Chapter 2: Red Heels at the Door

Aubrey and Derek slept by the door. Both of their faces changed instantly.

I could clearly see, under the hallway light outside the door, a long shadow stretched in through the gap at the bottom of the door.

Someone... was standing at the door.

At this moment, the motion-activated light in the hallway suddenly went out.

The whole room was swallowed in darkness.

This oppressive, unknown feeling made it even more terrifying. I stared at the pitch-black crack under the door, just imagining someone standing outside made goosebumps break out all over me.

Damn.

In the room, the most hot-tempered RA suddenly slammed his bed: “Who the hell is screwing with me? I’ll kick their ass!”

His voice echoed in the small room, bouncing off the walls, trying to sound braver than he probably felt.

As he spoke, he jumped off the bed, walked straight to the door, and reached out to twist the doorknob.

Just as he was about to open the door—

Derek suddenly stopped him: “Don’t! What if it’s the hall supervisor? Aubrey’s here, if he finds out, both of us will get written up...”

The RA glared at him, impatient.

At that moment:

Bang bang bang!

A sudden series of urgent knocks came from outside the door, and the hallway light came on again.

The RA’s face stiffened immediately. He turned to glance at us.

“Who is it? What’s your problem, knocking in the middle of the night?” I snapped, trying to boost my own courage.

“It’s me, Caleb.”

Hearing Caleb’s voice, everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.

Caleb is the one who sent me the messages from across the hall.

I jumped off the bed and opened the door. When the RA saw Caleb, he was full of anger: “Dude, what are you doing up? You trying to get us all written up?”

Caleb: “I just came out to use the bathroom.”

“Why are you knocking, what’s up?” I asked him.

Caleb looked mysteriously into the room: “How many girls are you hiding in your room? There was so much noise just now. Tell them to keep it down, don’t let the hall supervisor catch them.”

And then—

Caleb stepped aside, revealing a pair of old-fashioned red patent leather heels at the door, the kind you’d see in a 1950s movie. Now, they looked seriously out of place.

The shoes looked like something Lucille Ball would’ve worn—if she’d died fifty years ago. The red patent leather gleamed in the fluorescent light, catching everyone’s attention for all the wrong reasons.

A nervous laugh slipped out from Marcus, but the room was too tense for jokes. Derek shuddered visibly, pulling the covers up higher.

3

Caleb glanced at Aubrey, who had just pulled back the curtain: “Are these your shoes? I’ve seen them at your door the last few days.”

As he spoke,

Caleb kicked the shoes inside: “If the hall supervisor sees them, you’ll get in trouble.”

I turned to look at Aubrey.

“Maybe she forgot,” Derek replied, not really caring.

After Caleb left,

The RA and I climbed back onto our bunks. Aubrey poked her head out, glanced at the red heels on the floor: “Those aren’t mine. Who’d wear shoes like that?”

“Probably from another room. There are plenty of girls staying over in the guys’ dorms,” Derek replied.

“If they’re not yours, toss them out tomorrow. They’re creepy,” someone in the room suggested.

I glanced at the red heels. The style was old, the red patent leather glaringly shiny. No matter how I looked at them, they gave me the creeps.

In the middle of the night, I don’t know what time it was.

I heard rustling in the room. Half-awake, I saw a dark shape crawling on the floor, two hands groping everywhere, as if searching for something.

I was woken up.

Very annoyed, I complained: “What are you looking for? Can’t you wait till morning?”

As soon as I finished, the rustling stopped. I was about to go back to sleep.

Then, someone stood at the head of my bed.

“Shoes... shoes,” it was Caleb’s voice.

“What shoes, those red heels?”

I couldn’t be bothered to open my eyes. I just pointed at the floor: “Aren’t they right there?”

“Where, man, I can’t see them. Help me find them.” Caleb’s voice sounded like he was about to cry.

I was helpless, slowly opened my eyes, only to see Caleb standing blankly at my bedside. His eyes were gone—gouged out, leaving only two bloody holes. Black blood kept seeping from the sockets. It was horrifying.

He opened his mouth wide, walked toward me: “Shoes, I can’t find those shoes.”

“Help me find them. I’m begging you, help me find them.”

“I have to return these shoes.”