The Dormitory's Silent Torment

The rain was relentless, pummeling the roof of the old dormitory with an ominous rhythm. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of mildew and old wood, the only sound the distant wail of the wind outside. It was the third night of rain, and the students were growing restless, but the dormitory was as silent as the grave.

Sophie, a freshman with a penchant for reading horror novels, found herself alone in the dormitory's common room. She was a creature of habit, and her routine was to visit the library after dinner, but today, something felt off. The rain seemed louder, the shadows in the room deeper. She couldn't shake the feeling that someone—or something—was watching her.

Her phone buzzed with a text message. It was her roommate, Emily, "Are you coming to the movies? There's a horror flick on tonight."

Sophie's heart skipped a beat. The message was odd. Emily had never invited her to a movie before, and it was a Wednesday night. She glanced around the room, but the shadows were still silent. She decided to ignore the text and continue reading her book.

Hours passed, and the room seemed to grow colder. Sophie pulled her blanket closer around her shoulders, her eyes growing heavy with fatigue. The door creaked open, and a chilling breeze swept through the room. Sophie's heart raced. She had locked the door, but there was no one there.

The shadow moved.

Sophie's eyes widened. A shadow, no, a figure, stood in the doorway, its outline barely visible in the dim light. It was a woman, but her face was twisted in a grotesque mask of pain and anger. Sophie tried to scream, but no sound came out. The figure lunged towards her, and Sophie's world shattered into a thousand pieces of terror.

The next morning, Sophie found herself in a hospital bed, disoriented and trembling. The doctors said she had been found wandering the halls, babbling incoherently. Emily came to visit her, her face pale and eyes wide with fear.

"What happened?" Sophie croaked, her voice barely a whisper.

Emily's eyes darted around the room, as if she expected the figure to appear at any moment. "I found you like that, wandering the halls, talking about a woman. A woman with a face like a mask, Sophie. I think you're delusional."

Sophie's mind raced back to the night before. The woman in the dormitory. The shadow. The silence. She had to get out of there, but she had no idea how to escape the silent torment that seemed to follow her wherever she went.

Days turned into weeks, and Sophie's condition worsened. She was haunted by the same vision, the same woman, the same silent dread. The other students whispered about her, calling her a nutcase, a ghost, a疯子. But Sophie knew better. She knew the dormitory was alive, and it was alive with a malevolent force that had chosen her as its next victim.

One night, Sophie decided to confront the figure. She had no weapons, no allies, only her own courage. She crept out of her room, her heart pounding in her chest. The dormitory was silent, save for the occasional creak of an old floorboard. She moved cautiously, her eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of the shadow.

The shadow was there, waiting. Sophie's breaths came in shallow gasps as she approached the figure. The woman's eyes were empty, hollow sockets that seemed to burn into Sophie's soul. Sophie raised her hand, and without thinking, she struck out at the shadow.

The sound of flesh meeting flesh echoed through the dormitory. The figure stumbled back, and Sophie's heart soared. She had done it! She had struck a blow against the silent tormentor. But as the figure's form began to blur, Sophie realized that she had only delayed the inevitable.

The shadow lunged once more, and this time, Sophie was ready. She reached out, her fingers brushing against the woman's form. There was a sensation of warmth, followed by a chill that spread through her body like an electric current. The woman's form crumbled into dust, and Sophie was engulfed in a blinding light.

When the light faded, Sophie was alone in the dormitory. The rain had stopped, and the room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She looked around, but there was no sign of the shadow. The dormitory was quiet, too quiet.

Sophie made her way to the door, her heart no longer racing. She turned the knob, and the door creaked open. She stepped outside, the cool night air wrapping around her like a comforter. She looked back at the dormitory, its windows glowing with the soft glow of street lamps. She had survived the silent torment, but the question lingered: had she defeated it, or had she only delayed its return?

The dormitory's silent torment had left its mark on Sophie, a scar that would never heal. But it had also given her a newfound courage, a strength that would see her through whatever came next. And as she walked away from the old dormitory, she couldn't help but wonder if the silent dread was truly gone, or if it was simply biding its time, waiting for the right moment to strike again.