The individual abruptly reached into his pants pocket, pulling out an object that caused the children's breaths to hitch in their throats. It was a knife that appeared dangerously sharp.
Behind Aliff, his friends trembled in fear, their eyes wide with terror. Instinctively, Aliff stepped back, positioning himself as a shield for his companions. With a subtle and discreet motion, he shifted his right hand behind his back, keeping it hidden from the captor's view.
*What should I do?...* Panic surged within him as his mind raced for an escape from this life-threatening situation.
A sinister grin spread across the captor's rugged face. "Hehehehe," his laughter was chilling and piercing. "Now it's time to play!!!"
Before Aliff could devise a plan, the captor lunged forward with astonishing speed. Without warning, a powerful punch struck Aliff's face, hurling his small frame across the room and slamming him against the wall with a painful thud.
"ALIFF!!!" his friends screamed.
Although they longed to help, fear immobilized them. Aina covered her mouth with her hand, while Jimmy crouched behind Naim.
Aliff felt excruciating pain radiate throughout his body. His head spun, and he sensed warmth trickling down his temple. "It hurts... So much..." he groaned weakly, striving to rise, but his body refused to cooperate.
The captor approached slowly, tauntingly saying, "Hehehehe, looks like you're the kid who got the others released, huh?" His cold eyes glared at Aliff with open malice.
Lying helplessly, Aliff's thoughts raced. *I must get up... But my body won't move... Are we really going to die here?... No... We can't die here. I have to get back to my loved ones. I can't die... I mustn't die...*
With sheer force, Aliff began to move his body. Slowly, he lifted himself off the ground. His head throbbed painfully, and fresh blood flowed from the wound on the side of his head.
The captor looked surprised at Aliff's determination. "Ooh... You can still get up?" He mocked, laughter echoing in the silent room. "What can you do with your tiny body? Just give up; you're gonna die here anyway, HAHAHA!!!"
The laughter abruptly stopped when Aliff revealed his right hand, which he had kept hidden behind his back. In his grip was an object that made the captor's face turn pale.
"Hah?!... Where did you get that?..." The captor's voice trembled.
Aliff held a black pistol, which appeared large in his small hands. Due to its weight, he had to use both hands to aim it at the captor.
Despite showing signs of nervousness, the captor tried to maintain his bravado. "Hehehehe," his laughter now sounded forced. "Do you even know how to use that?"
Aliff's expression remained stoic as he locked eyes with the captor. "Why do you look so scared?" he asked, surprising even himself with his calm tone.
He took a slow step forward, keeping the pistol aimed at the captor. "Let's see who ends up dead here."
In his mind, Aliff recalled how to use a pistol from what he had seen on TV. *I think I pull this part back to fire.* His finger hesitantly moved toward the trigger, but he encountered more resistance than expected.
Noticing Aliff's hesitation, the captor seized the opportunity. "I won't let you do that!!!" he shouted, charging at Aliff at a terrifying speed.
Panic overwhelmed Aliff. His finger struggled to pull the trigger, feeling like it was stuck. *Damn!!! Why is it so hard to pull?!...*
The captor was now just a few steps away. "YOU'RE GONNA DIE, KID!!!" His voice echoed through the room, eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
Time seemed to slow for Aliff. He could see the glint of the knife swinging towards him. *Am I really going to die here?!...*
"ALIFF!!!" his friends' cries sounded distant, drowned out by the rushing blood in his ears.
Then something unexpected happened.
The captor suddenly froze mid-stride. His body became rigid, just an arm's length away from Aliff, the knife still raised but unmoving.
Confusion painted the captor's face. "What's happening?" he shouted in panic. "Why can't I move?..."
The other children watched in awe and confusion at the bizarre scene unfolding before them. The captor, who moments ago seemed terrifying and unstoppable, now stood like a statue.
Then a voice echoed, "Now do it."
Aliff gasped. His eyes widened as he took in a sight that felt almost unreal. "Hah?!... That's..."
Surrounding the captor were four translucent figures—children who resembled those he had seen in the room earlier. Their bodies emitted a faint blue light, and their small hands gripped the captor's arms and legs, holding him in place.
"It seems you can see us, right?" The voice resonated directly in Aliff's mind, soft yet clear like a whisper echoing in his head.
Stunned, Aliff stared at the four translucent figures. They seemed to understand him without words and responded to his thoughts.
"We are the children who have long since perished here," one of them, a boy with weary eyes, said. "I don't think we need to explain any further."
As soon as those words reached him, Aliff felt a searing pain strike his head. His vision blurred, and the world around him faded, replaced by a cascade of brutal images in his mind.
"No!!! Don't... Let me go!!!" The cries of terrified children filled his head.
"What is this? What's happening?" he yelled, clutching his head with trembling hands.
"This is their story," the voice returned, now urgent. "You must see."
Aliff was bombarded with horrifying visions. Four children were mercilessly beaten by someone wielding a thick wooden stick. The sounds of strikes echoed, mixed with cries and whimpers of agony. The assailant continued to hit without mercy, satisfaction evident on his face with each blow. Blood splattered against the walls and floor, and Aliff felt as if he was there, witnessing it through his own eyes.
Then the scene shifted. The same person was dragging the lifeless bodies of the children into a basement. Calmly, as if it were part of a daily routine, he hung their bodies. Then, with practiced motions, he began to disembowel them, using the same knife he had threatened Aliff and his friends with.
