Silent Shadows

1. Night of the Shadow

10 pm

It was the time of the year when the students had to return to the lives which were not chosen by them. Hostel life. The wait for holidays took a lifetime for the students, but the holidays passed away in a flash and Rajam stood in front of the huge building. The college building looked like a monster waiting to devour him. This was the first time Rajam had decided to reach the hostel a day earlier instead of arriving a week later.

The campus was already filled with boys. This time many had decided to come early. The courtyard was engulfed in darkness as he entered the campus with his roommates, Abhishek and Priyanshu. They were friends from the day they started school and have been together since that day. It was a tough decision for them to move out from the comfort of their homes to a strict life in a hostel for two years. But they had no other option. Rajam stood in the court and looked at the hostel. The building was architecturally brilliant, but that was not enough to kill the nostalgia of his home. They carried their luggage and took the stairs to their room on the fifth floor. Room number 514.

'Why did we come today? I should not have listened to you, Abhishek.' grumbled Rajam, looking at the deserted corridors.

'You could have stayed back. As it is, you always come late.' said Abhishek, climbing the spiral staircase.

With it, they dragged themselves to their room. Carrying all the luggage to the fifth floor added more salt to Rajam's wounds of coming back early. Finally, they reached in front of their rooms. While Abhishek unlocked the room, Rajam stood and looked at the empty corridor. Some people would come tomorrow, but the larger section of the students came back a day early. Rajam used to think- too much sincerity.

'The hostel looks deserted. Where are the others? I saw so many entries, but no one is seen around. It's not possible that everyone slept so early.' said Rajam.

'Don't worry, Rajam. I will save you from the spirits haunting in our hostel.' Priyanshu laughed while taking his luggage inside.

'You really think the dead body in the morgue and the spirits roaming around is the same. Not everything stays lifeless.' said Rajam.

Even though they had such arguments, but they were the best of friends and can give their lives to save one another. Priyanshu laughed and took Rajam's luggage inside while Rajam stood in the corridor and waved at a few guys who were moving in the corridor facing him on the fourth floor. They waved him back but said nothing. They had a blank expression on their faces. They moved again after waving him back. It was strange.

Rajam looked at room 517, the room diagonal to his room. The lights were off in that room and there was no sound coming out from that room. This room was always crowded with people, and it was difficult to find silence in that room. His other school friend, Vivek, used to stay in that room. Rajam was thinking of going and meeting him, but seeing the darkness, he thought they might be asleep and thought of meeting him tomorrow. With it, he moved towards the other floors to meet the others.

11 pm

There was a sudden flash in Vivek's room. At first, Rajam ignored it thinking they must be doing another idiotic experiment but when there was a repetitive flash, he ran towards the room. I hope Vivek is ok.

An icy silence engulfed the entire atmosphere. Suddenly, the entire campus went dark. When he reached, he saw a small crowd in front of the room. It seems it was not a hallucination. I definitely saw something. They were knocking and calling out, but there was no response from inside. They tried to push the door open. The doors of the hostel were not strong enough and with a slight push, anyone can open them. It was a trade secret only the students knew. But tonight the scene was different. Everyone was trying to break open the door but failed. Suddenly, there was a high-pitched crying sound, and everyone dispersed. The crying continued faintly in form of a growling sound for some time. None of them was brave enough to go near the room. After all, everyone were students preparing for some competitive exams. But they knew something wrong had happened in this room. Rajam thought- I had warned Vivek so many times, but he always ignored me.