Proofreaders: Gwen, Hiro, and Red
What has happened in dat room?! OAo
Everyone from 308
has been gathered in the principal’s office. The atmosphere of NY Academy is
tense like never before. Police cars have surrounded the premise. Reporters and
curious citizens are packed against the gates. The five guys and I are
getting interrogated separately by different officers, asked again and again
about Kong Linglin’s recent behaviour and if he was involved in any conflicts.
I didn’t see it but from the snippets I
have heard from the investigators I get the picture: Kong Linglin’s body on his bed,
flesh sliced open all over, so deep that bone shows through, blood sprayed all
across the room, the floor soaked in blood…
Even the police officers paled.
Who did it? What for?
The interrogation lasts three hours,
followed by comfort consultations with our homeroom teachers, counsellors
and principal. I don’t have the strength to even keep track of what they are
saying, nor the strength to pretend as if everything is all right, but I do
follow my homeroom teacher to our new dorm, 501. The fifth floor is for graduating
students. There aren’t as many restrictions here. Furthermore most of them have
left the school already so there are lots of rooms available.
The atmosphere is ridiculously heavy when
we all meet at 501. We all sit around a table, faces pale, not speaking, not
moving.
“I bet,” I try my hardest to sound normal.
“We’ll make national headlines.”
No replies. Just more silence. I really
want to crack a joke but my mind’s blank.
“Do you think, a human did it?” Wu Fan’s
voice is like thunder in the silence.
My blood turns cold and my heart starts
beating furiously. From the looks of it the others feel so too.
If they were human, how would they have
executed it? Because even with the sharpest blade, it’s impossible to do what
they did in such a short period of time.
Unless. Unless it was a customized weapon
with several parallel blades, and then slowly pulled through… And considering the amount of blood, it’s as
if the body was torn open in the middle and separated in half while the person
was still alive.
For the first time in my life I despise my
specialization, how it lets me easily understand how difficult it is to die
that way and then makes me analyse the possibilities…
“Maybe the murderer left through the
windows after destroying the corpse,” Cubs stammers. “Since two stories isn’t
far from the ground. That’s why the doors were locked from the inside and there
was no one inside.”
“Then there should’ve been prints! But the
police didn’t find anything suspicious!” Chief starts getting steamed up. “It
couldn’t have been more than ten minutes from the time he got back to the time
we got the door open. It’s impossible to bleed that much just from wounds. I
reckon they used some sort of machinery to draw the blood out after wrecking the
body. Plus-”
“Stop it!” Mu Mu is almost roaring.
“What’re you tryin’ to say here? What’re you tryin’ to prove? The police are
the ones to investigate, not you! Think about Eng; we were just foolin’ around
with him earlier today! How can you be thinkin’ this shit now?!”
The room falls silent once more, only our
heavy breathing can be heard.
“Did you guys,” Glooms suddenly speaks,
“play that game?”
His words are few but the memories of that
night in the meeting room surfaces in my mind. I glance at Mu Mu and Yuan Fei.
Their pale faces tell me they’re thinking the same thing.
“You what?” Wu Fan shouts.
“What what? There’s no such thing as
ghosts! You hear me?” Mu Mu almost springs up from the table and yells back at
Chief.
I understand why he’s reacting this way.
He’s realised too, probably, that extra ‘person’…
“Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
These two things might not be related at all,” I point out.
Now, I might say so but I’ve already
linked these two events together in my mind. Because that shadow that I saw
climb on to the bed above Kong Linglin in the dark of night might really be...
My breathing becomes ragged.
Did we summon something bad by playing
that game? Did Kong Linglin die because of that? But why? Does everyone who
played have to die?
Then…what about me?
“Which ones of you played? Quick!” Chief
glares at us with tightly drawn fists.
“Mu Mu, Kong Linglin, Yuan Fei, and I,” I
breathe.
“Chief, don’t put it like that.” Cubs is
sniffing already. “Who says the two are related. Let’s not jump to conclusions,
‘kay?”
Chief starts pacing around the room
nervously, rubbing his hands together and nudging his glasses into place. I
know he’s trying to think of a solution but what he’s said so far has me
feeling hopeless already.
What could we possibly do if it really is…
Just then Glooms drops an A-bomb. “Let’s
summon it again.”
