Elsewhere

PROLOGUE

There is a room that shouldn’t exist. Yet it waits.

Long before the screams, long before the silence, there was only the door.

Room 306.

It had no name, only a number scorched into its steel plate faint now, like a warning faded with time. It had been locked for years, older than any current student, older than most faculty. But its lock wasn’t made to keep people out.

It was made to keep something in.

And yet, at exactly 3:06 a.m., the doorknob clicked.

A sound so small it could’ve been mistaken for a rat brushing against metal. But in that moment, time froze. The hallway—abandoned and lightless—felt it. The wind outside paused. Even the streetlamps flickered.

Inside the room, something moved.

Across campus, a boy named Joshua jolted awake, soaked in sweat. His chest rose and fell as if something had been pressing on it. He couldn’t scream—his mouth was open, but no sound came out. His eyes darted toward the crucifix above his desk, trembling.

“Ayoko na...”

He whispered the words like a prayer, clutching the rosary beeds and the silver cross around his neck.

For weeks, the dreams had been growing worse shadows behind doors, hallways that loop endlessly, whispers in languages he couldn’t understand. Always ending with that number.

Room 306.

But tonight… it wasn’t just a dream.

He could feel it watching him.

Meanwhile, in another building, a phone vibrated on a wooden desk.

📩 New Message Received.

From: Unknown

“Don’t touch the room. It sees you now.”

At the registrar’s office, under dim fluorescent light, a staff member clicked through files. He frowned.

“Bakit ang dami nanamang nag-drop this week?” he muttered.

Fifteen students. All from different departments. All with no clear reason.

No explanation.

Just… gone.

And far above, from a security camera in the East Wing, the red light blinked once—and then shut off.

Static hissed softly.

Then silence.

Until a faint voice whispered from the darkness of Room 306:

“Finally…”

CHAPTER ONE

The Christopher College Sovereign Academy campus was alive with the restless energy of youth, but beneath the surface, something darker lingered unseen, waiting. Students hurried along the hallways, their footsteps echoing off cold concrete walls, the chatter blending with the hum of fluorescent lights overhead.

Among the crowd were four students whose lives, though separate, would soon converge in a way none of them could have imagined.

Ford walked with a weight no backpack could carry. His sharp eyes scanned the corridor with a skepticism born from too many disappointments. At twenty, juggling school and a part-time job, Ford had grown tired of empty promises and half-finished dreams.

“Grabe, ’bords, parang walang katapusan ’tong semester na ’to,”Ford muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Mike, sprawled lazily on a bench nearby, looked up from his phone with a cocky grin. “Eh, hindi pa ’to ang pinaka-stressful. Wait mo na lang ’yung finals, ’di ba? Parang late game.”

“Late game na parang di ko kaya, ’bords,” Ford replied dryly. “Minsan gusto ko na lang i-unplug lahat, pero sino bang mag-aalaga sa nanay ko kung hindi ako?”

Mike shrugged, still smiling but with a flicker of seriousness behind his eyes.“Sabi ko nga, ’di tayo pwedeng sumuko. Pero dapat matutong magpatawa kahit buhay parang kalbaryo."

Mark, ever the calm presence, approached. His disciplined steps echoed the steady rhythm of his mindset—a martial artist who had learned to control both body and emotion.“Stress, sos parang di kinaya yung semi-finals choks lang yan parekoy”

Jean, quietly observing from a distance, finally spoke up. Her words were soft but carried the weight of someone who had seen more than she let on.“Alam niyo, minsan kahit gaano tayo katatag, may mga bagay na kailangan nating harapin kahit takot tayo.”

They didn’t know it yet, but those words marked the first step into something far more sinister than any deadline or family problem.

Ford’s phone buzzed again that night. He glanced at the screen and saw the same message from the unknown number:“Huwag niyong galawin ’yung kwarto. May nagmamasid.”

He rolled his eyes and chuckled.“Sige bords, si Corts ’to. Trip lang niya ’to,”he muttered, forwarding the message to Mike with a caption:“Nice joke ni Cortz. Enjoy na enjoy yung horror vibes.”

