Chapter Text
Muddy shoes crunched against the icy grass, chasing after a long shadow they’d never catch. The pacing figure, face hidden in the shadows beneath a jacket hood, stopped just short of the forest’s edge. The night air was harsh and cold. The figure’s quick, white puffs of breath dissipated into the breeze. A few dark clouds shrouded the sky as the wind picked up, the rustling of a million leaves overpowering the sounds of quiet forest creatures and the not so distant campus of Silas University. The full moon, in all its bright glory, finally showered the land with light as a stray cloud drifted away. The figure looked up at the moon, the jacket hood falling back to reveal fair skin and fiery red hair. A shiver ran down her spine. Eyes of electric blue widened, pupils dilating. She darted into the forest, her feet carrying her down the familiar path with agile ease.
—
By mid-morning, Silas was bustling with activity. The sun was shining, the weather was nice, and the first day of classes for the spring semester was upon them. Students were out and about; lounging in the grass with their books, picnicking with snacks, tripping over those less fortunate—
“Sorry!” Laura Hollis tossed a weak apology over her shoulder at the boy she had nearly mowed over in her rush to the freshman dormitories. She’d been a clumsy mess all morning, partly due to her excitement for the start of classes, but mostly due to the official University notice she had clutched in her hands.
Today is the day, she thought to herself. Today is the day I finally get a new roommate.
Her previous roommate, a snobby girl named Betty, hadn’t been the best at fulfilling Laura’s dreams of having the complete university experience. For one, she had up and disappeared halfway through the first semester. No goodbyes, no notes, no ‘you should still add me on my social networking sites so we can stay connected’ farewells. She just packed her bags and hit the road.
Laura had been expecting a much different first roommate. Ideally, the two of them would have quickly bonded over shared interests. Then, once an established connection was made, they would become friends; eventually and inevitably progressing into being best friends. They would stay up late gossiping, studying, and talking about all of the worldly adventures they couldn’t wait to go on. They’d move off campus together, their friendship able to withstand any and all tribulations thrown their way. They’d find significant others, another pair of best friends in order to ensure fun double dating opportunities. The summer after graduation, they’d all go backpacking across Europe. Laura wasn’t entirely sure what exactly backpacking across Europe entailed, but it sounded like just the sort exciting worldly adventure two freshly graduated best friends would go on.
Unfortunately, Betty did not live up to her expectations.
But this one will be different. Laura smiled as she slid her key into the door of Room 307. This one will be the roommate I always dreamed of.
Nearly stumbling into the room, bursting with optimistic excitement, Laura skidded to a full stop at the sight of a stranger making Betty’s bed—or rather, her own bed. The girl was strikingly beautiful, with flawless porcelain skin and a strong jawline. Her sense of style was intimidatingly edgy; it was a bit too alternative for Laura’s tastes, but she had to admit that the girl could pull off the look. Her eyes, so dark they appeared black, watched Laura with a surprising intensity. A weird feeling pulsed through Laura, something that she could only describe as an instinctual reaction. There was something off about the girl standing before her, Laura could feel it in the very core of her being.
That girl was dangerous.
Laura’s cheeks burned as she realized she’d been doing nothing but standing in the doorway and staring for far too long. “Oh, um, hi! I didn’t think you’d be here so early.” She closed the door before extending her hand. “I’m Laura. You must be Carmilla?”
“Must be.” She muttered, ignoring Laura’s outstretched hand and returning to the process of making her bed.
Not one to be easily discouraged, Laura dropped the rejected handshake and pressed on. “So…is this your first semester at Silas?”
“Nope.” She tossed her pillows onto the half-heartedly made bed.
“Did you live off-campus last semester?”
“Nope.”
“Oh, so you just requested a room change or something?”
Carmilla whipped around to face her. “What’s with all the questions, Cupcake?”
Laura gulped. Eye contact with this girl was exceptionally difficult to maintain. “What, I can’t ask questions?”
Carmilla stepped forward, her boots heavy on the wood flooring. A small smirk formed at the corner of her lips. “If you insist on asking questions, I’m going to start asking some of my own.”
“Well, that is typically how two strangers get to know each other.” Laura chuckled, her attempt at humor falling short.
“You’re not going to like my questions.” Carmilla moved to begin unpacking the last of her boxes. The entire thing seemed to be filled with nothing but books.
Laura took a seat on her bed. “How could you possibly know what kind of questions I prefer? You know nothing about me.”
Carmilla rolled her eyes. “I know exactly what kind of person you are.” She stopped unloading books long enough to gesture to Laura’s side of the room. “You’re the kind of person that likes sappy romantic comedies, the kind of person that has a ‘save the whales’ button sitting next to a trash can full of recyclables, the kind of person who hangs up a Harry Potter poster by their bed. You’re not that hard to figure out, Hufflepuff.”
