Dorm 9

It started with the bang.

A crack like splitting wood echoed through the night. My eyes flew open. Pitch black.

I sat up, heart thudding. The power was out—no glow from the hallway, no blinking charger light, just an all-consuming, suffocating darkness. I reached out for my phone and flicked on the flashlight. Cold blue light flooded my cramped dorm room.

“Hello?” My voice died in the still air.

I got up from bed and cracked open the door. The corridor stretched empty and silent. That was wrong. Dorm 9 was never quiet. At 2 a.m., someone was always watching Netflix too loud or burning toast.

But now—nothing. Just an eerie, swallowing silence.

“Guys?” I called again, louder. My voice trembled.

Nothing.

I crept forward, the floor creaking beneath me. Every dorm room door was shut. Some slightly ajar, others locked tight—but no signs of life. I knocked on doors as I passed. No answers.

At the end of the hall, I heard it again.

A scraping. Wet. Like flesh dragging against lino.

Then—a screech. Piercing, inhuman. Close.

I ran. Phone clutched tight, flashlight beam jerking wildly. My breath came ragged as I bolted down the opposite end. My mind screamed to wake up, but this was awake. Real.

Another screech. Closer. This time, behind me.

I spun mid-run, light sweeping—

Nothing.

Just the empty hallway.

I turned and sprinted. At the hallway's midpoint, I remembered the side passage connecting to the student lounge. Maybe the exit doors would work. Maybe someone was there.

I veered left, feet pounding the floor.

The lounge loomed ahead. Tall glass windows, shadowed vending machines. I burst in—

—and froze.

They were there.

Everyone.

Motionless.

Dozens of students lined up in rows, standing perfectly still, eyes wide, faces slack. Some held coffee mugs, phones, backpacks. Frozen mid-movement like mannequins. One guy still had earbuds in, tears streaking his cheeks.

My flashlight flickered.

I stepped forward. “Hello?”

No one responded.

I waved a hand in front of a girl’s face. Her eyes tracked me—just barely.

Trapped.

Frozen alive.

A noise. Behind me.

Slow.

Wet.

Dragging.

I turned. Light trembling in my hand.

From the hallway came a figure. Vague. Shifting. Like something wrong with the pixels of the world itself. Parts of it moved at different frame rates—like broken code trying to mimic something human.

My phone buzzed in my hand.

Quarantine breach. Simulation unstable. Initiating reset in 3... 2...

I screamed. The creature rushed forward. My flashlight exploded in a flash of white.

Then—

Silence.

Light.

I gasped awake.

In bed.

Dorm 9. Daylight outside.

Normal.

My phone buzzed next to me.

Orientation Week – Welcome to SIM-U!

Welcome to your fully immersive simulated campus environment. Your subconscious data will help us build the future of virtual living. Please enjoy your stay...

My door opened.

A student walked in. “Dude, wild dreams last night, huh?”

But I couldn’t speak.

Because behind him, I saw it.

The glitch.

Still watching.