It was their fourth day in Shimla, and the cheerful chatter that once filled the air was replaced by anxious glances and quiet murmurs. No one dared to joke anymore. Even Anushka and Srushti, usually the loudest with their double-meaning jokes and boyfriend talk, were unusually quiet during breakfast.
"I couldn't sleep," Khushi mumbled, eyes half-open. "Every time I closed my eyes, I felt someone standing over me."
"I had a nightmare," Rutuja whispered. "A girl in a white dress… she kept saying 'Come to me'… again and again."
Akshara nearly dropped her toast. "STOP. I SWEAR—if I see that girl tonight, I'm throwing myself down the stairs."
Prajwal stood up slowly from the table. Her expression was calm but firm.
"Tonight is the fourth night. The old man warned us about it. We have to stay in groups. No wandering. No mirrors. And no matter what happens—do not go near Room 309."
Everyone nodded, some more fearfully than others.
---
Evening – 7:33 PM
Back in their rooms, the girls kept the lights on. Every room now had three or four girls sleeping together. The hallway was eerily silent. The staff had disappeared after dinner, almost like they too didn't want to be around tonight.
In Room 301, Prajwal, Swara, Akshada, and Rutuja were setting up a video call with the others to stay connected.
"Alright," Swara said, holding her phone. "Apurva, Swarali, Khushi—you three good?"
"Yeah," Swarali replied, though her voice trembled. "We're all together in 302."
"Anushka and I are stuck with Akshara in 304," Srushti added. "And this girl keeps chanting Hanuman Chalisa in her sleep."
"I HAVE TO PROTECT US!" Akshara shouted from behind her, holding a pillow like a sword.
Everyone laughed, and for a brief moment, it felt normal again.
Until the call glitched.
For a few seconds, all the screens flickered. And in every screen—every single one—they all saw it.
A girl in a white dress. Long black hair covering her face. Standing in the background behind each group.
And just like that, the call cut off.
---
Room 301 – 12:03 AM
The room was cold. Not just cool—unnaturally cold.
Prajwal checked the heater. It was working fine.
Then she noticed something else.
The mirror on the wall. It had fogged up again.
"No one's even taken a shower," she whispered.
Akshada saw it too. She backed away.
A new message appeared in the fog.
"309. Come home."
"Why is she calling us home?" Rutuja whispered.
"Because someone used to live there," Prajwal said slowly. "And she never left."
Suddenly, the door to their room unlocked itself.
Click.
It opened an inch.
They stared.
Then they heard it.
A voice.
Faint. But there.
From the hall.
"…Prajwal…"
"…Swara…"
"…Come…"
They slammed the door shut and pushed the desk in front of it.
---
Room 302 – At the Same Time
Khushi was crying silently. Apurva held her hand, while Swarali clutched her phone like a lifeline.
The mirror cracked.
No one touched it. No object hit it. It just—cracked.
A soft giggle echoed from the bathroom.
"Did… did you hear that?" Apurva whispered.
"She's not in the room," Swarali whispered. "She's in the mirrors."
---
Room 304
"I told you not to bring me here," Akshara cried. "We're going to die."
"Shut up!" Anushka snapped. "You'll wake her!"
"WHO?!" Akshara cried.
Just then, their lights turned off.
Pitch black.
Something moved in the darkness.
"Don't move," Srushti whispered. "She's looking for someone."
And then… a loud scream came from the hallway.
Everyone heard it.
A scream that didn't belong to any of them.
---