Late at night, a note suddenly appeared at the door of Jefferson Hall. “Don’t make a sound. Your roommates are all pretending to be asleep!” Shortly after, I heard my roommate from the top bunk speak. “Ethan, you can’t sleep either?” My heart leapt into my throat. Wasn’t he supposed to be out all night? Content 0 “Ethan, why aren’t you answering me?” The bed frame above me creaked loudly. The note was clenched tightly in my hand. Instinct told me not to respond. I exaggerated my breathing, trying to mimic the rhythm of someone fast asleep. The creaking suddenly stopped. To be safe, I waited what felt like over ten minutes before curling under my blanket to check my phone. The screen’s brightness was dimmed to the lowest setting. No new notifications. Why was Connor, my roommate from the top bunk, suddenly back? Did I misremember? I opened the Dorm WhatsApp Chat. “Hanging out at Cyber Haven tonight. Won’t be back. Cover for me during the RA inspection.” I didn’t misremember. Then who was just on the top bunk? Suddenly, a new message popped up. “Haha, knew you weren’t asleep.” It was from Miles, another one of my roommates. So was it Miles who climbed onto the top bunk? My back broke out in a cold sweat as I recalled the words on the note. Then, I felt a chilling breeze across the top of my exposed head. Someone was breathing on me! In an instant, my entire body froze. The note in my hand trembled, my feet felt as cold as steel, and my heartbeat pounded so violently it felt like it might burst from my chest. I could vividly imagine someone gripping the bed’s frame above me, leaning their face close to mine, staring at me with unblinking eyes. I struggled to control my breathing. This night was too surreal. Gripping my phone tightly, I tried to keep my trembling under control. The phone suddenly vibrated. Who the hell was calling at a time like this? Now wasn’t the time for a call. Without looking at the number, I immediately declined it. The creaking from the top bunk returned. Then, silence. Whoever it was had laid back down. For now, it seemed I was safe. There was no way I could sleep. I reopened my phone. The call had been from an unknown number. My name is Ethan Gray. Most people just call me Ethan. My top bunk roommate was always Connor Pierce. Connor was a classic gamer. He rarely talked to us, preferring to immerse himself in online games. Since power at the dorm cut out at night, he often spent the night gaming at Cyber Haven. Miles, on the other hand, was the polar opposite—outgoing, playful, always joking around. I strained to listen. The room was quiet except for the even rhythm of someone’s breathing. Everyone seemed asleep. But who left the note? And what was Miles trying to do? Lost in thought, unease eventually gave way to sleep. 0
“Holy crap!” Derek’s voice startled me awake. “Miles… he’s… dead!” I shot up in bed. A large pool of blood spread across the floor. Blood dripped thickly from the rusty rod of the bedframe. The sight was horrifying. What the hell happened? Miles was fine last night! Derek stood frozen, his face pale as a sheet, his mouth trembling but unable to form words. He was completely paralyzed with fear. I scrambled out of bed and grabbed my phone to call the police. Summoning my courage, I glanced at Miles’s body on the bed. His position was contorted unnaturally. His head and neck were stretched awkwardly over the edge of the bed. His right hand clutched his throat, poking through the gap in the bedframe’s railing. The quilt was tightly wrapped around his right leg. It was clear he’d died in agony. The thick metallic stench of blood filled the air, nearly overwhelming me. Derek and I couldn’t hold back the nausea. We bolted from the room, barely making it to the hallway. My head spun, my ears rang. From last night to now, everything had spiraled into a nightmare. What the hell was going on? 0
The police arrived at the scene. Shortly after, Connor returned from outside. A death in the dorm drew school officials and a crowd of curious onlookers. The area was cordoned off with police tape. “Preliminary assessment suggests this was likely a homicide.” Miles’s death was beyond strange. I waited on the sidelines, feeling as though my head had been filled with lead. All I could think about was that massive pool of blood. The remaining three of us—Derek, Connor, and me—were taken to Hudson County Precinct for questioning. “Last night, it was just me, Derek, and Miles in the dorm. Connor went to Cyber Haven and should have been out all night.” “I woke up and found Miles dead. Yes, Derek woke up first and started screaming, which woke me up.” I recounted the strange events of the previous night and mentioned the note I had found, intending to hand it over to the police. “It’s gone!” I must have lost it in the chaos. The officer taking my statement stared at me intently, his gaze unnerving. Goosebumps prickled across my skin. “You can leave for now,” he finally said. The thought of the note and Miles’s behavior left my legs weak as I walked out. I couldn’t bring myself to return to Jefferson Hall alone, so I sat in the precinct’s lobby, waiting for Derek and Connor. Miles’s body had been sent for an autopsy, but the results weren’t in yet. As of now, the only suspects were Derek and me. And, of course, Connor. But last night, the dorm door had been locked. Even if Connor had a key, it would have been impossible for him to enter without making a sound. I’m a light sleeper, and my bed is right next to the door—I’d have noticed it opening. That left Derek as the most likely suspect. Before long, Derek came out of the interrogation room. “I think Connor killed Miles,” he said suddenly, staring at me. “They were gaming together yesterday afternoon, and they got into a huge fight. Connor’s face turned bright red—I’ve never seen him that angry before.” “But Connor was out all night at Cyber Haven,” I countered. “How could he have come back, killed Miles, and left without waking us up?” “Who knows… Maybe it’s possible,” Derek muttered. After some time, the police brought Connor out. “We reviewed the surveillance footage. He wasn’t at Cyber Haven last night, nor does he have any other alibi.” It really was Connor! He killed Miles! Connor remained silent, offering no explanation. Unfortunately, the dorm building is old, and with the school constructing new ones, there aren’t any security cameras inside. Until the autopsy results come in, Connor would remain under police supervision. Still, something about it didn’t sit right with me. How could he have silently unlocked the door and killed Miles without waking anyone? If it really was him, then the note must have been his, slipped under the door to confuse us. But that would mean the note’s claim—that everyone in the dorm was pretending to sleep—was false. Maybe I was so shaken last night that I slept more deeply than I thought. That explanation seemed to make everything fit. But then… Why did Miles behave so strangely last night? Am I overthinking things? 0
