Chapter 1- The First Nightmare
Rain tapped softly against the apartment window.
Not loud.
Not violent.
Just enough to keep the city awake.
The digital clock beside the bed glowed red through the darkness.
3:17 A.M.
Lena Hart suddenly gasped awake.
Her chest rose sharply as if she had been underwater too long.
For a moment, she couldn’t breathe.
Cold sweat clung to the back of her neck while her hands trembled violently against the blankets. The room around her remained dark except for faint streetlight leaking through the curtains.
The nightmare again.
Except this time…
…it felt real.
Too real.
Lena pressed a shaking hand against her mouth and forced herself to sit upright.
Twenty-four years old.
Living alone.
Graduate photography student.
Normal.
At least she used to be.
People often described Lena as quiet but striking. She had soft dark-brown skin, tired almond-shaped eyes, and thick curly black hair usually tied into a loose messy bun whenever she worked late editing photos. A small scar rested beneath her chin from a childhood accident she barely remembered.
Tonight her face looked pale.
Drained.
Like someone who hadn’t slept properly in weeks.
Because she hadn’t.
The dreams had started nearly a month ago.
At first they were harmless.
Weird.
Easy to ignore.
But now…
Now they felt wrong.
Lena slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed, trying to steady her breathing.
The nightmare replayed itself in fragments inside her mind.
Black water.
A woman crying.
Long dark hallways.
The sound of someone whispering her name from far away.
And the drowning.
God.
The drowning.
Lena squeezed her eyes shut.
She could still hear the woman choking underwater.
Still see pale hands clawing desperately toward the surface before disappearing beneath endless black water.
A sharp chill crawled up her spine.
She stood quickly and turned on the bedroom lamp.
Warm yellow light flooded the room.
Normal.
Everything looked normal.
Books stacked beside her desk.
Camera equipment near the wall.
Laundry she still hadn’t folded.
Reality.
She let out a shaky laugh under her breath.
“You’re fine,” she whispered.
But then—
Drip.
Lena froze.
Her eyes slowly moved toward the hallway outside her bedroom.
Drip.
Drip.
Water.
A cold knot formed inside her stomach.
The sound was faint.
Almost delicate.
Like water dripping onto hardwood floors somewhere inside the apartment.
Lena frowned.
Maybe the kitchen sink?
Still…
Something about it felt wrong.
Another drip echoed through the silence.
Lena grabbed her phone flashlight and slowly stepped into the dark hallway.
The apartment suddenly felt unfamiliar at night.
Longer somehow.
The shadows stretching strangely across the walls.
Drip.
The sound came from the kitchen.
Her bare feet moved carefully against the floorboards.
Every step made her heartbeat louder.
Drip.
As she reached the kitchen entrance, her flashlight trembled slightly in her hand.
Nothing.
The sink was off.
No leaking faucet.
No spilled water.
Silence.
Lena exhaled slowly.
“You’re losing it,” she muttered softly.
Then her phone buzzed violently in her hand.
She jumped hard enough to nearly drop it.
Unknown Number.
At 3:17 in the morning.
Her stomach twisted.
For several seconds she simply stared at the screen ringing in the darkness.
Then the call stopped.
Immediately afterward—
A text message appeared.
Her throat tightened as she opened it.
One sentence.
No sender.
No image.
Just words.
I saw you drowning too.
Lena stopped breathing.
The apartment suddenly felt freezing cold.
No.
No no no.
Her fingers shook rapidly as she backed away from the kitchen counter.
Another buzz.
Another text.
Wake up before it notices you.
The lights in the apartment flickered once.
Then twice.
Then—
Every light went out.
Darkness swallowed the apartment instantly.
Lena’s breathing turned sharp and uneven.
The only thing visible now was her phone screen illuminating her terrified face.
And slowly—
Very slowly—
Something began breathing behind her.
