A single figure stood before the gates of Siriyawit Academy, a school that gives a chilly ambiances and icy atmosphere to the one who enter it. Standing there dressed in the school's dark green blazer; his hands deep in his pockets the boy stared up at the gates without blinking. A soft wind tugged at the edge of his uniform making him shiver a little. The air was cleaner here because of its location in the forest hills of northern Thailand. It's quiet surrounding give a peaceful and calm feeling as it's far from the noise of the city. Far from the last school. Far from the fire.
Krist is a quiet and intelligent 17 years old boy. His transfer to the school is sudden and unexplained. Looking inside the school there are no one around yet the gate creaked open on its own. It's giving the feeling like the school had been waiting from him. Thinking of it make him feel chill all over his body.
The first thing Krist noticed after stepping into the grounds wasn't the towering buildings or the students laughing in the garden. It was the silence. Beneath the noise, something was…still. Too still. He then remembers that this school is known for its perfect record, strict discipline and…odd rumor.
He was given no tour around the school just a map given by the staff member that guide him throughout the school area. The only thing the staff member did was pointing vaguely to the east dormitory on the map, and left him with a polite nod and dead eyes. He started to explore the school and found his classroom.
By lunch time, he'd managed to find the cafeteria, blending into the sea of students with practiced ease. His seat alone at the back, close to the windows. As he chewed on the tasteless rice, his dark eyes scanned the room, not for friends, but for exits. For pattern.
That's when he noticed her.
A girl with a long hair tie in ponytail, sat two tables away, arguing with someone while flipping the Rubik's cube with one hand. She wore her blazer open and sleeved rolled. Krist notice that the girl wrist was bandaged not sure if she hurt there or just for a style. From his observation this girl has a fierce eye, looking a bit like a tomboy but also has a girly side of her. She also looks like a clever girl but seem mysterious to him. While he heard them arguing, he come to know that this girl name is Film.
Film sensing an eye was watching her. She suddenly turned and looked over at him.
Their eyes met.
Krist didn't flinch. Neither did she.
She narrowed her eyes as if she'd seen something behind his expression. Something he didn't even know was showing. Film didn't bother about him anymore and continued chattering with her friends.
After lunch, Krist find his way to the classroom again.
The last period passed like fog. By the time the bell rang, Krist was halfway across the schoolyard. He didn't head to his own dorm. He needed air. Since this is the first day on school, he like to explore the school more. His curiosity about this school makes him feel restless. While walking, he senses that he somehow reaches an unexpected place.
He notices that there is an old wooden bench set beneath the clock tower, its glass cracked and the clock hands stop at 7:44. The surrounding look so gloomy that he expects no students have ever come here. Maybe because it's too close to the old building that had been sealed off for years make them afraid to come.
He sat on the bench.
The wood creaked under his weight. Kind of expecting the situation as the bench look old and no one even bother to repair and care for it. While sitting and thinking for a while he feels something sharp scratched against his leg. He leaned down and saw that there look like some kind of message leave behind.
'31.12.44 – L.I.D – The whisper begins where the bell ends.'
Looking, there seem like a spark in his head telling he had seen this before. But kind of forget where he seen it.
He pulled out his phone and took a picture. The phrase, it wasn't new. Thinking again, he suddenly remembers he have seen it in his brother notebook. No wonder he kind of familiar with the message written. He then returns to his dorm before the night fall.
That night, in his dorm, with curiosity, he flipped through the worn, burned-edge notebook he always carried. It smelled faintly of smoke and ink. He turned to a page labeled "Clues from the past, final week."
There he found the same identical message from the bench match the message written in the book.
'The whisper begins where the bell ends.'
Looking at the message he begins to think. How was it here too?
His hand hovered above the paper. Cold spread up his spine like ice water. His brother had died in this school, burned in and old storage room after claiming he'd discovered a secret about 'the schoolyard.' Though, everyone said it was an accident.
For Krist, he had never believed them. He thinks that his brother dead is something cause by an accident but he doesn't know how to explained it either. For him, he needs to find some sort of evidence to prove that the case was not like the other think it is.
Now that he has saw the message, he was sure of it.
Suddenly, his phone buzzed.
He checked it. One message. No name. No number.
The message written, "Stop digging. Or you'll be next."
He froze.
Then, as if on instinct, he stood and moved to the window.
Outside, beyond the edge of the courtyard, someone stood by the bench.
Watching him.
A black hood covered their face. Their head titled slowly…towards his windows.
Then, they vanished.