He blinked hard, forcing his mind to clear.


    The figure was gone.


    He muttered again, but this time, the words felt weak in his mouth.


    "Must be the wiring."


    Lila, who had been staring at the corner of the room where the figure had stood, finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.


    "You sure? You don''t think...?"


    Mateo''s stomach churned.


    That''s exactly what she said earlier. Something waiting.


    He repeated, though his voice lacked the certainty he wished it had. He didn''t meet her eyes as he spoke.


    "Probably just old dorms and bad wiring."


    The light flickered again, and then settled.


    The room seemed unnaturally quiet. The hum of the old fridge in the corner, the distant sounds of the night outside, everything felt strangely distant now.


    Lila''s voice cut through the stillness.


    "I hate being alone in my dorm at night. It feels like... something''s watching me. Especially when the lights flicker."


    Mateo didn''t respond immediately. He knew what she meant, but he wasn''t about to let her see how deeply the idea had taken root in his own mind.


    Not after everything that had happened tonight.


    His thoughts swirled back to the Reality Tuner. The distortion he''d experienced earlier, the way the room had warped and shifted.


    Was that connected to all of this? Had I unlocked something, somehow?


    The air in the room seemed to shift again, heavy and charged.


    But it was just our minds playing tricks, right? Maybe it was the stress or the lack of sleep.


    Lila shifted uncomfortably on the couch, her fingers nervously tapping against the armrest.


    She muttered to herself, though Mateo could hear the words clearly.


    "I shouldn''t have come here..."


    Mateo''s chest tightened, and he opened his mouth to say something, to stop her from leaving. He didn''t like the idea of her walking back to her dorm alone, especially after everything they''d just talked about.


    "Lila, wait," he said, his voice sounding rougher than he intended.


    "If you''re feeling scared, it''s okay. You can stay here for tonight. You don''t have to go back yet."


    His heart raced, not entirely sure why he felt so strongly about this. Maybe it was the feeling that she was vulnerable, or maybe something else.


    Lila''s eyes flickered up to meet his, and for a moment, it felt like the air between them thickened. She was still standing by the door, her hand on the handle, but she hesitated.


    Mateo caught the brief flash of relief in her eyes before she shook her head with a small, soft laugh.


    "No, it''s okay," she said quickly, though the unease in her voice was evident.


    "I didn''t mean to trespass or anything. I''m sorry if I''m being a bother. I''ll just head back to my dorm. I''ll be fine, really."


    She looked down at the floor for a moment, her cheeks flushed slightly, and Mateo couldn''t help but notice the way she was avoiding his gaze.


    She wasn''t just scared of the dark or the shadows in the corners of the room. Mateo could tell there was something more beneath it. Lila had her own kind of unease—he knew that much—but he also knew that she didn''t want to seem weak, especially not in front of him.


    Before Mateo could respond, she stepped toward the door, her fingers brushing the doorknob.


    She added, her voice quieter now.


    "Thanks for letting me in tonight, though. I didn''t mean to overstep."


    Mateo felt the words caught in his throat. He wanted to stop her, to insist that she stay on the couch, but the words didn''t come. Instead, he let out a quiet breath, half-relieved and half-resentful of the distance she was putting between them.


    "You''re not a bother," Mateo said softly, not sure if she heard him.


    "But if you change your mind, the door''s open."This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Lila paused for a moment, then gave him a small smile—one that didn''t quite reach her eyes, but enough to make Mateo feel like he had said the right thing.


    She said, her voice soft, but there was something lingering in the way she said his name, as if she were hoping he might stop her.


    "Goodnight, Mateo."


    Mateo didn''t say anything else as he watched her leave, the door clicking shut behind her. He stood there for a moment, feeling a strange mix of relief and disappointment, his thoughts still swirling from everything that had just happened.


    Could they all be connected?


    The door clicked shut behind Lila, but the shadows in the room seemed to linger just a moment too long. Mateo swallowed hard and glanced over at the desk drawer where he put the Reality Tuner.


    He had no idea what he was truly dealing with, but one thing was certain—he wasn''t alone in this.


    The lines between reality and something darker had already started to blur.


    <hr>


    The sun had barely risen, and the subdivision outside the dorm were still quiet, save for a few early risers on their way to class.


    The crisp morning air had a sharp bite to it, and as Kale and Thalo approached the door of their dorm, they both felt the weight of the day''s impending conversation hanging over them.


    Thalo, carrying his laptop bag slung over one shoulder, gave the door a firm knock.


    He called, his voice carrying a hint of amusement.


    "Mateo? You up?"


    No response.


    Kale sighed, glancing at her phone for the time.


    "It''s already 9:30. He''s never up this late unless something''s wrong."


    Thalo knocked again, this time a little louder, his hand briefly pausing on the doorknob.


    "Mateo... seriously, you in there?"


    Still, no answer.


    Kale exchanged a look with Thalo. Something was off.


    Mateo had seemed fine when they left last night, but now it was like he''d vanished. Maybe he''d fallen asleep after all the chaos with the Reality Tuner.


