The first time Maddie heard the voice, she thought it was the wind.
She sat at her desk, knees pulled up to her chest, staring at the glow of her laptop screen. The dorm room was quiet except for the soft whir of the mini-fridge and the occasional creak from the old radiator. Her roommate, Jasmine, was out—probably at some frat house, pretending she wasn't as smart as she was.
Maddie wasn't jealous. She preferred solitude. That's what she told herself, anyway.
She reached for her coffee, now cold, when she heard it again. A whisper. Barely more than breath.
"Are you there?"
Maddie froze. The voice was faint, coming from somewhere near the closet.
She turned, her eyes scanning the dimly lit room. The door was closed, the window shut. Just the rustling of trees outside, their skeletal fingers scratching against the glass.
"Just your imagination," she muttered, shaking it off.
She turned back to her screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard. A psych paper due in less than twelve hours. Maybe exhaustion was playing tricks on her.
Then—
"Maddie."
Her stomach tightened.
This time, it wasn't the wind. It was a voice. Low, deliberate. It knew her name.
Slowly, she stood. The closet loomed in the corner, door cracked open just an inch.
She swallowed.
"Jas?" she called, but she knew better. Jasmine wasn't coming back tonight.
Silence.
She took a step forward. Then another. The floorboards groaned beneath her bare feet. Her fingers trembled as she reached for the closet door.
One quick pull. That was all she needed. Rip it open, prove to herself there was nothing there.
But before she could—
A breath. Warm. Right against her ear.
"Are you there?"
Maddie screamed.
She spun around, knocking over her chair, heart hammering against her ribs. The room was empty. The air, still.
Her breath came fast, uneven.
Her phone buzzed on the desk. A text.
Jasmine: U good? Thought I heard u scream.
Maddie's fingers hovered over the keyboard. What the hell was she supposed to say?
Her reflection on the laptop screen caught her eye.
She wasn't alone.
A shadow. Standing behind her.
Watching.
Then—
The screen flickered.
The lights went out.
And Maddie heard it again.
"Are you there?"
Maddie didn't move. Couldn't. The dorm room was swallowed by darkness, the only light coming from the dull glow of her laptop screen. Her own reflection stared back at her—wide-eyed, breathless.
And behind her…
A shape.
It wasn't human. It was tall, impossibly thin, its head tilted at an unnatural angle, as if studying her. Its limbs were wrong—too long, fingers stretched out like needles. But the worst part?
It had no face. No eyes. No mouth. Just a smooth, blank surface where a face should be.
Then—
The laptop screen flickered. The reflection twisted.
And the thing moved.
Straight for her.
Maddie threw herself back, knocking over her desk lamp as she scrambled toward the bed. Her breath came in ragged gasps.
The darkness shifted. The whisper came again.
"Are you there?"
No. No, no, no. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real.
She fumbled for her phone, hands shaking as she unlocked it. The screen bathed her in a pale glow.
Jasmine's text still sat there: U good? Thought I heard u scream.
Maddie's fingers flew across the screen. There's someone in the room.
Three dots appeared. Then—
No, there's not.
Maddie's breath hitched.
What do you mean? she typed back.
The reply came instantly.
I'm watching you right now.
The blood in her veins turned to ice.
The door.
She lunged for it, yanking it open so hard it banged against the wall. The fluorescent lights of the dorm hallway flooded her vision.
Empty.
No one was there.
But then—
Her phone vibrated again.
A photo message.
With shaking hands, she tapped it open.
It was a picture. Of her room.
Taken from the closet.
A fresh wave of nausea hit her. The closet.
Slowly, she turned her head.
The door still cracked open just an inch, seemed to breathe.
A soft creak. A slow, deliberate shift in the darkness.
Then—
A single, pale hand slipped out of the gap. Long fingers. Twitching.
And from inside, the whisper:
"Are you there?"
Maddie did the only thing she could.
She ran. Maddie ran. She didn't remember grabbing her keys, but they were in her hand, digging into her palm as she bolted down the hallway. Her bare feet slapped against the cold tile. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, flickering as she passed under them.
Her breathing was ragged. The text. The closet. That thing inside—
No. She wasn't thinking about it.
She turned a corner too fast and nearly slammed into someone.
"Jesus, Maddie! What the hell?"
Jasmine.
She was standing in the middle of the hallway, phone in hand, brows knitted in confusion. She was wearing a black crop top and ripped jeans, the smell of beer and cheap cologne clinging to her like secondhand regret.
Maddie grabbed her shoulders. "Jas. You sent me that text."
Jasmine's face scrunched. "What text?"
Maddie snatched the phone from her hands, scrolling to their conversation.
The messages were gone.
"What the hell?" Maddie whispered. Her entire body went cold. "I—I swear, Jas, you sent me—"
Jasmine pulled her phone back. "Maddie, I've been at Sigma Kappa all night. I haven't texted you since, like, six."
Maddie opened her mouth. Then shut it.
Because if Jasmine hadn't sent the messages…
Then who had?
Jasmine studied her. "You look like you've seen a—"
"Don't." Maddie's voice cracked.
