A group of girls huddled around a small table in their college dorm room. One of them, a tall brunette named Emily, was holding a strange-looking doll. It had a small coconut for a head and was connected to a small wooden body.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" asked one of the girls, a petite blonde named Sarah.
"Of course it will," Emily replied confidently. "I found this game on a website called The Jelakung. It's supposed to summon some kind of spirit or something."
"But what if it's dangerous?" asked another girl, a redhead named Jessica.
"Don't be such a baby," Emily scoffed. "It's just a game. Besides, we all want to see what happens."
The girls nodded in agreement, excitement and fear flickering in their eyes. Emily placed the doll on the table and began to recite a chant that she had found on the website. The other girls joined in, their voices trembling.
Suddenly, the room grew colder and the lights flickered. The girls let out screams as the coconut head of the doll began to spin on its own. They watched in horror as the doll rose up off the table and flew across the room, crashing into the wall and shattering into pieces.
The girls scrambled to their feet, their screams echoing through the dorm. They quickly fled the room, not daring to look back.
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Next morning
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As Ray was alighting from the train station he saw Fatima and Xie Yi .
"Hey! Look at that sleepy head I bet his up all night again " said Xie yi pointing her finger at Ray as Fatima look.
" Just be Gaming man …. Give me a break " Ray replied rolling his eyes.
"Come on lets go we don't want to be late" Fatima sweetly smile as she said that .
As they walked towards the college, Fatima and Xie Yi could sense that something was off with Ray. They had known him for years and could tell when he was hiding something.
"Are you sure you're okay, Ray? You seem a little out of it," Fatima asked, concern etched on her face.
Ray let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm just a little stressed about the midterms tomorrow. I haven't had much time to study because of work," he lied.
Xie Yi raised an eyebrow at him. "Work? You never mentioned anything about working. Are you sure you're not just procrastinating?"
Ray chuckled awkwardly. "No, no. I promise I've been working. I just haven't had much time for anything else."
Fatima placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Well, if you need any help studying, we can always meet up after class and go over the material together. We can even ask Mrs. Nashita for extra help if you need it."
Ray nodded gratefully. "Thanks, I might take you up on that offer. I just need to get through today first."
"Hey, have you guys heard of The Jelakung game?" Xie yi asked, "It's this creepy game that some girls in our class were talking about. They said they found it on some weird website and they actually tried it out last night. They said scary stuff happened."
"What do you mean by scary stuff?" Fatima asked with a concerned look on her face.
"I don't know, they didn't really go into detail. All I know is that it involves a coconut doll and some kind of chant," Xie yi replied.
Ray shuddered at the thought. He had heard of The Jelakung before and knew it was not something to be taken lightly. "That's not something to mess around with," he warned his friends, "I've heard of people getting possessed or even dying from playing that game."
Xie yi's eyes widened in shock. "Really? That's crazy. I'll have to make sure to stay far away from it then."
Fatima nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we should all stay away from it. It's not worth risking our lives for a stupid game."
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During class, Ray received a notification from Sophia on his phone. He discreetly read the message to himself, noting that Mr. Lee needed to discuss something urgent with the group.
"Hey Ray, it's Sophia. Mr. Lee needs to speak with you about something urgent. It looks like we have a new job. Can you meet us at the usual spot after your classes end for the day?"
When class ended Ray quickly gathered his things and tried to make a quick escape from the classroom as Fatima called after him. "Hey, where are you going? We were going to study together before the midterms tomorrow," she said, a hint of confusion in her voice.
Ray hesitated, trying to come up with an excuse. "Uh, sorry Fatima, I have something important I have to take care of. Maybe we can study together another time," he said, trying to sound nonchalant.
Don raised an eyebrow. "What could be more important than studying for the midterms, man? You've been acting really strange lately."
Xie yi chimed in, "Yeah, are you sure everything is okay? You've been really distant and preoccupied."
Ray's mind raced as he tried to come up with a believable excuse. "It's just, uh, something personal I have to take care of. Don't worry about it, I'll be fine," he said, hoping that would be enough to satisfy his friends.
Without waiting for a response, he rushed out of the classroom and headed towards the agreed upon meeting place with the Shadows of the Night