Chapter 89: 89 The previous lover 13

The thin boy methodically looked around the room. I turned my back to the thin boy, raising my phone to try to see more of the room. As I moved the flashlight, I suddenly froze. There was another water dispenser in this room.

The style of the water dispenser was very different from the one in the lifeguard's office and there was clearly no hair in this one. I smiled and shook my head, laughing at myself.

I’m too nervous! I thought.

Although the thin boy didn’t find any flashlights or candles in the room, he found a collection of snacks which we happily put into our pockets. We knew we’d greatly appreciate them as the night went on.

Finding nothing else of value and not seeing a switch in the room, we began to walk out of the room.

Squeak!

The thin boy and I looked at each other nervously.

The next room was the one where we locked the lifeguard, and neither of us wanted to go in.

The thin boy and I stood at the door for a long time before the thin boy took a deep breath, knocked on the door and shouted, "Are you still there? We misunderstood you."

I understood the thin boy's words. He wanted to put the lifeguard at ease. Although not necessarily useful, I went along with the thin boy’s plan. We waited, but no sound came from inside the room.

The skinny boy held the keys in his hand. “Do we open the door?” he asked as he turned to look at me.

I was hesitant, afraid that a ghost would appear as soon as we opened the door. I reached my hand out but stopped it and looked at the thin boy. Suddenly there was a violent gulp from inside the office, like someone desperately drinking water. In between gulps and gasps, there was also wild coughing.

The thin boy looked at me and said, “Inside…” He didn’t finish his thought, but I knew what he meant.

Suddenly a few sharp, short knocks sounded on the other side of the door.

"Lifeguard, is that you?" I asked nervously. There was no answer. Then I heard the sound of fingernails scratching the wall. My muscles tightened and I felt a cold chill run down my spine.

Now the sound of scratching the wall was so obvious behind the door that I dared not let the thin boy open it. I approached and shined my flashlight against the seam of the door, hoping to find a small gap to look through, but I was unsuccessful.

The pace of the scratching seemed inconsistent, at times fast and then slowing down. I began to think that the noise wasn’t random.

"Is he trying to send a message?" The thin boy frowned as he listened.

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The thin boy had started to move his hand along with the scratching noises. He had his ear pressed to the door, and I worried that the door might fly open and whatever was inside would grab him and drag him in. I strongly suspected that more than just an angry lifeguard lay on the other side of the flimsy lock.

Fortunately, my worry didn’t manifest. After a long time, the boy pulled away from the door and whispered, “I think it’s the word ‘save.’”

"Save what?" I asked.

"Save his life?" The boy said uncertainly.

Just as he spoke, the door suddenly shook. We both jumped back, startled.

The boy and I looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Did the lifeguard want us to call for help? Open the door? Did he actually expect us to do that?

The noises had stopped while the boy and I spoke, but after we fell silent, the noises began again with the same frequency as before.

"Just open the door. We are all in danger. We should all work together,” the thin boy said as he pushed up his glasses.

I understood his thought process but thought back to what Wu Ting had told me. There was a ghost among us, and it seemed likely to be the lifeguard.

I hesitated, and the thin boy looked at me as he readied the key in front of the lock. "You decide."

I inhaled deeply. "Lifeguard, is that you? If you don’t speak, we'll leave," I shouted at the door.

“Yes. The switch is in here,” I heard a very weak voice say from behind the door. I was delighted. It was the lifeguard, and the switch was in there too!

The boy moved to open the door, but I felt like I’d suddenly been splashed with ice water and quickly stopped his hand.

How did the lifeguard know we were looking for the switch?

I shook my head and mouthed my concern to the thin boy. His eyes opened wide and then he nodded. We both quietly moved away from the door as quickly as we could.

We continued down the main passageway and as we moved away from the door, the scratching sound grew louder and more frantic, as though whatever lay behind the door was furious. We moved even more quickly toward the end of the passageway.

We came to a large iron door that was firmly shut with a chain as thick as a baby’s arm securing it.

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