The Monkey's Paw
Ares posted in the Gallery.
Title: Found it
[IMAGE]
Found the clue.
From what I can tell, this bastard bought something and made a wish, and it went all kinds of wrong.
Ellie had discovered a disturbing set of warnings inside locker number 6. No matter how you looked at it, they were clearly instructions about some entity that granted wishes.
And stories about wishes have been around since ancient times, spreading in countless variations. But among them all, the most famous tale is the one where you must be extremely careful with your wish—because it never turns out the way you intended.
The Monkey's Paw.
It was a well-known Western ghost story, famous enough that even someone like me, who wasn't particularly well-versed in ghost stories, had heard of it.
The Monkey's Paw was infamous for granting wishes in the most twisted, negative ways possible. Wish to become rich, and it kills your family to pay out the insurance money. Wish to see a dead loved one again, and they return as a monster.
"What the hell kind of wish did that girl make…?"
She probably made her wish and then jumped off the rooftop right after. Either way, the full picture of this ghost story was now clear.
That female student had made a wish, fallen from the rooftop, and died. She became the suicide ghost that dragged me into the school at night. And the true master of this event wasn't the suicide ghost herself—it was the entity that granted the wish.
So the solution was obvious.
"Whether it's the Monkey's Paw or whatever else… I have to find the entity that grants wishes and cancel the wish."
That would end tonight's chaos. I could avoid my dead ending too.
The only problem was… where the hell was that entity hiding?
This ghost story could be solved by making a wish to the wish-granting entity. In other words, the entity was like the suicide ghost's weakness. Where would she have hidden it? Where would be the safest place?
"……"
I touched the master key hanging around my neck.
Yeah. The most important things are always kept on your person.
I had to steal the wish-granting entity from the suicide ghost who was trying to kill me.
"Is that even possible…?"
It seemed difficult. Especially after seeing how she tore into that fake human's neck. If I messed up, I could actually die.
"Ah, Ares."
"Huh…?"
"Shouldn't we start running soon?"
"Oh, right."
At Ellie's words, I tilted my head toward the ceiling.
Thudududududu!
The floor above was noisy. It was the sound of the fake humans moving around, searching for us after we had screamed earlier. And even higher up—
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud…
I could faintly hear the suicide ghost running. Well, since she was walking on her hands, "running" might not be the right word… but she was definitely faster than running.
"Ah…?"
"What's wrong…?"
"No, it's nothing…"
She was faster than running. The moment that fact clicked in my head, a stupid but simple plan formed.
"Let's get out of here first. I know how to solve it now, so I'll explain once we're hidden."
"Okay, got it."
We needed to leave Classroom 3 first. Once the fake humans realized we weren't on the upper floors, they'd definitely swarm back down to the first floor.
Creaaak…
I opened the door to Classroom 3 and carefully checked the hallway. Thankfully, the first-floor corridor was completely empty.
"Are there about as many fake humans as there are students in our class, including the supervising teacher…?"
That would make roughly thirty of them. If they were spread out evenly up to the fifth floor, it should still be possible to sneak around without getting caught.
"Let's hide in the bathroom for now…"
"Yeah…"
Charging straight upstairs right now would be too dangerous. We had already run into fake humans on the stairs while escaping earlier. If we bumped into both the suicide ghost and the fake humans at the same time on the stairs, it would be game over.
For now, we'd hide in a bathroom stall and quietly assess the situation.
"Phew… At least we didn't get spotted on the way here."
"Y-yeah…"
"Huh? What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"
"N-no, it's not that…"
Inside the bathroom stall, we closed the door and held our breath. Ellie kept glancing around nervously, fidgeting with her fingers.
"This is my first time in the boys' bathroom…"
"Ah…"
Yeah, that made sense. Even in this situation, stepping into the opposite gender's bathroom was still pretty embarrassing. Especially since we were both crammed into the same stall right now. It felt kind of shady no matter how you looked at it.
