"Jane."
Jason's voice suddenly returned again, softer this time, almost like it was floating through the walls themselves.
I turned around quickly. "Jason, where are you?"
"You are safe," he said instead of answering me directly. "Think of this place like a dream. Nobody can see you and nobody can touch you."
My brows furrowed immediately.
"What?"
"I will explain everything later but I need you to find out something first."
"What happened to you?" I asked quickly. "Where did you go?"
There was a brief silence after that.
"I will explain that too later," he replied calmly. "Right now, just watch and follow through."
Before I could question him again, the hallway around me suddenly shifted.
The air became colder.
The voices grew louder.
And then,
The corridor changed completely.
Students now crowded the once-empty hallway, moving past me carelessly as though I did not exist. Their uniforms looked older, darker, and less polished than the present-day ones. The atmosphere itself felt different, stripped of the fake perfection the school carried now.
Then my eyes landed on her.
A girl.
She stood at the centre of the hallway clutching books tightly against her chest while three other girls circled around her slowly.
She looked nervous.
I would say terrified.
Her uniform was slightly oversized, and her curly hair had been tied back poorly as though she had done it in a rush. There was ink staining one sleeve of her shirt, and from the way the others laughed at her appearance, I could already tell she was used to humiliation.
"Well look who finally decided to come outside," one of the girls mocked loudly.
The others burst into laughter immediately.
The girl lowered her head without saying a word.
One of them suddenly snatched her books from her arms and threw them across the hallway.
Papers scattered everywhere.
Another girl shoved her roughly from behind, making her stumble forward.
The laughter only grew louder.
I felt my chest tighten instantly.
"Stop," I muttered instinctively before stepping forward.
But the moment I reached out toward them, my hand passed through one of the girls completely.
I froze.
Right.
Jason had said nobody could see me.
The bullied girl quickly bent down, trying to gather her papers with shaky hands while the others continued mocking her mercilessly.
Then suddenly, the hallway grew quieter.
Footsteps echoed through the hallway.
A man was approaching.
Tall.
Sharp-looking.
Well dressed.
His dark suit was perfectly tailored, the fabric smooth and heavy like it had been stitched from the finest material available at the time. Beneath it rested a crisp ivory shirt with a stiff collar that sat properly around his neck, accompanied by a neatly tied cravat that made him look even more refined. Over the suit, he wore a long black coat that reached slightly below his knees, giving him the appearance of a politician or nobleman from an old painting.
A pair of leather gloves rested in one hand while the other adjusted the silver cufflinks at his wrist absent mindedly, almost like elegance came naturally to him.
Even his hair was carefully maintained.
Dark, slightly wavy, combed neatly backward with just enough shine to show care without looking excessive. His beard was trimmed perfectly along his jaw, sharp enough to make him look intimidating despite the calmness on his face.
The moment he appeared, the students straightened slightly.
"Who is this?" I asked. Only my lips moved; no words came out.
The bullied girl looked up too, hope flickering weakly across her face.
"Mr. Caleb." The bully called out with a smile.
Instead, Caleb only glanced at the scene once then walked past. Just like that, no anger, no concern. To me, it seemed like he had seen it happen too many times already.
My mouth parted slightly in disbelief as I watched him disappear down the hallway without looking back once.
The girl slowly lowered her head again while the bullying continued.
And suddenly, I understood something terrifying.
This school had been rotten long before our time.
The scene around me blurred again before shifting violently into another memory.
This time, the hallway was emptier.
Rain tapped softly against the windows nearby while dim evening light spilled across the floor.
The same girl sat alone at the corner of a staircase with a folded paper trembling slightly in her hands.
Her face looked swollen from crying.
I watched carefully as she slowly opened one of the bags hanging nearby and slipped the letter inside but before she could pull her hand away, someone called out…
"What are you doing?"
Her body stiffened immediately.
My heart beat faster like I was the one in trouble.
One of the girls from earlier stood there staring at her. Then another appeared and another while the victim quickly stepped back, shaking her head repeatedly.
"I—I wasn't doing anything."
"Liar."
The first slap landed so hard that even I flinched.
The girl crashed against the wall immediately.
Then it became worse.
Far worse.
