Locked Door - 7. Fractured Reflections

The morning sun cast a pale light over the campus, washing everything in a soft, almost ethereal glow. The events of the night seemed like a distant memory, but the tension in the air was still palpable. Emily and Hannah sat in the small room, the fatigue from the night’s ordeal weighing heavily on them. The officers had left them alone for now, promising to return with more information once things had settled down.

Emily stared at the floor, her thoughts scattered and disjointed. She was relieved that Sarah had been found and was safe, but the fear that had gripped her during the night still lingered, an invisible weight pressing down on her chest. The knowledge that the person responsible for the terror was in custody should have brought her comfort, but instead, it left her with more questions.

Who was this person? And why had they done this? The officer had mentioned that the suspect claimed to be a student, but nothing about their behavior had seemed normal. The idea that this individual might have had help only deepened the mystery and the unease gnawing at Emily.

Hannah broke the silence, her voice hushed and uncertain. “Emily… what do we do now? I mean, we can’t just go back to the dorm like nothing happened.”

Emily looked up, meeting Hannah’s gaze. She could see the fear and exhaustion etched into her friend’s face, mirroring her own feelings. “I don’t know,” Emily admitted, her voice trembling. “I don’t even know if I can go back there, not after everything that’s happened.”

Hannah nodded slowly, her eyes filling with tears. “I keep thinking about Lila… about what happened. I still don’t understand why she was out there, or who that person was pretending to be her. It just doesn’t make sense.”

Emily felt a pang of sympathy for Hannah. The betrayal they had both felt during the night—the moment when they realized someone was pretending to be their friends—was something that would haunt them for a long time. “Maybe Lila was forced to help,” Emily suggested softly, though the words felt hollow. “Maybe she was just as scared as we were.”

Hannah shook her head, wiping away a tear. “I just wish I knew the truth. I can’t stop thinking about it… what if it really was her? What if she was involved?”

The thought made Emily’s stomach churn. She had always considered their group of friends to be close-knit, a circle of trust in a world that often felt chaotic and unpredictable. The idea that someone from within that circle could have betrayed them was almost too much to bear.

“I don’t know, Hannah,” Emily said, her voice strained. “But I think we need to find out. We need to talk to the police, to Sarah… to anyone who can help us make sense of this.”

Hannah nodded, though the fear in her eyes didn’t diminish. “Do you think Sarah knows more than she told us? Do you think she saw something?”

Emily considered this. “Maybe. She was in the dorm the whole time, so she might have seen or heard things that we didn’t. We should talk to her when she’s ready.”

They fell into silence again, the weight of the night’s events pressing down on them. The small room felt stifling, the walls closing in on them as their thoughts spiraled deeper into fear and uncertainty.

After what felt like an eternity, the door creaked open, and an officer stepped inside. He was older, with graying hair and a kind, but tired expression. He carried a file in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

“Emily, Hannah,” he began, his voice gentle but firm. “I wanted to give you an update and see how you’re holding up.”

Emily forced a small, polite smile. “Thank you… but we’re still trying to process everything. Do you have any more information about what happened?”

The officer nodded and took a seat across from them, placing the file on the table. “I understand this has been an incredibly difficult night for you both, and I want to assure you that we’re doing everything we can to get to the bottom of this.”

He paused, taking a sip of his coffee before continuing. “The individual we apprehended is indeed a student at your university. We’re still trying to determine their exact motive, but from what we’ve gathered so far, it seems they were suffering from some form of severe mental illness. They were found in a highly agitated state, and it’s clear that they were not acting alone.”

Emily’s breath caught in her throat. “Not acting alone? So there was someone else involved?”

The officer nodded gravely. “Yes. We believe there was a second person—possibly more—who was aiding them in some capacity. We’re following up on leads and questioning other students, but it’s going to take time to piece everything together.”

Hannah’s voice trembled as she asked, “Do you think Lila was involved? We saw someone who looked like her… but we’re not sure if it was really her or someone pretending to be her.”

The officer sighed, rubbing his temples as if the weight of the case was bearing down on him. “We’re investigating that as well. I can’t say for certain at this point, but we’ll be looking into everyone who may have had contact with the suspect during the past few days.”

Emily felt a sense of unease settle in her chest. The idea that this might have been a coordinated effort, involving more than one person, made the whole situation even more frightening. “What about Sarah?” she asked. “Has she said anything about what she saw or heard?”

The officer flipped through the file in front of him before responding. “Sarah is still in a state of shock, but she did mention hearing voices outside her room—voices she recognized, but couldn’t quite place. She also mentioned seeing someone she thought was a friend, but something about them seemed… off. She wasn’t sure if it was really them or if she was just imagining things in her heightened state of fear.”

Emily exchanged a glance with Hannah, both of them understanding what Sarah had experienced all too well. The fear, the uncertainty, the sense that something wasn’t right—it was a feeling they had shared throughout the night.

“We want to help,” Emily said softly, her voice tinged with determination. “We want to understand what happened, and why.”

The officer nodded, his expression sympathetic. “I appreciate that. We’re going to need all the information we can get to figure this out. For now, though, I would encourage you both to rest. You’ve been through a lot, and it’s important that you take care of yourselves.”

Hannah looked at Emily, a silent question in her eyes. Emily knew what she was thinking—how could they rest when so much was still unresolved? But she also knew that they were both running on empty, their bodies and minds exhausted from the night’s events.

“Thank you,” Emily said, her voice quiet. “We’ll try.”

The officer gave them a small, understanding smile before standing up. “We’ll be in touch as soon as we have more information. In the meantime, if you remember anything else, anything at all, don’t hesitate to reach out.”

As he left the room, closing the door softly behind him, Emily and Hannah were once again left alone with their thoughts. The silence was heavy, filled with unspoken fears and lingering doubts.

“Emily,” Hannah whispered after a long moment, “what if we never find out the truth? What if we never know who was really behind all of this?”

Emily didn’t have an answer. She wanted to believe that the police would uncover the truth, that they would find out who had orchestrated the night of terror. But deep down, she feared that some things might never be fully explained.

“I don’t know, Hannah,” she finally said, her voice filled with uncertainty. “But whatever happens, we have to stick together. We have to help each other through this.”

Hannah nodded, her eyes filled with tears. “I just want it to be over. I want to feel safe again.”

Emily reached out and took Hannah’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “We will, Hannah. We’ll get through this. We just have to take it one step at a time.”

They sat in silence for a while longer, the weight of the night pressing down on them. Emily could feel the exhaustion pulling at her, but she knew that sleep would be elusive. The memories of the night—the fear, the confusion, the uncertainty—would keep her awake, her mind unable to find peace.

As the morning sun rose higher in the sky, casting a warm glow over the campus, Emily found herself reflecting on everything that had happened. The night had changed them—there was no denying that. They had faced a terror they could never have imagined, and they had come out the other side, but they were not unscathed.

The wounds left by the night’s events would take time to heal, and some might never fully close. But as Emily sat there, holding Hannah’s hand, she knew that they had each other, and that was something.

“We’ll find the truth,” Emily whispered, more to herself than to Hannah. “We’ll find out what really happened.”

Hannah looked at her, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. “And when we do, we’ll make sure it never happens again.”

Emily nodded, her resolve hardening. They might be scared, they might be exhausted, but they weren’t defeated. They would find the truth, no matter how long it took.

And when they did, they would finally put the nightmare behind them.