Infirmary – Morning After the Attack
The rain had slowed, but the storm hadn't passed.
Inside the campus infirmary, fluorescent lights flickered above sleeping bodies and half-dreamed memories. Avni lay on the bed, pale but breathing. Her bandaged wrist twitched in sleep.
Sia crept in with a giant mug of coffee, dark as her thoughts.
"Here comes the emotional support caffeine," she whispered, gently placing it on the table.
"Emotional support chocolate," she added, tossing a bar beside it.
Behind her, the door creaked.
"Please don't talk about ghosts before breakfast," came a voice—cool, tired, amused.
Sia turned.
"Mira!" she hissed, arms crossed. "Do you always sneak up on people like a stray cat?"
Mira Sen walked in barefoot, wrapped in an oversized hoodie covered in knife patterns. She looked like a horror movie extra who'd just rolled out of bed.
"I bring vibes. And EMF readers."
"…You what?"
Mira yawned. "The physics lab had a few. I borrowed one. It was beeping like crazy last night. Sia, I think our dorm has an electromagnetic… personality."
Sia blinked. "You mean ghost."
Mira shrugged. "I didn't say that. Science and ghosts can coexist peacefully. Like roommates."
On the bed, Avni stirred.
"…You two are impossible."
Sia rushed to her. "You're awake! Finally! Aarav's been pacing like a demented duck for hours."
Avni tried to sit up and winced. "Everything hurts."
Mira walked closer, watching her with unreadable eyes. "Do you remember anything?"
Avni shook her head. "Bits. Aarav. A scream. And then—"
She froze.
On the blanket, someone had drawn a sketch in dark ink. Just at the corner.
Eyes. Red. A twisted shadow creature with elongated limbs crawling through a wall.
Avni's face turned white. "That thing. It was real."
Sia blinked. "Wait, you drew this?"
"I… no." Avni stared at her trembling hand. "I didn't."
Mira bent down slowly. "Avni, you were unconscious all night."
The air grew still. Somewhere down the corridor, a machine beeped once—then flatlined.
Sia grabbed Mira's sleeve. "Nope. Nope, nope. I vote we move dorms."
Mira smiled faintly. "I already cleansed the room with salt. And I have backup pepper spray. If that doesn't work, we let Sia scream at the ghosts."
"Rude," Sia muttered. "My voice isn't that shrill."
"You once scared off a cat by laughing."
The three girls sat in tense silence before Avni murmured, "Did he say anything… Aarav?"
Sia and Mira exchanged a glance.
Sia whispered, "He hasn't left the corridor. He saved you, Avni. Fought it off."
Mira narrowed her eyes. "That's not normal."
Avni blinked. "What do you mean?"
Mira stood, brushing imaginary dust from her hoodie.
"I've been observing everyone since the semester started. He was always… different. Joking. Tired. But under it all, like there's a storm he's not talking about."
She looked out the window.
"And I think the storm's waking up."
---
Campus Courtyard
Parth was leaning on the railing, drenched in post-rain humidity and his own thoughts.
"You okay?" asked Neel, appearing beside him like a ghost with better posture.
Parth nodded. "No."
Neel didn't ask again.
They looked towards the infirmary.
"She's safe," Neel said quietly.
"Aarav saved her," Parth replied. "Without weapons. Without hesitation."
Neel looked down. "He's… braver than he lets on."
Parth stayed silent for a long moment.
"…You ever feel like there's something we're all missing?" he said quietly. "Something under our skin. In our bones."
Neel didn't answer. Just watched the clouds shift overhead.
Parth turned to him. "Aarav… he acts like a joke most of the time. But yesterday... he moved like someone who's done this before."
Neel's voice was quiet. "Some truths... reveal themselves only when we're ready."
Parth frowned.
"I'm tired of waiting."
Before Neel could reply, something fluttered down between them—a paper sketch.
The same twisted figure. The same red eyes.
Neel picked it up.
"We need to find out who's drawing these," he whispered.
Parth turned to him slowly.
"…Or what is."
- Room 307 – That Night
The trio of girls were back in their dorm, tension laced with cheap air freshener and a fan that made weird sounds every third minute.
Avni was asleep on her bed, brow furrowed.
Sia was pacing. "What if the thing comes back? What if there's more than one? What if—"
"Shut up," Mira said gently, flipping her tarot cards for the third time.
The card that appeared?
The Tower. Reversed.
Sia peeked. "What does it mean?"
Mira stared at the lightning bolt striking a crumbling building.
"…Change is coming. Whether we like it or not."
---