Brian had figured the second floor would be long empty by now—he never expected someone to be bold enough to stick around.

  “Students, please leave the area immediately…”

  Just as the campus sheriff stepped forward to order the two to leave,

  John suddenly turned around, and his eyes locked right onto Brian.

  “Uncle Brian, fancy meeting you again?”

  “It’s you, kid?!”

  Brian recognized him in an instant. This was the kid who’d filed a report at the sheriff’s office not long ago… the crazy one.

  “No need for him to leave. In fact, I’ve got a few questions for him.”

  Brian’s gaze shifted to William, then he spoke again:

  “Son, why don’t you head out first?”

  “Where John goes, I go!”

  William didn’t budge an inch, dead set on sticking with John like glue.

  “…”

  Brian said nothing, turning to his team instead. “Secure the scene, don’t touch the body, and call the medical examiner right away.”

  “Mind stepping aside for a chat?”

  He fixed his eyes on John then, hoping to pry some information out of him.

  The other students were all scared out of their wits by now—they’d be useless for questioning,

  but John was different. He’d stayed calm the entire time, so calm it was almost suspicious… suspicious enough to make Brian wonder if he was the killer.

  “Sure.”

  John led William over to the stairwell.

  “Can you walk me through exactly what happened?”

  Brian stared straight at him, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.

  How could a senior in high school have nerves this steeled?

  Was this the confidence that came with being crazy…?

  “I wasn’t the first one to find the body, actually.”

  John’s expression was unflappable as he spoke. “All I know is, the dorm custodian yelled out, and the other students all bolted out of their rooms in a panic. That’s when I saw it too.”

  “That’s it?”

  Brian blinked in surprise. “No struggle? No sounds of a fight before the body turned up?”

  “Nothing at all.”

  John shook his head. “The whole dorm was dead quiet until the custodian’s scream cut through it out of nowhere.”

  “That weird, huh?”

  Brian’s gaze bore into John as he spoke slowly:

  “John, let’s throw out a wild hypothetical. If you were the killer, how would you pull this off?”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  It wasn’t just a question—doubt gnawed at him.

  Could this kid in front of him actually be the one who did it?

  His nerve was just off the charts…

  “Uncle Brian, save the mind games.”

  John sighed. “I don’t even know the guy. Why the hell would I kill him for no reason? You really think I’m that crazy?”

  “Uh… aren’t you?”

  “…”

  John was lost for words. “I swear this has nothing to do with me. I was in my dorm with William and the others the whole time.”

  “Then this case just got a whole lot stranger.”

  Brian’s brows furrowed tight, scratching his head in confusion.

  A glint flickered in John’s eyes, and he said something loaded with meaning:

  “Uncle Brian, haven’t you guys been dealing with weird stuff like this a lot lately?”

  “Hm? What do you mean?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me, Uncle Brian.”

  John curled his lip. “This stuff’s all over the internet now—you guys can barely keep it under wraps. You really think we don’t go online?”

  “Serious question—what’s actually going on out there?”

  “…”

  Brian shook his head. “I’m just a sheriff’s captain. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You gotta be this tight-lipped?”

  John wasn’t surprised. The authorities always clamped down on stuff like this, forbidding anyone—especially their own people—from talking about it.

  Now he wondered if Brian had even believed his report when he’d filed it…

  Maybe the government had run into the paranormal long before he had.

  “Alright, if you don’t have anything else to say, you two can leave now.”

  Brian’s eyes drifted to the body in the hallway, ready to get down to business.

  “Uncle Brian, there’s nothing you can do here.”

  John shook his head. “My advice? Mark this as a paranormal incident and call in the official specialists.”

  Brian raised an eyebrow. “You that sure?”

  John opened his mouth to reply, then his face suddenly paled with realization.

  “Uncle, time’s up—I gotta go for my night jog!”

  With that, he grabbed William’s arm and bolted down the stairs in a flash…

  “Night jog?”

  Brian froze, dumbfounded. It was the middle of the night—what kind of night jog was this?

  “Total nutjob…”

  he muttered, unable to wrap his head around John’s logic.

  But at that exact moment,

  the lights in the hallway started flickering—faster and faster—until the entire corridor was drowning in that same eerie, terrifying aura all over again.

  “Shit…”

  Staring at the uncanny scene, Brian connected the dots with John’s sudden escape. He wasn’t going for a jog—he was bailing!

  “Captain, what do we do?”

  Fear flashed in the other sheriffs’ eyes.

  They could take on criminals no problem, but when it came to the paranormal? They were completely helpless.

  And then,

  everyone’s blood ran cold. Through the strobing lights, they saw a pale white figure materialize out of the darkness at the end of the hallway…

  “Holy shit! What do you think we do?!”

  Brian’s skin crawled, like something was watching him, hunting him. He barked an order:

  “Everyone, with me—let’s start our night jog!”

  “…”

  The other sheriffs caught on in an instant, and they didn’t hesitate to bolt out of the hallway.

  Moments later,

  the entire team was outside, joining the huddle of students on the ground, their faces etched with relief at having escaped with their lives.

  “Captain Brian! You’re all out here too? Did you get it sorted?”

  The school administrators had no idea what was really going on and hurried over to ask.

  “No one’s going back into that dorm tonight.”

  Brian’s expression was grim. “Find another place for the students—get them as far away from this building as possible.”

  He stared up at the dorm, a cold, unnameable dread coiling in his gut.

  Who would’ve thought a plain old student dorm would be home to a ghost?

  “Uncle Brian, call the specialists.”

  John spoke up from the side, a note of warning in his voice. “No point in regular folks throwing their lives away here.”

  If it had just been some weak ghost that only jumped out to scare people, he might’ve tried to take it on. But one that killed without a second thought? He was staying far, far away…

  “Aren’t you the specialist?”

  Brian shot him a look. If it hadn’t been for John’s quick exit, they might not have gotten out alive.

  “If I was, would I have filed a report at the sheriff’s office in the first place…?”

  John wore a black line across his forehead. He could sense danger, sure—but when it came to fighting a ghost? He’d basically be throwing his life away.

  “…”

  Brian let out a sigh, impressed despite himself by the kid’s self-awareness. He stepped away and pulled out his phone, dialing a number without hesitation.

  John’s heart skipped a beat at the move. So the government did have specialists for this sort of thing?

  “John… was that really a…”

  William’s voice still shook with fear, unable to believe he’d been that close to a ghost.

  “We’re good for now.”

  John nodded, grinning. “Stick with me, and nothing bad’ll happen.”

  He might not be able to fight it—but he sure as hell could run from it.

  A few minutes later,

  Brian finished his call and immediately started ordering his team to set up a perimeter around the dorm.

  The school had no choice but to herd the students into the gymnasium; there was nowhere else for them to go in the middle of the night.

  For now, the terror had subsided…