Outside the bus, William was still standing with several other counselors. They formed a small circle, trying to make sense of a situation that was becoming increasingly difficult to understand. Thick fog hung low over the meadow, slowly obscuring their view until it was hard to see even a few meters ahead.
"So… what's actually going on here?" asked one of the senior counselors. His voice sounded hoarse, clearly holding back anxiety.
"We need to figure out where we are first," replied another counselor. He looked around hesitantly.
"Maybe we can ask someone around here. Who knows, there might be locals or a passing vehicle."
"Ask who?"
Another counselor immediately chimed in.
He gestured around them.
"Look for yourself. No houses, no roads… not even a tree in sight."
He raised his hand, trying to touch the fog hanging before them.
"And this fog is getting thicker. Our visibility is only a few meters. We don't even know what's out there."
William remained silent.
His eyes scanned the faintly visible grassland beyond the fog. The longer he looked, the harder it was for him to make sense of any of this.
"What on earth is going on?"
He'd never seen fog like this before. What's more, they were supposed to be on a mountain road. It was impossible for a highway to suddenly vanish like that and be replaced by a grassland.
Not far from them, the two bus drivers stood near their respective vehicles. One of them lit a cigarette, then exhaled the smoke slowly.
Perhaps just to calm his own mind.
But a few seconds later, his gaze suddenly froze.
There was something behind the fog.
A faint shadow, but clearly resembling a human figure, had come into view.
The driver narrowed his eyes.
"Is there someone there…?"
Without a second thought, he dropped his cigarette and started walking.
"Hey! Where are you going?!" The other driver immediately turned around and tried to stop him.
"There's someone over there!" he replied without stopping. "Maybe he knows where we are."
"Wait a minute! Let the instructors know!"
But the driver had already walked farther away. The fog slowly swallowed his body until only a faint silhouette remained visible.
William and the instructors finally realized what was happening.
"Hey… where is he going?" asked one of them.
The driver, who was still near the bus, hurriedly pointed ahead.
"He said there's someone over there, sir! He wants to ask where we are."
Instinctively, everyone turned to look. And sure enough, in the distance, there was a human figure, standing motionless, as if waiting behind the fog.
William, who had been staring at the fog in the distance, suddenly turned his head when he heard a commotion coming from the direction of the second bus. His brow immediately furrowed. Without a second thought, he called out to the female counselor again and motioned for her to immediately check on the situation there.
The counselor nodded quickly, then hurried toward the second bus. However, before she reached the bus door, Karin and Lisa had already stepped out, their faces pale and panicked.
"What's going on?!" the counselor asked, startled by their expressions.
Karin immediately approached her, her voice hurried, almost gasping. "Ms. … Raven! She—she was screaming! Just now… out of nowhere!"
Lisa nodded quickly, adding anxiously, "We don't know what happened either… she seemed fine just a moment ago!"
The counselor wasted no time. "In that case, let's go check on her right away!" she exclaimed, and the three of them hurried back onto the bus.
The news reached some of the students on the first bus. Whispers spread instantly, creating a small commotion.
"Seriously? Someone was screaming?"
"On the second bus, they say."
"Crazy! We just got here, and already something weird is happening."
"Looks like she's lost her mind."
"Hahaha, maybe he just can't handle walking that far."
"So dramatic!"
Some of them stifled their laughter, thinking it was a joke.
Carl, who was sitting by the window, heard it all. But his eyes weren't fixed on the gossiping crowd. He stared out the window at the figure of the first bus driver, who kept walking deeper into the fog. The man's stride was steady, growing farther and farther away… until his silhouette began to blend into the dense white that swallowed everything.
Shortly after that, the bus door opened with a screeching metallic sound. Karin and Lisa returned in a hurry, followed by the female counselor William had sent earlier. Both were panting, their faces tense and pale.
"Where is she?" the counselor asked quickly, her eyes immediately scanning the interior of the bus. As soon as she saw Raven slumped in her seat, she hurried over.
