Exploring the Old School Building
"Hmm... I see why you asked for help, Appleton." Shine nodded as she looked at the sprawling fence. Towering and wide, it looked like something Appleton could never climb over on her own. It would have been a piece of cake for me, Shine, and Rain, though.
Beyond the fence stood a massive building that, at least from the outside, still looked perfectly usable. It didn't look like a place where ghosts would pop out, contrary to the rumors. My slightly anxious heart settled down.
I approached Rain, who was pressed flat against the fence, peering through to the other side. "W-what do you see?" "Nothing. There's nothing there."
I couldn't spot anything either. The area beyond the fence looked completely ordinary. If there was one problem, it was that the fence had no gate. It was clearly designed to keep people out. Appleton was already pulling out her camera and snapping photos of the area.
"Did you get anything?" "Mmh, no. It's just totally normal." I let out a sigh of relief at Appleton's words. "Then should we go back? We've checked everything." I said, looking around.
Rain nodded in agreement, but Shine and Appleton didn't seem to feel the same way. Shaking her head slowly, Appleton spoke to me pleadingly. "I want to go inside too."
I swallowed hard at her words. What if there really is a ghost, and what if it's a terrifying one? It would definitely be super dangerous. But I didn't want to show that I was scared of a mere ghost. If I did, I would look like a total baby.
"B-but it clearly says 'No Trespassing' right here." I stretched my hand out forcefully, pointing to the sign. And at that exact moment, Shine walked over to the sign I was pointing at and gave it a light flick. With a clatter, the sign fell to the ground, leaving nothing where it had once hung. "Now it doesn't."
"N-no! It just fell! It's right there on the ground!" Flustered by Shine's absurd attitude, I shouted loudly and pointed at the fallen sign. Shine gave me a strange smile and said, "Jeff, are you scared by any chance?"
It was a blatant attack on my pride. I kept my mouth shut, trembling, before shouting, "No, I'm not!" "Then that means we can go in, right?" "W-well..." "If you're not scared, there's no reason we can't go in. Right, Rain?" Shine said to Rain, seeking agreement.
At that, Rain, who had been trembling just like me, flinched and shouted with false bravado, "Shine is right!" Puffing out her tiny chest, Rain was shaking so hard it was almost pitiful.
The moment she finished speaking, Shine leaped lightly into the air, scaling the tall fence and straddling the top. Rain went next. Squeezing her eyes shut, she leaped up just like Shine had. Her movements were light and swift. Appleton looked on with an amazed expression at Shine and Rain's agility.
The eyes of the two atop the fence turned to me. Under their gaze, I let out a sigh and dashed forward. *Patter—* with a soft sound of footsteps, my body leaped into the air. The next instant, I grabbed the fence with my hands and propelled myself upward. My feet kicked off the fence, easily carrying me to the top. Standing on the high perch, I looked around. The elevated view allowed me to see much further than usual.
"Alright, Appleton, your turn." Shine said, reaching her hand downward. Hesitating for a moment, Appleton packed her camera back into her bag and dashed forward with all her might, just like we had. *Patter-patter—* her twin tails fluttering, Appleton kicked off the ground and leaped. Her body soared high, hands reaching forward. Shine and I both reached out, grabbing one of Appleton's hands each.
With a firm grip on her hands, we pulled her up quickly before she could fall. Just like before, Appleton safely made it up right next to Shine and me. After that, it was as simple as when we sneaked into the tennis courts. We jumped down first, then caught Appleton. She landed safely in the old school's playground without a single scratch.
I swept my shoe across the playground floor. Rough, hardened sand. Since no one had been here for a long time, weeds were growing everywhere. "Hmm..." I looked around. Aside from the 'No Trespassing' sign on the fence, there didn't seem to be any other security devices, as I couldn't feel any electromagnetic waves nearby. "Let's go." With that, we headed toward the old building.
I hadn't noticed from a distance, but as we got closer, the signs of the building's age became clear. Tiny patches of moss, cracks in the walls, broken windows, and the like. "Hieek!" Just then, Rain, who had been walking fine beside me, let out a short shriek and clung tightly to my side.
"Ah. Wait. Rain?" Rain didn't say anything to my words, only reaching out to point at what she had seen. I turned my head in the direction of her hand. There, I saw some rather strange—no, downright creepy—playground equipment. The rusted, abandoned play structures showed no signs of human presence. The desolate atmosphere was enough to give me goosebumps just by looking at it for a moment.