"What is this all about..." Aliff felt his stomach churn. Nausea clawed at his throat, and he nearly vomited on the spot. "Stop... I beg you..."
Across the room, Aina watched Aliff with concern. Even from a distance, she sensed something was wrong. Aliff appeared pale, his body trembling violently, and his gaze vacant as if his soul had departed.
"What's happening to Aliff?" she whispered, half to herself.
As the horrific vision finally ceased, Aliff returned to reality. He gasped for breath, cold sweat soaking his body. He looked at the four figures still gripping the captor, now realizing with dread that what he had just witnessed was their tragic fate.
*So everything I saw in my mind was about them? They were the children who were kidnapped and killed... Are they now ghosts?* Aliff's thoughts spiraled.
*Hey, what are you doing now?* Their voices echoed in his mind again, this time more urgent and frantic. *Hurry up and shoot! We can't hold him for much longer!*
Realizing the urgency, Aliff checked the pistol in his hand. With trembling fingers, he attempted to pull back the gun's mechanism like he had seen in movies.
"I did it," he murmured as he heard the click indicating the gun was ready to fire.
The man standing before him, still held by the four ghosts, now looked utterly terrified. His eyes widened, pupils narrowing, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead.
"Hey, are you really going to kill me?" he stuttered, his voice shaking. "Why don't we talk about this first?"
Aliff regarded him with a cold stare. "Talk to you?" He smirked—a smile he had never worn before, filled with loathing.
*If I'm going to shoot him, I just have to pull this part at the back of the gun, right? That's what I saw on TV. It's time to fire.*
Aliff aimed the gun at the captor's heart. His hand rose, his index finger poised on the trigger. However, suddenly, both hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
*What's happening? Why won't my hand shoot?*
The four ghosts began to look anxious. *Hey! What are you doing? Hurry up and shoot this guy! You'll die if you don't!*
From across the room, Aina and the others watched the strange scene with trepidation. They couldn't hear the mental conversation taking place, but they could see the inner struggle clear on Aliff's face.
*Why?* Aliff questioned himself, desperately battling the tremors in his hands. *What's stopping me from shooting this man? I need to kill him. He has to die... He must die... he definitely has to die... But my hand won't shoot him. Why?*
While grappling with this moral dilemma, a new voice emerged in his mind—one that was colder and more piercing than that of the children's ghosts.
"Don't be afraid! Just kill him now!!!"
"Hah?!"
Suddenly, without any warning, Aliff's right eye turned completely white—white like paper. It was as if he were being controlled by something, and his once-trembling hands were now steady. With smooth precision, he pulled the trigger.
The gunshot shattered the silence of the old house with brutal force. The bullet shot out of the barrel, crossing the short distance between them, and struck the captor directly in the heart. Blood gushed from the wound.
The man staggered backward, his eyes wide with disbelief. The ghostly figures released their grip, and he collapsed onto the floor.
A moment later, Aliff's eyes returned to normal. The white hue vanished, replaced by the familiar dark color. He blinked several times, seeming as if he had just awoken from a dream.
"Hah?! What just happened?!" Aliff looked around in confusion. The man who had intended to kill them now lay lifeless on the floor, blood pooling beneath his body. The four ghostly children had vanished without a trace.
*I don't know what happened just now. But that doesn't matter now.*
Aina rushed toward Aliff, her face pale as she witnessed the aftermath. "Aliff!!!" she cried, "Are you okay? Your head is bleeding. Does it hurt?"
"No..." Aliff replied softly. "That's not important right now. We need to get out of this house."
Mechanically, he discarded the pistol he still held, letting it fall to the ground.
*I feel like I lost consciousness for a moment... What happened?* he pondered.
Aliff walked over to Ravi, who was still being supported by Naim. "Hey Ravi, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Ravi replied, though his face grimaced in pain. His eyes met Aliff's. "The one who isn't fine is clearly you, Aliff. Your head is bleeding. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine. It doesn't hurt at all," Aliff stated, even though his hands still felt strange and somewhat sore. He didn't understand why.
"If everything is okay, let's get out of here now," Aliff urged, his voice sounding more assertive.
"Okay," they all replied in unison.
Cautiously, they crawled toward the back door of the house. As they finally stepped out of that cursed dwelling, the night air greeted them with its biting chill, making their already weakened bodies shiver.
They had barely taken a step when suddenly a beam of light appeared in the distance.
"Huh?!" Bima gasped in surprise, reflexively raising his hand to shield his eyes from the glare. "Lights!"
In the distance, the headlights of a car illuminated the dirt road leading to the house. The sound of the engine grew louder, signaling that the vehicle was approaching.
"They're back!" Aliff whispered urgently, adrenaline surging through him again. "Let's run into the woods!"
*It seems there's more than just that man in this house; I need to get away quickly...*
Without a second thought, the ten children sprinted with all their might into the dark forest. There was no time to hesitate, no time to fear what might lurk among the trees. All they knew was one thing: they had to flee as far as possible from that horrific house.
Behind them, the sound of the car grew closer. The headlights started to illuminate the backyard of the house.
"Don't stop!" Aliff shouted between heavy breaths. "Keep running!"
They continued to dash deeper into the woods, further and further away from that house. They didn't know where to go; all they understood was that they had to get as far away as possible from that terrifying place.