Her breath hitched.
Not because she was afraid.
Because her body had frozen in place.
That sound—soft, warm, wrong—had come from right behind her. But when she turned, there was nothing. No figure. No movement. Just the hum of the dead screen, and the gentle click of the door locking itself.
Arwa's throat tightened.
She didn't move at first. Just listened. Her pulse roared in her ears.
Then: footsteps.
But not toward her. Pacing.
Soft. Measured. Like someone thinking.
Like someone deciding.
"Who'sthere?"- Arwa
No answer.
Just the overhead light flickering once. A breath. A hum. Her skin crawled.
The screen lit up again.
She spun toward it, heart racing.
But this time, it didn't show Zayaan.
It showed... her.
Not her reflection—a recording. From earlier that day. She was sitting in the cafeteria, having her breakfast. Then it cut to her walking past the lab. Then to her sleeping—the same angle as her pillow. The same moment she found the envelope.
The lights dimmed.
And something—someone—whispered, barely audible, like a thought that didn't belong to her:
"Do you remember who you were... before the trial?"
Her stomach turned.
"What—what is this?" she said, her voice breaking.
Another flicker on the screen.
A split image: Arwa on the left, still asleep in her bed.
Arwa on the right, standing here in 308.
Both breathing.
Only one of them real.
Her knees nearly gave out.
What did that message say?
"If you wake up twice in the same place…"
She clutched the table beside her for support, breathing hard, trying to stay herself.
This was a test.
Or a trap.
Or both.
She stepped backward, blindly, until her shoulder hit the wall. The lights buzzed overhead. The screen shut off.
Dark again.
Then—
That voice. The same one from Zayaan's video. Not mechanical. Human.
Tired. Almost kind.
"You're early."
Something moved in the shadows near the corner.
Not toward her.
Just watching.
She wasn't alone anymore.
And something in the room already knew her name.
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