Insults exploded around her from every direction. Someone pulled her hair violently. Another shoved her against the staircase railing hard enough to make her cry out. Blood spilled from her mouth, staining the paper in her hand. It gave a particular diagram that felt familiar.
I stood frozen.
The intensity of it made my stomach twist painfully.
Then suddenly,
A door burst open nearby.
A man rushed into the scene.
His clothes did not carry the same elegance as Caleb's. Instead, they looked slightly disordered, as though he had dressed in a hurry and never quite cared enough to fix it properly. His shirt gave an impression of once white, but now faded into a dull cream colour, the fabric creased and uneven around the sleeves. The top buttons were often left undone, revealing a loosened collar that sat awkwardly around his neck.
His trousers were dark but not well-pressed, folding naturally at the knees and ankles from constant movement. His shoes, though a decent leather, now carried scuff marks and dullness that suggested neglect more than poverty.
Unlike Caleb, there was nothing calm about him. His movements were rough, frantic almost, and there was a sharp smell of alcohol surrounding him even from where I stood.
"Enough!" he shouted angrily while trying to separate the students.
But the hallway had already become chaotic.
One of the girls, aiming for the girl, shoved against him while screaming.
John lost balance slightly.
Then instinctively, he pushed back.
Everything happened too fast.
The bullied girl stumbled backward. Her eyes widened.
Her body hit the railing.
Then,
She fell.
A scream ripped through the hallway as her body disappeared over the top floor railing.
My entire body went cold.
I looked away for a minute because it was so bad.
Everyone froze.
Then chaos exploded.
Students screamed.
Teachers came running.
The man stood there frozen completely, staring downward like he could not understand what he had just done. Some people came in with a stretcher; they took the girl and left.
Then another voice thundered through the hallway.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"
I turned sharply.
Caleb pushed through the crowd furiously before grabbing John aggressively by the shirt.
"You useless drunk!" Caleb shouted angrily.
John looked horrified. "I didn't mean to."
"You killed her!" he said, pointing to the girl with the paper still in her hands.
The students around them erupted instantly; some began shouting, others crying. Then suddenly the anger shifted completely toward John. People started pushing him, accusing him, screaming at him.
Slowly, a riot and protest consumed the hallway. I realized something horrifying.
This…
This was where it all started.
The hallway continued trembling with chaos around me. Instead, I just stood there frozen, staring at the exact place where she had fallen.
Soon everything went blurry. At first I felt dizzy… then it was clear again and I was outside, in front of the gate of the school.
Well, not surprisingly, the gate looked the same as the one in my time.
Mr. John left the school with his belongings in a box. I watched as he left, looking so sad. He looked up; there was his brother in front of the founder's building, smiling like it was all his plan all along.
Mr. John then turned and walked out.
Then suddenly,
Someone grabbed my wrist.
Hard.
I gasped and turned sharply.
A girl stood in front of me.
I had never seen her before.
Her uniform looked old like the others, but unlike them, there was something deeply wrong about her appearance. Her hair was messy, partially covering her face, and her breathing sounded uneven, almost painful. Her eyes looked red, not from crying, but from exhaustion… like she had not slept in years.
And somehow,
She was looking directly at me, not through me like the others.
Fear shot through my body instantly.
"How can she see me?" I whispered weakly.
Her grip tightened painfully around my wrist.
"He has taken it too far," she whispered hurriedly, her voice trembling strangely. "He has taken it upon himself to destroy everything Caleb owns…"
My heartbeat quickened immediately.
The girl stepped closer.
"Starting with you."
Before I could react, her hands suddenly wrapped around my throat.
I choked violently in shock.
My eyes widened as panic exploded inside me. I grabbed her wrists immediately, trying desperately to pull her hands away, but her grip only tightened harder.
I could not breathe.
"Jason!" I tried to scream, but nothing came out properly.
The girl's face moved closer to mine, her expression suddenly twisting into something terrifying.
Then everything went black.
I jerked awake violently.
Air rushed painfully into my lungs as I coughed hard, clutching my throat immediately.
Jane's eyes fluttered open slowly.
For a moment, everything felt blurred.
The ceiling above me came into focus first, pale and unfamiliar, followed by the faint smell of antiseptic that clung to the air.
The sick bay.
"Jane…"
A voice called, faint at first but becoming clearer.