"No, focus."
I couldn't let the atmosphere get to me. This was probably because we had seen each other naked earlier. I needed to stay alert.
Right. Remember what happened in the classroom. Getting my fingernails ripped off while surrounded by faceless students. Facing the upside-down suicide ghost with her head split open. And then…
And then…
"Ghh, damn it! All I can think of is black panties…!"
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. Just then—
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud…
"……"
"……"
An ominous sound echoed faintly from the stairs beside the bathroom. It was followed by an irritated voice.
[Where are youuu… Come outtt…]
"……"
"……"
Thanks to that, my tension returned. I kept an eye on the hallway while explaining the plan to Ellie.
"Ellie, from now on… we have to catch that girl."
"……Huh? Catch her?"
"Yeah."
We needed to find the wish-granting entity she was carrying. Otherwise, we'd be running from her until morning, and then again the next night.
"Isn't that dangerous…?"
"Of course it's dangerous. But we still have to do it."
"…What about the other students? They'll definitely get in the way."
"That's fine. We can just shake them off."
"Shake them off?"
"Yeah."
It was a crude method, but the simplest one. The plan was this: The suicide ghost and the fake humans were after me. So I'd act as bait and lure them away.
"Th-that's dangerous…!"
"It's okay. I've got a safety net. I'm more worried about you, Ellie."
"Ugh…"
I had the puppet doll. Even if I got caught, I wouldn't take any damage until I used up that extra life. Thank god for Doppelganger.
"While I'm doing that, you head up to the fifth floor."
"The fifth floor…?"
"Yeah. There should be the fewest people up there."
"Why…?"
"They barely came up to the fifth floor earlier either."
When we escaped earlier with Ellie's help, only the suicide ghost had chased us all the way to the fifth floor. Why? I had a theory: the fake humans had no eyes, nose, or mouth. Without eyes, they had to rely on hearing and touch. So most of them probably gave up chasing us and just wandered around the second, third, and fourth floors instead.
Of course, a few might have reached the fifth floor after I shouted earlier, but Ellie should be able to hide from that many on her own. Plus, if I made enough noise while running, the remaining ones on the fifth floor would be drawn to me instead. By the time Ellie got up there, it should be mostly clear.
"Go up to the fifth floor and hide in the science lab we were in earlier. I'll bring the suicide ghost there, and then you help me catch her."
"……"
After hearing the full plan, Ellie looked at me with worried eyes.
"…Will you really be okay?"
"Don't you trust me?"
"I'm worried you'll get hurt…"
"Hmm…"
She was clearly uneasy about me playing the dangerous bait role. I had no choice.
"Ellie, want to bite my finger?"
"Huh…?"
I suddenly held out my index finger to her. This was the easiest way to reassure her.
"It's fine. Go ahead. You can bite as hard as you did last time when it bled."
"R-really?"
"……Why do you look happy?"
"E-eh… Happy? N-no, I'm not…!"
Ellie, who had been smiling faintly, blushed at my comment and quickly lowered her head. She glanced back and forth between my finger and my face, then slowly opened her mouth.
"Haum…"
"……"
My index finger slid deep into Ellie's mouth.
"This feels kinda…"
Her soft lips and tongue were warm. Her saliva was slick. I had only offered my finger as a test to prove I wouldn't get hurt, but now I was wondering if my forearm would've been better.
"……"
Ellie looked up at me with my finger still in her mouth. Her eyes seemed to ask, "Can I really bite?"
"It's okay. Go ahead."
"Uum…"
At my words, Ellie blushed slightly and—
Chomp…
She bit down with her teeth.
"You can bite harder."
"Uum…"
Crunch…
"Ghh…"
The sharp sensation of teeth digging in. My face naturally twisted from the pain. For some reason, Ellie's breathing grew rougher, and her eyes sparkled.
Eventually, she released my finger from her mouth.
