Chapter 4: Death and Aftermath

5

Last night’s nightmare flooded back all at once.

Thinking of Caleb’s bloody eye sockets, and the red heels he was looking for, I immediately asked: “Where’s Caleb?”

The RA looked a little surprised, sized me up, didn’t say anything.

“Dead,” Marcus replied.

For a moment, I felt dizzy. “D...dead?”

I walked to the window, saw a police car parked below the dorm, and an ambulance, surrounded by a bunch of students.

Two paramedics were carrying a stretcher. Lying on it should be Caleb, covered by a white sheet, the sheet soaked with water stains, then carried onto the ambulance.

The scene outside was chaotic—flashing blue and red lights, campus security taping off the entrance, people milling around in pajamas and hoodies, faces pale in the dawn. Outside, police radios crackled. The smell of burnt coffee drifted from the 24-hour lounge, mixing with the cold dawn air.

I died in your place.

Suddenly Caleb’s words from last night echoed in my ears, and the woman in a red vintage dress with white eyes on his back.

“How did he die?” I looked at Marcus.

Marcus and Caleb were close, both from the same hometown. He said sadly, “We don’t really know. When we heard the commotion this morning, the ambulance was already here.”

The campus counselor said it was sudden death from staying up late playing games.

I found that hard to accept.

The RA muttered, “Sudden death, my ass. The school just wants to avoid responsibility. Marcus, me, and Derek—we all saw it.”

Caleb wasn’t sudden death at all. Can someone who dies suddenly look like that?

6

Marcus glanced at him: “Enough.”

The RA knew Marcus was in a bad mood, didn’t continue, turned to talk about my episode this morning.

Basically, after Caleb was carried out from the room across the hall, Derek came back, saw me strangling Aubrey for dear life.

He immediately called the RA and Marcus back.

“You were terrifying at the time, eyes rolled back, your hands like iron clamps, couldn’t be pried open.

“Aubrey’s face was turning blue from being strangled, we were all scared out of our minds. I thought you might be possessed, had no choice but to slap you twice. That’s when you woke up.”

After hearing the RA, I subconsciously looked at my hands. There were several bloody scratches. For some reason, I didn’t feel any pain.

After Caleb died, the room across the hall was empty. The counselor, to keep them from talking, split up Caleb’s roommates and put them in other rooms.

Maybe because they resented me, or were afraid I’d do something crazy again, for several days, Derek and Aubrey didn’t return to the room.

Until one night, Aubrey called me, asked me to meet her downstairs.

I agreed—first because I wanted to apologize to her in person; second, I kept remembering she left wearing those red heels, which made me uneasy.