Mike replied with a laughing emoji,“Bords. Pero alam mo na, parang nakakakilig ’tong mga ganito, noh?”

Days passed, and life went on. Classes, exams, late-night cram sessions, and awkward group projects. The rumors about Room 306 slowly faded into background noise—until the whispers started again.

“Bords, pansin niyo ba? Bakit ang daming major students na bigla na lang nawala? Hindi na nagpakita sa class. Walang sagot, walang paalam,”Mike said one afternoon as they walked toward the cafeteria.

Ford frowned, feeling the first real trace of unease.“Hmm... Hindi lang mga students, pati mga dean, parang tinatamad nang magtanong. Sabi nila, ‘walang matibay na dahilan.’ Parang tinatago nila.”

Mark rubbed his chin thoughtfully.“Kung ganun, may mas malalim ’tong pinagtatakpan pre halata talaga.”

Jean, usually quiet, suddenly joined the conversation.“Uy, si Joshua ba yung kasama natin sa major nilaanan na siya ng ‘presence’ daw minsan, sabi niya. Pero sabagay, relihiyoso naman yun kaya kinaya niya.”

Ford raised an eyebrow.“Joshua? medyo tahimik naman yun pero seryoso? Bakit hindi niya sinabi sa amin? Nag ask naba siya kay Shiella?”

“Baka ayaw niyang mag-alala tayo. Pero kanina, kinausap ko siya dun sa library. Sinabi niya na may ‘something’ talaga daw sa kwarto, hindi basta-basta,”Jean explained, voice low.

That afternoon, Jean found Joshua under a dim light in the library’s corner.“Josh, seryoso ba. Ano ba ’yung nangyayari? Hindi na ’to basta kwento lang.”

Joshua sighed, fingers fiddling with his rosary beads.“Hindi madali ’to, Jean. As in, pero naniniwala ako na may nilalang or basta dito. Parang may nanonood, nagmamasid. Pinipilit niya tayong huwag galawin yung room nayun. Pero weird lang, parang niloloko tayo.”

Jean nodded, conflicted.“Si Ford hindi pa sigurado. Parang tinatanggihan niya yung ideya.”

The next day, Jean cornered Ford after class.

“Fordy, seryoso ’to. Hindi tayo pwede magpa-absent. Kailangan nating alamin kung ano talaga nangyayari. Hindi lang ito basta mga tsismis lang sa campus.”

Ford rubbed his temples, conflicted but knowing deep inside something was off.“Oo, alam ko. Pero hindi madaling tanggapin. Parang... naiinip lang ’tong utak ko na magsaliksik sa ganyang klaseng horror story. Saka wuy yung SLM(Self-learning-Module) natin need na ng approval wala kabang balak sa group niyo?”

Jean smiled,“Bahala na si ate Ji nun nagcomply nako ako nanga yung nagprint eh. Sige, kung hindi ka pa kumbinsido, try ko nalang si Daniella. Apaka sensitive yun sa mga ganito, and I think she’ll feel it too.”

Later that evening, Ford found Daniella sitting on the lobby, while scrolling on her phone.

“Dani~”

“uy musta”Daniella respond smilling.

“Musta?”Sabay upo katabi sa table.

“Choks lang, uhhm ano need ko lang opinion mo. May nangyayari kasi sa campus. May mga sudden drop out na students, and others say rason talaga yung sa kwento tungkol sa Room 306 nayan. Jean says you might sense something.”

Daniella’s face paled, eyes darting nervously.“Ford, hindi ito basta-basta. Hindi lang kwento ng multo. May something wrong dito, parang... parang ’yung vibe na hindi mo kayang takasan.”

Ford swallowed hard, suddenly wishing he had ignored what Dani’s saying.

The group started quietly investigating—asking classmates, searching online forums, even sneaking peeks at the east wing. But the deeper they dug, the heavier the air seemed to grow.

