Chapter 1 - Qualm
A few days later ...
"It's raining heavily ... "
"Aw, man ! I didn't think it was going to rain today, so I left my umbrella at home !"
Two classmates were speaking in their classroom. Their names were Shiho Hasegawa and Masayuki Hayashi, and they both were friends since childhood.
" Oh ?". Shiho looked surprised at him when Masayuki said that he forgot his umbrella. " You can use mine, if you want " she replied with a soft smile.
" You sure ?" the boy asked, before smiling brightly. " Thanks, Shiho !"
Walking in the halls outside the classroom were 2 students from another grade. They were one boy and one girl, the both of them members of the student council of their class. They entered inside the room, and the blue haired girl looked at the other blue haired girl and said : "Shiho, sorry to keep you waiting "
Both Shiho and Hayashi walked away from the windows and looked at them, and Shiho replied cheerfully. " Sister dearest ! You did great today !" at the blue haired
Shiho's older sister, Kaori Hasegawa, smiled softly at her. Then, the blue-haired boy began to talk. " Oh, Hayashi is here as well ?". This boy was called Hideki Tachibana, and him and Hayashi were friends.
" Yep, great work today, Tachibana !" quickly replied the brown haired. " You too, Kaorry !"
" Thank you, Hayashi " replied Kaori with a soft smile.
Then, they each got closer to everyone
" So, any luck with the search of Yuuya and Kyosuke ?" asked Hayashi
Kaori shook her head. " No progress at all, I'm afraid ... "
" Or the day before or the day before that. I am sorry to say that there's been no sign of those two. We put out a missing person report, and the police have been put into action " replied Hideki
" They were last witnessed on their way home " added Kaori. " It's been almost 3 days ... I don't understand what could have happened "
" Where could ... where could they have gone ? I was just talking to Yuuya before it happened ... he seemed to be worried about something ... but this is too much ... I can't believe they would both vanish like that without warning ... I've heard other kids have been disappearing from a nearby school recently ... just before their own disappearance " said Hayashi, clearly very worried and concerned
Shiho flinches slightly and look at him. " Hayashi, don't talk like that !"
He looks down, sad. " S-Sorry. It's just ... I was close to them "
Then, Hideki wisely said : " Don't worry about it, Hayashi. I know how close you are to Kyosuke and Yuuya "
Kaori looks at him and mumble. " Tachibana ... "
" I talked to their parents ... they haven't seen them since that day, either. Also, their rooms are completely untouched. Ergo, I don't think they ran away. " said Hideki
" So ... Are you suggesting it was a kidnapping or something ? Himonya's family is kind of influential around here "
" I don't think so. We already inquired about the Himonya angle ... nothing seemed out of the ordinary " replied Kaori to her little sister. " the police officers questioned the Himonya's acquaintances and none of them witnessed anything " she added.
" And not even a single clue ? Dammit ! What the hell ?! Are you suggesting the ground swallowed them up ?!" bluntly Hayashi.
" The ground ?" mumbled Shiho. " Are you trying to imply this was an act of God ?" she seriously asked at him.
Hideki sighed. " Don't be ridiculous ! That's PREPOSTEROUS !"
" H-Hey, class rep ... settle down, okay ?" asked the brown-haired boy, nervous.
" Ah ... sorry " said Hideki, instantly calming down. " It's just ... Kyosuke loved the occult. I don't believe in any of it, but I keep thinking, in the back of my mind ... it may be related "
" Tachibana ... " mumbled Hayashi
Hideki, then, closed his eyes and smiled faintly. " Sorry, let's go home. It's late as it is "
They all nodded and left the classroom. As Shiho, the last one, was leaving, a violent thunder was heard outside.
" EEEEEK !" she yelled, before tripping and falling in front of the others 3.
" Don't freak out " said Kaori with a soft voice, handing her her hand. Shiho got up by grabbing Kaori's hand. " You scare so easily " said the older sibling.
Then, Hayashi flashed a cocky smirk at Shiho. " You're still afraid of thunder, Shiho ?" he teasingly said. " Man, you haven't changed at all since junior high !"
Shiho pouted at him. " Jeez, why do you keep bringing that up ?! You're such a dummy ... "
As Hideki was closing the door of the room, Hayashi slightly giggled. " My bad, my bad !" he said while scratching his forehead.
Kaori was watching the two of them with a soft smile on her face. Then, she closed her eyes. " By the way, I heard an interesting story today " she said.
" Oh ?". Shiho looked right back at her 'sister dearest'. " What is it ?"
" What's up, Kaorry ?" asked Hayashi, hiding his smirk.
Kaori slightly giggled to herself.
" Everyone ... do you believe in them ? Ghosts, that is "
" Is this another one of your scary stories ?" asked the scaredy cat young sister.
