The school loomed in the darkness, its halls eerily silent except for the distant sound of crickets outside. Pim, Meen, Tan, and Praew stood at the back door of the administrative building, their breaths uneven. This was forbidden territory—the school archives, where decades of forgotten records gathered dust, including whatever truth lay buried about Kanya and Kanokwan.
"Are you sure about this?" Praew whispered, nervously glancing around.
"We don't have a choice," Tan muttered, gripping a set of stolen keys they had managed to lift from the janitor's office earlier that day. He fumbled with the lock, and after a few tense moments, the door creaked open.
They slipped inside. The room smelled of old paper, mildew, and something faintly metallic—the scent of time itself. Rows upon rows of cabinets stretched before them, each filled with the forgotten whispers of the past.
"Let's split up," Meen said, her voice firm but quiet. "We don't have much time before the night guard makes his rounds."
The four scattered, scanning the labeled cabinets.
---
Tan ran his fingers over the metal drawers, their handles cold and slightly rusted. His pulse quickened when he found a cabinet marked "Student Disciplinary Records: 1995-2000". That would be around the time Kanokwan and Kanya were students here.
He pulled it open, his hands shaking. The yellowed files inside felt heavier than they should have. He flipped through them rapidly, stopping when he saw Kanokwan's name.
Kanokwan Woranuch Chayaporn
**Suspended for unauthorized activity. Incident resulted in the disappearance of Kanya Thitirat. Case remains unresolved.**
Tan's mouth went dry. He looked over at Pim, who was pulling out another file.
---
"I found something," Pim said, spreading out a school newspaper clipping she had uncovered. The faded ink displayed a smiling photo of the principal—except he looked much younger. The headline read:
**NEW VICE PRINCIPAL APPOINTED AMID CONTROVERSY**
Beneath it, a smaller headline caught her eye:
**Mysterious Student Disappearance Casts Shadow Over School Leadership**
Praew leaned in, reading aloud. "A promising student, Kanya Thitirat, was reported missing after a late-night incident on school grounds. Vice Principal Sombat Anantrakul, recently promoted to the position, declined to comment on the matter."
Pim's fingers trembled over the black-and-white photo of the principal, realizing that even back then, he had been at the center of it all.
"He knew," Pim whispered. "He knew what happened to Kanya."
---
Praew dug deeper into the cabinet labeled "Restricted ", expecting to find old attendance logs or confiscated items. Instead, she pulled out a single envelope, brittle and sealed with a wax mark in the shape of an eye.
"This isn't normal," she muttered.
She peeled it open carefully, revealing a letter written in shaky handwriting.
"To whomever finds this,
We tried to stop it. The ritual wasn't meant to be interrupted. Kanokwan didn't know… The spirits were waiting, and now they are angry. I hear them. They are coming for us."
The letter was signed S. Akarin—one of the teachers from decades ago.
Tan paled. "So the ritual was interrupted. That's why the hauntings are getting worse."
Praew's fingers curled over the parchment. The words had started to bleed, as if fresh ink was dripping from them. The letters twisted and changed before their eyes.
"LEAVE. BEFORE IT TAKES YOU TOO."
The words weren't there before.
A door slammed shut somewhere in the building.
---
They jumped, hearts pounding. Footsteps echoed in the hallway.
"We need to go. Now," Tan hissed, stuffing the files into his backpack.
Pim grabbed the newspaper clipping, Meen was too stunned to move while Praew clutched the letter, unwilling to leave behind the only tangible proof they had found.
The footsteps grew faster, as if someone—or something—was running toward them.
The four sprinted for the back door, their breath ragged. As they reached for the handle, the temperature dropped suddenly. The air became thick, pressing against them like an unseen weight.
And then, they heard it.
A whisper. Right behind them.
"You shouldn't be here."
Pim spun around, but the room was empty. Yet, she felt something standing inches away. Watching. Breathing.
A cold hand brushed against the back of her neck.
She wrenched the door open, and they burst into the night, gasping.
But as they ran, the feeling didn't leave them. They weren't alone.
---
They ran through the empty streets, not daring to slow down until they reached Pim's house.
Tan doubled over, trying to catch his breath. "Tell me you felt that."
"I didn't just feel it," Praew panted.
Meen continued in a low voice almost shaking, "Something… followed us."
Pim looked back down the road. A lone streetlight flickered in the distance. Beneath it, a figure stood perfectly still. Watching.
Her stomach twisted. "Guys…"
Tan turned. The shadow tilted its head—and then took a step forward.
"We're going inside," Pim said sharply, shoving them toward the door. She fumbled with her keys, her hands shaking. The second the door opened, they bolted inside and locked it behind them.
Outside, the streetlight buzzed. The figure was gone.
But they knew it hadn't left.
---
The next day, they stormed into the principal's office.
Principal Sombat Anantrakul sat behind his desk, his hands folded neatly. "I assume this is about something important."
Pim slammed the newspaper clipping onto his desk. "You were here when Kanya disappeared. You knew her. You knew Kanokwan. What happened? "
Principal Sombat Anantrakul's expression remained unreadable. "That was a long time ago."
"Don't lie." Tan threw the letter from S. Akarin onto the table. "People died because of this. We were followed last night."
For the first time, a flicker of fear crossed the principal's face. He exhaled slowly. "You shouldn't have looked into this."
Meen narrowed her eyes. "Why?"
He hesitated. Then, quietly, he said, "Because it's not over."
Silence fell.
"What do you mean? " Praew whispered.
Principal Sombat Anantrakul's eyes darkened. "Kanokwan tried to end it, but she failed. The ritual is incomplete. And now that you've stirred it…"
The lights in the office flickered.
"…it knows you're here."
---
Their only option was to find Kanokwan.
They followed what little information they had—an old address, a house on the edge of town. Her childhood home.
It was abandoned.
They stepped inside, dust swirling in the dim light. The air smelled of decay.
Then they saw it.
On the wall, carved deep into the wood, was a single message.
"I tried to stop it."
And below it—
"Run."
---
"They weren't just uncovering the past anymore. They were living it. And something in the darkness wasn't done with them yet."