The girl in room 17

EPISODE 1 THE EMPTY ROOM The first thing Elle Bennett noticed about Blackwood University was that it looked nothing like the pictures. The photographs on the university website showed bright buildings, green lawns and smiling students carrying books beneath the summer sun. The real Blackwood was different. Older. Darker. The main campus sat beneath a grey afternoon sky, its stone buildings covered in ivy and its narrow windows reflecting almost nothing. Even the clock tower looked intimidating, its hands frozen at 4:17. Elle stared through the car window. "Charming," she muttered. Her mother glanced at her from the driver's seat. "You wanted somewhere different." "I wanted somewhere different. I didn't say I wanted to attend a university that looks haunted." Her mother laughed. "Give it a chance." Elle turned back toward the window. Blackwood University had been established more than two hundred years ago. It was prestigious, expensive and almost impossible to get into. And somehow, she was here. A few minutes later, they pulled up outside Ravens Hall, one of the university's student residences. Elle stepped out of the car and looked up. Four floors. Grey stone. Tall windows. A large wooden door beneath an archway. Above the entrance, carved into the stone, were three words: ENTER WITH PURPOSE. "That's not creepy at all," Elle said. Her mother gave her a look. "Elle." "I'm just saying." They carried her boxes inside. The entrance hall was warmer than Elle expected. Students moved around with suitcases and bags, parents said goodbye, and somewhere upstairs, someone was already playing loud music. It felt normal. Finally. Until Elle reached the reception desk. An older woman sat behind it, organizing a stack of keys. "Elle Bennett?" Elle nodded. The woman looked at the sheet in front of her. "Room 18." She slid a key across the desk. "Fourth floor." Elle picked it up. "Who's in Room 17?" The woman's hand stopped. Just for a second. Then she looked up. "Why?" Elle shrugged. "Nothing. I just noticed it was right beside mine." The woman stared at her. "Room 17 is empty." "Okay." "It has been empty for a long time." There was something strange about the way she'd said it. Not unused. Not under renovation. Empty. As though the room itself were the problem. Elle smiled awkwardly. "Got it." She took her suitcase and headed upstairs. She didn't think about Room 17 again. At least, not until that night. --- Her roommate arrived around seven. "Nadia Collins." She dropped two bags onto the floor and smiled. "You're Elle, right?" "Yeah." "Thank God. I was scared I'd get one of those people who doesn't talk." Elle laughed. "I talk." "Good. Because I talk enough for two people." Within ten minutes, Nadia had told Elle about her hometown, her disastrous journey to Blackwood, three professors she already hated, and the fact that the university cafeteria apparently served something called "mystery stew." Elle was beginning to like her. They were unpacking when Nadia suddenly stopped. "Wait." "What?" Nadia pointed toward the wall. "Do you hear that?" Elle listened. Nothing. Then— A faint sound. Three knocks. Knock. Knock. Knock. Elle looked toward the door. "Someone's outside." She opened it. The hallway was empty. Nadia stepped beside her. "That's weird." Elle looked toward the door opposite theirs. Room 17. Its door was old and dark. There was no room number. Just a small brass plate that read: 17 Elle frowned. "Maybe someone lives there." Nadia shook her head. "The receptionist said it's empty." They stood there for a moment. Then they heard it again. Three knocks. This time, clearly coming from inside Room 17. Knock. Knock. Knock. Nadia's smile disappeared. "Okay." Elle stared at the door. "Maybe there's another entrance." "To a locked room?" "I don't know." Another three knocks. Elle stepped closer. Her hand reached toward the door. "Elle." She stopped. Nadia grabbed her arm. "Don't." Elle looked at her. "Why?" Nadia lowered her voice. "Because if the room is empty..." She glanced at the door. "...who's knocking?" Neither of them moved. Then suddenly— The knocking stopped. Silence. Elle slowly lowered her hand. And from behind the door came a woman's voice. Barely above a whisper. "Elle?" Her blood ran cold. Nadia stared at her. "You heard that too, right?" Elle couldn't answer. Because the voice spoke again. This time, louder. "Elle Bennett." Then the lights in the hallway went out.