Chapter 1: The Download
The bus rattled along the winding road, a metal tube filled with the restless energy of thirty high school students.
This wasn't just any ordinary school outing; it was the annual "Immersion Trip" organized by Mr. Sato, their history teacher, who practically vibrated with excitement for anything old and dusty.
Their destination: Oakhaven, a town famous for its ancient buildings and the hushed, spooky stories that clung to them like moss.
"Alright, everyone!" Mr. Sato boomed from the front, adjusting his glasses. "Welcome to Oakhaven! Get ready to step back in time for the next three days! We'll explore the old fort, the historical society, and, of course, the infamous Grimshaw Estate!"
A nervous buzz, mixed with a few dramatic groans, spread through the bus at the mention of Grimshaw Estate.
Everyone knew the legends – a place with a seriously dark past, full of ghost stories.
"And our home away from home," Mr. Sato continued, gesturing out the window as the bus slowed, "is the magnificent, the historic, the one-and-only Grandview Hotel!"
The bus finally pulled to a stop.
Before them loomed the Grandview Hotel. It was enormous, built from dark, weathered stone, with pointy roofs, fancy towers, and what looked like hundreds of empty windows staring out.
Thick ivy hugged its walls, and old, twisted trees cast long, spooky shadows. Even in the bright afternoon sun, the place looked less like a hotel and more like something straight out of a horror movie.
"Whoa," whispered Kaito, the tall, skinny kid who always had his camera ready. "That's... intense."
He was already filming with his phone.
Sakura, Kaito's best friend, nudged him. "Intense? Kaito, it's totally creepy! Look at those gargoyles!"
She pointed to the stone monsters on the roof, their faces frozen in ugly snarls.
Akari, always the sensible one, adjusted her backpack.
"It's just old, guys. Probably smells like old socks and dust inside."
She tried to sound cool, but even she couldn't help staring at the hotel's huge, dark entrance.
As they stepped off the bus, a wave of cold, damp air hit them.
It smelled like old wood, dust, and something else – a faint, sweet smell, like flowers that had been left out too long.
The air around the hotel was super quiet, almost like it was sucking up all the normal town sounds.
Even the birds seemed to stay away from the trees around the building.
"Alright, grab your bags!" Mr. Sato called out, his voice sounding a bit echoey in the strange quiet. "We'll check in, and then a quick meeting before dinner."
The lobby of the Grandview Hotel was huge and pretty dark, even though it was still daytime.
Heavy velvet curtains blocked out most of the sunlight.
The walls were covered in dark, shiny wood, and a massive, curving staircase disappeared up into the shadows.
The air inside felt thick and old, and that sweet, decaying flower smell was much, much stronger here.
"This place is definitely haunted," Sakura whispered to Kaito, her eyes wide as she looked at the dusty lights hanging from the ceiling and the faded, fancy wallpaper.
"Perfect for the vlog!" Kaito grinned, already filming. "Think of the views! 'Night One at the Haunted Grandview!'"
Some of the other students, like Ren, the class clown, and Yui, who was always sarcastic, were already making ghost noises and pretending to see things, trying to make everyone laugh.
But even their laughs sounded hollow in the weird quiet of the lobby.
Mr. Sato led them to the front desk, a giant, dark wooden counter that looked like it belonged in a museum.
An old man with sharp, knowing eyes and a thin, unsettling smile appeared from a back room.
He was wearing a really old-fashioned, perfectly fitted suit.
"Welcome, welcome," the man rasped, his voice surprisingly deep.
"Mr. Sato, I presume? I am Mr. Kuroda, the proprietor of the Grandview. Your rooms are all prepared."
His eyes swept over the students, pausing on each one for a moment, as if he knew something secret about them.
As Mr. Kuroda handed Mr. Sato a stack of old brass keys, a sudden, icy chill swept through the lobby, making several students shiver despite the warm afternoon.
A faint, almost inaudible whisper seemed to brush past Kaito's ear, though he couldn't make out any words.
The students all looked at each other nervously.
