#01.LOOP

scattered across the desk lay open notebooks, heavy with half-finished late-night studies.

6:17AM

Boys' hostel, room no.07

darshan blinked his eyes open. groaning, he checked his phone. sunday.

"hey, chandu," he muttered, turning around to face his roomate.

the words died in his troat. a cold wave of shock washed over him.

"chandu? hey, chandu what's wrong?!"

chandu was lying there, his eyes wide open, but his pupils were rolled so far back into his skull that only the stark, lifeless whites showed.

panic seized darshan. "what....what happened to you? chandu, wake up! get up!" he yelled, shaking his friend's shoulder.

no response!

the silence in the room was absolute. suffocating.

distraught and desperate, darshan flung the door open and sprinted out into the corridor.

"is anyone there?!"

nothing. no students. no footsteps. the entire hostel was drowned in a graveyard silence.

"what the hell is going on?" darshan's breath hitched. "why is it so quiet? the warden is always down here by this time. this isn't right. this feels wrong."

terror clawing at his chest, darshan rushed back into the room. he snatched chandu's phone, intending to call his family.

but the moment the screen unblocked, a video file automatically appeared open.

hands shaking, darshan hit play.

[video playback- last night, 7:30pm]

the sharp clang of the dinner bell echoed through the hostel.

chandu grabbed his plate, turning to a group of rushing students with a grin. 

"take it easy boys! the food isn't running away."

he washed his plate and stepped into the bustling cafeteria, pressing his thumb against the biometric scanner.

spotting a friend, smirked. "hey, gowtham. you're pushing it lately, man. keep it up and see what happens."

gowtham laughed. "what did i even do, machi? are you still salty because i didn't buy you biriyani?"

"whatever, forget it," chandu rolled his eyes playfully, taking his food and sitting down next to darshan.

chandu sighed, staring at his plate. "we have internals on monday, and here we are..."

gowtham shrugged. "come on, machi, you've definitely studied."

"yeah, right. it's because of people like you that guys like me never succeed. get out of here!" chandu joked, shoving him lightly.

darshan chimed in, "hey chandu, don't forget we have cantreen duty tomorrow."

"yeah,yeah, we'll go, guru," chandu replied.

after dinner, right before hitting the sack, darshan placed a water bottle by chandu's bedside. within minutes, chandu was mindlessly scrolling through reels, slowly drifting off to sleep."

2:00AM

chandu woke up with a yawn. rubbing his eyes, he slid out of bed and stepped out of the room to head to the restroom.

he walked down the dimly lit corridor, but as he reached the hostel threshold, a chilling sensation made him freeze.

"someone is watching me."

right behind him, standing in the shadows of the corridor, was a massive, pitch-black silhouette.

it stood nearly seven feet tall, rigid as a piller, staring directly at him.

chandu whipped around.

the corridor was empty.

but out of the corner of his eye, near dog legged staircase next to him, he caught a glimpse of something someone peeking over the banister.

"who's there?" he muttered, his heart hammering against his ribs. he began to climb the stairs.

suddenly, the black figure lunged out from the steps, throwing itself right at him.

"Aaaah!"

chandu screamed, stumbling backward and sprinting down the stairs. the shadow pursued him, a relentless, shifting mass of darkness.

bursting through the hostel doors, chandu ran out into the open night air and stopped to catch his breath. he dared to look watching.

"who.... what are you?" chandu thought, terror paralyzing his limbs.

without warning, the entity burst into a terrifying, unnatural sprint, charging straight toward him.

"oh, no, no!"

chandu turned and fled, sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him leaving the hostel far behind.

when he finally stopped, miles away, the streets were dead. he looked back. no one there.

"what is that thing" his mind raced, panic threatening to break him. "it's not human. i know it's not human. then what is it..."

his eyes intinctively drifted upward toward the rooftops of the hostel.

his breath caught.

dozens of black silhouettes were pacing along the rooftops.

chandu's heart dropped. "this.... can't be real..."

the moment the thought crossed his mind, every single entity stopped. they froze in unison, staring down at him like groteque, lifeless dolls.

chandu blinked,

when he opened his eyes, something was pouring out of the shadows of the hostel. they were coming for him.

"oh no, please no!"

he bolted toward the city center, the entities hot on heels.

"this is too bizarre! is this a dream?! please, let this just be nightmare!"

the entities gained ground, moving with horrifying agility.

"no... it feels too real. what do i do?!"

chandu ran into the heart of the city, his lungs burning, his throat gasping for air. "i can't.... i can't run anymore..."

incapble of taking another step, he collapsed onto the sidewalk, hyperventilating. his vision began to blur, turning the approaching world into a hazy amear of light and shadow.

but through the blur, he could see them. the darkness was closing in.

as the entities lunged over him, chandu let out a blood-curdling shriek.

"Aaaaargh...!!"

[video glitch/ beep]

the video cut to static.

darshan was drenched in cold sweat, his phone nearly from his numb fingers.

"how is this possible?!" his mind screamed. "how was this even recorded? he's lying right here in the room... so how is he in the video? how was he in town?"

suddenly, a sharp CLANG shattered the silence.

the hostel dinner bell.

"hey, they're ringing the bell for food. let's go," chandu said casually said casually from behind him.

darshan froze. "uh... yeah. go ahead, i'll be right there."

slowly, stiffly, darshan turned around.

he couldn't believe his eyes.

there stood chandu, perfectly fiine, picking up his dinner plate and walking out the door.

darshan felt his sanity slipping away. fear, confusion, and absolute shock warred inside his chest.

"what just happened?!"  darshan clutched his head. "is this illusion.... or what?!"

TO BE CONTINUED....