It didn’t start with fear.

It started like every other normal day- casual, unimportant, forgettable.

My friend had come over in the afternoon, dragging along another girl I had never met before. They were laughing about something, speaking too fast, too excited, like they were carrying some secret.

I didn’t pay much attention at first.

Until I heard the words- “new school.”

That caught my interest.

It wasn’t even about the school itself. It was the way they talked about it. The place. The area. A village nearby. Quiet. Peaceful. Cheap hostel. Fewer rules.

Something about it felt… off.

Not wrong. Just unfamiliar.

Within days, things moved faster than I expected.

My parents made the decision.

“You’ll go there,” they said. “It’s better for your studies.”

No long discussion. No asking what I wanted.

Just decided.

And that’s how I ended up there.

The journey felt longer than it should have.

The roads slowly changed... from busy streets to empty stretches, from noise to silence. Shops disappeared. Houses became fewer. Even the air felt different.

By the time we reached, it didn’t feel like a school.

It felt like something standing alone.

The building was large but oddly quiet. Not abandoned... but not alive either. Beside it stood the hostel, slightly older, its walls faded and worn. Behind both of them, empty land stretched far enough to make you feel small.

And beyond that-

a village.

Distant.

Watching.

We had barely stepped out when he appeared.

“You’re new,” the boy said.

Not a question.

A statement.

I looked at him for a second longer than necessary. Not because he was strange... but because he wasn’t.

He looked normal.

Too normal.

But his eyes… they were observant. Sharp. Like he noticed things most people ignored.

He picked up one of our bags without asking.

“This way,” he said.

We followed.

I didn’t know why.

Inside the hostel, everything looked basic. Clean enough. Organized enough. But there was a stillness in the air. Not silence... something heavier.

Like the place was waiting.

He showed us our rooms, explained small things- water timings, electricity issues, mess schedule.

Normal stuff.

But he didn’t talk like someone giving instructions.

He talked like someone who had already seen everything happen before.

At one point, he looked at me directly.

“If anything feels… off,” he said, “don’t ignore it.”

I frowned.

“What do you mean?”

He didn’t answer.

Just smiled slightly.

And walked away.

Later, I realized he had my number.

I don’t even remember exactly when I gave it.

Maybe I didn’t think much of it at the time.

But later that night, I blocked him.

Simple.

No reason to complicate things.

My uncle worked nearby. I wasn’t going to deal with unnecessary questions.

The first day passed normally.

Classes. Introductions. New faces. Forced conversations.

Nothing unusual.

Until evening.

I remember the exact moment because of how ordinary it felt.

6:53 PM.

I was in the corridor, talking to my friend. People were moving around, laughing, complaining about classes.

Everything was normal.

Until it wasn’t.

A boy standing a few steps ahead suddenly stopped moving.

At first, no one noticed.

Why would they?

People stop all the time.

But then seconds passed.

And he didn’t move.

Not even slightly.

His posture stayed exactly the same. His head tilted slightly to one side. His hand frozen mid-motion.

Someone laughed.

“Bro, what are you doing?”

No response.

Another student stepped closer and tapped his shoulder.

That’s when everything changed.

The movement was too fast.

Too sharp.

The boy turned suddenly... Iike something snapped inside him... and grabbed the other student violently.

Not pushing.

Not hitting.

Attacking.

His grip was tight, unnatural. His movements were jerky, aggressive, almost animal-like.

People screamed.

Someone tried to pull him back.

Bad decision.

He turned on them too.

That’s when I saw it.

His eyes.

Red.

Not bloodshot.

Not irritated.

Glowing.

Like there was light inside them.

Something that didn’t belong there.

Chaos broke out.

People ran. Some tried to stop him. Others just froze, watching in shock.

Teachers came rushing in.

It took three people to pull him away.

Even then, he didn’t calm down immediately.

He kept struggling, breathing heavily, like he had just come out of something… or gone into it.

Then suddenly-

he stopped.

Just like that.

As if nothing had happened.

Silence followed.

Heavy.

Uncomfortable.

No one understood what they had just seen.

No one explained anything.

And strangely-

no one talked about it properly either.

That night, the hostel felt different.

Quieter.

People whispered instead of speaking normally.

Doors were closed earlier than usual.

Lights stayed on longer.

Even laughter sounded forced.

I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling.

Trying to process it.

Trying to make sense of it.

Maybe it was some kind of medical issue.

Maybe stress.

Maybe something else.

But deep down-

I knew it wasn’t normal.

And then I checked the time again.

6:53:45.

I didn’t know why that number stayed in my mind.

But it did.

Clear.

Exact.

Unshakable.

That was the first day.

The day everything changed.

And I didn’t even realize-

it was only the beginning.