A whisper right next to the year.
Astha froze.
Her heart thudded so loudly she was sure whoever - whatever - stood behind her could hear it. The corridor outside the locked room was empty. The lights flickered once... Twice... And then steadied.
" Don't turn around ."
The voice was soft.calm. almost familiar.
Astha swallowed . Her fingers tightened around the old brass key she had taken from the drawer inside the locked room. The same key that had The strange symbol carved into it - a circle with a line through the centre.
She slowly turned anyway.
No one.
The corridor stretched ahead, silent and deserted. Classroom doors closed. Notice boards still. The afternoon sun poured through the windows, but somehow the air felt colder than before.
"This isn't possible..." She muttered.
" Some things aren't meant to be possible."
The voice came again - but this time it wasn't behind her.
It was inside the classroom she had just excited.
Astha hesitated only a second before pushing the door open. The room looked
Normal desks aligned . Chalk dust resting quietly on the teacher's table. But the blackboard.....
On the blackboard, the words began to erase themselves.
Midnight library.
The classroom door slammed shut behind her.
Astha spun around and grabbed the handle. It wouldn't move.
Her breathing quickened. The shadow figure
was clear now - tall, blurred at the edges ,
almost human but not quite .
" You shouldn't have come here," it said softly.
The lights went out.
Complete darkness swallowed the room.
For a few seconds, there was nothing but his ragged breathing.
Then-
The room looked normal. Desks aligned . Chalk dust resting quietly on the teacher's table. But the blackboard.....
It wasn't blank anymore.
Three words were written in white chalk.
You found it.
Astha's breath caught in her throat.
" I didn't write that, " she whispered.
The chalk rolled across the teacher's desk on its own and dropped to the floor.
Clack.
A shadow moved near the black window.
Not a person.
Just a darker patch in the sunlight - shifting, streching unnaturally along the wall.
" Who are you?" Astha demanded, trying to sound braver than he felt.
Silence.
Then-
" You opened the door".
The shadow lengthened, slowly forming something like a figure.
" And now it knows you."
Astha's mind raced it. It? What was it?
The key in her hand suddenly felt hot. She nearly dropped it.
On the blackboard, the words began to erase themselves, as if wiped by invisible hands. New words appeared beneath them.
" Midnight," she whispered herself.
The library.
Whatever this was - whatever had whispered beside her ear- it wanted her there.
And this time...
She was going to be ready.
But as she walked away, she didn't notice the faint reflection in the glass window beside her.
A second shadow walking just half a step behind.