Decay In Her Bones

CHAPTER 9

Ping! The metal doors of the elevator slid open, revealing a bulletin board that covered the entire west wall of the third floor of the St. Thomas Building. A lettering above read "College Library", with pictures and other library updates below it. Bobby exited the lift together with three other students who were wearing Hospitality Management uniforms. Going opposite to where they went, Bobby turned to the right and came to the corner where his friends were waiting.

There he saw Franz and Lance.

Bobby was still catching his breath. His knees wobbled uncontrollably that he almost fell. Still, he staggered upright. The image of the demon was still fresh in his mind, as if it was still there in front of him. When he had seen that his friends were eyeing him with confused eyes, he erased his fear and tried to project a poker face.

"What happened to you, bro? Fun-run's still next year." greeted Franz. They were seating on the floor. They had been hanging out in that place since they were in second year and had pretty much owned the area to themselves so no other students bothered to stay there, even when it was vacated.

Bobby bro-fisted his two classmates.

"Nothing," he lied, then asked, "Where's Daniel?"

"Office," Franz replied. He was referring to the publication office at the third floor of the Student Center Building. Daniel stayed there most of the time since he was also one of the contributors for the school paper. Unlike Bobby, though, he had made a habit of staying there for long stretches of hours. To Bobby, it was a boring place; he only went there during submission of articles and on meetings.

"I see."

"Where's Mylene?" Lance asked in his usual small voice.

Bobby noticed that Lance was always asking where Mylene was. He replied coldly, "In her class." He meant practice teaching duties. Mylene was teaching First Year High School students.

Bobby took a sit beside Franz, crossing his legs across the tiled floor. He noticed that the two boys were quite unoccupied, so he wanted to take the opportunity to tell them his account, but Franz spoke ahead of him. "Boy, tell us now what happened."

Franz was fast, Bobby thought. Always blunt.

"Yes. About that," Bobby said slowly, trying to choose his words carefully. "As I have told you, I did it last Sunday morning."

Lance butted in, "What time?"

"I'm not sure. Three, maybe?"

"Ooooohhh," Franz interjected. "Devil's hour."

Bobby ignored him. "I think that was three, yeah. As what you told me, I said the words 'Bloody Mary' three times, then I saw her."

Lance's eyes widened. He wasn't informed about it yet. "You-saw-her?"

Franz said, "Congratulations. What does she look like?"

Even in this kind of situation, Bobby wondered why Franz could still be such an easy-going guy. "Ahm. I dunno. T'was dark. And I was so scared... I ran up the stairs."

Lance was taking all his words in, digesting it well in his head. "Are you sure about what you saw?"

Bobby's brows met. "Yes! I saw her. I'm not lying."

"I can't believe it's true."

"I wouldn't lie about this!"

"Not that. I just thought Bloody Mary's just a myth."

Franz added, "Me too. I actually thought Bobby will not see anything."

Bobby knew well what they meant. Although the two of them expressed explicitly that they believed in ghosts, their challenge to Bobby was only just a pointless experiment; a dare.

When nobody spoke, Bobby decided to tell them everything that had happened after the apparition. He recounted the events yesterday when he saw the Bloody Mary again, the driver's ghost, as well as the old woman's ghost this morning. While he spilled out his tale, Franz and Lance listened with their mouths half opened. Bobby's tone of seriousness is undoubtedly genuine, authentic, and meaningful. He ended his storytelling with his most recent encounter, which was just a few minutes ago.

"You saw a demon?" Franz almost shouted. He paid a look towards the student assistant who was looking at them from the baggage counter near them. He immediately lowered his voice. "Did you tell Mr. Bernadas?"

"No," Bobby replied. "I walked out and left the class."

Lance was the one who answered back. "You walked out of the class? Cutting classes now, eh?"

"Yes. I mean, it was almost time anyway."

"What room?"

"Accreditation room."

"Where's that? I've never heard of it," Franz said. He scratched his chin.

"It's because we're the only ones using it for Theo. It's in St. Vincent Ferrer."

Franz froze. His face looked like he hit a stone wall. "Elementary building?" Bobby did not respond.

Franz continued matter-of-factly, "It's the oldest building here."

An awkward silence followed. The two boys seemed to be looking for something to say to Bobby. They, too, were clueless with regard the situation. Last Saturday, they were talking about ghosts, their experiences, and their ideas regarding paranormal stuff, but it did not mean that they were knowledgeable on the subject. In this case, Daniel would have had something to say. He's a know-it-all and a wide reader, but unfortunately he was not there to give an advice.

Finally, Franz spoke. When he said it, it was not in his usual tone. He had a certain degree of seriousness that one seldom found in him. "I think, bro, what you should do is ask Mr. Bernadas. I know, he is a Theology professor. I don't even think he knows something about ghosts, but maybe he can tell us something from a spiritual perspective."

Bobby considered the idea. Mr. Bernadas was the most amiable among the Theology faculty members. The students were close to him, and he always had time to accommodate various concerns. If Bobby would tell him, it wouldn't harm him anyway. Maybe, he really had answers, or at least, something to say to this.

He checked the time. 3:46 PM.

"Okay. Maybe you're right. I'll go to him." Bobby stood up, slid his bag behind his back, and wiped off the dust off his slacks.

"Now?" Lance asked.

"Nope. But I'm gonna go ahead. Mylene's probably done with her duty," Bobby replied.

"Ah," Lance whispered, "Mylene."

Bobby's lips pressed together and formed a line. "Yes. Laters bros."

"Laters," Franz said.

Bobby made for the elevator, and walked past the girl at the counter. If he just looked at her, he could have seen the demon standing behind the student, but Bobby's eyes remained locked at the orange glow of the elevator's button.

Ping! The doors split in two, revealing an empty hollow. Bobby entered and pressed "G". After a few seconds, the metal doors closed shut. However, before the two doors met and had closed completely, Bobby caught a glimpse of a dark outline behind the student assistant.

It was the demon... the very same.

!=u&m