Jasmine exhaled, rubbing her temples. "Okay, you're freaking me out. Let's just go back to the room, all right?"
Maddie's stomach twisted. "No."
"Maddie—"
"No, Jas. There's something in there. In the closet."
Jasmine frowned. "Like… a raccoon?"
Maddie stared at her. "Yeah, Jas. A raccoon texted me a picture from inside my closet."
Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Okay, smartass. You probably just—"
Then she stopped.
Because her phone buzzed again.
A text.
From Maddie's number.
Are you there?
Jasmine blinked. "Uh. Maddie?"
Maddie's blood turned to ice.
Jasmine slowly raised her phone. The message was still sitting there. Are you there?
Then—
Another.
Come back.
Then—
A picture.
Jasmine tapped it open.
And both of them saw it at the same time.
It was a photo of Maddie's dorm room.
But Maddie was in it.
Standing by the closet.
Jasmine's breath hitched. "Okay, that's—"
"Not me," Maddie whispered.
Because she was standing right here.
And the Maddie in the photo?
She was staring at the camera.
Smiling.
Jasmine locked her phone and took a step back. "Nope. Nope. Not dealing with this. You're being haunted. Time to call a priest or move to another continent."
But Maddie was still staring at the picture. The way she was looking at the camera. The way her smile was just… off.
Then her phone buzzed again.
This time, a video.
Jasmine saw the look on her face. "Don't open it."
But Maddie already had.
The screen lit up.
The video was short. Just a few seconds. The camera was facing the closet, the door now wide open. The room was dark, but there was movement.
Something stepping forward.
Someone.
Maddie's breath caught in her throat.
Because the girl stepping out of the closet?
She had Maddie's face.
But it wasn't Maddie.
Her skin was just a shade too pale. Her smile was just a little too wide. And her eyes—
Her eyes weren't eyes at all.
Just empty, black pits.
And then—
The fake Maddie leaned close to the camera.
Close enough that Maddie could hear the breath crackling through the speaker.
Then, in a voice that was almost hers, but not quite:
"I'm here."
The video cut to black.
Maddie dropped her phone.
Jasmine bent down and grabbed it. "Maddie?"
Maddie's hands were shaking.
Jasmine looked at the screen. "It's gone."
Maddie's eyes snapped to hers. "What?"
"The video. It's gone."
Jasmine turned the phone toward her. Nothing. No message. No picture. No video.
Like it never happened.
Maddie's breath came in short bursts. Her stomach twisted like she might throw up.
Then—
The hallway light above them flickered.
A door creaked open.
And from down the hall—
A voice, just barely a whisper.
"Are you there?"
The hallway stretched too long. Maddie felt it the second the voice whispered again. The walls seemed farther apart, the light at the end of the corridor dimming into something wrong. As the air had thickened, stretched the space into something that shouldn't be.
She turned to Jasmine. "We need to leave. Now."
Jasmine was still staring at Maddie's phone, her face pale, lips parted like she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
The light above them flickered again.
A door creaked open.
Not theirs.
Farther down the hall.
Room 306.
But Room 306 had been empty since the semester started. The girl who was supposed to move in never showed up.
Maddie knew that because she had checked.
And yet—
The door was open now. A sliver of blackness yawned into the hallway.
Maddie swallowed. "Jas."
Jasmine didn't respond. She was staring straight ahead now, her fingers gripping Maddie's wrist so tight they ached.
Maddie followed her gaze.
A figure stood at the end of the hall.
At first, it looked like a shadow.
But then—
It stepped forward.
Bare feet.
Dark clothes.
The same jeans Maddie was wearing. The same sweatshirt. The same shape of her body.
It lifted its head.
And Maddie was staring at herself.
The thing smiled. Too wide.
Maddie's stomach twisted. "No. Nope. That's—"
Jasmine took a step back, dragging Maddie with her. "Tell me you have a long-lost twin you forgot to mention."
The thing at the end of the hall took another step forward.
Its head twitched. The way a glitching video skips for a frame before continuing.
Then, in her voice, but hollow and wrong—
"Are you there?"
Maddie choked on her breath.
The thing stepped closer.
And now she could see—
Its face was her face.
But the eyes were still wrong. Empty pits. Just smooth, hollow sockets where her eyes should be.
It grinned wider. "I've been waiting."
Maddie stumbled back, slamming into the wall.
Jasmine grabbed her arm. "Nope. Not happening. Not my problem. We're leaving."
But the thing moved.
Not walked—glitched.
One second, it was at the end of the hall.
The next, it was right in front of them.
Maddie's breath hitched. She felt something cold slide against her skin—
And realized—
It was holding her hand.
Jasmine screamed.
Maddie yanked back—hard—stumbling into Jasmine as the thing tilted its head, that grin splitting its face.
Then it spoke.
"Let's trade."
Maddie's blood went cold.
The thing lurched forward.
Maddie shoved Jasmine back, twisting—but it grabbed her.
Cold fingers dug into her wrists, pulling—no, dragging—her toward Room 306. The open door yawned wide, a blackness deeper than it should be.