Raven was still clutching her head, her body trembling slightly. Her breathing was heavy, and cold sweat trickled down her temples and neck. Ever since waking from that dream, the world had felt chaotic. A piercing dizziness filled her head as if the entire space were spinning out of control.
She couldn't hear a thing—not the voices of her friends, not the counselor's voice, not even the commotion around her. All she could hear was her own heartbeat, pounding loudly, its irregular rhythm like the beat of a war drum.
"Raven! Can you hear me?" The counselor crouched down in front of her, looking at her with concern.
There was no answer. Raven's eyes were vacant, as if staring at something invisible. Behind that gaze, his mind was still trapped in the shadows of a dream that felt all too real—the woman's warm smile, the flowing blood, and the suffocating sense of loss.
Hana stood not far from him. Her hands were clenched at her sides, trying to hold back her growing anxiety.
Kyle and Lisa could only stand nearby as well. Even Kyle, who was usually the most talkative, now didn't know what to say.
A few minutes passed.
Slowly, Raven's breathing began to return to normal. Her shoulders, which had been tense, began to relax, and the trembling in her body gradually subsided.
The coach, who had been monitoring Raven's condition from the sidelines, finally noticed the change. After making sure Raven was no longer struggling and her breathing had stabilized, he let out a sigh of relief.
"It looks like she's starting to calm down."
He looked at Raven for a moment before continuing.
"No one should make a fuss or force her to talk just yet. Let her calm down."
Hearing that, Hana, who had been holding her breath the whole time, finally relaxed her shoulders a little.
"Thank goodness..."
But before anyone had a chance to relax, Raven suddenly stood up.
Her movement was so sudden that Kyle stood up too.
"Raven?"
There was no answer.
Raven simply stood up and walked toward the bus door with slow, deliberate steps, as if she couldn't hear anyone around her.
Her friends exchanged glances, confused and worried. Her behavior was strange, as if something was calling her from outside.
In the back seats, a few students began whispering to one another.
"What's wrong with her? Is she possessed or something?"
"Or… is she just seeking attention?" One of them chuckled softly.
Those whispers didn't escape Hana and the others' ears. Instantly, piercing stares shot from their eyes stares intense enough to silence the other students, who lowered their heads, not daring to speak another word.
Raven kept walking out, without looking back even once, leaving behind a silent atmosphere filled with questions.
The female advisor instinctively stepped forward, intending to stop Raven, who had suddenly gotten off the bus. However, before she could do anything, a voice was heard from inside.
But before she could catch up, a student's voice rang out from the middle of the bus.
"Ma'am, what's actually going on?"
Everyone turned to look.
A student stood up from his seat. His hand was still raised, while his eyes were fixed on the bus door Raven had just walked through.
"Why did we stop here?"
The female advisor fell silent.
She opened her mouth, but no answer came out. After all, how could she explain something she didn't even understand herself?
"Ma'am?"
The student asked again.
"Um… we're still on the route to our destination, right?"
This time, several other students joined in staring at the chaperone; they were all waiting for an answer.
"His name is Theo, right?" one student whispered to his friend.
"Yeah. Our class president."
Theo finally lowered his hand and let out a soft sigh. He didn't press the advisor for an answer. Just from his expression, Theo could tell that the situation outside was far worse than they'd imagined.
Theo always looked like that.
Neat, calm, and rarely swept up in the moment. Her black hair was cut short, and her shirt was still neat, even though most of the students looked disheveled after hours on the bus. Her dark brown gaze moved from one person to another before finally resting on the window.
Outside, the white fog hung so thick that almost nothing could be seen.
"So… we really have no idea where we are?" he asked again.
The female counselor finally shook her head.
"Not yet."
That single word was enough to change the atmosphere inside the bus.
Several students began to stand up from their seats and look out the window, trying to find the answer for themselves. Hana, Kyle, Lisa, and Karin also started peering outside, staring at the thick blanket of fog hanging behind the glass.
A few other students, who had been sitting quietly, could no longer stand it. They stood up, opened the emergency door, and stepped out even as the chaperone hurriedly warned them.