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Mu Mu
jumps up.
“If it’s really the supernatural we need
to ask them why they’re doing this,” he analyses. “If there’s nothing then we
can all rest assured, no?”
I’ve got to say, I’m actually kind of
impressed at how calm Glooms is right now.
“Over my dead body!” Mu Mu shouts.
“But it’s too late anyway,” Glooms
continues. “You’ve already summoned it-the cat’s out the bag.”
“Xu Ping!”
Mu Mu grabs Glooms by the collar, and Yuan
Fei and I quickly pull the two apart, but he refuses to let go.
“Enough!” Yuan Fei barks.
The commotion stops. He takes a breath
before continuing.
“I agree with Glooms. I’d rather witness
it with my very own eyes than be kept in the dark, even if it really is…at
least I’d have died knowing why.”
“Not you too?” Mu Mu thunders. “Fine, do
what you want. Don’t count me in!”
He shoots out the door, not forgetting to
slam it in our faces. I can’t help but smile bitterly. It was he who wanted to
play in the beginning.
It is always in times of distress that the
pettiness of human nature can be observed.
“You need four to play, right?” Chief
nudges his glasses and says calmly. “There’s me, Yuan Fei, that makes two. Who else?”
“Me.”
I speak calmly but my nails are digging
into my palms, trying to suppress the jitters, because I know I’m already
involved-I can’t say no. More importantly, I don’t want to run
away like Mu Mu has, even if my legs are still spaghetti.
I look over to Cubs and Xu Ping. I see
Cubs quaking in his boots but I guess he doesn’t want to say no, either, so he
just looks down without a word. I heave a silent sigh and look towards Glooms.
“I’ll do it,” Glooms volunteers.
“Alright, the four of us, tonight, meeting
room.” Chief says emotionlessly.
“Actually, I don’t think we need to,”
Glooms suddenly dissents. “All we’ll prove is that there’s really a fifth
person; we can’t ask it any questions, we can’t communicate with it.”
“So what’re you suggesting?” Chief sits
down on his bed and watches Glooms.
“Pen God.”
Merely two words impress me even more. He
might be kind of emo but he’s surprisingly got a grip on things at times like
this. What do you use to talk to spirits? The Pen God of course!
The four of us share a look and reach an
agreement.
“Okay, we’ll start when the lights go off.
I’ll make preparations,” Chief instructs like the leader he is.
“Guys, don’t, don’t do it.” Cubs is
watching us with teary eyes. “Wh-what if, what if something else gets
summoned?”
That’s right. If those who play die, then
Chief and Glooms will…
I glance towards Yuan Fei. He’s watching
me, too. Strange enough, we somehow understood each other just now, even though
we’ve never had anything like that before.
“If it’s Pen God, Yuan Fei and I can do
it,” I say.
“Right, two’s enough,” Yuan Fei adds.
It falls silent all of a sudden. It seems
Chief and Glooms are in deep thought.
“We’ll play,” the two of them say at the
same time.
“But-” I try to object, to warn them of
the dangers, but Chief interrupts.
“I’m the chief so I have to keep tabs on
you all.” He grins while shaking his head.
Glooms calmly explains, “I made the
suggestion. I can’t just bail on you guys.”
The next moment, I feel a lump in my
throat. I quickly fake a grin but I can’t hide the rush of emotion I’m feeling
in my heart like never before.
I’ve never believed there are such things
as ‘sharing the good and bad in life’. People always want to have a piece of
the pie when things are going well but no one would when things are bad. Our
instinct drives us to protect ourselves first in the face of danger and fear;
stuff like putting others before ourselves only happens in stories and comics.
Even so, I think I’m really feeling it
right now. I guess this is it. It’s like having a pair of hands on your
shoulders and even through all your frightened trembling you can’t help but
feel safe within its embrace.
My gaze unknowingly falls on Cubs. Ears
burning, head bowed, he’s on the brink of crying. I know what’s going through
his head right now but he’s just a little weak-hearted, especially with
something out-of-this-world like this. I beckon to him and he walks towards me
hesitantly. I take his hand and sit him down.
“We’re countin’ on you tonight. If
anything happens to us, you gotta go get help right away, you understand?”