"Gasp!" I also let out a short gasp. A creepy playground was one thing, but that wasn't the real problem. The problem was that in this completely empty playground, a seesaw was moving on its own. The rusted seesaw was slowly creaking up and down, repeating the motion. Slowly, so very slowly, it would touch the ground and rise again.
I tightly hugged Rain, who was clinging to my side. A ghost. There is definitely a ghost. A seesaw moving on its own in an empty playground—if this wasn't the work of a ghost, what was?
"Oh..." Spotting the moving seesaw, Appleton immediately raised her camera and started taking photos. She was even slowly walking toward the seesaw! I hastily reached out and grabbed her. "A-Appleton! Wait!" "Huh? Why?"
Her face was full of curiosity. Catching my breath as I watched her, I spoke slowly. "I-isn't it dangerous?" "What is? That seesaw?" "...Yeah." I nodded, hugging Rain even tighter. My lips were trembling so much that my words slipped out a bit slurred.
Appleton tilted her head at my words, then turned around to take a photo of Rain and me. "It's just a seesaw." "B-but since when do seesaws move on their own?" Appleton snapped a few more photos of me before turning back. The seesaw was still moving by itself. Terrified by the creepy sight, I buried myself deeper into Rain's embrace. Rain did the same. As we tried to burrow into each other, our skin rubbed together repeatedly.
"Is that the ghost?" Shine muttered softly, staring at the self-moving seesaw. My legs felt weak, and my body wobbled. Leaning slightly against Rain, I spoke to Shine. "I-is there really a ghost?" "Who knows. We should get closer and check it out first." "N-no!"
But Shine didn't listen to me. I planted my feet firmly on the ground, trying with all my might not to get closer to the seesaw, but I was no match for Shine's strength. She pushed Rain and me toward the seesaw. "Hieee!" As we drew closer, a bizarre sound reached our ears. *Creak— creak—* The seesaw let out a bizarre shriek every time it moved. It sounded just like a ghost's laughter.
On the verge of tears, I clung to Shine. Rain did the same. The two of us spoke to Shine in panicked voices. "Shine! It's too dangerous over there! And it's all rusty! We'll catch a disease!" "Yeah! So let's not go! Please!"
But even with our combined strength, we couldn't stop Shine. Holding Rain and me close as we clung to her sides, Shine kept walking. Eventually, we arrived at the creepy playground. A seesaw moving on its own when there wasn't even a breath of wind... It was a scene straight out of an internet ghost story.
Appleton, seemingly fearless, approached the seesaw with her camera. She spent a long time looking around and taking photos. "Do you think you know what it is?" "Mmh, no. But I took a lot of pictures anyway."
In the end, neither Appleton nor Shine could figure out why the seesaw was moving on its own. The four of us sat close together and began examining the photos Appleton had taken. Since I was still terrified of the self-moving seesaw, I squeezed in to sit between Shine and Appleton. Rain slipped right between my legs and leaned her back against me. I could feel soft skin all around me. Being like this made me feel a bit safer. I slowly caught my breath.
"Hmm... nothing showed up." "Yeah. If there was a ghost, there would have been something weird." After checking the seesaw photos, Shine sent the picture of Rain and me huddled together in fear to her own phone.
"W-we're done checking, right? We can go back now, right?" "Yeah. I think we're done with the playground area for now." Shine nodded at my words and stood up. Rain and I immediately followed right behind her. The creepy sound of the seesaw behind us still hadn't stopped.
"Hey, Shine. Where are we going now?" I asked, clinging to Shine's arm. I thought we were going back since we were done, but Shine was heading toward the entrance of the old building. "We have to go inside."
I swallowed hard at Shine's words. The building, which had looked ordinary before, now looked incredibly terrifying. It felt like looking at a haunted mansion. In the end, I let go of Shine's hand. She glanced at her now-empty arm, then gave me a strange smile. "Aren't you going to hold my hand?" "N-no, I'm going back." "By yourself?"
I looked around at her words. Shine kept walking without stopping. Rain and Appleton were right beside her, which meant there was no one around me. Startled, I cried out, "A-are you all really going in there?" "Yeah." Appleton nodded as if it were obvious, and Rain, instead of answering, squeezed Shine's hand tightly and closed her eyes. Shine waved her empty hand at me. "Aren't you coming with us?"
I... I... I... *Creak—* I turned my head at the sound of the seesaw behind me. The seesaw was still moving on its own. It felt as if the ghost riding it was whispering to me—that if Shine and the others went inside the building, it would pounce on me, left all alone. "W-wait for me!" In the end, I dashed over to Shine and clung tightly to her arm.