He was standing on the second floor of his high school, surrounded by the cacophony of students reading, laughing, and walking through the corridor. As Albert recalled his days as a student — the jokes, the chaos, the friends who once filled these classrooms — the world around him began to shift. The hallways, once familiar, now felt foreign. Colors bled into streaks, sounds warped into a dissonant blur. The corridor's setting twisted and transformed, pulling him back to the day of his graduation. He looked down at himself and realized he was dressed exactly as he had been that day.
The cheerful noise around him dissolved into muffled screams. Panic seized him. Sweat dripped down his face as he loosened his tie, gasping for air, chest tightening as if an invisible hand were choking him. He collapsed to his knees, palms pressed against the floor, breath heaving. His eyes snapped wide, pupils dilating unnaturally, forced open as though some unseen force refused to let him blink — like a cornered animal sensing its imminent death.
The screams grew louder, sharper. Every second stretched into an eternity. He wanted to look toward the source, but fear pinned his body down, refusing to obey him. Finally, mustering what little courage he had left, Albert forced his gaze toward the sound. His eyes dragged slowly across the floor, climbing upward until he recognized the setting: the evening of his graduation. The corridor glowed faintly in the dim orange light of the setting sun.
As his gaze rose higher, flashes of forgotten memories erupted in his mind — so vivid they felt real. Suddenly, he saw feet pounding against the floor, someone sprinting away from the direction of the screams. Their frantic breaths echoed like those of someone who had just seen a ghost. Sweat poured off them, darkening the floor in a trail that shimmered strangely in the dim light. He tried to scream, but his throat betrayed him. Nothing came out.
Confusion clouded his mind. I don't remember anything like this happening that day. The thought barely formed before a blood-curdling scream ripped through the hall, followed by a heavy thud. In the distance, a faint voice spoke, almost like an announcement marking the end of the ceremony.
He looked up at last — and found the corridor stretching endlessly, emptier than ever. Paralyzed, Albert could only drag himself along the floor, desperate to uncover what had happened and who that fleeing figure was. The hallway warped as he moved, collapsing inward, the distance vanishing until it felt as though the corridor itself was lunging at him. Darkness consumed everything, save for a single classroom faintly lit by a dull glow.
Trembling violently, his breath ragged, he stumbled onto his back, staring at the dimly lit doorway. His clothes were disheveled, his body drenched in sweat. Somehow, he forced himself forward. The door handle felt impossibly heavy, as though he were pushing against a car stuck in place. Letting out a strained scream of fear and desperation, he wrenched it open.
Inside, dangling from the ceiling fan, was a girl he barely remembered from his high school days. Her hands and legs were bound, her body covered in bruises and deep scratches. Her swollen eyes glistened with tears. Her torn clothes hung loosely as she convulsed like a fish gasping on land, mouth forced wide open beyond its natural limit. Blood and saliva streaked her face.
Heart racing, Albert rushed forward, reaching for the girl's legs to ease the strain on her neck—
And then he woke.
His body was drenched in sweat, his throat raw as if he had been screaming for hours. Tears stained his face, leaving him trembling in the aftermath of the nightmare.