"Just the old drafts, I assure you," Mr. Kuroda said, his smile not changing. "The Grandview has a few... quirks."
After getting their room numbers, the students started heading for the elevators and the big staircase.
Most of them just wanted to drop their bags and go explore.
Suddenly, almost everyone's phone buzzed at the same time.
They all pulled out their phones.
It wasn't a group chat or a social media alert.
It was a weird, anonymous text message, sent to everyone in their class.
The message was just a strange link.
No sender name, no subject. Just a link.
Ren, being the prankster, was the first to speak. "Yo, did everyone just get that? What is this?"
He tapped his screen, too curious to be careful.
"Probably some spam," Akari said, but she was looking at her phone too, interested.
"Or a virus," Yui added, even though her finger was already hovering over the link. "Knowing this group, it's probably some stupid prank app."
"It says 'The Midnight Game'," Sakura read aloud from her screen, a small frown on her face. "Sounds like one of those silly online challenge games."
Kaito, always looking for something to film, immediately clicked the link.
It took him to an app store page for a game called "The Midnight Game."
The picture for the app was a simple, dark clock face, with its hands pointing to midnight, on a swirly black background.
There were no reviews, no information about who made it.
"Looks like someone in our class made it," Ren announced, already hitting 'install.'
"Probably Kenji, he's always messing with coding stuff. Or maybe even Mr. Sato trying to be 'cool'."
He chuckled.
Soon, phones all over the lobby started chiming as the app downloaded.
Most students, thinking it was just a harmless joke from a classmate, installed it without thinking twice.
It seemed like a good way to pass the time in this spooky old hotel.
Once it was installed, the app opened to a plain, black screen with white words.
It was super simple, almost too simple.
**WELCOME TO THE MIDNIGHT GAME.RULES:
YOU MUST PLAY.
AT THE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT, THE GAME BEGINS.
NAME THE PERSON YOU DISLIKE THE MOST.
ONLY ONE NAME PER PLAYER.
OR THE GAME WILL CHOOSE FOR YOU.**
A low murmur went through the students as they read the rules.
"Dislike the most?" Ren snickered. "Oh, this is gonna be hilarious. Who's everyone putting?"
Yui rolled her eyes. "Seriously? This is so childish. But fine, if it's a joke, I'll play along."
They all started typing names into the box on the app.
Whispers filled the lobby.
"Are you putting down Mr. Sato?"
"No way, I'm putting down Haruna from Calculus."
"I'm putting down Hiroshi. He's so annoying." another one said
Hiroshi, a quiet, socially awkward kid who often got picked on, was sitting alone on a bench nearby, playing with his phone, totally unaware of the names being typed into screens all around him.
He was always the easy target, the one everyone felt comfortable making fun of, even if they didn't really hate him.
He was just... there.
After everyone had typed a name, the app just said:"NAME RECORDED. GAME AWAITS MIDNIGHT."
Nothing else happened.
No flashing lights, no immediate results.
"Well, that was a letdown," Ren said, shrugging. "Told you it was a boring prank."
Just then, Mr. Sato's voice boomed from the front desk.
"Alright, everyone! I'm going to run to the general store quickly to pick up some extra first-aid supplies. Mr. Kuroda, if you wouldn't mind keeping an eye on them?"
Mr. Kuroda, who had been observing the students with his unsettling smile, simply nodded.
"Of course, Mr. Sato. They are quite safe here."
His gaze swept over the students again, lingering, as if he knew a secret they didn't.
Mr. Sato left the hotel, the heavy front doors closing with a soft thud.
The students were now alone in the Grandview Hotel, with only the silent, watchful Mr. Kuroda and their phones, where "The Midnight Game" lay quiet, waiting.
They spread out into the hallways, heading towards their rooms, still chatting about the game.
"Who did you put?""Did you really put Hiroshi?"
Laughter, light and carefree, echoed through the old hotel.
They thought it was just a joke.
A silly app. A harmless prank.
They had no idea that the game had already begun.
And it was waiting for the clock to strike midnight.