"Someone’s coming."

Because of the heavy rain, it was difficult to hear any other sound. But as soon as they heard what I said, they strained their ears even more.

With every passing second, their faces grew paler, as if the blood were gradually draining from them.

The sound was somewhat like footsteps on a glass or frosted surface, but what truly terrified us was that those footsteps were heading straight towards us.

Step...

Step...

Step...

Until they stopped abruptly.

Silence reigned for a moment.

Then...

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Three soft knocks on the bus door.

In fact, it sounded as if a polite guest was asking permission to enter.

But for some reason, that was far more terrifying than if he’d simply smashed the door down.

I felt a sharp chill creeping into my limbs.

We exchanged silent glances, and as soon as our eyes met, I realised we were all feeling the same thing.

Don’t answer.

Don’t move.

Just keep quiet.

But the knocking started again.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Then a voice spoke from behind the door:

"Hello... is anyone there? The weather outside is terrible."

The voice sounded like a human’s...

But it wasn’t.

It was so close to being human, and yet so far from it in a way that was hard to describe.

Its tone was natural, and its words were natural, but there was something subtle about it that made my whole body refuse to believe it came from a real human being.

And yet, none of us were foolish enough to answer him.

Or so I thought.

Because the unexpected happened the very next moment.

Liana lifted her head towards the door and said:

"Who are you?"

"I’m just a visitor looking for shelter. Excuse me, miss, could you open the door?" He said this and seemed extremely happy, which was terrifying in itself.

I could sense it even without seeing his face. I mean, his tone of voice hadn’t changed at all, so how did I know he was happy? That’s what made me rush over to Liana just as she was about to say something else.

I quickly put my hand over her mouth and signalled for her to be quiet for a moment.

After all, we don’t even know who we’re talking to.

Was it even human?

What if the monster was trying to trick us into opening the door?

Still, it didn’t quite add up.

I mean, why would a monster try to persuade us to open the door if it could easily smash it down?

And even if it couldn’t smash it down, what was stopping it from opening it itself?

Unless... unless it couldn’t get in unless someone let it.

To be honest, my conclusion seemed logical. How many films and TV series had I watched where the same thing happened?

But at the same time, I might be completely wrong.

So I had to make sure.

"Huh..."

"It’s hard to breathe when you’re this close," Liana said, trying to push my face away from hers.

Only then did I realise I’d been that close to her.

As soon as I noticed, I apologised quickly and stepped back.

Liana moved away slightly and sat down next to Serene, whilst I could hear her muttering something under her breath.

At the same time, I noticed the strange looks Serene was giving me.

"Haaah..." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Knock.

Our eyes all darted towards the door.

"Miss, are you still there? Please open the door."

The voice came again. But this time I sensed something different from before; that strange joy hadn’t faded, yet a sense of urgency had begun to creep into it.

’I hope I don’t regret this later.’

I had to confirm my theory. I took a deep breath and said in a loud voice:

"Why don’t you do it yourself? The door’s open anyway."

"I would have done that if I could, but I’m unable to. Please, open the door before they find me."

After he said that, I couldn’t help but frown.

Was he making up excuses so we’d let him in?

Or was he actually telling the truth?

It was confusing.

But at least I was sure of one thing: he couldn’t get in unless we opened the door for him ourselves.

And that gave me some peace of mind.

So I decided to keep talking to him. Perhaps I could gather some information. This was a rare opportunity, and it might not come around again.

I turned to the others and signalled for them to be quiet.

In fact, the only person making a sound was Leo. He seemed to be chewing something loudly. Fortunately, he understood my signal and sat quietly.

I turned my attention back to the door and said:

"May I ask who is going to find you? Because what you’re saying sounds like nothing but a lie, doesn’t it?"

"No... no, I’m telling the truth! Please open the door. I don’t want to leave before I find my dad. Open the door... please open the door. They’re coming... they’ll be here any moment!"

The door shook violently with every word he spoke, as if it were about to shatter at any moment. Yet nothing happened.

I sighed slowly.

"Calm down a little. Put yourself in my shoes. How can I trust you and open the door for you when you won’t answer my questions? Just tell me... who is going to find you?"

The seconds ticked by, yet he still didn’t answer me, whilst he continued to shake the door violently, as if something were about to grab hold of it.

Suddenly, several red lightning bolts struck with force, illuminating the surroundings with a dim, eerie light.

In that brief moment, I caught a glimpse of the face of the person standing behind the door.

I felt a violent shiver run through my body, and I instinctively took a few steps back.

Srin and Liana both noticed this and hurried towards me, but they stopped halfway when those strange, faint, terrifying sounds suddenly appeared...

We couldn’t hear them clearly, as they seemed to be coming from somewhere very far away, but despite that, each of us felt a deep sense of fear.

At the same time, the knocking on the door began to grow louder and faster.

"Open the door... open the door... open the door!

I don’t want to be lost in the unknown!

Please... I don’t want that... please!"

His voice echoed so violently that I felt my eardrums were about to burst, yet his voice was nothing compared to those strange sounds.

I pressed my hands firmly over my ears, as if trying to stop their voices from seeping into my head.

But suddenly those strange sounds drew closer.

Closer...

And closer...

Until we could hear them clearly, as if their owners were standing just a few metres away from us.

It was like screaming, but it wasn’t really screaming.

It was hard to describe.

And yet I could make out what they were chanting:

"High in the sky... towards the unknown... the true wanderer will find his way to the end..."

The voices continued to repeat those words, whilst the voice of the person behind the door grew louder and more desperate.

Yet none of us moved from where we stood.

Then suddenly...

Those voices were right above me on the bus.

I held my breath.

Their mere proximity was enough to strike terror into my very soul.

But in the next moment, all the voices vanished.

Those strange whispers disappeared.

And with them, the voice of the person behind the door.

Silence returned once more, save for the sound of thunder and rain...

And yet, the shivers that ran through my body whenever I remembered what I had glimpsed behind the door did not disappear.

How could they?

For when the lightning flashed for a moment... I saw that the person knocking on the door... looked just like me.