After Miles’s death, the school promised to reassign dorms for the three of us. But for tonight, Derek and I still had to stay in Jefferson Hall. The room had been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected after the police finished their investigation. Still, every time I closed my eyes, Miles’s horrific death flashed before me. The dorm felt oppressively quiet. We were on a high floor, and the winter wind outside sounded eerily like someone crying. It was impossible to sleep. I scrolled through my phone to distract myself. Besides a class announcement in the Class WhatsApp Group Chat, the only other message was the one Miles had sent me last night: “Haha, knew you weren’t asleep.” What did Miles mean by that? Was he joking with me? Or… was that message not sent by him? And the person who blew on me last night—was it Connor? A chill ran down my spine as a terrifying thought crossed my mind. Was Connor testing me last night? If I had made a sound, would there have been more than one death? Just then, I heard a faint rustling sound near the door. Taking a deep breath, I peeked over the edge of my bed. There it was again—a note on the floor. “Don’t make a sound. Your roommate is pretending to be asleep!” It wasn’t the same note as last night, but the words were identical. My back broke out in goosebumps. Clutching the note and my phone, I turned on my side and curled up under the blanket. Connor was under police watch. So… The killer must be someone else. My thoughts turned to Derek. Tonight, it was just the two of us in the dorm. My heart pounded in my chest. Through the gap between the blanket and the bed, I glanced at Derek’s bunk. It looked like he was in bed, but it was too dark to tell for sure. Could the person who killed Miles be someone outside our dorm? I stayed frozen in my position, not daring to move. If there was even the slightest noise, I was ready to send an emergency text. Minutes passed. Nothing happened. I exhaled a shallow breath. My body was stiff from fear. There was no way I’d sleep tonight. I stayed like that, tense and alert, until dawn. After a distracted morning of classes, I brought the new note to the precinct. I didn’t tell Derek. I couldn’t fully trust him either. Until the killer was caught, I wasn’t safe. What if they were some kind of lunatic? “In the autopsy, we found only one fatal wound—a cut on the victim’s wrist,” the officer explained calmly. “We also found a blade inside his clothing, likely the tool used to make the cut.” “Additionally, Miles’s social media history shows recent posts with concerning, negative language.” “Based on the evidence, we’ve concluded that Miles committed suicide by cutting his wrist.” Suicide? How could that be? What about the notes? The officer didn’t have an immediate answer but said they’d continue investigating. For now, Connor was cleared of suspicion. Leaving the precinct, I felt numb. The past two days had been too much to process. Miles had committed suicide. He was always the one filling the dorm with laughter. He was so outgoing, with so many friends who adored him. How could this happen? I blamed myself for being so blind to his struggles. Maybe it really was him who sent that message. Was he asking for help? He must have been asking for help! If I’d responded, if I’d comforted him, would things have turned out differently? The thought made me want to cry. I hated myself for being so cowardly. Why hadn’t I just gotten up to check on him? But then again… If the note was just a prank, Then whoever left it was the one who distracted me, stopping me from helping Miles in time. 0
“Ethan… Are you unable to walk?” Suddenly, I heard the exact same voice from the night Miles died, coming from behind me. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a hospital bed. I couldn’t feel any pain—there didn’t seem to be any injuries—but my head was spinning. “Ethan, how are you feeling? Do you feel better?” Connor and Derek were sitting at the bedside. My left hand was hooked up to an IV drip, and I weakly nodded in response. “You collapsed right in front of me. Scared the hell out of me.” So, Connor must’ve brought me to Willowbrook Medical Center. I vaguely remembered hearing someone call my name before everything went black. I couldn’t recall anything after that. The stress from the past few days, coupled with a lack of rest, had clearly taken a toll on my body. “Good thing I ran into you as soon as I was released from the precinct,” Connor added. So, that voice I’d heard earlier—it was his. I must have misheard it as my consciousness started fading. For a moment, I thought it was someone—or something—else. Just then, my phone rang. “We need you to return to Hudson County Precinct for another statement,” said the officer on the line. Connor and Derek received the same call shortly after. “Where were you that night?” I asked Connor, unable to hide my curiosity. “I didn’t go to Cyber Haven,” he said, narrowing his eyes slightly, a cryptic smile playing on his lips. “But where I was… That’s not something I can tell the cops.” The room fell silent. Only the sound of the IV drip filled the air. “Ethan, did you hear someone call your name that night?” Derek suddenly broke his silence. So… he wasn’t asleep that night?
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