I wave awkwardly to the cab driver as he pulls away. I spent the entire short ride drinking my coffee in small sips, hoping that the caffeine would wake me up and I would realize that I’d imagined that whole weird situation at the train station.

I toss the empty cup in a trash can near the door of the dorm building and pull out my keychain. The dorms are huge, standing at least 20 stories tall. Each one boasts a large sign with the dorm name in bold lettering, which makes it easy to find the right building. My welcome kit included a key card, which I use to gain entrance.

I just want to find my room and get comfortable. The hours of travel have worn on me and my nerves are frayed. I pass the main floor laundry room and find a small elevator. It looks a little like it’s going to send me plummeting down as soon as the doors close, but I’m too tired to bother with stairs. I step inside and push the button for the fourth floor, trying not to think too hard about the stains on the carpet.

I glance around as I make my way to the end of the hall, but there’s nothing much to see. It’s almost eerie how silent and still the dorms seem. I guess a lot of people haven’t moved in yet, since there’s almost a week before classes start. I stop at the end of the hall and check the room number on my keycard to make sure they match.

I knock on the door, rather than using my key. If my roommate is inside, I don’t want to burst in on her unannounced. I hear a voice call out from within, and a moment later the door opens.

“My name is Lidia,” I say as I step into the room. The woman holding the door open is tall and curvy, with flawless, tawny skin. She smiles at me with an easy friendliness that I try to match, but my own smile feels tired and uncertain.

“I’m Cassandra, but please call me Cass.” She hefts my duffle bag from my shoulder without asking and hauls it across the small room. Her purple ombre pixie cut and chunky black boots are striking. I feel like a child standing next to her in my pale-yellow sundress and flats.

“Hope this bed is okay, I’ve already put my sheets on the other one.” She drops my bag onto the mattress closest to the window.

“It’s fine,” I say softly.

I look around at the chaos she has left in her wake: half empty boxes, dresser drawers with clothing hanging out, a few posters hung crookedly on the wall above her bed. The poster images are creepy and unfamiliar, but I think they’re movie posters.

One features a figure in a cloak silhouetted in blue, with its arms stretched out over the image of a house. The figure has glowing eyes. Another features a shadowy, curly haired woman with her hand pressed against a pane of glass.

I can hear Cass talking, but my attention is drawn elsewhere, and I’m finding it hard to focus. I’ve had a cold feeling along my spine since the train station and I can't shake it. The whole encounter feels surreal now. I wonder if I really could have imagined it. I was tired, and in a way, it was similar to the dream I had just woken from.

“So, do you want to come?”

I blink slowly and pull my mind away from the thought of glowing eyes, not sure what she is asking me. “Sorry, what?”

“To the welcome week party, do you want to come with me?” She sits heavily on her bed, bouncing as she does. “I’m sure we’ll meet lots of cool people, and it’s better than sitting in this cramped little dorm all night. I don’t know anyone yet and I don’t want to go alone. Please?” She smiles at me in a way that says she knows I’ll agree.

“I don’t know.” I sit on the edge of my new bed, feeling the stiffness of the mattress. “I’m not really much of a partier.” The truth is I’m still a little shaken. Besides that, I’m starving and exhausted from travelling.

“College is all about new experiences, right?” She jumps to her feet and takes two steps towards me, closing the small distance between our beds. She holds her hands out to me. “You don’t want to spend all night by yourself! Besides, there’s free food.”

My stomach rumbles softly and I purse my lips. It might take my mind off of things and I do want to explore campus.

“Why not,” I say softly.

“Exactly!” Cass grins. “Why the hell not? It’s welcome week!” She takes my hands and pulls me to my feet. “Besides, buddy system, right? We’re roomies now, we look out for each other.”

“Right,” I agree. “We stick together.”

She leads me through the late summer warmth to the commons where we find tables loaded with pizza and snacks, which I eat way too much of. There are hundreds of people milling about and talking and I can see tables set up with information about campus clubs, sports, and societies. I skim the posters at each, but nothing jumps out at me.

Eventually, the crowd spills into the quad where a stage has been set up and a band is playing slightly off-tune and way too loud. I find myself bobbing my head even though I don’t recognize any of the songs. They’re energetic and up-tempo enough to keep my attention.

Cass drags me to the back of the crowd, and we dance for a while, though I feel more like a bouncing toddler who has eaten too much candy than a college student rocking out. I am grateful that she insisted I join her. I'm finally feeling relaxed enough not to check over my shoulder every five minutes.

A tall, brunette man approaches us and points to Cass’s shirt, giving her a thumbs up. She grins and shouts at him over the music, and he seems to respond, though I don’t hear what either of them are saying.

My hearing has always been sensitive and in very loud settings like this it kind of shuts down as a defence mechanism. Unless I really focus, I can’t hear much more than a loud buzzing beneath the music.