"Haa…"
A thin strand of saliva stretched between my finger and her lips before breaking. Ellie blushed at the sight and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe my finger.
"See? It's fine, right?"
"It really is… This must be from before…"
"Something like that. But this one's completely safe."
"Really?"
"Yeah. So you can relax now."
Only after confirming there wasn't a single scratch on my finger did Ellie smile in relief and nod.
"Still, be careful, okay? Don't do anything too dangerous."
"It's fine. You're the one who needs to hide well and not get caught."
"Okay…"
With the strategy meeting over—
"Alright…"
Now all that was left was to execute it.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud…
[Where are youuu…!]
The suicide ghost's voice echoed faintly from the hallway. She was still wandering around the first floor.
"…Let's go."
Hearing that voice, Ellie and I left the stall and headed for the bathroom door. I peeked my head out carefully.
Far in the distance, I could see pale legs and black panties swaying.
"I'll run first… You go up a little later. Got it?"
"Got it…"
After one last look at Ellie, I stepped boldly out of the bathroom.
There was one suicide ghost and five fake humans wandering the first floor. They were a decent distance away. I could escape. And the stairs were right next to me.
"Huuuup…"
Just like when I shouted in the science lab earlier, I took a deep breath. And then—
"━━Hey, you second-place loser bitchhhhh!!!"
I shouted at the top of my lungs.
"Your head's smashed in, so you can't even get second place anymore, can you━?!"
My voice echoed through the first floor. The suicide ghost and the fake humans immediately turned toward me. They stared. For a brief moment, silence fell.
"Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!"
Thudthudthudthudthudthudthud━━!!!
"Hiiiiiik!!"
The suicide ghost's eyes widened as she charged toward me like a madwoman.
"Aaaaaaaaah!!"
I deliberately screamed and bolted up the stairs. I skipped three steps at a time, rushing toward the second floor. I wasn't going to the third floor yet. I needed to lure them for as long as possible.
"Aaaaaaaaah!!"
"Get over hereeeeeeeee!!"
Thudthudthudthudthudthudthud━━!!
Before I knew it, the suicide ghost had caught up, leaping entire flights of stairs to chase me.
"This crazy bitch is even faster than before!!"
"I'm going to kill youuuuu!!"
Thudthudthudthudthud!!
As expected, the suicide ghost was faster than the fake humans. The ones from the first floor only reached the second floor after I had already run halfway down the hallway. But there was a problem.
There were fake humans on the second floor too.
"Ares, you need to studyyyy!!"
"Aaaaaah!!"
A faceless female student was charging at me from the opposite direction.
"I can do this…!! I can do this…!!"
My body was tougher and more athletic than I had thought. I imagined the best way to escape the suicide ghost for as long as possible.
"Hraaaah!!"
"Studyyyyy!!"
I ran straight at the approaching female student instead of dodging. Ducking low, I tackled her, grabbing both her legs.
"Get out of the waaaaay!!"
I hurled her straight at the suicide ghost.
Crash!!
The suicide ghost, who had been chasing me upside down, got tangled up with the flying student and crashed to the floor. That bought me a little time. But—
"There are still more…!!"
Several more fake humans were charging from the front. If I collided with them now, I'd be caught.
"In that case…!!"
I ran straight at them, and just before impact—
Creaaak!!
I threw open the door to a nearby classroom and dove inside.
"If you don't take the test, there won't be dinner tonight!!"
"What kind of grades are those?! You should hang yourself and reflect!!"
The fake students let out bizarre cries as they poured into the classroom after me.
"This is fucking insane!!"
I jumped over desks, stepping on them as I made my way to the window. I threw it open and—
"Ares, you have to take the test and prove your innocence━━!!"
—shoved one of the approaching fake students out the window.
"━━nnn!!"
Crunch.
The fake student fell from the second floor and smashed headfirst into the ground.
"Bullying your friends makes you a baaad kid!!"
"Aaaaaah!!"