He nods his head fiercely and grins weakly
only when I pat him reassuringly on his head.
☵
The hours seem to crawl by. Mu Mu hasn’t
come back; he has only called saying he’s going to stay over at a friend’s place
for the night. When the lights finally turn off at eleven o’clock, the five of
us get up and huddle around the flashlight. Cubs stands by the door, ready to
sprint out anytime for help.
Chief lays a piece of paper with the
alphabet written on it in the middle of the table. There are two of us on
each side of the table and our fingers criss-cross around a single ball pen.
“After I say ‘start’, try to keep your
mind clear. I’ll ask the questions if the pen starts moving,” Chief says
solemnly.
No one has anything else to add. Chief
says ‘start,’ and I don’t dare to breathe while I follow the pen tip with my
eyes, not secretly trying to move it like the times before.
The pen remains still in the middle of the
paper for a long, long time. Other than some slight leaning, I’d say it hasn’t
moved at all.
The four of us glance at each other. Chief
contemplates and suggests, “How about we give it a little push, not in any
particular direction, just to get it started. Let’s try it out once. If it
doesn’t work then we’ll leave it.”
I sigh very inappropriately but I can’t
help but feel more nervous about having an answer than not. Without one I might
feel lost and scared but I think I would jump out of my skin if we got one
right away.
Maybe Kong Linglin’s death really was the
work of some psychotic murderer and has absolutely nothing to do with
supernatural beings. Isn’t it better like that?
I feel a sharp pang of guilt. I haven’t
felt grief for his death; instead I’m worrying about my own safety. Fear,
anxiety, worry. When the negative feelings inundate you, there’s no one else
you can think of but yourself.
I sneer inwardly; what a coward you are.
The pen finally starts moving steadily,
bringing my hand along with it. I quickly take a glance at the others. I
definitely did not push it enough to get it moving, but I don’t know about the
others.
The pen tip is rolling slowly over the
paper with no apparent pattern.
Chief takes the first shot. “Who are you?”
The pen moves steadily, crossing several
letters, but they don’t seem to form anything meaningful. I tried reading it as
English but it’s not a word either. So I guess it’s merely moving.
Chief nudges his glasses with his free
hand and presses. “Was it you in the meeting room that night?”
The pen slowly moves to ‘Y’, pauses, then
slowly moves over to ‘E’, then pauses again. My heart’s in my throat as I watch
the board intently. Is it trying to say ‘YES’? Is this really it? The
supernatural really exists?
The pen rolls and stops.
At ‘B’.
What the hell is ‘YEB’ supposed to mean?
Not Pinyin. Not English. It’s not even Wubi input code.
“I…don’t think it works,” Yuan Fei
whispers.
“Uh-huh.” Amazingly, everyone makes this
exclamation at the same time.
“Maybe we should try to be more
straightforward. Like ‘was it you who killed Kong Linglin’ or ‘why are you
doing this’ or somethin’,” I suggest.
The next moment, the pen jerks to life
again. We didn’t pay much attention while chatting but our hearts all miss a
beat now that it has suddenly started moving again.
I watch the pen anxiously as it traces an
arc on the paper. Seeing it move now is making my heart beat furiously against
my ribcage, unlike before. My instincts tell me that it is moving the pen this time.
Our hands move slowly but surely along
with the pen and soon a perfectly round circle appears on the paper. But our
hands don’t stop there; it continues tracing over the circle that it just drew
once more.
We couldn’t have possibly drawn this
perfectly round circle even if the four of us wanted to. Not to mention it’s
staying flawlessly in its trail the second time around. It’s simply
impossible for humans.
If so, who is drawing this?
Once. Twice. Thrice!
I can feel it slowly picking up speed. An
ominous feeling makes my hair stand. My hand is completely out of my control as
it goes faster and faster with the pen. Faster. Faster-so fast I want to
scream, but the circle stays perfectly circular. The pen is going to break
through the paper any moment now.
I try to take control of my appendage but
it’s as if it’s being sucked away from me, velocity increasing indefinitely as
the pen carry on circling.
I jerk up trying to escape its suction.
Chief also shoots up, bewildered, and pulls on the hand holding on to the pen
with his free hand. I feel as if our hands has been glued together by something
and it’s no use struggling.
