The Phantom School - 103 Are You Happy?

I had completely lost the sense of time. The only thing I knew was… it’s been quite a while. I remembered hearing the bell ring a few times, but I didn’t ever remember anyone coming by. Or… it was also possible that people did come by the lab, but I missed my chance.

I stood up again, and started walking around aimlessly. This was actually a pretty hard task, considering the mess and trying to not step on anything wrong. I could try cleaning the place up while I was still here, but I really didn’t want to spend any effort on that.

Suddenly, the door to the room at the back of the lab swung open by itself. A few sounds of movement followed. Whatever it was on the other side of the door fell down. Disregarding any signs of threat, I ran towards the room.

“Hey!” I yelled as I barged in.

“Yasin…” a soft voice came out of me, the moment I saw him. Although I hated him so much, he was a human being after all; and deep down, I still had some compassion towards him simply because of that fact.

The more I looked into the room, the worse it got. The amount of blood in this room had surpassed that in the lab itself. This was not so much of surprise though, especially compared to finding a dismembered body. There were parts of ripped off clothing, and human limbs standing around. Skin, muscles, veins and bones were clearly visible. But, even in this chaos, there was something so neatly done; yet it was terrifying more than anything. The limbs were cut off too perfectly… Arms were cut so precisely from the joints, just like the legs. Yasin’s head was so cleanly separated from the soulder. Although the motives were not clear, whoever committed this crime certainly knew what he or she was doing.

…it took me dangerously long to realise…

…whoever committed this crime was probably with me, in this room right now. The door I came in through was the only way out of this room. But, looking around me, I could see no one.

“Are you happy now, Mr. Kenan?” The source of this voice was standing way too close to me. I rushed back to the open door. In the middle of that small room, there was a girl; most probably a first-year student. Her uniform was a little dirty, and had some blood on it. In her right hand, there was a large, shiny knife. If she was responsible for this, it was a mystery how she had managed to accomplish all of this with a simple knife.

She was standing there and looking at me, staring deep into my eyes and penetrating into my soul. Hopefully, that would remain as the only penetration into my body.

“Wh-wh…” I hesitated between saying something along the lines of ‘Who are you?’ and ‘What the hell did you just do!?’. In the end, I couldn’t even form a complete sentence. My brain was having a really hard time processing the recent events. This was so hard on me that I could barely react to the gory scene I have encountered just now.

The girl in the room was looking so calm and relaxed. It was like her conscience has been taken out of her, and she was forced to live without emotions and rational thought. Observing my difficulty talking to her, she softly asked the question again.

“Are you happy, Mr. Kenan?”

I did not remember ever seeing this girl, but she apparently knew me. But the question she was asking… It was too… absurd, and a bit surreal. Did this question have a right answer? Could the wrong answer bring death to me?

She kept staring deeply into my eyes as her expression slowly changed. Her emotionless face slowly turned into a sad, worried one. This time, the question was slightly different.

“Are you not happy, Mr. Kenan?”

I came to my senses and actually prepared myself to answer her. Preparing myself to defend against any unexpected move by her, I spoke softly; like I was afraid of startling her.

“I… I am not happy.” I said.

She tilted her head to the side. It looked like she didn’t understand what I was saying.

“Huh?” this weak voice came from her. Have I done something wrong, I thought.

“Why?” she continued speaking with her soft voice.

I froze. How could I answer this one? We were literally standing in the middle of a murder scene, and this was what she was asking me. Why? Why was I not happy?

This girl undoubtedly had many mental issues, and I did not want to share the a similar fate. I stepped back. She stepped forward.

“Where are you going, Mr. Kenan?” she asked. She had raised her voice a little bit.

Seriously, where was I going? What was I even thinking? The door was locked, and I was trapped here with this girl. My best chance of survival was taking her down, not running away from her.

I was prepared, but this wasn’t helping me a lot. I was fearing the knife in her hand, and this fear was justified; I could be stronger than her, but so was Yasin…

I could try grabbing her arm with a swift move, but she was standing a bit too far away for that. Maybe she was aware of my thoughts, and were playing it safe. At this time, I could expect anything from her.

“What do you wish for, Mr. Kenan?” asked the girl. Judging by the questions she asked, it was almost like she was trying to help me out instead of murdering me. Unfortunately, this wasn’t any more relaxing or less terrifying in any way.

“Let me go.” I have said that without thinking.

Her expression changed again. Once again, she wasn’t showing any emotions.

“As you wish…” she slowly said. I heard something behind me. The lab’s door was unlocked. I immediately ran to the door that lead to the hallway. Now that I had the chance, I would close the door and lock her in here. The police would come here and arrest her immediately.

I looked back, and the girl was standing very still there, inside the lab.

I was not going to take any risks. I closed the door, and searched for my phone to call the police; only to remember that my phone was no longer working.