We shakin'.
Sweatin'.
Ain't even breathin' right.
The whole class dead silent like the air itself was scared.
But behind us?
Oh, nah.
Behind us were a bunch of shadow ghosts, sittin' all calm like they students too.
Just chillin' there, whisperin' and movin' like smoke with eyes.
And then
the ghost baby stepped forward, all smug in that tight-ass white suit.
That belly-mouth thing still grinnin', droolin' like a broken faucet.
Ghost Baby:
"Today's topic…" it said all formal-like,
"…is FIND. THE. HUMANS."
We looked at each other like
Ayo, what the hell you mean "find the humans"?
We are the humans!
Then boom.
The floor cracked.
The desks twisted.
The whole classroom started spinnin', morphin', stretchin' like a nightmare on shuffle.
Walls stretched up, windows folded in
and next thing you know, we ain't in class no more.
We in some kinda twisted maze that used to be a school.
On the blackboard glowin' in blood-red chalk
"SUBJECT: SURVIVE OR DIE."
That's when it hit.
We were screwed.
Everything glitched out and wham!
we got thrown into three different hallways.
Like the maze itself picked us up and said,
"Yeah, y'all ain't stickin' together no more."
Cairo:
He lands flat on his face, slides across the floor like a cartoon character.
Groans.
Then laughs.
"Ha! Finally! I'm outta that damn class. Ain't no way I'm lettin' that big mutant baby teach me algebra of death!"
He stands up, cracks his neck, looks around.
Every wall got eyes on it literally.
The eyes blinkin', watchin'.
He takes one step,
and the floor breathes.
Nami:
Walkin' slow.
Real slow.
She clutchin' that pepper spray like it's holy water.
The deeper she goes, the longer the hall gets like it's stretchin' on purpose.
Every time she turns a corner,
the lights flicker.
A mirror shows up outta nowhere
but her reflection?
It's smilin' when she ain't.
She whispers to herself,
"Man… this ain't no damn maze, this a haunted IKEA."
Renji (me):
Didn't even get a chance to stand.
Soon as the maze hit, I just kept fallin'.
Like I dropped through ten floors of nightmares.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Each level darker, wetter, colder.
Finally I hit the ground
smacked so hard my soul almost left my body.
I look up
ain't no sky.
Just water floatin' above me.
Like I'm at the bottom of a lake that forgot gravity.
I whisper,
"Yo… nah. Ain't no way this is school anymore."
And somewhere up above,
I could still hear that ghost baby laughin'
soft, echoey, like it was whisperin' right inside my head.
"Lesson one… begins now."
The maze started glitchin'.
Walls twistin', floors stretchin'then boom, everything just shifted again.
Lights blinked.
The air got heavy.
And suddenly
everyone was gone.
Nami. Cairo.
All of 'em.
Me?
Still in the same damn spot.
Silent.
Still.
Not even a whisper.
Then
shhhhhh... WHOOSH!
Sound of water flushin'.
Before I could blink
BAM!
I got sucked down like I was in a human toilet.
Spinnin', droppin', screamin'
next thing I knew, I was standin' on some old-ass street.
Wet ground. Dim lights.
Everything smellin' like rust and rain.
Nami
Meanwhile, she got thrown straight into the danger zone.
The maze around her pulsin' breathin' like a monster.
Walls movin', shadows crawlin'.
And them shadow ghosts?
They weren't just floatin' no more.
They were hungry.
Everywhere she turned
eyes.
Mouths.
Whispers.
"Come here... come here..."
She screamed
"HELL NAH! Back up!"
And started runnin', swingin', sprayin' pepper spray like it was holy water from 7-Eleven.
The shadows sizzled, but didn't stop.
She kept sprintin', heart beatin' in stereo then BAM!
She tripped over somethin'.
Looked up
and froze.
A tall, old samurai stood there.
Armor cracked. Katana burnin' with blue flames.
Eyes empty.
Ghost fire flickerin' through his chest.
Nami stepped back.
"Yo... hold up... I thought this was just one ghost baby! How many damn ghosts go to this school?!"
