Chapter 3

Rubbing his eyes, Leon walks down the main hallway to the lobby. He's sleepy, so at first, he doesn't notice that the place looks entirely different from it does during the day.

The clock shows midnight. No one is wandering around the building at this hour. Everyone is asleep, so what is this lost teenager doing?

He himself does not understand it, but when he woke up, an unknown force ordered him to leave the bed and leave the room. In this way, he walks forward, not knowing where he is going. It is as if someone was leading him...

The sixteen-year-old feels as if he is daydreaming. Something strange is happening to him, because apart from the fact that he is aimlessly walking through the lobby in the middle of the night, he is certain that the hallways look entirely different now.

Everything seems more terrifying and sinister to him?

He squints as he spots the girl leaning around the corner. For a split second, he sees her pale skin and black hair.

Isn't that the same person I saw at the welcome party last night? - he thinks.

He runs after her because he thinks she wants to show him something.

- Hey, wait for me! - he shouts, but she pretends not to hear him. She opens the basement door, wanting him to follow her, but then a loud noise echoes behind Leon. The terrified boy turns over his shoulder and sees the figure.

A young man, in his twenties, dressed in a General's uniform, stands at the end of the corridor. He beckons him with his finger, and Leon, hypnotized, follows him. The girl, he's been running after so far, stands by the open door leading to the basement.

- Don't follow him! Come with me to the underground! - she shouts, but he ignores her.

The man has a stern expression on his face. He stands motionless, simply looking at him. Leon's attention is drawn to the Nazi symbol on his uniform.

Is this the infamous General who has been terrorizing this place for years? Is this the same terrifying man who put teenagers through hell twenty years ago?

- I've been waiting for you - he says, words that freeze the boy from head to toe. The teenager stops in his tracks, looking as if he's been paralyzed. - Come with me, I'll show you something...

The door to one of the rooms opens. Leon takes a deep breath, trying to regain his confidence.

The General invites him inside with his hand.

The darkness lurking there makes the boy walk in that direction with unsteady steps, but he is nosy, and after all, curiosity is the first step to hell...

As he crosses the threshold of the room, the terrifying darkness changes into a fragment of a scene. With wide eyes, he looks at two people — an old man with a terrifying face and a boy who looks like a gentler version of the young General.

He watches as the teenager approaches the old man, pointing a gun at him. He clutches the gun to his chest, looking him in the eye with courage.

- If I'm a traitor, then pull the trigger. You'll get rid of everyone one by one. I can be the first!

Leon breathes heavily as the sight of this scene gives him a feeling of familiarity.

- I won't do it because you're my grandson. I hate traitors, but you have the blood of a winner in you, so you can achieve a lot, just open your eyes!

- I've seen it already - the boy answers bravely, taking advantage of his weakness. He snatches the gun from his hand and aims it straight at his heart. - I'm not like you! - Without thinking, he pulls the trigger, ruthlessly killing the old man.

- And yet, you can be like me, Alan. - He hears the terrifying voice of the young General in his ear.

He wakes up screaming in the middle of the night, realizing he's in his bed. He breathes heavily and looks at his roommates with terrified eyes.

- What's wrong with you? It's one in the morning, let people sleep - Sebastian grumbles, turning over.

Nathan looks at his peer with a worried look.

- What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?

Leon turns on the light. He pulls back the covers and looks at the white socks. He's sure he went to bed in clean ones, but now they're so black underneath they look like he's been walking around the building in them.

- Yes, it's just a nightmare... - he replies to his roommate, although his heart is beating faster with fear.

Is it possible that he was sleepwalking? So how did he end up in his bed?

***

Nadia grimaces as she sits on her bed and watches her roommate. The girls didn't like each other at first sight, and it doesn't look like their relationship will change anytime soon.

- I don't want you in this room. Get out of here while I can, be nice - she says to her, piercing her with her black eyes.

This girl looks like Samara from "The Ring".

- Can you explain to me, you crazy guy, what your problem with me has been from the very beginning? What's your issue? Because ever since you saw me, you've been acting like you've been possessed.

- You shouldn't be in this place - she replies quietly, adjusting the sheets. - You and that boy, you shouldn't be here. You're cursed - she adds in a panicked voice.

The sixteen-year-old feels like she's in a bloody horror movie. Why did she get this weird roommate? The principal won't let her change rooms, and she won't call her parents and ask them for this favor, since she's determined to be in this place at all costs.

