《Beneath the surface - YiZhan version》

《Chapter 1》

"Survivors have scars, victims have graves . . ."

***

As I set foot into the place, I glanced next to me, looking into the eyes of the little prince; he gave me a tiny nod as we stepped through.

Dread filled my stomach as I felt a headache intruding; the place was quiet, and the lights flickered.

The corridors had to be buzzing with kids and laughter, but we got met with silence.

"Zhan ge?" I kept my gaze ahead, continuing to walk as I looked at the lockers, empty classrooms and posters hanging.

All of it felt eery because there was no living soul beside us.

"Zhan ge?" This time, I hummed in response, feeling the cold gush of air as the little prince his hand touched mine.

"We can stop any moment you want; all you have to do is to give a heads up, okay? And if I notice things becoming too much, I won't hesitate to get you out of here." I smiled, looking at him, his expression nothing but seriousness.

"Why do I have to fear anything with you by my side?" The little prince rolled his eyes.

"I'm not joking, Zhan ge. One sign of being uncomfortable, and I am dragging you out of here." I hummed again as we reached the end of the hallway.

The doors of the stairways were open as if they were trying to invite us to go up.

Glancing beside me, the little prince looked back with determination; walking side by side, we took the steps to the second level.

Every step felt heavier than the one before.

"This is where the file said the shooting started; the gunman was suspected to be a student holding grudges." My voice echoed throughout the quiet hallway.

The only sound was my breathing and footsteps.

"I cannot wrap my mind around it. If you're unhappy with your own life, why does that give you a reason to destroy and take away someone else's happiness?" The little prince's voice was filled with anger as he spoke, his eyes burning right ahead of him.

"I don't know," I murmured under my breath, shaking my head as he glanced at me.

"Two female students passed away inside this building; one female student died on the stretcher while being taken to the hospital. The last one was a male student who passed at the hospital." I heard the little prince next to me gasp.

"Did the file say in which level of the school they passed?" I shook my head, looking at the boards plastered on the wall with signs of which classroom was where.

"The school has four floors; the gunman had passed the first floor and went to the second floor where the shooting started. The victim fell as he continued his way through the building." My heart clenched as I spoke, unable to ease the pain I felt for the victims.

We passed more and more empty classrooms, and I made sure to peek into each of them, so we wouldn't miss the lost souls if they got still stuck in this place.

"Do you feel them, little prince?" I glanced at him as he shook his head.

"Their energy is somewhere here, but they're not on this level; it's the level above here where they passed," he said as he stopped mid-walk.

"Their energy gets stronger the closer we reach those stairs," the little prince said, nodding to the stairway as he resumed walking.

I followed close behind him, feeling unease settling into my stomach as I tried to ignore it.