Chapter 13: The Parchment
Jing found himself lost, though paradoxically he had not physically moved from his location. Earlier that day, he had managed to evade capture within the confines of the school building with assistance from someone he knew as Right. However, this evasion did not equate to an escape from the haunting predicament that had him in its ominous grip.
In his desperate attempt to elude an eerie old man, Jing’s panic had driven him into a modest grove consisting only of a small cluster of landscaping trees. However, under the blanket of the inky night sky, the grove morphed into what felt like an infinite, prehistoric forest with its mere few dozen of trees. No matter which direction they attempted to venture in, Jing and his comrades found themselves ensnared within the tree-filled maze, incapable of finding a way out.
“Damn it,” Jing muttered, a string of hushed curses slipping from his lips. Fear painted his face a ghastly white while cold sweat trickled down his sides. “Why is that creepy old man pursuing me? His target should be Miles, not me,” Jing pondered aloud. His mind was a flurry of desperate thoughts, “Miles must be dead by now. That’s why the old ghost has singled me out. That’s the only logical explanation.”
“The future is unpredictable, it seems. I have somehow taken Miles’ place as the object of the old specter’s attention,” Jing ruminated, filled with a heavy sense of regret. He wished he had used his cunning to manipulate Miles into being the front man while he himself could have remained safely in the background.
Jing realized his folly – he had been hasty, overlooking the fact that Miles was not his most dangerous adversary. The real enemy was, in fact, the old man.
“Jing… Jing, listen. Those footsteps are back,” a voice by his side quivered, interrupting his thoughts with a terrified warning.
“How is that even possible?” Jing’s head shot up in alarm. He quickly scanned the small group of people who were left by his side. All of them now seemingly distanced themselves from him as if he was a harbinger of bad luck.
From the moment he had first taken the lead by shoving Miles into the restroom, Jing had left behind several peers – Zhao Qiang, Wan Feng, He Qiuyan, among others. Some had made the choice to break free from Jing’s oppressive leadership, disappearing into the shadowy abyss, never to be seen again.
Now, only a handful of students, five or six at most, remained in his company. They were reluctant to make a break for it, fearing that those who had left earlier may have met a terrible fate. Despite their growing trepidation, they believed that sticking with Jing was their best shot at survival.