It had gone to someone else now.
Somewhere.
A new victim.
A slow, cold realization spread inside him.
"This... is how its starts..."he whispered.
The girl stood beside him , silent.
Her presence was no longer shocking.
It was worse.
It was normal now.
That terrified him more then anything.
SOMETHING WAS WRONG.
A room didn't feel like his anymore.
The walls looked darker.
The corner... Deeper.
Almost like shadows were growing.
Watching.
Breathing.
Ayaan turn toward the girl.
"Who did this to us?" He asked.
No answer.
She simply stared at the screen.
Then slowly---
She raised her hand.
Pointing.
"Look".
Ayaan followed her gaze.
The laptop screen flickerd.
The chat window reopened.
But this time ---
It wasn't empty.
It was filled.
HUNDRED Of MESSAGES.
Scrolling endlessly.
Names.
Dates
Different people.
My fingers froze over the screen as a cold dread crept up my spine.
These weren't normal chats.
They were… logs.
Like records.
Each conversation looked almost the same.
A name.
A short exchange.
And then—
Nothing.
No replies.
No continuation.
Just silence.
I tapped on one randomly.
Riya (Last seen: 2:17 AM)
Unknown: "Are you alone?"
Riya: "Yes… who is this?"
Unknown: "Don't turn around."
My breath caught in my throat.
That was it.
No more messages.
My chest tightened as I backed out and opened another chat.
Arjun (Last seen: 1:03 AM)
Unknown: "Did you hear that?"
Arjun: "Hear what?"
Unknown: "Too late."
My hands started shaking.
"What is this…" I whispered.
Every chat followed the same pattern.
Short.
Strange.
And ending abruptly.
Like something had… interrupted them.
Or stopped them.
My heart pounded louder with each scroll.
More names.
More messages.
All ending the same way.
And then—
I saw it.
My name.
Right there.
At the top.
My breath hitched as I slowly tapped on it.
The screen opened.
Empty.
No messages.
No history.
Nothing.
But at the bottom—
The typing indicator appeared.
Typing…
I froze.
My heart nearly stopped.
I wasn't typing.
Then who was?
The three dots blinked.
Slowly.
Patiently.
Like someone was thinking.
Watching.
Waiting.
A new message appeared.
Unknown: "You finally found it."
My grip on the phone tightened.
"No…" I whispered.
Another message.
Unknown: "I was waiting."
A chill ran down my spine.
Waiting… for me?
My fingers hovered over the keyboard.
I shouldn't reply.
Everything inside me screamed not to.
But I couldn't stop myself.
Me: "Who are you?"
The typing dots appeared instantly.
Too fast.
Like it was expecting that question.
Then—
Unknown: "You already know me."
My heart pounded violently.
"No, I don't," I typed quickly.
A pause.
Longer this time.
Then—
Unknown: "Turn around."
My entire body went cold.
Slowly… very slowly…
I lifted my eyes from the screen.
My room was silent.
Dark.
Empty.
But something felt wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Because this time—
It didn't feel like I was alone.
The air in my room had changed.
It felt heavier… colder… like something invisible had slipped inside without making a sound.
My eyes slowly scanned the darkness.
The door was closed.
The window slightly open, curtains barely moving with the night breeze.
Everything looked the same.
But it didn't feel the same.
My heart pounded loudly in my chest as I forced myself to look back at the phone.
The screen was still glowing.
Still open.
Still watching me.
Another message appeared.
Unknown: "You looked."
My breath hitched.
How did it know?
My fingers trembled as I typed.
Me: "There's nothing here."
The reply came instantly.
Unknown: "Are you sure?"
A chill ran down my spine.
Slowly… my gaze shifted again.
This time toward the corner of my room.
The darkest corner.
Where the light barely reached.
For a second—
I thought I saw something.
A shadow.
But it didn't move like a normal shadow.
It felt… wrong.
Too still.
Too aware.
I blinked quickly.
It was gone.
My throat went dry.
"It's just my imagination…" I whispered.
It had to be.
Another message.
Unknown: "Don't lie."
My heart skipped a beat.
"I'm not lying," I typed quickly.
The three dots appeared.
Paused.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Like something was deciding what to say.
And then—
Unknown: "You saw me."
My fingers froze.
"No," I whispered, even as fear tightened its grip around me.
"I didn't see anything."
But even I didn't believe my own words.
The room suddenly felt colder.
The temperature dropping slowly, unnaturally.
I rubbed my arms, trying to calm myself down.
This wasn't real.
It couldn't be real.
It was just some sick prank.
Someone hacking the phone.
Watching me.
Messing with me.
That's all it was.
Right?
Then why did it feel so… close?
Another message appeared.
Unknown: "You're thinking too much."
My breath caught.
It was reading my thoughts.
Or… predicting them.
Either way, it was impossible.
I stood up slowly from the bed, my legs weak but moving anyway.
"I'm not staying here," I muttered.
I needed light.
I needed people.
I needed to get out.
As I took a step toward the door—
Unknown: "Don't."
I froze.
My eyes dropped to the screen.
Another message followed immediately.
Unknown: "If you leave… I won't be able to protect you."
Protect me?
From what?
From itself?
A nervous laugh escaped my lips.
"This isn't funny," I said out loud.
My voice sounded small in the empty room.
Another message.
Unknown: "You think I'm the danger?"
My stomach twisted.
"Yes," I typed before I could stop myself.
A long pause.
Longer than before.
The typing dots didn't appear.
The screen stayed still.
Silent.
For a moment, I thought—
Maybe it was over.
Maybe whoever was behind this had stopped.
Maybe—
The phone vibrated suddenly in my hand.
I flinched.
A new message.
Unknown: "Then look behind you."
Every muscle in my body went rigid.
My breath became shallow.
Slow.
Heavy.
"No…" I whispered.
I didn't want to.
I couldn't.
But something inside me—
Something stronger than fear—
Forced me to move.
Slowly… painfully slowly…
I began to turn.
The room felt like it was closing in around me.
The silence pressing against my ears.
My heart beating louder with every second.
I turned halfway.
Nothing.
Just my bed.
The table.
The window.
Relief flooded through me—
But it didn't last.
Because the phone buzzed again.
Unknown: "Not there."
My breath hitched.
Then where?
My eyes lifted slowly…
Toward the mirror.
My reflection stared back at me.
Pale.
Shaking.
Terrified.
But—
Something was wrong.
My reflection wasn't alone.
There was something behind me.
Standing just a few inches away.
Still.
Watching.
My entire body went cold.
I tried to move—
But I couldn't.
My reflection didn't move either.
It just stood there.
Frozen.
As if time had stopped.
And then—
The thing behind me…
Smiled.
My scream got stuck in my throat.
Because I hadn't turned yet.
But whatever was behind me—
It was already looking at me.
"To be continued… What was standing behind me?"