But it wasn't over. Four more fake students had already entered the classroom and were rushing me.
"Get the hell away━━!!"
Whoosh!!
I grabbed a chair and hurled it at the nearest student, then dashed past the teacher's desk and out the front door into the hallway.
"Areeeees!!"
"Aaaaaah!!"
Just then, the suicide ghost burst through the front door and thrust her thigh at me. Her legs tried to wrap around my neck. If she caught me, I'd be done for. The thought flashed through my mind, and before I knew it, my foot swung up.
"You crazy bitch!!"
"Kuhhek!!"
I kicked the suicide ghost's head like a soccer ball. It probably didn't do much damage, but she lost her balance and fell again.
Thud!!
"Aaaaaah!!"
After that, I kept running down the hallway, putting distance between us.
"Huff—!! Huff—!!"
I had only been struggling on the second floor, but I was already out of breath. The silver lining was that the puppet doll seemed to be taking the muscle damage from all the running. It hurt, but I could keep going.
"Damn it…! I can't keep this up forever…!!"
If I kept running like this, I wouldn't last an hour before getting caught and torn apart.
"Areeeees!!"
Thudthudthudthudthud!!
Proof of that—the suicide ghost was already back on her feet and chasing me again.
"I need to shake her off and get to the fifth floor…!!"
The longer this chase dragged on, the worse it was for me. I needed to end this as soon as possible. And fortunately—or unfortunately—the commotion I caused on the second floor had drawn the fake humans from the upper floors down the stairs.
Rumble rumble rumble rumble—!!
Dozens of fake students were pouring down from the western staircase in the distance.
"Aaaaaah!!"
Thanks to that, the fifth floor Ellie was heading to should be safer. But it also meant my current situation had become even more dangerous.
"Now…!! If I can shake these guys off and lure only the suicide ghost upstairs…!!"
But where to…? I stopped running for a moment. I had already passed the central staircase. If I wanted to escape to another floor, I'd have to use either the western or central stairs. But the western stairs were swarming with dozens of fake humans, and behind me were several more fake humans plus the suicide ghost.
"Areeeees!!"
Thudthudthudthudthudthud!!
"You have to take the test and prove your innocence!!"
"Leaving during the test is cheating!!"
Thudududududu!!
"Where…?! Where do I go?!"
If I stayed here, I'd be surrounded by these monsters and torn apart until I died. The moment the puppet doll's effect wore off, my limbs would be ripped off and I'd be dead.
"Where━━!!"
In the moment I had to decide, I—
"Aaaaaah!!"
—dashed into a nearby classroom.
Tap tap tap tap!!
And then—
Creaaak!
"This is fucking insane!!"
I jumped straight out the window.
Thud!!
"Kghh…!!"
The landing was successful, but a sharp pain shot up from my feet. I couldn't stop though. I was outside the school now. Wasting time here wouldn't help.
Creaaak!
Ignoring the pain, I opened the window right next to me and climbed back inside. And just then—
Thud!
Splat!
"Areeeees…!!"
The suicide ghost had jumped down after me and was now standing on her hands, staring at me from the ground.
"Come hereeeee!!"
Thudthudthudthud!!
Crash—!!
She smashed through the window and started chasing me again.
"Huff…! Huff…!"
But I was already out of the classroom and running. I had succeeded. I hadn't expected her to jump out the window, but I had managed to shake off the fake humans and lure only the suicide ghost.
"Straight to the fifth floor…!!"
I ran toward the eastern stairs, ignoring the pain in my legs. Thankfully, they were just sore, not broken. I gritted my teeth and kept running.
"This fucking bitch…!!"
Since I had shaken off the fake humans, I swallowed the screams I had been letting out earlier. And so—
Tap tap tap tap!
Thudthudthudthudthudthud!!
"Areeeees!!"
"Huff, huff!!"
A chase between just me and the suicide ghost began—close enough to almost catch me, but not quite.