“Let go!” Chief yells.
The four of us attempt to but it’s futile;
the pen continues along its circular path at an alarming speed. It’s going too
fast. The pen tip scratches through the paper but it’s showing no sign of
stopping. It keeps doing circles over the shredded piece of paper, even leaving
distinct marks on the wooden table underneath.
“It’s not stopping! Whad’we do?”
“Get a hold on the pen!”
“It’s not working!”
The next moment, I turn to Cubs. “Ram the
table! Quickly!”
Cubs is already dumbfounded and only comes
to his senses after my shout. I, on the other hand, am being tossed around like
I’m in a blender. It feels like my arm is being torn out of its socket. Slowly,
my body gets swept along, and I’m losing control of it.
“Cubs!” I remind.
He charges and rams into the table but
nothing happens. Then he closes his eyes, lets out a war cry and puts all his
weight into it this time. This table and the one next to it get knocked a few
inches off, and then he follows up with a kick.
The movement of the two tables forces the
pen to leave its route and immediately the suction sensation disappears. The
four of us get thrown against the walls and scatter across the floor.
I hear commotion outside the door. I guess
what just happened woke everyone up. There’s someone beating on the door,
asking what is going on inside, but the five of us only lie there dumbly
looking at the furniture scattered all over the place.
The caretaker gets the door open in a
jiffy and when the lights come on, I guess all they see are five pale-faced
students who look possessed. Our gazes are all focused on the letter in the
middle of the round piece of paper ripped out by the pen-Y.
What does that mean? ‘Y.’
Does it mean, ‘Yes, I killed him’?
Or maybe it’s, ‘You’re next.’
__________________________________
Dairytea's
comment: Who's next~~~ >_< ...or will it stop right there?
ayszhang's question: Tomorrow is Thursday. Would you like to read Cold Sands or The Water Goes Drip-Drop? :3 Tell us in the comments below!
The Water Goes Drip-Drop - English Translation by ayszhang is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The Water Goes Drip-Drop!!!!!! It's an Halloween faste!!! And thanks you for your hard work... Hum... It's not him... Or he have ESP.
ReplyDelete:D youre welcome! (youre reading it !! ;D yayy)
DeleteYeah...its not Cubs XD
Psss Psss *you have something in your mail.*
DeleteOooh *goes and checks*
DeleteHum... No instead I want Cold Sands... But if I can have both of them I would be happy my birthday is the 31 of october... So...
DeleteOh wow! Birthday on Halloween! 8)
DeleteI'll see what I can do ;)
Not ketchup after all huh....(sob) ...Y - Yuan Fei ???...I'll take up anon's suggestion for d gory dessert... Just gotta find a skull shaped bowl to suit it ..: p
ReplyDeleteD: yeah...not ketchup...
DeleteYuan Fei? Youll have to seee :p
Bahahaha that sounds so yummy!
You're unbelievably fast which is fantastic! XD
ReplyDeleteThanks for translating and sharing~~ <3
8) we've actually been preparing for this for some time
DeleteThank u for reading and commenting!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDo we have to shake you down for more treats?
ReplyDeleteI choose...the buffet!
A suggested change;
The interrogation lasts three hours, followed by comfort consultations with our homeroom teachers, counsellors and principal. I don’t have the strength to even keep track of what they are saying, nor the strength to pretend as if everything is all right, but I do follow my [roommates] to our new dorm, 501.
Only one! D:< take your pick plz =3=
DeleteThank u! :)
So strict.
DeleteWahahah! Big teary sad, sad eyes.
Eeny, MEANY, miny, moe...I choose moe.
>_<; which one would 'moe' be?
DeleteI'm not a meanie :'(
Oh, this pressing, like you are going to squish an answer out of me!
DeleteOK, 'Uncle" I give in.
I want the one with smut.
XD Okey dokey...but no promises for smut in that one either D;
DeleteThe Water Goes Drip-Drop chapter 4 plez~ i can't stop reading this novel. so excited. i want to know more details about what will happen next. >_<
ReplyDelete>_< I shall put one down under The Water Goes Drip Drop
DeleteThank u for voting~
Cold sand!!!!!!!!!!!!! please and thank you
ReplyDeleteI shall put one down under Cold Sands :)
DeleteThank u for voting!
