The Morgue Retreat House

1. The One Where They All Have Nightmares

CHAPTER ONE

. . . THEY ALL HAVE NIGHTMARES

PAULIN

It was hot. Paulin was stuck in a dark place, the air was humid and skeletons were left everywhere. Sweat had been trickling around her neck before she even noticed it, her breathing was ragged. Tumingin siya sa kanyang likuran, at nakakita ng isang walang katapusang lagos. "Hello?" Her voice echoed throughout the tunnel, as it bounced off her skin it sent shivers through her spine. May nakita siyang ilaw sa unahan, sinundan niya ito, it gave off orange light, katulad ng apoy. 
She took a good look at what was ahead of her, a path of little bones that continued all the way into the darkness. She took a step ahead, and another step, she kept her eyes on the ground. Every step she made, the little bones on the ground would crack and give off a sound, which made her feel uneasy.
She kept following the path until it came unto a bundle of skeletons, she looked closely, it wasn't just a bundle of skeletons it was a pit of skeletons and fire, sounds of laughing everywhere. It made her jump back and shout. It was all coming back to her.
She was left there screaming for help, drowned in the sound of laughs. 

It was raining, and everybody was sleeping.
Except for Paulin, who was on her phone with her mother. Nak, hindi ka pa nakatulog? Text ng kanyang nanay, nangagamba si Paulin dahil sa lamig ng panahon, hatinggabi na, at wala pa siya nakatulog. Wala pa, ma. Di ako makatulog, I'm the only one awake. Maliban sa driver, of course. She replied, and turned off her phone.
They had arrived at the retreat house, apparently. Some part of the building was made out of bricks, achieving a rustic design. At least they had arrived safely.
She looked behind her, all the luggage was floating off the ground. She stepped back, afraid. Paulin pointed her finger to the luggage, amazed and dazzled, was it magic? Or maybe her lack of sleep?
All of it came tumbling down before she could cry for help, one hitting her head hard. Paulin could see some of her classmates begin to wake up. She looked around for someone to console her terrors of the peculiar sight. Nakita niyang naka-eyeglass Jude at tumawag sa kanya. "Jude! Nakita mo ba yong kanina?"
"I swore I saw the luggage floating midair." Sagot nito. She wished she just imagined the floating luggage, but it felt too real to deny. "Halika, gusingin muna natin si Teacher Michelle. Baka kulang lang tayo sa tulog diba?"
Jude shook his head and said something to her that she didn't quite hear. He lended out his hand for a shake. She was speechless, trying to recollect everything that had happened to her. Instead, she made herself get her luggage from the components.
What had she seen? Her dreams last night seemed weird as well, a pit filled with skeletons, a long endless tunnel, and dancing fire.
Paulin went back to her seat, waking up Nicole and Reah from sleep. The two of them hadn't had a good night either, they vomited for hours last night. They still hadn't wake up, they were restless as can be.
"Paulin? Jude? Ginising naba tayo ng drayber?" Teacher Michelle had woken at last, she was still sleepy. Paulin was confused, she had forgot about the drive, his seat on the front was empty. She looked around, the conductor was gone as well. She return her glance to Michelle "Nang gumising kami, wala nang drayber sa harap." Wika ni Paulin, trying to act as if it was normal to have your bus driver disappear in the middle of the night while on a retreat.
"Alas otso y media na nang umaga, maam. Gutom na gutom na ako." Jude added. Paulin didn't feel hunger though, it had gone away with the floating luggage. Umalis si Teacher Michelle sa kanyang upuan, at pumunta sa harap, she had to check twice like she always does when faced with a problem.
"Gisingin muna nyong dalawa ang lahat ng kaklase nyo. May nagkamali sa schedule natin sa kompanya ng bus." She commanded the two of them, Paulin quickly went to work. She woke Reah and Nicole, and the row next to them.
Paulin halted as someone shouted from the back. Clearly, it was Fiona. "Ahhh! What the fuck! Who snucked out my underwear?!" She swore from her chair. Paulin only began to notice how messy the bus had been, the clutter was everywhere.
"Is that Joshua?" Paulin asked publicly but was then interrupted by laughter from everyone on the bus. "You should've put a lock on your bag, Fiona. Whoever got to sniff that thing got lucky." Biro ni Kyle, Paulin rolled her eyes in disgust, everything about Kyle was disgusting to the way he laughed and bullied everyone around him.
Fiona screamed once more, this time in such a high pitch that Paulin's ears began to rang. Her shout prompted Joshua to wake up from the floor. His own saliva dripping off his chin. Her classmates laughed again and stopped when Teacher Michelle bursted out.
The sisters came out of the back portion of the bus moments later, walking with such authority over everyone in the room. She had began picking up garbage as the sisters had commanded.
The bus still smelled of a combination of vomit and soda (weird!) she was closely followed by Reah and Desiree in her back, with their respective luggage in their hands. "Saan ba si Nicole?" Tanong ni Paulin kay Desiree, na may napulot na napkin wrapper. Paulin gave off an unreadable expression. "May kinuha pang bag sa likuran ng bus."
"Hey! Who owns these noodles on the floor?" Reah asked, holding up a raw noodle in her hand. She dropped it back and someone picked it up, maybe embarrassed to talk? Paulin chuckled.
They went outside the bus on a straight lined, the four of them, with too many bags on their bodies. It had been cloudy outside, the temperature was as cold as it could get here. Reah kneeled down her knees, throwing up on the ground.
Paulin wasn't sure what she was feeling. It was a mix of being unsure, afraid, and excited.
There was a huge cross in the entrance with a big sign saying CICM: Bukal ng Tipon. Finally they were here, after hours of restless travel and many liters of vomit they were finally here.
Paulin took a deep breath then sighed.