    She said, a little louder now, concern creeping into her tone.


    "Mateo, please open the door."


    Thalo leaned in closer to the door, his voice turning a bit more teasing.


    "Hey, Mateo, don''t tell me you got arrested for your role as the mad scientist now?"


    Kale shook her head.


    "Thalo, that''s not funny."


    The silence hung between them, and after a few moments, Thalo fished his phone out of his pocket and typed a quick message to Mateo, but again, no reply.


    Thalo muttered, scratching the back of his neck in frustration.


    "Still nothing."


    Kale raised an eyebrow.


    "Maybe we should just call the campus security?"


    Thalo muttered to himself, almost under his breath.


    "Stupid."


    He reached into his bag and pulled out a small metal key.


    "I''ve got a spare key. I made one just in case."


    He stepped forward, key in hand, ready to unlock the door—but just as his hand touched the knob, the door swung open with a sudden creak, revealing Mateo standing in front of them.


    "Well, well, well," Thalo said with a smirk, glancing Mateo up and down.


    "Look who it is. Someone put an all-nighter."


    Mateo was dressed casually, his eyes slightly bloodshot, but otherwise looking relatively normal. His expression, however, was anything but relaxed. He stood in the doorway, a bit stiff as if trying to appear calm despite the tension he was holding in.


    Kale stepped forward, a raised brow replacing the usual smile.


    "So," she said, folding her arms across her chest.


    "You ready to explain it to us?"


    Mateo sighed, rubbing his temples as he stood back to let them in.


    "Yeah. Come on. No time to waste."


    He turned and walked toward the desk, motioning for them to follow.


    Kale and Thalo exchanged glances before stepping into the living room.


    The morning light filtered through the dorm room windows, casting long shadows across the cluttered space.


    Mateo, Thalo, and Kale sat in a tight circle around the desk. Mateo fidgeted, his fingers tapping restlessly against the surface as Kale adjusted the various sensors attached to his body.


    Thalo glanced around, his eyes narrowing at the high-tech equipment scattered across the desk.


    "Kale, how do you have all this stuff?" he asked, genuinely curious.


    "I thought you were just a biology student."


    Kale looked up from the equipment with a small smile.


    "I am. But my family''s in the medical field, and they use this equipment for their work. They got a whole lab set up for research, and I may have borrowed a few things."


    Thalo raised an eyebrow.


    "Borrowed?"


    Kale shrugged, a playful glint in her eyes.


    "Let''s just say, when your parents are doctors, they don''t mind you taking a few gadgets for personal use. Don''t worry, they won''t miss it."


    Thalo just nodded, looking impressed.


    "Must be nice to have parents that can just hook you up with this stuff."


    Kale smirked, already focusing on her work again.


    "It has its perks."


    Kale glanced up at Mateo, her expression calm but focused.


    "Alright, Mateo. We''ve got everything set up. But first, you need to tell us what happened when you used the Reality Tuner last night. We need to know everything."


    Mateo hesitated, his gaze flickering toward the desk where the device sat quietly, its faint glow a reminder of what had happened.


    He took a deep breath, his thoughts momentarily drifting back to the moment he pressed the button and the strange sensations that followed.


    "Okay," he began, his voice low.


    "It started pretty normal. I just activated it like we talked about, but when I pressed the button, it felt different—like... everything around me shifted. The room, the air, it felt heavier, like something was changing."


    Kale and Thalo listened intently, the atmosphere in the room growing more tense with every word.


    Mateo continued, his hands shaking slightly as he recalled the experience.


    "At first, it was like the desk... it was warping. The edges were fading, like reality itself was being unzipped. It wasn''t just the desk, though. The walls started flickering in and out of focus, and the shadows—they were stretching, curling on the floor like they were alive. And the hum... it was like the sound was inside my body, vibrating in my chest."


    Thalo raised an eyebrow.


    "A hum?"


    Mateo nodded slowly, his mind still reeling from the memory.


    "Yeah. It was like this low, constant hum that matched the beat of my heart. I swear I could feel it vibrating in my bones. It was unnerving."


    Kale looked at him, her brow furrowed.


    "And what else? What did you feel?"


    "I... I heard my dad''s voice," Mateo said, his voice barely above a whisper.


    "It was like he was there with me, talking. I know it doesn''t make sense, but I could hear him. He said, ''Mateo... you have to understand...''"


    His voice faltered slightly, the weight of the memory sinking in.


    "I thought it was just my head playing tricks on me, but the shadows... they reacted to it, like they were... listening."


    Kale exchanged a look with Thalo.


    "That''s... that''s really messed up, Mateo," she said, her tone serious.


    "The way you''re describing it, it''s like the Reality Tuner is messing with more than just your perception. It''s messing with your mind."


    Mateo shook his head, trying to clear the lingering unease.


    "I don''t know. But I couldn''t ignore it. It felt real. And when I snapped out of it... it was like the room snapped back to normal. The shadows were gone, the hum stopped, and everything just... reset."