"Fourth floor…!! Just one more floor…!!"
The finish line was near. Just a little more. Just a little more. Enduring the burning pain in my lungs and legs, I kept running without stopping. Finally, I reached my destination.
Thudthudthudthudthudthud!!
"Got youuuuuuu!!"
"Ellieeeee!!"
I shouted Ellie's name in front of the science lab.
"Ares!! Duck━━!!"
Seeing Ellie's swaying blonde hair, I slid across the floor and threw myself down.
Whoosh!
Thwack!!
Ellie swung the longsword she was holding and struck the suicide ghost's abdomen.
"Kuhhek!!"
Thud!!
The suicide ghost collapsed.
"Yes!!"
Creaaak…!!
I scrambled up from the floor and charged at the fallen suicide ghost. Ellie was here too. The hallway was quiet. This was my chance.
"Got you!!"
"K-kh, ugh, Ares…!!"
I ran behind the fallen suicide ghost and grabbed her with my entire body. My instincts took over. The best position to immobilize someone from behind. I locked her legs with mine and wrapped my arms around her neck, bending her waist so she couldn't use her core strength. She struggled, clawing at my arms with her hands, but it was fine.
Scratch, scratch.
"Graaah…!"
It hurt, but there wouldn't be any wounds.
"Ellie!! Now!! Search her body!!"
"Okay!"
While I held the suicide ghost down, Ellie approached and started searching her body. But then—
Thudududududu…!!
"…No way!"
"A-Ares!"
The sound from below was ominous. Footsteps coming up. From the western stairs.
"Did they hear us…?!"
If this continued, the plan would fail.
"Ellie, hurry!!"
"I-I'm looking…!! But…!!"
Ellie frantically searched the suicide ghost's clothes for what we assumed was the wish-granting entity. But no matter how much she searched, she couldn't find anything.
"Ares…!! What do we do…?!"
"Damn it…!!"
The fake humans were climbing up from below. If we stayed here, we'd be surrounded and killed. And Ellie didn't have a puppet doll.
I needed more time to search the suicide ghost's body…!! There had to be a way…!
"R-right…!! Ellie!!"
"Y-yeah!!"
"Strip her completely!!"
"Huh…?"
"Kh…?"
"Hurry━━!!"
"O-okay!!"
If we stripped her naked, we'd see whatever she was hiding no matter where it was.
"W-wait a second!!"
The suicide ghost struggled even harder. But we were desperate too. Ellie quickly started removing her clothes—skirt, underwear, shirt, socks, and shoes. If something got stuck, she cut it off with the longsword. One by one, the suicide ghost's clothes came off.
And then—
"I told you to stoppppp!!"
The suicide ghost thrashed and twisted her body. In that moment, her neck turned—and her mouth reached my neck.
Crunch━━.
Splat!!
"Kghhhhh!!"
"Ares!!"
"I'm fine, just hurry!!"
It hurt, but I was okay. The puppet doll would protect me from wounds…!! But then—
Crunch…!
"K-kh…!!"
"Let gooooo!!"
The suicide ghost's nails dug into my forearm, tearing into the flesh. Blood started flowing.
"That last attack must've used up the puppet doll…!!"
The puppet doll's life was gone. Now even that safety net was gone. But thankfully, Ellie had just finished stripping the suicide ghost completely.
"I-it's not there! I still can't see it, Ares!!"
"It's fine, just grab the clothes and run!!"
Thudududududu!!!
"You have to take the test!!"
"Areeeees!!"
The fake humans were already charging from the western stairs. I threw the now-naked suicide ghost aside, stood up, and started running with Ellie.
"Where are we going?!"
"To the rooftop!!"
We dashed toward the eastern stairs. And then—
Thudthudthudthudthud!!
"Areeeees!!"
I could hear the furious suicide ghost chasing after us from behind.
"I'm going to kill youuuuu!!"
Completely naked, her chest bouncing, she came after us.