“I am so not a Hufflepuff. Which, by the way, there is nothing wrong with being. It’s just that I am much more suited for the Gryffindor house.” Laura crossed her arms, embarrassed that she still hadn’t gotten around to getting a recycling bin for the room. “And so what, I like a good rom-com every once in a while. There’s no harm in that.”
“Whatever you say, Cutie.” Carmilla placed the last of her books away, kicking the cardboard box aside.
Laura dropped her arms to her lap, her foot tapping vigorously over the edge of the bed. “So, what, you don’t want to get to know the person you’re going to be living with for the rest of the semester?”
After kicking off her boots and plopping down on her bed with a battered book in hand, Carmilla replied, “Maybe I’m just not feeling particularly chatty at the moment.”
Confused, insulted, and far more intrigued than she’d care to admit, Laura decided that she’d had enough of her new roommate for one morning. She grabbed her bag and headed for the door.
One perturbed stroll around campus later, Laura stumbled across her floor don Perry and the biology major LaFontaine sitting on a bench in the courtyard. The pair of childhood best friends had become good pals of Laura’s during her first semester at Silas. They’d offered her guidance and reassurance after the Betty debacle, had helped her survive her first ever finals week, and had been some of the few Silas students that had even bothered to give her the time of day.
“You are not going to believe this.” Laura announced, interrupting their conversation as she squeezed between them.
“You’re right, definitely cannot believe this.” LaFontaine muttered, patting the small jewelry box in their pants pocket. Apparently, all things must wait for Laura Hollis, including any sort of ‘Perry-I-love-you-please-be-my-girlfriend’ presents.
“What is it now, Laura?” Perry asked, oblivious to LaFontaine’s previous intentions.
“Well.” Laura sucked in a deep breath. “My new roommate, Carmilla the gothic hipster, is the actual worst. She’s rude, she’s got this mysterious brooding thing going on, and she all but mocked my Harry Potter poster! I tried to have a genuine conversation with her, but she doesn't even want to get to know me. She’s completely gorgeous, but in a really intimidating kind of way. And there’s just something really weird about her, something not right. My gut instinct is telling me that she’s trouble.”
LaFontaine placed a hand on Laura’s shoulder. “If I’m remembering correctly, you’re the one who begged for a new roommate. Never, in the history of Silas University, has a student been so adamant about getting a replacement roommate before. You had a dorm room all to yourself for half a semester, and all you did was complain about it. Now, you finally get a roommate, and you change your mind after the first day? Frosh, you’re impossible.”
Perry chimed in. “LaFontaine is right, Laura. You wanted the full experience, well, here it is. Most randomly assigned roommates don’t get along, it’s a fairly common thing.”
“I guess.” Laura groaned. “But my gut is never wrong. I’m telling you, she’s bad news.”
After a nice lunch with LaFontaine and Perry, Laura decided to try again with Carmilla. After all, they’d only had one interaction. Carmilla could have just been having a bad day, or maybe Laura had rushed into things a tad bit too fast.
Opening the door to Room 307, Laura found Carmilla in the exact position she’d left her in. The tattered book in her hands hid her face from view, her socked feet crossed at the foot of the bed. Laura closed the door as she set down her bag. Perhaps a peace offering was in order? Grabbing a box of cookies, Laura popped them open and held them out in Carmilla’s direction.
“Would you like one?” She shook the box enticingly.
“I already helped myself, hope you don’t mind.” Carmilla’s voice was smooth with a hint of rasp to it.
“You…what?” Laura’s forearm disappeared into the box before returning with a single cookie in hand. “Why would you eat my food without even asking first? Of course I mind!”
“Whoops.” The sarcasm was dripping from her words. “My bad, Cupcake.”
Laura threw the empty box down. “I have a name, you know.”
“And I have a book to finish.”
“And to think that I came up here to give you a second chance.”
Carmilla peered at her over the top of her book with a curious gaze. “The kind of person who gives second chances, of course.”
“What is your problem?” Infuriated, Laura chucked the last cookie into the garbage. For all she knew, Carmilla could have poisoned the thing. “Why are you being so difficult? Are you completely incapable of being anything other than rude?”
“Looks that way.” The book returned to covering her face.
For the second time that day, Laura collected her things and charged out of her own room.
