The Judge of Hell is My Phone Pal

Chapter 18 Ghost Hunting at Night

    Seeing Ivan staring at him, Eric smiled, "Mr. Frank, this is for your own good. You'd better not petrol the campus at night. Go home and find another job tomorrow. What is good to be a class teacher?"

    "Eric, thank you. I think Class 3 is pretty good. It's quite interesting to be a class teacher. I won't quit, and I must finish my task tonight. There is still another thing I didn't tell you." Ivan lowered his voice on purpose.

    "What is it?" Eric became interested.

    Ivan approached and whispered, "My grandfather is a ghost hunter. My family knows well how to hunt ghosts. If a ghost came at night, I would definitely catch it. Wait and see."

    Eric was stunned.

    Ivan smiled and patted him. "Okay, you go on patrol. I'm returning to the teaching building."

    Before Eric could ask any more, Ivan turned and walked towards the teaching building.

    Standing still like a fool, Eric watched Ivan enter the teaching building.

    Ivan had already realized what happened right now. It seemed that Sam and his pals were going to scare him at night. Let's see who would be the last winner.

    Ivan looked at his watch. It was around eight p.m.. He went to the office, took the big flashlight and went around in the teaching building. Only Ivan's footsteps could be heard in the empty teaching building. The sensor lights flickered to his footsteps and all the doors and windows were closed. There was nothing unusual. Ivan went out of the building to walk around the playground.

    The light in the security room at the entrance of the school was on. Through the window, he saw Eric laying on the bed and checking his mobile phone. Ivan didn't disturb him but went straight back to the school building.

    On the first floor located the duty room. Ivan opened the door to the duty room and turned on the lights. The room was simply furnished with a single bed, a table, a TV and a telephone, and a watercooler.

    Ivan took a cup of hot water, turned on the TV, and watched it for a while. The TV programs were boring enough, all of which were tedious dramas. Ivan simply turned it off, lay down on the bed, took out Dante's Inferno, and flicked it through.

    The wind outside became heavier and heavier too which the windows squeaked. Ivan glanced out of the window. It was the darker outside. Ivan retracted his gaze and continued to read.

    Ivan found that he was deeply fascinated by these poems. Unconsciously, the time flew. He looked at his watch again. It was almost midnight. According to the school regulations, he must patrol twice at night. If nothing unusual happened, he could sleep at midnight.

    Ivan got up from the bed, put his mobile phone into his pocket and left the duty room with the flashlight. The petrol started from the teaching building. There were seven floors and elevators. Nothing happened on the first floor and the second floor. Ivan finished checking the sixth floor. Everything was okay. Ivan yawned. After checking the teaching building, Ivan intended to go to the playground. He could go to bed after checking the playground.

    Since it was too late, Sam and his pals might not come today.

    Ivan took the elevator to the seventh floor with ease. When the elevator door opened, he stomped as usual. The emergency light was on. Ivan walked forward and there was nothing unusual. When he was about to turn to the elevator, the light was suddenly off. The corridor was completely dark.

    Ivan stomped immediately, but it didn't work, Ivan stomped again, but nothing happened. Ivan turned on the flashlight.

    A bright light flashed across the corridor, and a white figure at the end of the corridor suddenly showed off and disappeared. Though well-prepared, Ivan was still frightened. He at once shouted, "Who is it?"

    Ivan checked the corridor again. The white shadow was gone. Ivan tried hard to collect himself. At the end of the corridor located the fire escape. The white figure must have entered the fire escape. Ivan cautiously approached the fire escape, opened the door, and made a check with the flashlight. The passage was dark and there was nobody within.

    "Is anyone in there?" Ivan yelled.

    No one answered.

    Ivan frowned and was about to turn around. There came a series of a miserable sob from the corner under the stairs. It was in a low voice, but in the quiet building, Ivan heard it very clearly. It was a woman's cry as if she had been wronged.

    Ivan immediately tensed up upon hearing the cry. He felt a little numb on his scalp, "Who is crying?"

    The sob continued.

    Ivan took a deep breath and turned the flashlight to the corner. A white figure was sobbing right there at the corner.

    "Who are you?" Ivan asked.

    It still didn't speak.

    Ivan shone the flashlight to the white figure, walked downstairs slowly and approached him. Turning his back to him, the white figure, with long hair, was wearing a white robe and her body shivered to the sob.

    Ivan thought it must be Sam who pretended to be a ghost, so he should just grab him on the spot.

    Ivan touched the ghost's shoulder. "Don't pretend. I know who you are."

    The ghost suddenly turned around, and a pale face and a long bloody tongue appeared before Ivan's eyes. Before Ivan could react, his eyes suddenly felt hot, as if something pungent had been splashed onto his face.

    Ivan hurriedly covered his face with his left hand. With his right-hand bit suddenly, the flashlight fell. Ivan tried to open his eyes. It was quite dark around. The white figure had disappeared. He bent over to pick up the flashlight, but couldn't find it at all.

