played herself deaf.

"Lewin, can we talk about it tomorrow, or when will we have a good time? I can’t tell you right away, besides only Lorean can tell you about it, so…”

I tapped his shoulder and smiled at him, “It's okay! Not gonna force myself with it.”

Vance smiled. "Thank you."

I shrugged off this issue.

"Where is your house?" I asked them while Lorean continuously walked like she didn’t hear us talking.

"It's a little far from here, Lewin," Vance answered.

"Are you going to walk from here to your home?"

“Yes, this is what Lorean and I always do, so we are used to it. We can walk together to get to our homes. Would you like to walk with us?” He answered.

Vance seems enthusiastic about walking while talking. It can be a fun hobby with your friends.

“My bad, man. Mama told me she would pick me up. Maybe next time.”

"All right, we'll go first," he said, and he waved goodbye to me.

Meanwhile, Lorean didn’t even twitch to say goodbye to me.

What’s with her? Really, I can never read girls.

"See y’all tom!" I waved at them as they walked away.

The other students also came out, so it was noisy.

Going out of this school after class dismissal feels different compared to the Metro. There, we have many street food choices after an exhausting day at school. But here… there are only 2 vendors in sight.

I sat on a bench at the side of the school. It’s sunny yet windy here.

I told my mother my class had finished for the day, and she said she would arrive in fifteen minutes.

Although I'm dying to know about Lorean's story, it's not good for me to force them about it. That topic must be too personal for them, especially for Lorean. Her reaction to me was surprising, but I am so clueless about what they were referring to.

I gripped the back of my neck with both hands when I felt a slight pain in my left hand. I opened my left hand. There’s a dry and closed wound. I knew exactly how I got it, but the part of me desperate to stay sane insisted it was just a dream.

I can’t erase the memory of seeing two pale eyes and two cracked, crawling hands. The hands and fingers were huge; it must be a man's hand. Maybe it was all a coincidence, just some nightmare that I had. Or maybe the wound was from a bite from a pest I never noticed. But deep down, I knew better, and that made it worse.

My mother took longer to arrive than I expected. I have been waiting here for over 30 minutes. No student wanders here at school except me. They all went home already while I was still stuck here.

The students here must be diligent enough to go straight to their homes right after their last class. If I were them, I’d hang out with my friends or play games in the computer shop.

And because it was getting boring, I took my wired old-school earphones out of my pocket. I plugged the end of it into my phone and tucked it into my ears. My fingers perched on my thighs drummed as I synchronized them with the beat of the song.

I texted Mama and asked for an update regarding her whereabouts. I’m like a kindergarten student waiting for his Mom to pick him up while his other classmates have gone home happily with their parents.

"Huh?" I mumbled.

I frowned when the song I was listening to just cut out and got replaced by static. I checked my phone, but it was still playing. I was about to pull out my earphones, thinking they were broken, when I suddenly heard laughter.

"Bwahaha!"

I-It’s a demonic laughter. My heart pounded.

The dried leaves on the ground flew away when the wind blew.

I can’t determine whether it's female or male because it's an edited voice that resembles a monster’s laugh.

I just kept listening until it stopped laughing, until familiar words were spoken to me.

"YOU'RE NEXT," it said in a deep, threatening tone.

My eyes widened.

Out of shock, I completely removed my earphones and turned off the song that was playing.

W-What's that? Why is there such a thing on my phone?

I never encountered something like that until now.

It said, ‘You're Next’. What does it mean? Did I hear the phrase correctly, or am I imagining stuff? But wait, isn't that the file name of the bloody photo in my digital camera?

I smacked my earphones against the bench, totally pissed, but then froze when every hair on my body stood up as I recalled what it said.

Sh*t… not again.

This whole thing’s giving me serious goosebumps.

"Lewin?" I turned away suddenly. "Let's go home." It's my mother. She’s finally here.

Mama got out of the car and approached me.

"How are you? How’s your day?” she asked and touched me on the shoulder.

I nodded. "I'm fine," I replied without really paying attention to what she was saying.

She gazed at the school. “See? Your school isn’t that bad. How’s Lorean and Vance doing? Have you met them?”

“Hm, they’re okay,” I nodded.

"Come on," she said, and hopped into the car.

I stood up holding my bag and earphones. I paused for a moment. I pulled the earphones until they snapped. The cords are visible, making them unusable. I tossed the earphones in the trash next to the bench and got into the car.

Whatever that thing was, I should forget about it just like how I overlooked Lorean’s secret she refused to tell me.

Nemorique
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Nemorique
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