Chapter 3: The Cost Of Telling The Truth

“Ok, this is it. At the count of three.”

One.

Two.

Three.

I opened the door with all my force, and it made a very sounding impact. A great, blinding darkness welcomed me as I decided to step inside. “There’s no turning back now.” That’s what I thought. 

I was forced to draw out my phone and turn its flashlight on. There’s only 12% battery life left, and I don’t think it would last any longer. 

I observed what’s going on beyond the darkness, and tried to recall again the voice I heard minutes ago. At this point, it’s hard to believe it would happen again. 

All of a sudden, in the middle of my walk, the light of my cellphone shut down. Six percent battery life. It’s all that’s left. I tried to contact any of my classmates to ask for help but no one replied. 

I first chatted Cylvia. But she’s not active on messenger. 

Then next, I texted Vhynz. But just like Cylvia, he’s inactive.

 

I even went to the point where I had to call Andrei because no one’s answering my texts, but just like the rest, he didn’t respond. Not at all. 

I glanced on my phone’s screen and I was shocked on what I saw. “No—no way!” I uttered.

Five percent left. 4:15pm.

A brush of wind blew strong. Strong enough to bang the door close, and move the trees in swaying motion. I was left nervous and trembling inside the four walls of the building where the overwhelming darkness ruled everything. 

I was engulfed with fear.

 I was owned by tremor. 

I was taken over by anxiety.

 

Right after the door shut, everything just turned black. Pitch-black. I didn’t usually exaggerate things, but honestly, I couldn’t see anything at all. It was completely dark. Dark enough to compare my sight to a blind man’s. 

I tried to assess my cellphone’s flashlight for the second time but its battery was too low. I didn’t have the chance. I didn’t have the hope either. 

I just continued walking without knowing where was I. All I knew was if only I could open the windows, there might still be light that would shine in. And so that was the plan. The nearest window, which was on my right, was only few meters away. I might be able to reach it with ease.

I took a breather, and when I’m ready, I began walking step by step, slowly and surely. But it didn’t work. I was careful. I knew to myself that I was careful. But regardless, I still tripped anyway. 

After a series of steps, I stumbled down the floor and accidentally threw my phone away. I knew that I stepped on something weird, yet I couldn’t identify what it was. It was something soft. It can’t be a just a piece of wood because I was sure enough that it was soft. 

I tried convincing myself to stand, but the darkness was just too much for me to handle. It made me felt nauseated every time I attempted to move a single nerve. 

That’s why I just crawled. I made a sluggish crawling only to draw myself nearer to the wall. Halfway through, my hands felt something on the floor. 

Something wet

.

Something viscous. 

Something stinky and very unpleasant in smell. 

My entire body quivered in chills as I felt the tingling sensation on my left palm. 

I wiped it off to my skirt, and continued crawling while my mind is hallucinating on its own. It’s all because of something I felt on the floor. I can’t get it out of my head. It seemed like it’s staying in there forever. 

At last, after a knee-tiring grovelling I made, I finally touched the wall. I stood up and brushed the dusts and dirts off of me, which sure enough were already covering my clothes. When I’m done, I searched for the window and prompted it open with both excitement and hurry.

As the window split into two, rays of light began to scatter all over the place. I could see how it illuminated the darkness and lit up all of the four corners of the room. It was fascinating. 

My hopes blossomed like the flowers on May.  For a second, I was the most satisfied person in the world. But it only lasted for a second. No. Not even a second. 

The smile curving on my face suddenly grew faint after my eyes caught something I didn’t expect to find here. Something I’d been looking for all this time. 

I released a strong, loud holler while my eyes were stickered to the flesh swimming on a pool of its own blood.

I saw a flesh of a familiar person. A flesh with too much blood streaming out of its body. It was her flesh. Our principal’s flesh. 

I closed my eyes and I collapsed on the floor. I leanon the wall where the window was located, while my hands were over my chest. I didn’t know I would come here only to witness this gruesome act. Now I felt accountable of what happened.

 

I was as if a statue. For a minute, I wasn’t able to move. Not even a flinch. I only kept staring at the body, wondering how the rusty and seemingly old butcher knife was stabbed on her right leg, causing it to morbidly tear in half. She wasn’t a pig in a slaughter house, but what happened to her was more terrible than what happens to pigs during the slaughtering process.

