The room was silent.
Too silent.
Me and my friends stood frozen in the old classroom. The whisper they had heard only seconds ago still echoed in their minds.
" You shouldn't be here..."
Riya gripped my arm. " Did... did you hear that?"
I nodded slowly.My heart was beating fast, but something inside her told her not to run.
The door of the locked room behind them creaked slightly.
No one had touched it.
A cold wind passed through the classroom even though all the windows were closed.
I stepped back nervously. " This place is not normal. We should leave".
The same door that had been locked for years.
The same door from where the whisper had come.
Suddenly -
Knock.
Everyone jumped.
The sound had come from inside the locked room.
" Someone..... Is inside," I whispered ".
Riya slowly moved closer to the door. Each step felt heavier than the last. The old wooden floor creaked under her feet.
Another knock.
This time louder.
Rahul swallowed. "Riya ... Don't open it."
Riya placed her hand on the rusty handle.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the handle slowly turned on its own .
The Door opened just a little.
A dark shadow stretched out from inside the room, crawling across the floor towards them .
The air became cold.
And then-
A faint voice came again.
But this time , it didn't whisper.
It called Somya's name.
" Sooooomyaa..."
Riya gasped. " How does It know your name?"
I felt a chill run down her spine.
Because suddenly I remembered something.
Something from years ago.
Something I had tried to forget.
My voice trembled.
" I think... I've been here before."
The shadow inside the room moved again.
And a pale hand slowly appeared from the darkness.
" Comeback... Somya...."
The door suddenly slammed shut.
BANG
The lights in the corridor flickered wildly.
And on the dusty wall beside the door, new words appeared as if someone invisible was writing them.
" The secret is not in the room...
The secret is YOU."
I stared at the message in horror.
Because deep inside....
She knew it might be true.
To be continued.