Transfer App

Chapter 1: The Room With No Name

The new school smelled like bleach and silence.

Everything echoed — footsteps, lockers, even whispers. Bri clung to the strap of her backpack, eyes low. She hated transfers. Too many people. Too many looks. She walked beside Dee, who barely seemed phased. He had his long dreads tied back and was humming something offbeat, like the school's creepy vibe wasn't sinking in.

They passed classrooms filled with blank-faced students and teachers that barely looked alive. Everything about the building felt... unfinished. Like it had been abandoned and painted over.

That's when they saw it.

A door at the end of the hallway. No label. Just a faint red glow leaking out from beneath.

Dee grinned. "We gotta see what's in there."

Bri hesitated. "That's not on the map."

"Exactly."

He pushed the door open. The hinges groaned.

Inside, everything was dim — the only light came from a red bulb swinging above a clawfoot tub. The air was thick and warm, like someone had been there minutes ago. Bri's nose wrinkled. Rust. Mold. Blood.

Dee stepped toward the tub and casually turned the faucet. Brown water gurgled out.

"What the hell are you doing?" Bri asked.

He didn't answer right away. Just stared into the tub.

Floating inside was something small. Pink. Human.

"Is that... a finger?" she whispered.

Dee's face didn't move. "No," he said quietly. "It's her body. In pieces."

Bri's heart dropped. "What— Dee, we need to leave."

Then they felt it.

Like being watched.

Slowly, they both turned around.

Perched on the top of the wall — spider-like — was a man. Pale. Shirtless. Grinning too wide.

He jumped.

They bolted.

Down the hallway. Past classrooms. Past the glass trophy case.

Every person they asked? Blank stares. Shrugs. The same five words, over and over:

"I don't go in there."