After what felt like an eternity, they finally reached the library. The room was covered in dust, and cobwebs hung from the corners. Shelves lined the walls, filled with old, musty books and records. They split up and started searching through the records, hoping to find anything that could help.
As they were combing through the records, a louder bang echoed through the building, this time coming from the first floor.
"What the hell was that?" Jessy whispered, her eyes wide with fear.
Kyle frowned. "I'm going to check it out. Stay here."
He cautiously made his way downstairs, his heart pounding. When he reached the first floor, he saw a shadowy figure darting around the corner. Kyle sprinted after it, but by the time he reached the spot, the figure had vanished.
Kyle returned to the group, looking puzzled. "I saw someone, but they disappeared before I could reach them."
Jia's voice piped up in Rena's mind. "Maybe it's another ghost. Or a serial killer. Either way, fun times ahead."
"Not helping, Jia," Rena thought back.
They continued their search, the atmosphere growing tenser with every creak and groan of the old building. Despite the eerie surroundings, they managed to find some old records. But before they could delve deeper, another sound, this time a faint whisper, echoed through the library.
"Okay, this place is seriously freaking me out," Kiara said, her voice shaking.
Kyle nodded. "Let's just find what we need and get out of here."
And after searching through more than ten files, the group finally stumbled upon the student records from three years ago, which they hoped would provide a clue for their mission.
As they flipped through the pages, Rena suddenly shouted, "Stop!" She asked Kyle to turn to the previous page and pointed to a picture of a girl with short brown hair and light brown eyes with her pale skin illuminated by the dim light filtering through the library windows.
"This is it!" Rena exclaimed, laughing with excitement. "Finally found her!"
Her friends paused, looking at the picture with curiosity. Kyle asked, "You mean she is the one?"
With a smile on her face, Rena confirmed, "Yes."
Kyle and the others were taken aback, processing this revelation. "So, what's her name?" Jessy asked, her curiosity piqued.
Rena examined the record and found out her real name was Elina Protz, she was 17 years old, on her second year of high school and belonged to class 3B before her death. They also discovered that she was the top student in her class.
Rena couldn't help but compliment Elina, teasingly. "Wow, Elina, top of the class? Impressive." Elina, blushed at the unexpected praise.
"I told you, right?...any way thank you very much."
As they basked in their success, they were interrupted by the creak of a door opening. Turning around, they saw a boy in the same school uniform as them.
Kyle quickly jumped in, trying to deflect attention away from their true intentions. "Oh, hey there! We were just exploring this historic building. You know, checking out the sights."
The boy looked at them skeptically. "Exploring, huh? Seems like an odd place for a field trip."
Before Kyle could respond, the boy turned his attention to Rena. "Hey, you're..."
Rena furrowed her brow, trying to place him. "Um...Have we met before?"
The boy smirked. "You don't remember? We crashed into each other on our way to school a while back."
Suddenly, Rena's memory clicked. "Oh, right! I remember now. Sorry about that."
"It seems your memory isn't any better than mine huh..."
Ignoring Jia's comment, Rena continued to apologize to the boy for the incident.
Kiara, curious, piped up, "Do you two know each other?"
Rena nodded, explaining the situation to her friends. Meanwhile, Jessy took the opportunity to ask the boy his name and why he was there.
The boy introduced himself as Ethan and explained that he was in his first year who had just recently transfer there.
"I've heard rumors about this old school building," Ethan confessed, a gleam of excitement in his eyes. "I'm really into horror stories, you know? So, I thought I'd check it out and see if the rumors were true."
Turning the conversation back to Rena, Ethan asked, "So, why are you guys here? Same reason as me?"
Kyle jumped in before Rena could respond. "Nope, we have our own reasons. But you might want to leave. This place can be dangerous, especially if the rumors are true."
Ethan shrugged off Kyle's warning and turned back to Rena, eager for an answer. Rena hesitated, unsure of what to say.
She took a deep breath, " Well. Um..just like you we're are also quite interested in the ghost rumors, you know. So, we too came here to explore as well as investigate the building."
Jessy nodded vigorously. "Yeah, totally! We thought it would be fun to check out the old place and see if there's anything spooky going on."
Kiara chimed in, "Exactly. We've always been into ghost stories and stuff."
Kyle sighed, clearly not pleased with it. And while Ethan was distracted, he discreetly slipped the file they had found into his bag.
"Can I tag along with you guys?" Ethan asked eagerly.
Kyle shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea."
Jessy, however, smiled at Ethan. "Sure, why not? The more, the merrier." She then whispered to Kyle, "hey, don't be so rude."
The group continued searching the library for old records. As they sifted through the dusty files, Kyle remembered the suspicious figure he had seen on the first floor. He turned to Ethan. "Hey, when did you get here?"
Ethan looked thoughtful. "Just a little while ago. Why?"
"Did you see anyone pass by earlier?" Kyle asked, trying to sound casual.
Ethan thought for a moment. "No, not really. But... wait, I did see the old janitor guy."
Kyle's eyes widened. "The janitor?"
Rena, Kiara, and Jessy stopped what they were doing, looking puzzled.
"Why do you ask?" Ethan questioned, sensing the tension.
"It's nothing," Kyle said quickly, brushing it off.
Ethan still looked confused but shrugged it off. "So, are we only going to hang out in the library, or are we going to explore other places too? We should check out room 3B."
Kiara's face paled a little. "Room 3B?"
Rena put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Kiara. You don't need to be so nervous. I've been there before, and besides, Jia..um I mean Elina—is already one of our friends now."
Kiara laughed nervously, relaxing a bit. "You're right. I'm just getting worked up for nothing."
Suddenly, Elina's voice piped up in Rena's head. "Wait, Rena, I think I remember something."
Rena's eyes widened. "Really? What is it?"
Elina paused before continuing. "I think...may be, I used to be quite close with one of the guy in my class, but I don't remember who he was."
Rena subtly turned away from the group and whispered, "Do you remember anything about how he looked or anything specific about him?"
Elina sighed. "Not really. It's all a blur. Sorry."
Rena smiled gently. "You don't have to apologize. It's great that you're starting to remember something at least."
Elina's voice took on a teasing tone. "Thanks, Rena. You're starting to become a little nicer than before."
Rena smirked. "Don't get used to it."
They headed towards room 3B, their footsteps echoing through the empty halls. The air felt thick with anticipation and a slight chill that made their skin prickle.
As they entered the room, Ethan looked around curiously. "So, this is the infamous room 3B, huh? Looks pretty normal to me."
Jessy laughed. "Yeah, just wait until something jumps out at you."
Ethan chuckled, "Bring it on."
To be continued...