Before she could even blink
WHOOSH!
The samurai swung.
She dodged, slid on her knees, pepper spray in one hand, screamin' the whole way
"This is NOT in the syllabus!"
And Cairo?
Oh, he was losin' it.
He was in some nightmare version of a sand pit.
The floor draggin' him down
like the earth itself wanted him gone.
"AYO! Hey! Yo! Stop the prank, man!" he shouted.
But nah.
The sand kept pullin'.
And that giant ghost baby?
It popped up outta nowhere.
Whole face stretchin', mouth wide open, drool fallin' like lava.
"Lesson two…" it rumbled.
"SWALLOW."
Cairo:
"Yo chill chill chill! I don't wanna learn nothin' no more! I'm droppin' out, bro!"
But the sand just kept draggin' him deeper, deeper
right into that big-ass baby mouth.
Renji (me)
I stood there, starin' down this long, empty street.
The place looked frozen in time old Japanese houses, signs half-broken, the air still heavy with fog.
No sound.
No wind.
Just that weird silence that makes your skin crawl.
Then
meow.
A cat.
A small, black one, sittin' right in the middle of the road.
It turned its head slow.
Too slow.
And when it smiled
yeah, smiled
I swear my soul did a backflip.
Renji
Damn.
That cat… that freakin' cat smiled at me.
For a sec, I thought my brain was glitchin'.
Yeah, it was a ghost cat but not the normal "boo" kinda ghost.
Nah, this one had attitude.
Then zip!
It dashed off.
I followed, 'cause of course I did.
I don't know, man curiosity is a disease.
Next thing BOOM!
Outta nowhere this huge black cat shows up.
Fur shinin' like oil.
Bell on its neck goin' ring… ring… ring…
Yeah same cat.
But now it looked like it could body-slam a bus.
Before I could breathe, that thing grabbed me.
Dragged me like I was some ragdoll from the dollar store.
Swingin' me through walls, trees, rooftops
my body was straight up payin' rent in every direction.
I was losin' it, man.
Life flashin' before my eyes like a bad TikTok montage.
And I'm thinkin', "Yo… people say your life flashes before your eyes when you die but why mine flashin' before a damn cat?!"
Nami
Meanwhile
she's runnin' for her life.
That blue-flame samurai on her tail, screamin' like a demon with Wi-Fi.
Every time he swung that katana whoosh!
the maze exploded in sparks.
Walls meltin', ground breakin', heat blastin' like a furnace.
She rolled, dodged, jumped dude was relentless.
Then he crouched, grippin' his sword like he was about to end the episode.
Flames shot up around him.
He charged.
BAM!
Nami hit the ground three times before she could even catch a breath.
She tried to crawl, but nah
he grabbed her by the hair, yanked her up, kneed her in the gut.
This wasn't no ghost story no more.
This was a 1v1 boss fight.
And she was low on health, no healing potions left.
Cairo
Cairo was half gone already.
Literally.
Just a head and one arm left stickin' out the sand.
The ghost baby loomin' over him, mouth wide open like a damn black hole.
"Lesson three…" it said,
"…digest."
Cairo's like, "BROOOO I AIN'T TRYNA BE LUNCH! What the hell's goin' on here?!"
But the ground just kept closin' in.
Tighter.
Tighter.
Renji
The cat flung me again smack! right into a wall.
I'm dizzy, seein' double, maybe triple.
I spot the collar around its neck there's a name written there.
Blurry.
Fadin'.
The cat lifts me by the leg, ready to turn me into cat chow.
I squint, tryna read the tag.
Then boom my brain clicks.
I whisper, barely breathin':
"…Kiki."
Everything froze.
The cat stopped mid-air, pupils shrinkin'.
I said it again,
but softer
"…kiki."
The name glowed faint on its collar.
Then snap! the giant ghost cat started shrinkin'.
Back to normal.
Bell jinglin' quiet.
I dropped from its grip thud!
Hit my head, hard.
Everything went dark.
And the last thing I thought was
"Damn… at least I died knowin' my killer's name.
Kiki.
Same name as our damn school."
Then
blackout.