Days went by, and this time, the travelers had reached Chad, and the students were now resting in a hotel. The staff had already been informed, and preparations were made for them in advance.
Some students were sitting around the hotel restaurant, having some evening snacks.
"We are soon reaching the Sahara; the weather is also slightly harsher in Chad," Chedi said as he sipped on hot tea. He was among the few students scattered around the restaurant.
He was seated beside Edi, Renny, Ewe, Nandi, and the now-temporary roommate of Ewe, Joanna, a shy, quiet girl with big eyes who was seated parallel to them.
"But you are suffocating yourself with hot tea in this hot weather," Edi commented.
"You are supposed to take hot drinks when it's hot; your body cools down on its own that way. My mother is a biologist; she gave me a lecture before traveling," Chedi smiled as he said, continuing to sip his tea.
"If I am not wrong, we will arrive tomorrow," Nandi commented as she looked down at her phone.
When they finished drinking and eating, they all went to their respective rooms, took a bath, and prepared themselves to rest.
"It seems Ewe and her roommate are getting along well," Nandi commented. She had just finished taking a shower and was now applying lotion. Renny had already showered, put on her pajamas, and was now sitting on the bed quietly looking outside the window.
The two were roommates, and Ewe was assigned to room with Joana. "Hm, she seems nice," Renny commented.
"That's good. Ewe is always bright and bubbly. I hope she stays that way, although her home situation..." Nandi trailed off and sighed as she put on her nightgown and headed to her bed.
Renny didn't like poking her nose into other people's business, so she refrained from inquiring. She had also not involved them in her situation.
"Goodnight," Renny said to her.
"Goodnight," Nandi replied as they both went to bed. Renny lay flat on the bed and looked up at the ceiling; she knew she wouldn't sleep as usual. Although her depression had reduced a lot, she still took her antidepressants, but her insomnia stayed the same.
Contrary to her thoughts, she fell asleep around midnight.
There was a persistent knock at the door. Renny turned her head and saw that the door handle was being forcefully turned from outside. Her eyes were drawn to the floor where water was entering from outside.
"Renny? Can you hear me? It's me, Joana," the person from the other side of the door said. Renny turned to her left and saw that Nandi was still asleep, so she sat up and moved out of bed slowly in order not to wake her up.
She knew Joanna; they had evening snacks together,she was also Ewe's current roommate, and if she was here, maybe something had happened? She was also confused about the water coming from the outside; it didn't seem to have rained today.
She headed to the door and turned the handle. A drenched Joanna came into view.
"Thank you," Joanna said as she entered the room, her teeth chattering from the cold.
Renny politely nodded as she looked down at the pool of water that Joanna had left behind. She peeped to her left and right, but the corridors were completely empty. She wondered where Joanna had gotten herself wet from; it didn't rain, that was for sure.
She then went to the wardrobe and picked out a towel to give her. When she came back, she saw Joanna had opened the window and was now sitting on the window sill.
The restaurant was slightly upscale; although it was not high-class, it was still a flat. Falling from the window on the 6th floor could lead to death or serious injuries.
"What are you doing? Come down from the window it's dangerous," Renny said in a flat tone, but her heart had already skipped a beat, and she was alarmed.
Joanna giggled, then turned to face Renny. Renny's face paled because the Joanna from before couldn't be the one she was seeing right now.
Joanna had very big eyes; now, they were completely pitch black, both the pupils and irises. Looking at her hands, they had shrunk and were almost skeletal. Renny sensed that something was wrong, so she went to wake up Nandi.
She shook her, but Nandi was oblivious to every action outside her sleep.
"Stop, it's not possible for her to wake up; after all, this is not the physical world," Joanna said as she started humming a song that Renny had never heard of.
Renny stopped and looked at Joanna in confusion, but then she ignored her once again and headed to the bedside table, picking up her phone to notify Edi, Ewe, and Chedi.
"You are really too stubborn," Joanna sighed as she spoke.
"What would you do if you got to know your mother's killer?" Joanna inquired.
Renny suddenly stopped what she was doing and became alert. "Who told you about my mother? Did you investigate me? Forget about it; I don't care about how you got to know. I will ignore all that; just get out of here and take the towel with you," Renny said with suppressed anger.
"You really loved her; after all, your father died early," Joanna said as she continued to hum the unknown tune.
Renny was shocked, as she had very limited information about her father. All she knew was that he was a government agent.
"Who are you exactly? What do you want?" Renny angrily inquired as she held her phone tightly in her left hand.
Suddenly, Joanna stood up from the window and grinned at Renny.
"What do I want?" Joanna quietly mumbled, echoing Renny's question.
"I want confirmation. I now have it. You will not win; you have a thorn in your heart. What are those two thinking? Things like you can't stop me! Haaaaaa," Joanna shouted in a hoarse voice before dropping from the window.
Renny's heart immediately stopped as she ran towards the window and looked down. Joanna had fallen to her death; her head burst open, and blood splattered on the floor, her legs twisted at an uncomfortable angle.
She immediately covered her mouth in nausea as she sat down on the floor, quickly trying to call Edi in fear. Nandi was obviously still in deep sleep.
"Renny! Renny! Wake up! What's wrong with her? Should we call the professor?" a voice suddenly said.
Renny immediately opened her eyes. Her entire pajamas were covered in sweat, and her eyes were blood red. When she turned around, she saw Edi, Chedi, and Ewe surrounding her bed. Her still-beating heart went to rest, but the deep fear was still within.
"Call the police! Where is my phone?" Renny said and inquired, quickly standing up from the bed and searching the bedside table, picking up her phone to make a call.
"Wait, Renny, first tell us what's wrong? Why call the police?" Edi inquired as he walked towards Renny.
"You were sleeping so soundly, Nandi. I tried waking you up, all in vain. It's..." Suddenly, Renny's words came to an abrupt stop as she saw someone come from the bathroom with a small basin and towels soaked in it.
"I bought the towels," Joanna softly said as she walked towards the group. Renny was stunned, as though she had seen a ghost.
"Joanna?" Renny exclaimed in surprise.
Joanna sweated in embarrassment and shyly nodded her head. "When Ewe was called, I thought it was something serious, so I decided to tag along," she shyly explained.
"What's wrong, Renny? What were you trying to say before? I am the one who tried waking you up when you were shaking before. How could you wake me up?" Nandi inquired.
Renny walked back to her bed and quietly sat down, gathering her thoughts.
The rest gave her time to think as they looked among themselves in confusion. Joanna excused herself and left.
"It's fine since you are okay. You may have had a nightmare. We are going to travel early in the morning, so rest well. We shall talk tomorrow," Edi wisely suggested. He saw that Renny was so out of it; he had noticed how she twitched on the bed earlier when they arrived. It was better to let her cool off and not stress her with questions.
"Edi is right," Chedi yawned as he spoke, attracting a glare from Ewe.
"Take care of her, Nandi. Ewe, you too, go to sleep," Edi said as he patted Nandi's arm in comfort.
"I will stay too," Ewe resolutely said.
"No need. Go and rest. I am fine, really. As Edi said, I just had a nightmare," Renny said as she forced a smile towards Ewe.
"Alright," Ewe said as she followed Edi and Chedi outside.
Renny ended up lying on the bed but couldn't sleep. She thought about the Joanna in her dreams, she knew too much and said some things she couldn't understand and others she didn't know herself. She was an atheist, however this strange encounter had left her doubting her views. Nandi also lay down on the bed opposite hers, but she fell asleep shortly afterward.