Chapter Text
And just like that he was out of her view. Faroe walked down the sidewalk, keeping up pace to get back to her college dorm in time. (Though if it did lock, she would see if she could get someone to help her back in, and she really didn’t want to bother anyone, nor her friends at this hour of the night. Or crash at her father’s place). Traffic was minimal so there wasn’t too much of a problem crossing the road.
The outside almost seemed quiet, peaceful as Faroe took a deep breath in. She then looked up at the sky. Dots of light so far beyond any of them scattered about. And so much more that she couldn’t even see. She then looked back in front of her, picking up her pace once again.
Five minutes until the gates lock.
She could see it up ahead in the slight distance, steadily calculating how long it would take to reach it at the pace she’s going. Faroe also counted for any stutters or slowing down. It was late afterall, and she could feel the tiredness of the day starting to weigh on her. Three-ish, four-ish minutes? It’s going to be a close one.
And just in the nick of time, she slipped through the gates, having about a minute to spare. She took a second to catch her breath, slightly chuckling to herself. Well this was the first time Faroe managed to actually make it before the gates closed– or the closest she’d gotten to it. Once done catching her breath, she started to head back to her dorm room, enjoying the cold breeze and the view of the stars as she did so. She headed inside, her footsteps ringing out through the empty hall. An unsteady feeling slowly washed over her. Besides the footsteps, the dorm hall was eerily quiet. It was late, yes, but sometimes she could hear other people from the hall, either having a hangout with friends, or things of the like.
A light fixture on the ceiling slightly buzzed, flickering here and there. Faroe stopped to look at it. It was the only light in the hall that was doing that. Maybe a faulty lightbulb? A sudden click of metal caught her attention, drawing her view from the light to the door on the side of the hall. It was slightly cracked open. Barely any light leaking out from the crack. The light was flickering right in front of this door.
Something in the back of her head told her she should just keep walking, ignore whatever is going on here, but she couldn’t. A curiosity started to grow at the sudden strangeness of this that she had to know what it was. Even if it was nothing, maybe she could just tell whoever this dorm belonged to that the door was cracked open. Telling them to lock it, if they want.
Faroe approached the door, gently pressing her hand against the wood. She took a breath before building up the confidence to push the door open and–
She woke up, her head growing a little hazy. She was in bed, her body feeling sore. She could feel the heaviness of bags under her eyes. She sat up, disoriented and confused. Wasn’t she just–? Taking a second to look around the room. Everything seemed normal, in place exactly like how she left it. The door to her dorm was even locked. It was still dark outside. Was she having a dream or? Did she really meet with her dad– Yes, yes that actually happened. So how is she…?
As confused as she was, she decided to not dwell on it too much for now. Maybe in the morning when she’s more rested and her brain can properly function. She laid back down, blankly staring at the dark ceiling for a moment before slowly closing her eyes. And the exhaustion took her to sleep.
–
She shifted slightly. A ray of light that peaked through the blinds from the window started to perfectly line up to where her eyes were as she laid in bed. Faroe groaned a little, bringing her hand up to shield her eyes as she slowly opened them.
Morning.
Her vision was a little blurry, still being disoriented from– whatever last night was. And almost like on cue, her alarm clock went off. She quickly silenced it, pulling herself out of bed. She gave a stretch, heading over to the bathroom. She turned on the light, rubbing her eyes a little bit before peeking her head up to look into the mirror and–
Faroe gasped in horror, staring into her reflection. She was covered in blood from head to toe. She started to panic. No this must be a dream, this must be–
She backed up against the wall, not being able to take her eyes away from the mirror. She was horrified. How could this even have happened!? She pinched herself and nothing. This all felt way too real to be a dream. She finally managed to rip her gaze away from the mirror, replaying last night's events in her head. She has no recollection of how she could have gotten blood all over her. Faroe thought back to the hallway, the cracked open door. And then a blank in her memory. There was no way that could have…
She was shaking, slowly sliding down the wall as she clutched her legs against her chest. She slightly hyperventilated, having no idea what to do. She didn’t kill anyone. . . did she? But what was she supposed to tell the police? She can’t remember? That she swears that she wouldn’t do such a thing? No matter what, she’d probably be arrested. Her entire future, her reputation at this college ruined. Her father looking at her with shock. She couldn’t bear the mental image of it, having her desires conflict with her moral compass.
After some moments of sobbing and thoughts racing through her head, she took a deep breath, standing up, looking at herself in the mirror again. And she knew what she was going to do.