The rain started before they reached the bridge. It came down in cold, heavy sheets that soaked through their clothes, turning the cracked asphalt into a mirror of running light. The city around them was alive with glitching red reflections every billboard, every screen, pulsing with traces of the O
The world seemed to freeze the moment the clock hit 12:00 AM. Then, everything erupted at once. Lola’s phone buzzed so violently it almost slipped from her hand. The screen that once showed the lab feed now bled into crimson static images flickering so fast they were impossible to process. Faces.
The speakers crackled. The same distorted voice filled the air. “Persistent, aren’t you?” Lola flinched. “What do you want from us?” “Want?” The voice laughed softly. “I already have what I want. All of it. You just keep making the story better.” Ethan stood, fists tightening. “You’re not upload
The campus looked different after dark. The streetlights painted long shadows across the courtyard, and the usual chatter that filled the air was gone. The dorms were quiet too quiet as if everyone could feel the tension crawling under their skin. Lola pulled her jacket tighter and glanced at the t
The dorm was chaos by sunrise. Yellow tape sealed off the east wing, where the alarms had gone off. The scent of burnt wires still hung in the air. Groups of students clustered on the lawn, murmuring half truths and wild guesses while uniformed officers and security guards moved in and out of the b
The door creaked open slowly, the sound scraping against the silence like a blade on stone. A faint red light pulsed from within, painting the walls in eerie shadows. The room smelled of old dust, burnt wires, and something else something metallic, sharp, almost like blood. Ethan stepped inside fir