Chapter 5: Knock, Knock—Who's Next?

Tap, tap, tap…

From far to near came steady footsteps.

Bang bang bang—

Three knocks on the dorm door near the stairs.

"Open up, dorm inspection! Anyone in there?" A woman’s voice echoed down the hall.

No one answered.

The knocking came again.

Again and again, louder and louder, until it was deafening.

This wasn’t a dorm inspection—it was a death knell.

Boom, boom, boom…

Anyone who didn’t know better would think there was demolition going on outside.

After about ten minutes, the noise stopped.

Suddenly, it was so quiet you could hear every breath.

You could hear the soft buzz of the old mini-fridge, the nervous tapping of someone’s foot under the table. Even Derek’s Candy Crush game was silent for once.

Tap, tap, tap…

The footsteps moved to the next dorm.

"Help, I’m scared," Derek gulped.

"I think our dorm door is older than I am. Can these old bones take that kind of pounding?" Ryan patted the door.

"Stop it, move aside. If you break the door, you’re paying for it," Derek pushed Ryan away.

The six of us sat around the table, staring at the door, listening to the footsteps outside.

It’s coming.

I sucked in a sharp breath.

The footsteps stopped at our door.

"Open up, dorm inspection! Anyone in there?" Still the woman’s voice.

Bang, bang, bang. Three polite knocks.

We all knew this was just the calm before the storm.

Sure enough, the knocking grew louder and more violent.

Each time the door was hit, it visibly caved inward.

Each knock made me think of a meteorite hitting the moon.

Strangely, after each blow, the door bounced right back, as if it were elastic.

The six of us let out a sigh of relief.

Other than our eardrums being tortured, we seemed fine.

Looks like the dorm inspection isn’t that scary.

Just don’t open the door.

Who’d be dumb enough to open it?

After about ten minutes, the inspector moved on.

Safe for now.

"Oh! Let’s give a round of applause to Brother Door! Thank you! Without you, we’d be dead! Door, door, how could we live without you? Love you, mwah! If I get the chance, I’ll light a candle for you morning, noon, and night!"

Ryan hugged the door like it was his favorite quarterback. “You’re a legend, Door. MVP. I’m putting you on my fantasy team.”

Door: Having you guys is my bad luck.

Just as we were celebrating, suddenly we heard the sound of a door unlocking in the next room.

No way…

Someone really was dumb enough to open the door!

A cold shiver ran through the group. The kind of horror you only feel when you realize you’re not as safe as you thought—not even with the lights on, your friends close, and the rules in your pocket. Outside, the footsteps started again, louder than before, and for a long moment, nobody dared to breathe.

We heard the door down the hall unlock. Someone was opening it. My heart stopped. Outside, the footsteps paused—then turned back. And this time, they were coming for us.