Most of what they found was fragmented: old Reddit threads, blurry campus forum posts, vague mentions of “306 incidents” that were quickly deleted. Some faculty brushed off their questions, others just went silent mid-conversation.

Still, life as a student didn’t pause. Quizzes piled up, reports were due, professors demanded attention. Jean buried herself in research late into the night while Ford tried juggling leadership duties for a group project. Mark had martial arts training, and Mike... well, Mike was balancing his ranked Valorant and Mobile legends grind with real-life survival.

“Literal na double life, bords,”Mike joked one night during a late snack run.“Isa sa acad hell, isa sa multiverse horror.”

“Multiverse nga ’naman,”Mark muttered.“Pero walang respawn pag pumalpak.”

Then, just when they thought they couldn’t stretch themselves any thinner, something strange happened.

It was a cloudy Thursday afternoon when the announcement came over the campus speaker system.

“All students are hereby dismissed early today. Please proceed to your dormitories. Faculty, remain in designated areas. This is a directive from administration. That is all.”

No reason. No follow-up. Just that.

The hallways buzzed with confusion. Students packed up fast, glad for the unexpected break. But for Ford and the group, it was a signal.

An opportunity.

“Bords, tingin mo na-force evacuate kasi may nangyari na naman?”Mike whispered, backpack half-zipped.

“Or baka may nakita na naman sa east wing,”Jean added, her tone sharper than usual. “This isn’t random. There’s a pattern.”

Mark looked at Ford.“Nah patay tayo neto pero now or never.”

Ford didn’t hesitate.“Stay lang muna tayo.”

As the campus emptied out, the group split into pairs—Jean and Mike checked the admin wing for any signs of activity, while Ford and Mark made their way toward the east wing staircase.

The silence in the corridors felt unnatural, like the building itself was holding its breath.

On the third floor, Room 306 sat still and unassuming. But there was something wrong. The door’s edges looked... wrong. Warped. Like it was breathing ever so slightly.

Ford stepped closer.“Bords..bords...parang may humihigop na hangin dun sa loob.”

Then Jean’s voice crackled over the walkie app they had installed on their phones.“Guys... we just found something sa faculty office. May files—old case reports. Students na... officially transferred, pero walang actual transfer records. At isa sa pangalan, familiar.”

A pause.

“Joshua.”

Mark stiffened.“Si Josh? sure bayan?”

Jean continued.“Hindi siya nag-enroll this week. Tinanong ko yung registrar. Hindi raw nagpa-drop. Pero wala na sa records.”

Mike’s voice cut in, quiet for once.“Sure ba talaga yan, nawawala talaga si Josh.”

Ford stared at the door of Room 306, heart pounding. He pulled out his phone, scrolling through their messages. The last message from Josh had been a meme—just three days ago. Something stupid. Something normal. And now...

He wasn’t there anymore.

Mark turned to him.“Sipain ko na kaya yung pinto pre?.”

Ford gave a short nod.“Boang wag. Wag muna. Sure muna tayo kung ready naba. Ikaw kaya mo?”

“Ulol....kaya- di eh...hehe.”Mark respond.

But it was already too late.

Behind them, the lights flickered once. Then twice.

And then... silence.

“Bords, wag ka na maglokoko-loko ngayon bords...”Mark frightening but his fist was clenching.

“Mark, alam mo naman na katabi lang kita nasa malayo yung switch.”

A low humming sound began—barely audible, like an old TV left on in another room. Then the hallway temperature dropped even odd shadow figures lurking at windows where Mike’s position.

Mike’s voice came through, shaken:“Shi- guys. Sa kabilang corridor may nagpapakita na talaga... shaks.... pero parang di tao.”wile hiding at the faculty’s cubicle.

Jean replied, whispering now.“Something’s watching us guys.”

Ford slowly backed away from the door.“Regroup!”Then they both ran.

“Sa lobby. We talk, we plan. We don’t rush into this!”

But deep inside, he already knew.

Room 306 wasn’t waiting.

It was calling.

And now, it had noticed them.