It was just another morning at college — noisy, sluggish, and bathed in sleepy sunlight. Students shuffled through the gates, some still yawning, others already half-buried in their phones. Everything felt… normal.
Until the scream.
High-pitched. Sharp. Echoing through the main corridor like glass shattering.
Everyone turned.
It came from the old science wing — a place most barely glanced at anymore. The teachers' side-eyes, the creaky floorboards, the locked-up lab that no one dared touch — all of it was usually ignored. But not today.
A small crowd formed outside Lab Room 7.
Simran pushed through the students, curious and a little annoyed. The morning hadn't even started properly and something was already going down. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw it.
On the inside of the lab's glass window, written in thick, red smears:
"YOU CAN'T ERASE WHAT'S BURIED."
The letters were messy. Dripping. Fresh.
The glass was locked from the inside. The keys were with the admin. No alarms had gone off. No sign of forced entry.
Junaid appeared beside her — silent, steady. His eyes didn't blink as he stared at the message. The usual lazy tilt in his posture was gone.
Simran didn't say anything at first. Neither did he.
Then, quietly, she asked, "Do you think it's real?"
Junaid didn't answer right away. His gaze lingered on the red trails sliding down the glass.
Rumors Begin
By lunch, the whole college was buzzing.
"Someone said it's animal blood."
"No bro, someone used paint to scare people."
"Didn't someone go missing in that lab years ago?"
"I heard the girl was never found… just left a diary."
"Why'd the cameras glitch from midnight to 4 AM?"
Simran leaned against the railing on the second floor, trying to ignore the whispers. But her mind wouldn't stop racing.
And neither would Junaid's.
From across the hall, he watched her. A frown tugging at his brows.
Whatever this was… it wasn't a joke.
And somehow, deep down, both of them felt it —
This was just the beginning.