    Ivan's eyes hurt. He took out the phone from his pocket. With the assistance of the dim light of the phone, he slowly returned to the bathroom in the corridor on the seventh floor and washed his eyes. Damn. It was the pepper spray.

    Did Ghosts use pepper spray? Ivan sneered. OK. Let's see who would be the final winner.

    Ivan decided to go back to Eric to borrow a flashlight, so he hurriedly went downstairs to the security room. The light in the security room was off. Ivan knocked on the door. After a long time, there came Eric's lazy voice from inside. "Who?"

    "Ivan."

    "Mr. Frank." The light was on. Eric opened the door, his upper body naked. "How come you haven't gone to bed?"

    "My eyes hurt. Do you have eye drops?" Ivan asked.

    "What's wrong? I don't have eye drops here." Eric looked at Ivan up and down.

    "Then do you have a flashlight?"

    "Didn't the Academic Affairs Office give you a flashlight?"

    "It did. I lost it just now. I have to borrow one from you."

    "Wait a minute." Eric turned and entered the room. After a while, he returned in frustration with a flashlight. "Mr. Frank, the battery is dead."

    Ivan glanced at him. Eric smiled and pressed the button, "Look. The battery has run down."

    Eric's smile was sly enough. "Okay, forget it. Go back to sleep. Sorry to disturb you."

    Ivan was about to leave, but Eric grabbed Ivan. "Mr. Frank, did you run into a ghost just now?"

    "How did you know?" Ivan looked at him.

    "I heard someone crying upstairs. I didn't even dare to move. Mr. Frank, you'd better take my advice. Don't go back. Go home quickly and quit tomorrow. If you are harassed by a ghost, you can't get rid of it."

    Ivan looked at Eric and smiled, but said nothing.

    Eric was stunned. "Mr. Frank, what you laughing at? It's for your good."

    "Eric, I did see a ghost, but it wasn't a real ghost. It's no more than someone's trick. I must catch him today." Ivan walked towards the school building without looking back.

    "You are quite stubborn," Eric muttered as he looked at Ivan's back.

    Greatly pissed off, Ivan went into the building. As expected, Eric just pretended to show his kindness, but he must have colluded with Sam and his pals to set a trap for him together tonight.

    When he arrived at the door to the duty room, Ivan was about to take out the key to open the door. Yet, the door wasn't locked at all. Ivan was taken aback. He did lock the door when he left.

    Ivan stomped. The sensor light in the corridor was on. In the light, Ivan looked around the duty room. There was no one inside. The TV was on, but it was mute.

    Someone had been in this room. Ivan walked quickly into the room and turned on the light. There was a note on the table. Ivan picked it up and read it. There was a female ghost's head portrait on the note below which there were some words: Ivan, immediately get out of Cincinnati Country Day School, or you will die. There is a gift for you in the drawer.

    A gift? Ivan slowly pulled the drawer open and hurriedly closed the drawer. Damn! There were two bloody hands inside.

    Before Ivan calmed down, there suddenly came weird laughter behind him. Ivan hurriedly turned around. A white figure ran past the duty room. Ivan sprinted to the door as he shouted, "Who is it?"

    The white figure had disappeared, his laughter still resounding in the corridor.

    Ivan's heartbeat suddenly quickened. After taking a few breaths, he calmed down. No wonder the former headteacher suffered a heart attack. If it weren't for Thomas and Demi's reminders, he would have been frightened to death tonight.

    Leaning against the wall, Ivan tried hard to collect himself. He turned around, closed the door, locked it from the inside, and went to the window to look outside. There was no one on the playground. He drew the curtain.

    Ivan pulled out the drawer again and touch the fake hands. Sensing its softness and flexibility, Ivan burst into laughter. This was silicone. One of his friends used to buy a doll before made of such material. Since it was high-end good worth tens of thousands, to show off, he specifically asked Ivan to have a touch. Ivan still remembered it clearly.

Ivan took out the two hands from the drawer. He did guess right. It was a toy to make a trick. Yet, it was really scary if you saw them suddenly.

    Okay. Your tricks have been made, and it's time for me to fight back. Ivan put the hands aside, turned off the lights and TV. The whole room fell into darkness. Ivan took out his mobile phone and whispered, "Andy, there are guys who dare to cheat me in the name of the nether world. You can't let them off the hook. Let's fight back together."

    The phone screen flashed as if it understood Ivan's words.

    Ivan first filled himself with physical energy. This time, the phone gave Ivan an hour to maintain the energy.

    With sufficient energy, Ivan started the function of seeing things on the other side of the wall and pointed the phone at the door. If he wanted to catch the fake ghosts, he had to find out their whereabouts.

    Ivan held back his breath and stared at the phone. The screen was dark at first. After a while, three white figures emerged from different positions in the corridor. Bending over, they slowly approached the duty room.

The ghosts were coming. Ivan smiled.