I was sitting in my apartment, getting some late night studying in, when I heard it. A quiet sobbing sound, coming from out in the hallway. It was faint, but my door was cracked open so I was sure I could hear someone out there, crying. I shut my book and tiptoed out into the hall. There was no one in sight, but I thought I could hear the sobbing from around the corner. I peeked around the bend to see a girl collapsed on the ground in her pajamas, her eyes covered and her shoulders heaving.
I immediately rushed to her side and put my arms around her to make sure she was alright. She was blonde and a little chubby, and as she looked up, I recognized her from class. Biol 325, I think it was? I wished I’d caught her name.
“You’re Nick, from Professor Nelsons’s class, aren’t you?” she sniffed, recognizing me as well.
“Yeah, sorry, I don’t know your name though,” I grinned sheepishly.
“I’m Katie,” she whispered before dissolving into tears again. She looked more scared than sad, I noticed, but I didn’t think much of it at the time.
It wasn’t all that uncommon to see fellow classmates in hysterics. Not only could the stress of college classes easily tear someone apart, but on top of that you were in unfamiliar territory. Plus, almost everyone seemed to have relationship problems of some sort. I just assumed Katie was just homesick. I tried to comfort her, rubbing her shoulders.
A guy stuck his head of another room and said, “SHHH!”
I didn't take to much notice of it, but invited Katie back to my apartment for some tea and talk. Studying could wait. I filled two mugs with water, put them in the microwave, and plopped down on the couch. My roommate was staying at his girlfriends’s, so Katie sat timidly on the edge of the other couch. I waited for her to speak, and after a moment, decided to break the silence.
“So what’s getting you down? Relationship trouble, homework? Catch a sad movie on campus?” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.
Katie didn’t laugh. I noticed again the fear in her eyes, more pronounced this time. Worried, I leaned forward, “Are you okay? Did someone hurt you?”
She shook her head slowly, not meeting my eyes. She took a shaky breath and said, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
My stomach was in knots. Please don’t be anything supernatural. I forced a smile and promised her she could tell me anything, I wouldn’t judge her. Katie took a deep breath and began her story.
“It started when I moved back into my apartment last week. The first night there, I’d just finished unpacking everything and I fell asleep late, around two in the morning. I’m usually a pretty sound sleeper, I don’t even toss and turn, but this night was different. Suddenly, I find myself outside my apartment, standing in the hallway. I didn’t remember how I got there, I must’ve been sleepwalking. I’ve never done that before, not once in my life. It was a little freaky, but I just went back to bed and tried to forget about it.
“The next night was worse. I went to bed earlier, maybe around eleven or midnight. This time, I woke up and I was standing in the stairwell, one floor below mine. Just like the night before, I tried to brush it off and go back to sleep. Then the next night, it happened again. This time, I was downstairs, almost out the front door. I was totally freaked, and the following night I shoved my dresser in front of the door to make sure I couldn’t leave.
“But that didn’t help. When I woke up, I was standing outside. It was so dark, I didn’t even know where I was at first, and all I was wearing was my PJs. Some guys walked by and started yelling things at me, nasty things. I was so scared—I ran and finally made my way back to my apartment. And every night since then, I’ve woken up further and further away from my bed.”
She started to sob again, and I put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “But not tonight, you only ended up in the hallway,” I said, trying to cheer her up. “Which apartment is yours? You can grab some stuff and stay here tonight, if you’d like.”
But Katie shook her head, wide eyed. “I don’t live in this building, my apartment's in the Promenade.”
I froze. That building wasn’t even near mine, it had to be a few miles away! How could she have sleepwalked all the way here? There was definitely something going on here. I kind of hoped my roommate was here at this point. The minute I thought that, I changed my mind. He’s way too into this paranormal stuff. Best to deal with this on my own.
The microwave beeped and we both jumped. I got up to get our tea.
“Is there any significance to where you were each time you woke up?” I asked. Katie shook her head. I thought for a second, and tried again, “Did you walk out in random directions, or were all of the places you woke up in a straight line?”
She thought about it for a moment, “Um… I—I think they might’ve been in a straight line. Yeah, now that I really think about it… I do keep heading in the same direction.”
“And tonight you ended up here, on the fourth floor.”
“Yeah, that’s weird. I wonder…” she trailed off.
I finished her thought, “I wonder where you’re being led to.”
Katie looked scared. I could tell she very much did not want to find that out. I’ll admit, I was a little scared too, but my curiosity was piqued.
“Stay here tonight, my roommate is… otherwise occupied. You can sleep in his bed,” I said. “I was going to study anyway, so I’ll stay up and make sure you don’t sleepwalk.”
Katie nodded and looked relieved. After finishing her tea, she lay down on the couch and fell fast asleep. I went back to studying.
The next hour was pretty uneventful. I was just finishing up a chapter, when, in the dim light of my desk lamp, I saw Katie sit straight up on the couch. Her eyes were open, staring straight ahead. My pulse quickened. She looked so… unnatural. I reached forward to wake her, but then hesitated. She’s already been led this far, I want to see where she’s going. I hoped she’d forgive me, I mean, how else would we get to the bottom of this if I woke her up now?
To be continued when I have more time to finish.
Is this fiction?
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