The party had been loud enough to shake half of Willow Hall.
Music pounded through the walls like a second heartbeat. Someone had dragged speakers into the hallway, red plastic cups littered the floor, and the smell of cheap beer and burnt pizza floated through the dorm like fog.
It was the first weekend of the semester at Redwood University.
Which meant one thing.
Nobody was thinking about rules.
Tyler Grant leaned against the hallway wall, swaying slightly with a plastic cup in his hand. His eyes were glassy and unfocused, but his grin stretched from ear to ear.
"Okay," he said loudly, pointing down the corridor. "I'm telling you right now, the whole ghost story is fake."
Across from him, Marcus Vale rolled his eyes and took a long drink from his bottle.
"You've been saying that for twenty minutes," Marcus muttered.
Tyler laughed. "Because it is fake."
Around them, a small group of students had gathered. Some were curious. Some were bored. Most were drunk enough that anything sounded like a good idea.
At the end of the hallway sat a door.
Plain.
Old.
The brass numbers on it were slightly crooked.
306.
A girl named Olivia Carter leaned closer to the group, lowering her voice dramatically even though the music was still blasting behind them.
"You guys know what people say about that room, right?"
Tyler snorted. "Yeah, yeah. Someone died. Someone got murdered. Blah blah blah."
Olivia shook her head slowly.
"No," she said. "That's not the scary part."
Marcus tilted his head.
"Oh yeah?"
Olivia pointed toward the door.
"The scary part is that people who go inside… don't always come back."
The group went quiet for a moment.
Not because they believed her.
Because drunk people loved a good story.
Tyler pushed himself off the wall and staggered forward a step.
"Well lucky for you," he announced dramatically, "I'm about to prove that rumor is complete bullshit."
A couple of people laughed.
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
"You're going in there?"
Tyler lifted his cup in a lazy toast.
"Hell yeah."
Another guy stepped forward beside him.
Aaron Scott.
His dark hair was messy, his cheeks flushed from alcohol, and he was grinning like someone who had just found the perfect bad decision.
"I'm coming too," Aaron said.
Marcus groaned.
"Of course you are."
Aaron shrugged. "What? If there's a ghost in there I want to meet her."
Someone in the group snickered.
Olivia crossed her arms.
"You guys are idiots."
Tyler pointed at her.
"Correction," he said proudly. "We are brave idiots."
Marcus stared at the door again.
Something about it felt… wrong.
He couldn't explain why.
Maybe it was the way the hallway lights seemed dimmer near it.
Or maybe it was the silence.
Even with the party raging behind them, the area around the door felt strangely quiet.
Like the sound refused to go any closer.
Marcus shook his head.
"Fine," he sighed. "Let's get this over with."
The group moved down the hallway together.
Their laughter echoed off the walls.
But the closer they got to the door, the quieter everyone became.
Tyler stopped in front of it and stared at the numbers.
The paint on the door looked older than the rest of the dorm.
Scratched.
Faded.
Like someone had tried to remove it once and given up.
Aaron leaned forward and sniffed.
"Do you guys smell that?"
Marcus frowned.
"Smell what?"
Aaron wrinkled his nose.
"Like… burnt wires or something."
Tyler shrugged.
"Probably old electricity."
He reached for the doorknob.
Olivia spoke up behind them.
"Don't."
Her voice was sharper than before.
Tyler glanced back.
"What?"
Olivia's expression had changed.
The playful drama was gone.
Now she just looked uneasy.
"I'm serious," she said quietly. "Don't go in there."
Tyler chuckled.
"You really believe that story?"
Olivia didn't answer.
Marcus sighed and rubbed his face.
"Dude," he muttered to Tyler, "just open the door so everyone can see it's empty and we can go back to the party."
Tyler grinned.
"Gladly."
He grabbed the knob.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then he twisted it.
The door creaked open slowly.
The sound was long and rough, like the hinges hadn't been used in years.
Cold air rushed out immediately.
Aaron blinked.
"Whoa."
Marcus felt it too.
The sudden drop in temperature made the hairs on his arms stand up.
Tyler pushed the door open wider.
The inside of the room was dark.
Not just dim.
Dark.
The hallway light barely reached past the doorway.
Marcus frowned.
"Why is it so dark in there?"
Tyler stepped across the threshold.
"Because the lights are off, genius."
Aaron followed him.
Marcus hesitated.
Behind him, Olivia whispered something under her breath.
He turned slightly.
"What?"
She shook her head.
"Nothing."
Marcus looked back at the open doorway.
Something inside him was telling him not to go in.
But Tyler's voice echoed from inside the room.
"Dude, you coming or what?"
Marcus groaned.
"Yeah, yeah."
He stepped inside.
The cold hit him harder the moment he crossed the doorway.
The air felt damp.
And the smell Aaron mentioned was stronger now.
Burnt electricity.
