The sky that afternoon was washed in a pale shade of amber, the kind that lingered just before dusk swallowed the day whole. It stretched across the horizon like a fading memory—quiet, distant, almost unreal.
Then the bell rang.
KRRRIIINNGGG…
The sound echoed far longer than it should have.
Andi paused.
He had been halfway through packing his bag, fingers resting on the zipper, when the sound reached him—not just loud, but… wrong. It carried a weight to it, something deeper than the usual end-of-day signal. It didn't just ring.
It lingered.
Vibrated.
Pressed against his ears like something alive.
Slowly, Andi lifted his head.
Around him, the classroom moved in sudden urgency. Chairs scraped against the floor. Bags were grabbed. Books disappeared into lockers and backpacks in a blur of motion.
But something was missing.
No one spoke.
No laughter.
No casual chatter about homework, teachers, or after-school plans.
Just silence.
A heavy, suffocating silence that wrapped itself around the room like fog.
Andi frowned.
"Why is everyone in such a hurry…?" he muttered under his breath.
He had only transferred to SMA Terang Bulan a week ago. He was still adjusting—new faces, new routines, new everything. But this… this wasn't normal. Even in the strictest schools, students didn't act like this at the end of the day.
This felt more like an evacuation.
The boy sitting in front of him suddenly froze.
For a brief moment, he didn't move. Then, slowly, he turned his head.
His face was pale.
Not just tired or sick—but drained, like all color had been pulled out of him.
"If you want to be safe…" he whispered, voice barely audible, "go home. Now."
Andi blinked.
"What do you—"
But the boy was already gone.
He stood up abruptly, slung his bag over his shoulder, and walked out of the classroom without another word.
Andi sat there for a second longer, confused.
Safe?
From what?
He looked around again.
The room was empty.
Not gradually empty—completely empty.
As if everyone had vanished at once.
A faint chill crept up his spine.
"Okay… that's weird," he murmured.
Still, he shook his head, trying to dismiss the unease. Maybe it was just a school culture thing. Maybe students here just didn't like lingering after class.
Yeah. That had to be it.
He zipped up his bag and stood.
"It's just in your head," he told himself quietly.
But as he stepped into the corridor, that certainty began to crack.
The hallway was already deserted.
Rows of classroom doors stood half-open, swaying slightly as if someone had just passed through them—but there was no one.
No footsteps.
No voices.
No movement.
Only the sound of wind slipping through the open windows.
Andi stepped forward cautiously.
His footsteps echoed louder than they should have, each one bouncing unnaturally against the walls.
"Hello?" he called out.
No response.
He swallowed.
"Seriously… where did everyone go?"
He started walking faster.
The main corridor stretched ahead of him, long and empty. Sunlight filtered in through the windows, casting thin golden lines across the floor.
Everything looked normal.
Too normal.
Then—
The lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Andi stopped.
"Kedip… mati… kedip… mati…" he whispered instinctively, watching the rhythm.
The fluorescent lights above him buzzed faintly, struggling to stay on.
A cold feeling settled in his chest.
"Okay… not funny," he muttered.
The lights flickered again—
And went out.
Darkness swallowed the corridor for a split second.
Then—
They came back on.
And everything changed.
The walls were no longer clean.
The white paint had peeled away in long, curling strips, exposing damp, cracked concrete beneath. Dark stains spread across the surface like something had seeped through from the inside.
The floor—
It wasn't polished anymore.
It was broken.
Cracked tiles. Dirt embedded deep into the surface. Something dark smeared across it in uneven streaks.
The air hit him next.
Thick.
Heavy.
Rotten.
A damp, suffocating smell mixed with something metallic—something faintly… sweet.
Andi froze.
His breath caught in his throat.
"What… is this…?"
His voice sounded smaller now.
Distant.
Like it didn't belong to him.
He turned slowly, his movements stiff, almost mechanical.
The classroom behind him—
Was gone.
No, not gone.
Changed.
The door was still there, but it hung crookedly on broken hinges. The inside of the room was dark, the desks overturned, scattered like debris after a storm.
A low creaking sound echoed somewhere in the distance.
Andi's heart began to pound.
This wasn't a prank.
This wasn't a misunderstanding.
Something was very, very wrong.
He took a step back.
Then another.
The silence pressed in around him again—but this time, it wasn't empty.
It felt… occupied.
Like something was there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Andi clenched his fists.
"This isn't real," he whispered. "This has to be a dream."
But even as he said it, he knew—
It wasn't.
Because the smell was too real.
The cold was too real.
And the fear crawling up his spine—
That was the most real thing of all.
Then—
A sound.
Soft.
Faint.
From somewhere down the corridor.
Srrrtt…
Srrrtt…
Like something being dragged across the floor.
Andi's breath hitched.
He turned toward the sound.
The far end of the hallway was darker than the rest, the flickering lights failing to fully reach it.
"Hello?" he called out again, his voice trembling despite his effort to stay calm.
No answer.
The sound continued.
Closer now.
Srrrtt…
Srrrtt…
His instincts screamed at him to run.
But his feet wouldn't move.
It was like his body had forgotten how.
"Who's there?" he tried again.
Still nothing.
Just that sound.
Dragging.
Approaching.
And then—
A shape appeared.
At first, it was just a shadow.
Then it stepped into the dim light.
Andi's stomach dropped.
It was… human.
At least, it had been.
Tall.
Too thin.
Wearing a torn school uniform that hung loosely from its frame.
Its movements were slow.
Unnatural.
Like each step required effort—or like it wasn't used to walking anymore.
And then—
It lifted its head.
Andi's breath stopped.
The face—
Was incomplete.
Parts of it were simply… missing.
As if someone had erased sections of it, leaving behind hollow darkness where features should have been.
Yet somehow—
It was looking straight at him.
Andi couldn't move.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't breathe.
The figure tilted its head slightly.
Studying him.
Curious.
And then—
It smiled.