NOVEL WEB Chapter 1: The Midnight Game_Part-1
Chapter 1: The Download
The bus rattled along a winding road, a metal tube vibrating with the restless energy of thirty high school students.
This wasn't just any school trip; it was the annual "Immersion Trip" led 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. Everyone knew the Grimshaw Estate 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 pulled to a stop. Before them loomed the Grandview Hotel: enormous, built from dark, weathered stone, with pointy roofs, fancy towers, and 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, it looked less like a hotel and more like something straight out of a horror movie.
"Whoa," whispered Kaito, the tall, skinny kid always ready with his camera. "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 sensible, 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 scent, like flowers left out too long.
The air around the hotel was eerily quiet, almost sucking up all normal town sounds. Even the birds seemed to avoid the surrounding trees.
"Alright, grab your bags!" Mr. Sato called out, his voice a bit echoey in the strange quiet. "We'll check in, then a quick meeting before dinner."
The Grandview Hotel's lobby was huge and dim, even in daytime. Heavy velvet curtains blocked most sunlight.
Dark, shiny wood covered the walls, and a massive, curving staircase disappeared into the shadows. The air inside felt thick and ancient, 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 scanned the dusty lights and faded, fancy wallpaper.
"Perfect for the vlog!" Kaito grinned, already filming. "Think of the views! 'Night One at the Haunted Grandview!'"
Other students, like Ren, the class clown, and Yui, 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 lobby's eerie silence.
Mr. Sato led them to the front desk, a giant, dark wooden counter like something from a museum. An old man with sharp, knowing eyes and a thin, unsettling smile appeared from a back room. He wore an 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, as if knowing 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 looked at each other nervously.
"Just the old drafts, I assure you," Mr. Kuroda said, his smile unchanging. "The Grandview has a few... quirks."
After getting their room numbers, the students headed for the elevators and the grand staircase, eager to drop their bags and explore.
Suddenly, almost everyone's phone buzzed at the same time. They pulled them out. It wasn't a group chat or a social media alert. It was a weird, anonymous text message, sent to everyone in their class: a strange link. No sender name, no subject. Just a link.
Ren, the prankster, was 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, though she too looked at her phone with interest.
"Or a virus," Yui added, even as her finger hovered 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 led him to an app store page for "The Midnight Game."
The app's icon was a simple, dark clock face with 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 chimed as the app downloaded. Most students, thinking it was just a harmless joke from a classmate, installed it without a second thought. It seemed a good way to pass the time in this spooky old hotel.
Once installed, the app opened to a plain, black screen with simple white words:
WELCOME TO THE MIDNIGHT GAME.
RULES: 1. YOU MUST PLAY.
2. AT THE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT, THE GAME BEGINS.
3. NAME THE PERSON YOU DISLIKE THE MOST.
4. ONLY ONE NAME PER PLAYER.
5. THE GAME WILL CHOOSE.
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 started typing names into the app's box. 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."
Hiroshi, a quiet, socially awkward kid who often got picked on, sat alone on a nearby bench, playing with his phone, 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 simply stated: "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.