And something else.
Something metallic.
Tyler fumbled along the wall.
"Where's the damn switch…"
A click.
The light flickered on.
Marcus blinked.
The room looked… normal.
Two empty beds.
A desk.
A closet.
Dust covered everything like a thin gray blanket.
Aaron laughed.
"Wow. Terrifying."
Tyler spread his arms dramatically.
"Behold!"
Marcus rolled his eyes.
"Congratulations. You discovered an abandoned dorm room."
Aaron wandered toward the wall near the desk.
"Hey."
Tyler turned.
"What?"
Aaron was staring at the wall.
"There's writing here."
Marcus stepped closer.
At first he thought it was just stains.
Then he realized it was words.
Scratched into the paint.
Dozens of them.
Some were faint.
Some were deeper.
Like someone had carved them with a knife.
Marcus leaned closer.
"What does it say?"
Aaron squinted.
"Looks like… names."
Tyler shrugged.
"Probably old students."
Marcus ran his finger lightly over the wall.
The grooves were rough.
Uneven.
Like whoever carved them had been in a hurry.
Or terrified.
Aaron stepped back suddenly.
"Did you hear that?"
Tyler frowned.
"Hear what?"
Aaron looked around the room slowly.
"I thought someone just… whispered."
Marcus listened.
The room was silent.
Too silent.
Even the music from the party felt distant now.
"Probably the wind," Tyler said.
Aaron didn't look convinced.
Marcus turned toward the door.
It was half open.
The hallway beyond looked darker than before.
Weird.
Marcus could have sworn the lights were brighter earlier.
Then something moved behind Aaron.
Marcus froze.
Just for a second.
A shadow.
Tall.
Standing near the far corner of the room.
His stomach tightened.
"Guys…"
Aaron turned.
"What?"
Marcus pointed.
But the corner was empty.
Tyler sighed loudly.
"Alright, I'm bored."
He grabbed Aaron's shoulder.
"Let's go before Olivia thinks the ghost ate us."
Aaron laughed nervously.
"Yeah, good idea."
They started toward the door.
Halfway there—
The light flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the bulb exploded with a sharp pop.
The room plunged into darkness.
Aaron cursed.
"What the hell?!"
Marcus felt his heart start to pound.
"Okay, not funny."
Tyler reached for the door.
But his hand hit the wall instead.
"Wait," he muttered. "Where's the door?"
Marcus turned.
The doorway was gone.
Just a blank wall.
Aaron's breathing quickened.
"Guys… this isn't funny anymore."
Marcus ran his hands along the wall.
"No. No no no."
The door had been right there.
He knew it had.
Tyler slammed his hand against the wall.
"Open!"
Nothing happened.
The temperature dropped even further.
Aaron shivered violently.
"Why is it getting colder?"
Marcus didn't answer.
Because he heard it.
A whisper.
Right behind them.
Soft.
Broken.
A girl's voice.
"…help me…"
Aaron spun around.
"Who said that?!"
The whisper came again.
Closer.
"…don't… leave…"
Marcus's chest tightened.
"Okay," he said quickly. "We're getting out of here."
He turned back toward the wall—
And the door was suddenly there again.
Wide open.
Marcus didn't wait.
He grabbed Aaron and shoved him forward.
"Run!"
They burst into the hallway.
The music from the party slammed back into their ears.
People were still laughing.
Still drinking.
Like nothing had happened.
Marcus turned back toward the door.
Tyler wasn't behind them.
Marcus frowned.
"Tyler?"
No answer.
Aaron leaned against the wall, breathing hard.
"Where is he?"
Marcus stepped toward the doorway again.
"Tyler!"
Silence.
The room was dark again.
Empty.
Marcus slowly pushed the door open wider.
The cold air spilled out.
But Tyler was gone.
Completely gone.
Aaron grabbed Marcus's arm.
"Close it."
Marcus hesitated.
Then he slammed the door shut.
Behind them, the party continued.
Nobody had noticed anything.
Aaron looked at Marcus.
His face had gone pale.
"What… just happened?"
Marcus opened his mouth.
But no words came out.
Because something scratched softly on the other side of the door.
A slow dragging sound.
Like fingernails across wood.
Aaron stared at the door in horror.
Marcus forced himself to turn away.
"Forget it," he said quickly. "We're done with that room."
Aaron nodded shakily.
But as they walked back toward the party…
Marcus noticed something strange.
Aaron wasn't talking anymore.
Not laughing.
Not even blinking much.
Just staring down the hallway.
At the door.
Marcus frowned.
"Aaron?"
Aaron didn't respond.
His lips moved slightly.
Whispering something.
Marcus leaned closer.
"What did you say?"
Aaron finally turned his head.
His eyes looked… wrong.
Empty.
And when he spoke, his voice wasn't entirely his own.
"…she's still inside…"
L