"No—NO!" Maddie kicked, struggled—
The thing didn't move like a person. It didn't fight like a person. It didn't feel like a person.
And it was winning.
Jasmine grabbed Maddie's arm. "LET HER GO, YOU COPYCAT BITCH!"
Then she did something insane.
She bit it.
Hard.
The thing screeched.
Not like a human. Not like anything human.
A sound like static vomiting out of a broken radio.
And for just a second, it let go.
Maddie ripped herself free.
The hallway collapsed.
Not literally—but suddenly, things snapped back to normal. The walls weren't stretching anymore. The light above flickered once, then steadied.
Room 306—
Was closed.
No sign of the thing.
No sign it had ever been open at all.
Maddie's breath came in short bursts. Her wrists ached where it had grabbed her.
Jasmine was still gripping her other arm, shaking. "What the actual fuck."
Maddie turned to Room 306.
The door looked the same as it always had. Same faded wood. Same scuffed handle.
Like it had never been touched.
Jasmine swallowed. "We are never talking about this again."
Maddie's pulse was still hammering. The thing's words echoed in her skull.
"Let's trade."
Slowly, she reached for the handle.
"Maddie, DON'T."
But her fingers were already there.
The second she touched the door—
Her phone vibrated.
A text.
From her number.
"Not fair. You're still there. But I'm still here. Let's try again soon."
Maddie ripped her hand away.
Jasmine grabbed her wrist, dragging her down the hall. "Nope. We are leaving. RIGHT NOW."
Maddie didn't argue.
Because behind them, as they ran—
Room 306's door creaked open.
And from inside—
A whisper.
"Are you there?"
Jasmine didn't stop dragging Maddie until they were outside.
The night was thick with humidity, the streetlights buzzing overhead like electric hornets. The quad was empty, the campus silent, but Maddie could still hear it. The whisper. The voice curled around the edges of her mind like smoke.
"Are you there?"
Not gone. Not finished. Waiting.
Jasmine bent over, hands on her knees, breath coming fast. "Okay. Okay. You need to explain what the hell just happened, because I—" She stopped, and straightened. "Actually, no. No, you know what? I don't want to know."
Maddie stared up at the dorm windows. Their room was dark. Room 306 was dark.
But something was watching.
She could feel it.
Jasmine grabbed her shoulders. "Maddie. Talk to me."
Maddie licked her lips. Her mouth tasted like copper. Her wrists ached where it had grabbed her. She didn't want to say it out loud, but the words slipped out anyway.
"It looked like me."
Jasmine nodded, too fast. "Yep. I got that part."
"It—" Maddie swallowed. "It wanted to switch places."
Jasmine was silent for a second. Then she let go of Maddie's shoulders.
"Okay, well." She threw up her hands. "I say we just drop out. Burn the dorm down. Maybe the whole campus."
Maddie almost laughed. But then—
A ping from her phone.
Jasmine's too.
At the same time.
Neither of them moved.
Maddie felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck. Slowly, so slowly, she pulled out her phone.
A text.
From an unknown number.
Jasmine's voice was barely a whisper. "Maddie… what does yours say?"
Maddie turned the screen so Jasmine could see.
"It's okay. You don't have to come back. I'm already out."
Jasmine's hands were shaking. "No. No, no, no. That's just—"
Another ping.
Maddie didn't want to look.
But she did.
A photo.
Jasmine let out a small, strangled sound. "Oh, hell no."
It was a picture of them.
Standing right here, under the streetlight.
Taken from above.
Maddie's stomach turned. Her head tilted up, her breath catching in her throat.
The dorm window.
Their room.
The curtains had been open when they left.
Now, they were closed.
But between the thin slit where the fabric didn't quite meet—
A face.
Her face.
Looking down at her.
Smiling.
Then, as Maddie stared—
The curtains slid shut.
Jasmine grabbed Maddie's wrist. "We're leaving. Right now."
Maddie didn't move.
Because something was off.
Her phone buzzed again.
Another picture.
This time, just her.
Not Jasmine.
Just Maddie.
She blinked. "Jas…"
Jasmine was already halfway to the parking lot. "I swear to God, Maddie, if you don't move your ass—"
Maddie turned. Stopped.
Her mouth went dry.
Jasmine was ahead of her. Almost at the car.
But—
Jasmine's phone was still in her hand. The screen still glowing.
And the text on it—
The one Jasmine hadn't seen yet—
Made Maddie's breath freeze in her throat.
"You got away. But she didn't."
Maddie's blood turned to ice.
Jasmine reached the car and yanked open the driver's side door.
Maddie tried to speak. To scream.
But Jasmine turned to look at her.
And her eyes—
Her eyes were wrong.
Too dark. Too empty.
Like something had hollowed them out.
And Jasmine—
No. Not Jasmine.
It.
It smiled.
And in a voice that was almost Jasmine's, but not quite—
"Are you there?"
The real Jasmine was gone.
And Maddie was alone.
Except—
She wasn't.
Not anymore.
The End.