The Silent Screams of Dormitory 13

The quiet campus of Evergreen University was a sanctuary of knowledge and serenity. Amidst the towering trees and the gentle hum of the library, there was a dormitory that stood out from the rest—a place where the past and the present intertwined in ways that were impossible to ignore. Dormitory 13, an old, abandoned building on the outskirts of campus, had long been a subject of whispered fears and ghost stories.

It was a crisp autumn evening when Lily, a talented young artist, stumbled upon an old photograph at the university's archives. The image depicted a dormitory room, the kind she had seen many times before. But this one was different; it was filled with students, each of them frozen in time, their faces contorted in terror. The caption beneath the photo simply read, "Dormitory 13: The Silent Screams."

Lily's curiosity was piqued. She had always been fascinated by the supernatural, and the photograph seemed to beckon her closer. She decided to visit Dormitory 13, hoping to find some answers to the mysteries surrounding the photograph.

The old dormitory was shrouded in darkness, its windows broken and the doors boarded up. The air was thick with dust and the scent of decay. Lily hesitated at the threshold, but her determination pushed her forward. She stepped inside, the creak of the wooden floor echoing through the empty halls.

The room where the photograph was taken was dimly lit by the faint glow of moonlight filtering through the broken window. Lily approached the bed where the students were supposed to be. To her horror, she found it empty. The bed sheets were pulled back, revealing a cold, unoccupied space.

Suddenly, the door to the room slammed shut with a resounding thud. Lily spun around, her heart pounding. She could hear the faintest whisper of voices, but when she looked, there was no one there. She pressed her hand against the door, feeling a strange warmth emanating from it.

As she ventured deeper into the dormitory, Lily began to see strange things. Shadows moved across the walls, and she heard the faintest sounds of laughter and crying, though there was no one in sight. She felt a cold hand brush against her shoulder, and she spun around, only to find the room empty again.

Lily knew she was being watched. She ran to the nearest window, trying to find a way out, but the windows were all boarded up. She was trapped.

The whispers grew louder, more insistent. They were calling her name, and Lily could feel their presence closing in around her. She turned to see a shadowy figure materialize in the doorway. It was a student, her face twisted in a grotesque smile, her eyes hollow and empty.

"Lily," the figure hissed, "you cannot leave. You are part of this now."

Lily's mind raced as she tried to figure out what was happening. The photograph had shown her that there was something supernatural at play, but she couldn't understand why she was being targeted. The figure lunged towards her, and Lily knew she had to fight back.

She reached into her bag and pulled out her camera. She aimed it at the figure, pressing the shutter button over and over. Each time she clicked, the figure seemed to waver, as if the light from the camera was pushing it away.

The whispers grew softer, and the figure began to fade. Lily watched in disbelief as it dissolved into the shadows, leaving her alone in the room. She ran to the door, desperate to escape, but as she reached for the handle, she heard a voice behind her.

"Lily, you must stay."

She turned to see another figure, this one much more solid, stepping into the light. It was a young woman with long, flowing hair and eyes that seemed to pierce through her soul.

"Lily, I am Eliza," she said, her voice soft but determined. "I was one of the students in that photograph. We were trapped here, our spirits bound to this place by a dark force. You must help us break free."

Lily nodded, her heart pounding with fear and determination. She knew she couldn't leave until she had freed the spirits of the dormitory. Eliza led her to the heart of the dormitory, where an ancient, forgotten book lay open on a pedestal.

"This book holds the key to our freedom," Eliza explained. "We must read it together, and with each word, we will be freed from this place."

Lily and Eliza took turns reading from the book, their voices blending into a haunting melody. The walls of the dormitory began to tremble, and the shadows that had haunted them started to dissipate.

Finally, as the last word was spoken, the dormitory shuddered, and the shadows vanished completely. Lily and Eliza found themselves standing in the empty parking lot outside the dormitory.

"We are free," Eliza said, her voice filled with relief. "Thank you, Lily."

Lily nodded, her heart still racing from the events of the night. She knew she had faced something she never thought possible, but she had emerged victorious.

As she walked away from Dormitory 13, she couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder and fear. She had seen the face of the supernatural, and it had changed her forever. But she also knew that with determination and courage, she could overcome any challenge.

And so, the dormitory stood empty once more, its secrets hidden away. But for Lily, the memory of her encounter with the spirits of Dormitory 13 would stay with her, a testament to the power of courage and the unyielding spirit of human determination.