She wasn’t a mere animal, but her death suggested she’s nothing more than any animals being killed by hunters. I didn’t want to believe she was dead. But no matter how many times you try to brush off the idea that someone is gone, you couldn’t do it completely especially if the dead body itself is laid before your eyes. 

I did what I thought was best to do. I rose from slouching on the corner, and pedalled my feet as fast as I could. I left the victim on the floor. I left her drowning in her own blood. I left her helpless. When I finally freed myself from the building where the smell of fresh blood was suffocating, I ran back to the gym without looking back at the building all. 

I just kept the run. Even though my feet felt numb and my stomach churning, I just kept the run. I didn’t stop. I had no reason to stop. 

Who could it be? Who had the motive of killing the principal? Why in that way? Why did it have to be that gruesome? Why butcher knife? Why on the leg? Why her? 

Questions just gradually added up in my head. Forgetting them wasn’t possible. Why? Why? Why! 

If I were to analyze the situation once more, her death was like just a game to anyone. She was like a toy. The killer was playing her. Toying her as if her bloods were fake and her limbs were never a thing. It’s very traumatic to keep on picturing out her situation. 

Dead with eyes still wide open? I didn’t know it happened in real life. I only saw it on television and cinemas before, but I never really focused on the idea of it happening in actual people. In actual lives. In actual situations. It hits different when I saw it with no actors and actresses involved. No fake props. No lighting effects. No jumpscares. No dialogues and scripts. It hits different when everything’s true. 

“I didn’t someone is capable of doing it to her. She’s not even bad in the first place," I whispered to myself as I continued running. 

When I finally landed myself at the opened door of the covered gym where the PTA meeting had been held, I lean on the wall and recovered myself from exhaustion. While doing what I was doing, I observed what was going on inside.

Parents and teachers were exchanging arguments. Some were disagreeing something, while others were booing someone. It wasn’t like the usual PTA assembly. It was more intense. Everyone’s more compulsive than ever. 

Loud and chaotic. These were the only words that best described the scene. Two parties were against each other, and that’s something that never happened before. I wanted to find out why. But as of the moment, it’s beyond of what I’m capable to do. 

At this point, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make more than ten steps. I was physically tired. Mentally drained. All in all, I was close to fainting. 

When I felt that my vision was getting blurrier and blurrier, I quickly took action before everything’s late. I grabbed a random arm, and luckily, it was Sir Tan’s, our science professor. 

“Samantha? Hey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” He squeezed my arm, shaking it lightly to make sure I didn’t lose my consciousness. 

I gasped for air. “Sir,” I whispered in a fading tone. 

“Hey, hey! Hang on there, Samantha! I’m getting some help.” He laid me down to the ground. I felt the cold surface of the floor fusing with my stone cold spine. “Help! Somebody, help!” I heard him shout. 

People began running towards us. The clash between the two parties came to a sudden halt. Various words and phrases mumbled out of everyone’s mouth. The atmosphere went more intense. My breathing became more difficult.

 

As I continued gasping for air, Sir Tan asked me, “You have to tell me what is wrong, Samantha. We will help you. Please, just tell me what happened.” At this certain point, I didn’t see any figures at all. My vision was just black, with spots of white scattered randomly. 

I inhaled the deepest breathe I could ever make. “Sir,” I said as I blew out the air. “The principal—”

“What’s with the principal? What happened to the principal?” Sir Tan repeatedly said. 

“She is—she is gone! The principal is go—gone,” I blurted out, sweats and tears collided on my cheeks. They flowed down my neck as if they were bounded to be one. 

“Gone?”

“What does she mean gone?” 

“She’s talking about the principal, right?”

 

Various voices and different reactions filled the atmosphere. Assorted emotions were felt just by listening to everyone’s tone. 

“Take a breather, Samantha! Take a breather.” 

I did what Sir Tan told me to do. After two attempts, I gave my all to say my final statement.

“She’s dead. Someone killed her. There’s no helping her now.”

Those were my last words before I completely ran out of energy. After that, I saw no light. I felt no pain. I heard nothing.