" Kaori, weren't you listening earlier ?" asked Hideki. " I- "
" Yeah, I know YOU don't believe them, Tachibana " quickly replied Kaori, cutting him off. " Yet a body cannot live on work alone. Play along, at least. Or else the stress may kill you ". Kaori was smiling sweetly, looking at Hideki.
Hideki was silent for a short moment, before sighing. " ... Fine. Go on, maybe some unsensical horror story will divert my mind "
" Great. Then I'll begin ... "
Kaori walked ahead towards the staircase leading to the exit of the school, and everyone followed her.
" There was once a school near here ... Long ago, a female student accidentally fell from the third floor corridor ... Though you'd assume she'd die on impact ... Can you guess what happened to her afterward ?"
" ... ". Shiho looked very interested into her sister dearest's story, and she looked in deep thought. " She became ... a ghost ?" he replied with a faint voice. " I'd say that's a safe guess " added Hayashi
Kaori shook her head and continued. " She stood straight up and ... "
Hideki was silent, mildly interested into this story.
Kaori suddenly said with a strong tone : " She kept repeating ... 'More ... more ... ' and then vanished, leaving only an ear-piercing cackle ... and her blood-soaked brain matter "
Shiho flinched again, her eyes widening slightly. She almost gasped.
Then, Kaori looked very relaxed, and slightly giggled with a soft smile at Shiho before saying : " You're scared !"
" I-I don't believe a word of it !" said Shiho, nervous. Then, she looked rather relaxed. " Besides ! The dead can't move !"
Hayashi just laughed when seeing Shiho's reaction.
" Wh-What ?! Just what do you find so funny, Hayashi ?!" said Shiho, glaring at him again, but she couldn't look intimidating at all.
" Sorry, but think about it ! 'More ... more ... ? What's so scary about the word 'more ?'" he said with a teasing smirk to Shiho before laughing again.
Hideki then added : " Heh. Very true. A better word should have been chosen to give the story more ... bite. I found it to be about as scary as a bedtime lullaby "
Shiho looked at the two boys, clearly defeated. " C ... Come on, guys ! Stop teasing me !"
Kaori slight giggled. " I apologize, yet I wouldn't be so sure of yourself. I think it may be true; a girl could have died by slipping off the third floor !"
She led the way once again, except ...
" ... It was a rainy after-school day. Just like this ... "
An unknown voice spoke, when only those 4 were there. The only noises we could hear before were the noises of the rain, but out of nowhere, an unknown voice could be heard.
Everyone stopped quickly and looked everyone.
" What was that ?" they all asked. " No ... ". Shiho looked very scared.
" I'm scared, sister dearest !"
" ... ". Kaori was dead silent, so what Hideki.
" Must have been the wind ... " she said with a soft smile.
" Don't worry, Shiho " added Hideki. " There's nothing to be scared of "
Nonetheless, Shiho looked still scared.
" Come on, everyone " said Kaori as she led the way again, followed by everyone. Shiho was clinging to her sister dearest. " It's all because you had to tell that spooky story " she said with a pout directed to her sister
" ... Help me ... "
Everyone stopped again, gasping. There was no mistake on this, it was indeed a voice.
" The heck ?! I heard it loud and clear that time !" said Hayashi, slightly shaking.
" Is someone there ?" asked Hideki, more to himself than to anybody else there. He looked very nervous here.
Then, the light shut off. The whole area was swallowed in the darkness, since it already was the end of the day.
" ... A power outage ?". Kaori looked like the only one there completely calm.
Shiho clang to her sister's arm even tighter. " Sister dearest ... "
Another thunder was heard outside, lighting up the whole hallway from a split second. No one else than our 4 students were seen here.
" What's going on here !? " said Hideki, starting to freak out slightly.
Then, the floor violently began to shake. Everyone gasped once again. The whole area was already filled with darkness, and now, an Earthquake adds to the pile of events who happened right after this ghost story.
" Eeeeeeek ! Siiiiiiiiister !" yelled Shiho, doing her best to keep standing, still clinging on her sister.
Hayashi felt to the ground on his rear. " Uwaaaah ! Kaorrrrry, Shiiiiiiho ! "
A huge sound of something splinting open was heard, and it wasn't an object, but rather the building itself.
Hideki leaned against the wall to keep standing, and gasped again.
Kaori grabbed Shiho's arm tightly, and said : " Don't let go, Shiho !"
The Earthquake was absolutely savage, with the windows starting to break one by one, the classrooms' furniture falling and breaking, and eventually ...
Everything went black. The floor split open right under our 4 students and swallowed them in the ground.
Everything was silent, everything was black. They couldn't feel anything.
THE ABSOLUTE ZERO
Chapter 1 - Qualm [ E N D ]
Heyy, I know, I said I wouldn't post today ( only on a forum ), but I wanted to do it and I'm very proud of the result. Chapter 2 should come very soon and things will really become interesting after this very Chapter
The story only just began~ evil laugh