The guy is cute, but next to Cass his football jersey looks out of place. The two of them seem to be hitting it off, so we make our way out of the crowd where we can talk. He introduces himself and strikes up a conversation about whatever Cass’s t-shirt is about. I try to pay attention, but something is distracting me.

There’s a weird feeling at the back of my neck. I try to brush it off, but it’s nagging at me. No, I'm sure it's nothing. I'm just on high alert because of this morning.

The sun is going down and the official festivities are wrapping up. People are starting to spread out towards the parking lots and dorms, but there are still dozens of little groups hanging out and chatting. The cute jock, I wish I had paid attention to his name, waves when a group of guys walk by us.

“So, my frat is having an after-party. You should come,” he says. I can feel the smile fall from my face. Cass looks at me hopefully, but I slowly shake my head.

“Thank you, but I really wouldn’t feel comfortable,” I admit.

“I know ‘frat party’ makes it sound bad, but I promise it’s not like that,” the guy says with a friendly laugh.

“It’s not that,” I answer. “I just don’t feel up to it.” It’s been a very long day and I’m already so far out of my comfort zone. I just want to get settled into my new space and relax for the rest of the night.

Cass looks crestfallen, but shrugs. “Another time. It’s not like this is the only party of the year, right?”

He agrees and they continue to talk happily while I wrap my arms around myself and try not to look as guilty as I feel. She obviously really likes this guy, but she isn’t going to ditch me for him. Finally, I speak up. “Cass, you should go.”

“What?” She turns to me. “No way, buddy system!”

“Really, it’s okay. I can see the dorm from here and there are still lots of people out. I’ll be fine walking back myself.”

“And I can walk you home when you’re ready to go,” the man whose name I can’t remember offers. “Make sure you get back safely.”

Cass looks uncertainly between us. “You’re really sure you’ll be alright? It isn’t a big deal if we call it an early night.”

“I insist,” I say in a tone I hope will be convincing. “I haven’t even started to unpack, anyway. This will give me a chance to get settled in.”

“You are too sweet, Lids.” She smiles and wraps me up in a big hug that is awkward due to our height difference. I hug back and smile. Cass is nothing like me, but I am happy to have her as a roommate. I feel like we are becoming friends already. “There are snacks in the striped bag on the desk. Help yourself,” she says as she pulls back. “Oh, and give me your phone so I can put my number in. You can text me if anything comes up, okay?”

“Thank you,” I say, handing her my phone. As she taps away at the screen, the feeling of being watched washes over me again and a shiver runs up my spine. I’ll feel better securely locked in my dorm room. I tell myself that I’m just uncomfortable because I’m in a strange place. Still, I can’t shake the threatening feeling.

Cass gives my phone back and gives me another quick hug before turning back to the guy—his name starts with an “H” I think—and looping her arm around his. I wave them off and start the short walk back toward our dorm.

I focus on everything I want to get finished tonight, to keep my mind occupied. I’ll need to put my clothes away and get sheets on the bed, at the very least.

The closer I get to the dorm the fewer people I see around me. Because of the eerie feeling trailing me I have my key card in hand well before I reach the door. The lock clicks open and I pull on the handle, but just as the door begins to move something pulls me backward and a hand slams firmly over my mouth.

I’m so shocked, I don’t even scream. Instead, I bite down on the hand as hard as I can, tasting metal before I'm thrown to the ground. I skid across the pavement for several feet, curling up as small as I can to protect myself. My forearm is skinned and bleeding as I jump up. I cast my gaze around me to find the person who grabbed me.

My blood feels like ice as I see two figures approaching me. I reach for the mace on my keychain but realize that I dropped my keys at the door. I freeze, unsure of what to do. One of the figures vanishes, as if he just evaporated before my eyes. I shriek as loud as I can and start to run.

A hand closes around my wrist with bruising force, and I round on my attacker, digging my nails into the side of their face and dragging them down as hard as I can. They release me, but another arm wraps around my neck from behind. My short frame is lifted from the ground, and I scratch and struggle. The pressure is cutting off my oxygen. My vision starts to get hazy as I thrash uselessly against their hold.

I hit the ground before I even realize that I've been released. I take deep, gasping breaths and try to scramble to my feet, but can’t hold myself up. I can see my attackers clearly for the first time. Two men, one with dark hair and one blonde. The blonde I recognize: it's the man from the train station.

I'm so focused on him that I don't react when a man appears in my peripheral vision. He steps forward, putting himself between me and the other men, who shrink back.

He's pale and dark-haired, but from my angle, half collapsed on the ground, I can't make out his face clearly. Something about his presence fills me with a sense of relief.

He turns to glance at me, and his eyes flash a brilliant, glowing green. My blood is thundering in my ears and I’m still seeing spots as I cough harshly, trying to get my breath. Just as everything starts to go black around the edges, I feel the green-eyed man's hand wrap around my arm and a soft voice fills my mind.

"I will protect you."