My heart still racing from the eerie whisper, I frantically felt my way through the darkness, desperate to find a door, a window, anything to escape the suffocating presence that seemed to be closing in. Rohan's grip on my arm was the only thing that kept me grounded, his bony fingers digging deep into my skin like a vice. "Aarav, don't move," he whispered, his breath cold against my ear. "They're not what you think." Suddenly, the lights flickered back to life, and I was met with a sight that made my blood run cold. The common room was no longer empty. Shadows seemed to have coalesced into figures, their eyes glowing like embers in the dark. I tried to scream, but my voice was frozen in my throat. Rohan's smile was the only thing that seemed to be enjoying the spectacle. "You see, Aarav," he said, his voice dripping with an otherworldly excitement, "this hostel has a way of... collecting people." As he spoke, the figures began to move closer, their eyes burning with an intense, unnatural hunger. I felt my sanity begin to unravel, thread by thread. And then, just as all hope seemed lost, Rohan pulled me toward the door, his strength propelling me forward like a rag doll. We burst out into the corridor, the cool night air a welcome respite from the suffocating horror we'd left behind. But as we stumbled down the stairs, I caught a glimpse of something that made my blood run colder than ice. A figure, tall and imposing, standing at the bottom of the stairs, its eyes fixed intently on me. Rohan's grip on my arm tightened, his voice barely audible over the sound of my own ragged breathing. "Aarav, don't look." But it was too late. I'd already seen. And as our eyes met, the figure's face began to twist, its features contorting into a grotesque, inhuman grin. "Welcome home, Aarav," it said, its voice like thunder in my mind. And as the world around me began to spin, I felt myself being pulled toward the figure, toward some dark, ancient power that seemed to be waiting for me. Everything went black. And when I came to, I was lying on the floor, my head throbbing in agony. Rohan's face was inches from mine, his eyes blazing with a fierce, almost feral intensity. "Aarav, listen to me," he whispered, his voice urgent. "You have to get out of here. Now. While you still can." But as I struggled to my feet, I realized that it might already be too late. The figure was standing right behind Rohan, its eyes burning with an unspeakable hunger. And as I watched in horror, Rohan's smile seemed to grow, his eyes glinting with a malevolent light. "You're one of us now, Aarav," he whispered, his voice dripping with an otherworldly excitement. "And soon, you'll understand the true meaning of darkness..."