Definitely cold sand. Thanks guys
ReplyDeleteI'll put one down under Cold Sands :P
DeleteThank u for voting!!
I love this but i need more sex scene so i vote for Cold sands.
ReplyDeleteI need to know who was observing our mc in the laast chapter!
Bahahaha humourous as alway mily Brown XP
DeleteI'll put one down under Cold Sands! Thank u for voting!
Both please!!
ReplyDelete>_<; but but but, u can only vote for one though!
DeleteUmmm Drip Drop.....No Cold Sands.....no no Drip Drop...not ....Cold Sands
ReplyDeleteFlipped a coin>>>Cold Sands
Hahahaha XD smart! Flipping a coin.
DeleteI'll put you down under Cold Sands then ;P
The Water Goes Drip-Drop
ReplyDeleteCuriosity is killing me!
8D Okay~ Thanks for voting!!
DeleteI want to be greedy and say both,but The Water Goes Drip Drop has a much worse cliffhanger,so it gets my vote:)
ReplyDelete;D ok! One vote for Drip Drop! Thanks for voting!
DeleteCold sand Thursdays unless you want to surprise us with late love hehe
ReplyDeletex_x Late Love is not under my control ... sorry OTZ
Deletebut I'll try my best to keep Cold Sands coming
The water goes drip drop plz
ReplyDeletePs: are u translating this novel from dzxsw site
Ok! One vote for Drip Drop! :) thanks for voting.
DeleteNo...im not. Why? :p
Cold sands! And you'll release 2 chapters of Drip Drop on Friday so you'll be in time for Halloween!! hahahahaha
ReplyDeleteOh noo :3 one update per day this week. We cant spoil you guys!
DeleteThanks for voting! :)
i'm really curious what's going to happen next TT
ReplyDeleteBut.. i want cold sands~ <3
-Hong
>:) mwahaha I feel so evil making you guys choose
DeleteThanks for voting !
My vote is Drip Drop of course, unless there happens to be some nice gore or spooks in the next chapter of Cold Sands. ... The Cold Sands Go Drip Drop?
ReplyDelete8D yay! More votes for drip drop
Delete=_= hmmm scary? I wouldnt say so but bloody in some sense :3
Bahaha youre so funny ! XD
Both of them are good...so hard to choose...but I guess my vote is Cold Sands.
ReplyDeleteOvOb Got it! One vote for Cold Sands
DeleteThanks for voting!
Cold Sand please....
ReplyDeleteBut I want Drip Drop tooooo =))
Oke, oke...wait....hmmm....
Cold Sand! I choose you! *throw a pokeball*
XDDDD pokeballs....gts gts :')
DeleteOne vote for Cold Sands! 8) Thanks for voting
Cold Sands any time of the day. Been waiting for it. ^^ Though this one is kind of exciting in a scary kind of way, which is of course the intent of everyone, the author and the translator. ><
ReplyDelete8) Ok! One vote for Cold Sands. Thanks for voting!
DeleteMwahaha you are right! >:)
Hmm the water goes drip down please it's only 11 chapter i only can read little chinese so i already know the story but i want to read the complete translation. I am very thankful u pick this project
ReplyDeleteOhhh cool 8) Yeah you're right. It's a fairly short one.
DeleteYou're welcome <3 I aim to get this one finished and up by the end of this year.
The water goes drip down plz i love horror^_^
ReplyDelete^^ me tooo. Thank u for voting!
DeleteCold sand..you must post cold sand...i really waiting it...
ReplyDelete*die because waiting too long...*
But..but... i need love late tooooo....
Waiting for the next update..i hope u will release cold sand or love lateeee...*so too lateee*
cold Sands ch 9 has been posted! :)
DeleteHello!how many chapters does water goes dripdrop hhave?thank uu!
ReplyDelete11 Chapters and 1 (very long) epilogue ;D You're welcome
DeleteAaws.thanku!hope youll update tomorrow>_<¦¦¦
DeleteWhoa whoa whoa! I did not just read this. I did not! All the sensations x_x
ReplyDeleteI need a breather.
Anyway, thanks for translating.
Im glad the story did its job OvOb
DeleteYou shudda read this for Halloween tho! XD
Youre welcome~~~