- If you don't like my being here, then pack up and goodbye. I'm staying here whether you like it or not. I'll treat you like air, so you do the same - Nadia says, piercing her with her gaze. - I should report you for what you did to me yesterday. If Leon and Nathan hadn't been there, I don't know how long I would have stayed in that office, you idiot.

A teenager notices her roommate tense up when she hears the first boy's name.

- So you've already met him?

- Listen... This place probably isn't for you, since there are so many souls trapped here. My mother was here, and she saw ghosts, she's a kind of medium, and looking at you, it seems to me that you have some kind of connection with them. If you go crazy, I certainly won't help you, not after you locked me in that stinking office.

- I know who your mother is! - she yells at her unexpectedly, turning to face her and looking at her with fury in his eyes. - That's why you shouldn't be here!

Nadia feels a moment of unease, looking at her face. This girl can be terrifying...

- You should be in a nuthouse, not a boarding school.- She climbs out of bed and leaves the room, not wanting to deal with this weirdo any longer. She should be more understanding of people like this, considering what her mother went through, but she can't. There's no way to reason with this chick.

She doesn't know how long she can stay in the same room with her.

***

Breakfasts in the cafeteria are between seven and eight in the morning. Today, the first years start classes in this place, so everyone looks stressed, but also excited. The older years are looking at the younger ones, intrigued by some people, and they are also discussing them after yesterday's welcome party.

Leon in particular catches their attention. He walks at Nathan's side, rubbing his sleep-deprived eyes with his fingers. A rumor has already spread around the building that he comes from a very wealthy family, is part Swiss, and his father has already donated large sums to the school as part of the proper care for his son.

Nathan feels awkward walking alongside his friend. He hates being the center of attention.

- ...and he's incredibly handsome. The person with him is also a real hottie. This year, he'll be someone to keep an eye on - says one of the older students, resting her cheek on her hand and looking at them with a dreamy gaze. - Sebastian doesn't stand a chance against them this year.

- For me, Sebastian is still a cute kitten in a tracksuit. I just can't get over the fact that he wags his tail at the sight of Victoria, and she doesn't give a damn about him.

The boys pick up their food and sit down at an empty table. Leon is still so shaken by what happened last night that he is unusually oblivious to the fact that he is the center of attention.

- I think someone from the student council started a rumor that you come from a wealthy family. Everyone's talking about you - says Nathan, watching the people. - It's a really hopeless situation, because I can't eat my breakfast in peace while sitting with you. They keep staring at us.

- They're staring at you because you're a good ass - Leon replies, then shovels the food into his mouth, ignoring his friend's piercing gaze.

Nadia appears in the cafeteria. She takes her food and looks around the room, searching for a place to sit. Her attention is drawn to the boys she met in the evening and got to know well. They sat on the stairs for quite a while, talking about their lives.

Without embarrassment, she approaches them and sits down next to Nathan. She wants to be opposite Leon. She doesn't hide the fact that the boy has caught her eye.

- Hello, did you sleep well the first night? - she begins the topic.

- I was sleeping fine until that idiot started screaming at one in the morning - Nathan replies, pointing at his roommate. - He's pretending to be an important guy, but he's probably afraid of ghosts himself.

- I suspect you would have packed up after the first night if you had the same dream I had - Leon teases him.

Nadia smiles at the corner of her mouth at their exchange.

- What was so scary that you woke up screaming? - she asks him, looking at him with glowing eyes. Leon makes eye contact, then replies,

- It was really strange... I was walking down the corridor, but the place looked so different. I saw a young General, he had a uniform with the Nazi symbol - he says, and Nadia feels that she is starting to feel suffocated. - He called me to him with his finger, showing me some fragment from the past? I don't know what it was, but I entered some room and I saw an old man pointing a gun at a teenager. - The girl's face turns pale, and Nathan stops eating from fear. - He said something about them being a family, so he wouldn't kill him, and that boy grabbed the gun from him and killed him without any scruples. The worst thing about it all was the whisper I heard in my ear that I could be like him after all... he called me Alan.

The spoon falls from Nadia's hand. She looks at Leon with a terrified look.

- Why did he call you Alan? - she asks in a whisper.

- I have no idea, I don't know what it was at all. Before, before I met the General, I saw a girl running away, who was shouting that I should follow her somewhere underground, that I shouldn't follow the General. - He says, looking at his peers, then moves his gaze to the teenager standing in the middle of the cafeteria with a tray in her hands. She looks at them intensely, and her gaze looks disturbing. - It's strange, but it was her - he adds, nodding at the pale girl. They turn over their shoulders and look at the sixteen-year-old.

- That's my haunted roommate - Nadia says.