Darkness didn't fall that night.
It took over.
There was a difference.
When the power first went out, Arjun thought it would come back in a few minutes. Maybe an hour at most. Power cuts weren't new. He had grown up with them.
But this—
This felt different.
The silence came first.
Not complete silence, but the absence of everything familiar. No humming fan. No television murmuring in the background. No distant traffic blending into the night.
Just stillness.
Heavy.
Pressing.
Alive.
Arjun stood in the center of his apartment, his phone flashlight casting a weak, narrow beam across the walls. The shadows looked wrong now—longer, deeper, shifting with the smallest movement of his hand.
His breath sounded too loud.
Even the fabric of his shirt brushing against his skin felt like noise.
He swallowed.
"Just a power cut…" he whispered to himself.
But his voice didn't convince him.
Minutes passed.
Or maybe longer.
Time stretched strangely in the dark.
Arjun sat on the floor with his back against the wall, knees drawn close to his chest. His phone battery had already dropped to 42%.
He lowered the brightness, trying to conserve whatever little he had.
The silence didn't stay silent for long.
It never does.
At first, it was distant.
A faint echo.
Something like a shout.
Then another.
Then many.
Screams.
Not the kind people make in anger or frustration.
These were sharp.
Panicked.
Breaking.
Arjun's chest tightened.
He tried to ignore it.
Tried to block it out.
But then came something worse.
A sound that didn't belong.
Low.
Uneven.
Almost like breathing.
But not quite.
Followed by a dragging noise.
Slow.
Scraping.
Getting closer.
Arjun froze.
Every muscle in his body locked.
The sound was coming from outside his apartment.
From the corridor.
He turned off the flashlight instantly.
Darkness swallowed the room whole.
His heart pounded violently in his chest.
Don't move.
Don't make a sound.
The dragging continued.
Closer now.
Right outside his door,
A faint shadow appeared at the bottom of the doorframe—something blocking the small gap of light from the hallway.
Arjun stopped breathing.
The shadow shifted.
Then stilled.
Silence.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
A soft thud.
Something hit the door.
Not hard.
Just… testing.
Arjun's fingers curled tightly into his palms.
Another thud.
Slightly louder.
Then—
A scrape.
Like nails dragging across wood.
His throat went dry.
It wasn't random.
It wasn't accidental.
Something was there.
Right outside.
And it knew the door existed.
The handle moved.
Slowly.
Gently.
A faint click echoed in the silence.
Arjun felt his entire body go cold.
The door didn't open.
The lock held.
But the handle kept moving.
Up.
Down.
Again.
Again.
Then—
A low sound seeped through the door.
A breath.
Wet.
Uneven.
Followed by something that almost sounded like a word.
"…hh…"
Arjun's eyes widened in the darkness.
No.
No, no, no—
That wasn't possible.
It couldn't be trying to speak.
Another scrape.
Harder this time.
The wood creaked slightly under the pressure.
Arjun slowly reached for the nearest object beside him.
A metal rod.
Cold.
Heavy.
His grip tightened around it.
The noise outside grew more erratic.
The scraping turned into scratching.
The scratching into banging.
Suddenly—
The door shook violently.
A loud impact echoed through the apartment.
Arjun flinched,
Another hit.
Stronger.
Whatever was outside—
It wasn't weak.
And it wasn't going to stop.
Then—
It stopped.
Completely.
The silence returned so abruptly it felt unnatural.
Arjun didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
Didn't even blink.
Seconds passed.
Then minutes.
Nothing.
No sound.
No movement.
Just silence.
Carefully…
Slowly…
Arjun shifted.
His legs felt numb.
His hands trembled.
He waited a few more seconds.
Then, inch by inch, he moved toward the door.
Every step felt like a risk.
Every creak of the floor sounded too loud.
He reached the door.
Paused.
Listened.
Nothing.
His hand hovered near the handle.
Don't open it.
His mind screamed the warning.
Don't.
But something else pushed him forward.
Curiosity.
Fear.
The need to know.
Slowly…
He leaned down.
And looked through the keyhole.
At first—
He saw nothing.
Just darkness.
Then—
Movement.
Sudden.
Close.
Too close.
An eye snapped into view.
Arjun jerked back instantly, falling onto the floor.
His breath left him in a sharp gasp.
That eye—
It wasn't normal.
Pale.
Clouded.
And yet…
Focused.
Looking in.
Watching him.
A loud bang slammed against the door.
"Ah—!" Arjun stumbled backward, scrambling away.
The banging resumed.
Faster.
More aggressive.
The door rattled violently in its frame.
Wood creaked.
Metal groaned.
It wouldn't hold forever.
It couldn't.
Arjun's mind raced.
Think. Think. THINK.
He pushed himself up and ran.
Through the apartment.
Into the kitchen.
His eyes scanned wildly.
"Knife, Too small.
Chair, Too weak.
Window—"
He turned.
Ran toward it.
Pulled the curtain aside.
Looked down.
The street below was chaos.
Figures moved erratically.
Some running.
Some chasing.
Some already on the ground.
And others…
Feeding.
Arjun's stomach twisted violently.
There was no escape that way.
He turned back,
The banging grew louder.
A crack formed near the doorframe.
Splinters fell.
Time was running out.
Then—
A sound cut through everything.
Sharp.
Loud.
Close.
A metallic clang.
The banging stopped.
Instantly.
Arjun froze.
Silence.
Again.
But different this time.
He moved slowly back toward the main room.
Heart pounding.
Every step cautious.
He reached the door.
The crack in the wood was wider now.
But the noise had stopped.
Completely.
He listened.
Nothing.
Then—
Footsteps.
Fast.
Light.
Moving away.
Followed by something heavy dragging across the floor.
And then—
A voice.
Faint.
From the corridor.
"You freeze, you die."
Arjun's breath caught.
A voice.
Human.
Alive.
He stood there in the darkness, gripping the metal rod tightly.
His mind struggled to catch up.
Someone was out there.
Someone who wasn't like them.
Someone who had just—
Saved him,
Or delayed something worse.
He didn't know.
But one thing became clear.
He wasn't alone.
Not yet.
Arjun looked at the door.
At the cracks forming across its surface.
At the thin barrier between him and whatever waited outside.
Then he looked at his phone.
Battery: 31%
No signal.
No help.
No way out.
His life had shrunk into a single, terrifying truth—
Survive the night.
Just one night.
Outside, something screamed again.
Closer this time.
And somewhere in the distance…
That same low, unnatural sound echoed faintly.
Not random.
Not chaotic.
But…
Connected.
Arjun tightened his grip on the metal rod.
Because deep down—
He knew.
This was only the beginning.
And the night…
Was far from over.