The air was thick with dread as the lights flickered on and off, casting long, eerie shadows along the walls of Room 302. Swarali stood motionless in the doorway, her face pale and her eyes empty. Her expression was blank, devoid of any recognition, as if the girl they once knew was no longer there.
"Swarali?" Apurva said, her voice trembling. She tried to approach her, but something in the air held her back. It was like an invisible force was keeping her from getting any closer.
"We need to get out of here," Khushi whispered, her voice barely audible. "This place… this place isn't right."
Swarali's lips parted, but no sound came out at first. Then, in a voice that wasn't hers, she spoke.
"She's calling me. She's waiting. We all have to go."
The words echoed through the room, sending chills down their spines. The atmosphere seemed to thicken, the weight of something oppressive hanging in the air. Akshara backed up against the wall, her breath quickening.
"What's happening to her?" Rutuja asked, her voice barely a whisper, as if speaking too loudly would set off some chain reaction they couldn't control.
"I don't know," Swara replied, her voice strained. "But we need to figure it out. She's not Swarali anymore."
Before anyone could react, Swarali suddenly turned and walked out of the room, her footsteps slow and deliberate, as if she were being pulled by an unseen force. The girls exchanged panicked looks, but no one moved.
"What should we do?" Akshada asked, her voice low.
"We follow her," Prajwal said, her tone firm. "We need to get to the bottom of this. She might be our only clue."
With no other choice, they followed Swarali into the hallway. The air grew colder the further they walked, and the sound of their footsteps echoed ominously. They reached the end of the hall where the door to Room 309 loomed in the darkness.
Swarali was standing in front of it, staring at the door as if mesmerized.
"Swarali!" Prajwal called out, taking a step forward.
But she didn't respond. Her eyes were fixed on the door, her expression distant.
"This is insane," Swara muttered. "We shouldn't be here."
"Look," Prajwal said, her voice sharp, "she's trying to tell us something. We have to know what's in that room."
Suddenly, the door creaked open on its own. A soft, eerie wind blew from within, ruffling their hair and chilling them to the bone.
Swarali stepped inside without hesitation, as though drawn by some invisible force.
"Wait!" Akshada cried, but it was too late. Swarali had disappeared inside.
"Should we go in?" Rutuja asked, her voice faltering.
"We have no choice," Prajwal said. "We need to find out what happened."
One by one, the girls followed her into Room 309. The room was dark, the only light coming from a single dim bulb above their heads. The air smelled stale, like something ancient and forgotten.
Swarali stood in the center of the room, motionless, as if waiting for something.
"Swarali?" Prajwal called again, but the girl didn't respond.
Then, a soft whisper filled the room, barely audible but unmistakable.
"Welcome home."
The temperature dropped even further, and they could see their breath in the air. The whispers grew louder, swirling around them like an invisible storm. The walls seemed to pulse, as though the room itself was alive.
"Swarali?" Swara asked again, panic creeping into her voice.
Swarali finally moved. Slowly, she turned her head toward the girls, her eyes blank and lifeless.
"She's waiting," Swarali repeated. "She needs us. All of us."
And then, with terrifying suddenness, Swarali collapsed to the floor, her body going limp. The room fell silent, save for the eerie whispers that still filled the air.
"Is she…?" Rutuja began, but she couldn't finish the sentence. Swarali's body twitched and then went completely still.
Prajwal knelt beside her, checking for a pulse. Her heart was still beating, but her body was cold, colder than it should have been.
"We need to get out of here. Now," Prajwal said, standing up quickly.
But before anyone could move, the door slammed shut behind them with a deafening bang.
The room was pitch black now, and the whispers grew louder, more insistent. A strange pressure pressed down on their chests, as though the very air itself was trying to crush them.
"Leave this place!" a voice roared, filling their minds with terror. It wasn't Swarali's voice. It was something older, darker.
Without thinking, Prajwal grabbed Swarali's limp body and lifted her in her arms. "We're leaving!" she shouted.
Suddenly, a harsh, guttural laugh echoed through the room, filling every corner with its chilling sound.
"You can't leave," the voice said, a cold, mocking tone. "She's mine now."
The girls screamed as the room seemed to close in on them. They scrambled toward the door, but it wouldn't budge. Panic set in as the walls seemed to press tighter and tighter, the space around them growing smaller with every second.
Then, in a final act of desperation, Prajwal kicked at the door.
It splintered open.
But as they rushed through the doorway, they felt a cold hand brush against their necks.
"We are coming for you. All of you."
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