Chapter 1

The family trip to the coast was supposed to be a relaxing end to the summer, but the moment I stepped back on campus, a cold feeling washed over me. It started in the hallway of my dorm building. It was too quiet, the air still and heavy. I walked up to my room, 304, and slid my key into the lock.

It didn't turn.

I tried again, jiggling it. Nothing. The lock was changed. A piece of paper was taped to the door. It was a notice from housing services, official and impersonal, stating that the room was currently unoccupied and scheduled for maintenance.

Unoccupied? That made no sense. My roommates, Emily, Ashley, and Megan, should have been back days ago. My stuff was still in there.

I pulled out my phone, my back suddenly feeling cold despite the stuffy heat of the hallway. I scrolled to my group chat, "The 304 Crew." My last message from a week ago, a picture of the ocean, was still the last thing in the chat. I typed a new one.

"Hey guys, I'm back. Why's the lock changed? Where is all my stuff??"

The message sent. A second later, a small notification appeared below it: 'Cannot be delivered.'

I stared at the screen. I tried sending a message to Emily individually. Same thing. Ashley. Megan. Nothing went through. My heart started beating a little faster. I went to my contacts and tried to call Emily's number. It didn't even ring. A recorded voice told me the number was no longer in service.

Panic started to bubble in my chest. I tried Ashley. Same message. Megan. The same. It was impossible. Three people don't just disappear from the phone network at the same time. I checked their social media profiles. I couldn't find them. It was like they had been completely erased. I knew they wouldn't just block me without a word. We were friends.

I stood there in the silent hallway, my suitcase handle digging into my palm. My own dorm room was locked, and the three people I shared it with had vanished from my life.

I called the only other person I could think of, my best friend, Jessica.

"Sarah? You' re back! How was the trip?"

Her cheerful voice was a relief.

"Jess, something weird is going on." I tried to keep my voice steady. "I can' t get into my room, and I can' t get ahold of Emily, Ashley, or Megan. It' s like they just... disappeared."

"What? That' s crazy. Did you check with the housing office?"

"They' re closed for the night," I said, my voice trembling slightly. "Jess, I' m serious. It' s like they blocked me on everything, and their numbers don' t work."

"Okay, okay, calm down," she said. "Don' t panic. There' s probably a simple explanation. Maybe they had to move rooms for some reason and the message didn' t get to you. Look, I' m in my room. Just come here for tonight. We' ll figure it out in the morning."

Her dorm was in the next building over. She had two new roommates this year, Lisa and Karen. I had never met them. When I got there, Jessica gave me a tight hug.

"See? It' s fine. We' ll sort it out," she said, taking my suitcase. "Guys, this is my best friend, Sarah. She' s going to crash here tonight."

The two other girls, Lisa and Karen, were sitting at their desks. When Jessica introduced me, they both turned. Their reaction was not what I expected. Lisa, a small girl with dark hair, physically flinched. Her eyes went wide, and her face turned pale. Karen just stared, her mouth slightly open, not saying a word. Neither of them looked at me directly. Instead, they seemed to be looking at a spot just over my shoulder.

"Uh, hi," I said, trying for a friendly smile.

Lisa mumbled something that sounded like "hello" and quickly turned back to her computer. Karen just gave a stiff nod and did the same. The air in the room instantly became thick with tension.

Jessica shot me a confused look, then turned to her new roommates. "So, Sarah' s roommates kind of vanished. She' s locked out of her room."

Lisa' s shoulders tensed. She didn' t turn around.

I tried to break the weird silence. I had a small box of chocolates I' d brought back from the trip.

"I brought some candy from the beach if you guys want any," I said, holding out the box toward Lisa.

She spun around in her chair so fast it squeaked. Her expression was one of pure terror, like I had just pointed a gun at her.

"No! Stay away!" she shrieked, scrambling backward. Her chair tipped over and crashed to the floor.

Everyone froze. I just stood there, my hand outstretched with the box of chocolates.

Karen jumped up and ran to Lisa' s side. "Are you okay?" she whispered, helping her up but keeping her eyes fixed on me with a mixture of fear and accusation.

"I' m sorry," I said, completely bewildered. "I was just offering some candy."

Lisa didn't answer. She just stared at me, her chest heaving. Then she grabbed her keys from her desk, gave Karen a panicked look, and bolted from the room, slamming the door behind her.

Karen turned to me, her face pale. "You should have just left her alone."

She then grabbed her own keys and a jacket. "I' m going to go find her." She walked out, not even looking at Jessica.

The door clicked shut, leaving me and Jessica alone in the suddenly silent room. I sank onto Jessica' s bed, my mind racing. What in the world was that?

"What the hell was their problem?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

Jessica looked just as stunned as I felt. She picked up the fallen chair and set it upright.

"I have no idea," she said, shaking her head. "They' ve been a little weird since they moved in. Really quiet, lots of strange rules. Like they always keep the window locked, even when it' s hot. But I' ve never seen them act like this."

She sat next to me. "Don' t worry about it, Sarah. They' re just freshmen. Probably overwhelmed and not used to new people. It' s not about you."

But it felt like it was about me. The way they looked at me, the pure fear in Lisa' s eyes. It was the same cold, isolating feeling I got standing in front of my empty, locked room. Something was wrong, and it was all connected to me. I just had no idea what it was.