—
The sun was setting over Silas, the moon already in position and waiting to take over its duties as watcher of the night sky. Carmilla loved sunsets, loved the way the stars slowly became visible where the bright colors faded. Perched on the open windowsill, book in hand, cool breeze on her skin, she felt content. Occasionally, she would stop reading for a moment to watch the people walking by down below. She also kept an eye out for her obnoxious roommate. Carmilla could already tell that despite being such tiny person, Laura Hollis was going to be a major pain in her ass. Glancing to Laura’s side of the room, she grimaced. It was perfectly clean and tidy. The desktop screen, a background picture of Hermione Granger, stared at her with eyes full of judgment and superiority.
A distant howl caught Carmilla’s attention. Her eyes scanned the nearby forest, noting the spot where a flock of birds emerged from the trees. The sun had fallen from view, and soon the night would be fully upon them once more. She shut the window and pulled on her boots with a sigh. It was going to be a long night.
—
The fog was thick across the Silas campus. Each street lamp added an eerie orange glow to the darkness.
“I just don’t understand.” Laura huffed, kicking an oddly shaped rock as she walked.
“Tell Mother Nature how you really feel, Frosh.” LaFontaine joked, giving the same rock a nudge with their shoe.
Perry pursed her lips together. “Well, Laura, I hate to say this, but maybe you’re just not cut out for living with others. A lot of people can’t handle the stress of sharing a living space with someone else, you know.”
“What? No!” Laura exclaimed, her voice filling the empty courtyard. “No, trust me, this has absolutely nothing to do with my ability to live with others.”
“Perr might have point.” LaFontaine shrugged.
Laura shook her head. “You’ll see when you meet her. This girl is freaky intimidating and so full of herself.”
“It’s only been one day. Give her some time, she might warm up to you.” Perry suggested as she stuffed her hands into her coat pockets.
The three of them halted in their tracks at the sound of a blood-curdling scream nearby. Taking off in a run, they rounded the corner of the courtyard to find a motionless body near the edge of the forest. Perry was quick to call for help on her cell phone as Laura and LaFontaine approached the body with caution.
“I know her.” Laura discovered. “Her name’s Sarah Jane. We had a class together.”
Kneeling down, LaFontaine gave a brief examination. “Alive. Breathing. Unconscious. Dirt under nails. There’s a small pool of blood over here, I can’t be certain of the source. I don’t feel confident enough in my limited knowledge of medical procedures to attempt undressing her to find the wound. I believe that the best course of action would be to wait for the proper authorities to arrive.”
“Paramedics are on the way.” Perry announced, her voice shaky in stark contrast to LaFontaine’s highly clinical tone.
Unable to look at the poor girl any longer, Laura decided to search for clues. “Whoever did this probably ran into the forest when they heard us coming, right?”
Perry gasped. “Why are we to assume this wasn't merely an accident? Or an animal?”
As if on cue, a howl echoed in the forest. The three friends shared uneasy glances among themselves. Campus police arrived on the scene shortly after that, followed by the paramedics and a large crowd of curious spectators. Light snow began falling once Laura had finished talking with the authorities. She watched it fall, so peaceful compared to the chaos of flashing lights and hushed whispers. Something caught her eye, and she found herself squinting to see what it was. Down a ways, sneaking out of the forest shadows, was Carmilla.
Laura chased after her without hesitation. She did her best to follow, but Carmilla moved surprisingly fast. She was so caught up in finding which way her new roommate took off in that she nearly ran right into Danny Lawrence.
“Oh, wow. Hey. Sorry, Danny. Didn't even see you there.” Laura stumbled over her words as she looked up at the much taller girl. Though Danny had been her Lit TA, the two of them hadn't actually become friends until they were officially introduced through LaFontaine and Perry. There had been some flirtation, maybe a few almost moments, but in the end it had fizzled out before it had even really begun.
“Uh, hey, Laura.” Danny shifted her weight nervously. There were dark circles under her eyes, the whites of which were streaked with tiny red veins. Only the slightest sliver of blue could be seen around the edges of her remarkably dilated pupils. Laura had never seen anyone look so strung out before. It was more than a little unsettling.
“Danny, you don’t look so good. Are you feeling okay?” She placed her hand on Danny’s forearm. The redhead jerked away from the contact.
“Fine.” She shrugged. “Just tired. Haven’t slept much. Look, I've got to go. We should catch up soon, though.”
“Yeah. I’ll catch you later, I guess.” Laura waited until Danny was out of sight before she took off running again.
She headed straight to the freshman dorms, and to Room 307. Barging in, Laura’s jaw dropped open at what she saw. Carmilla was there, on Laura’s bed, making out with a random girl.
“Don’t you know how to knock?” Carmilla deadpanned, causing the girl beneath her to giggle.
“Excuse me, but that’s my bed you’re on!” Laura angrily discarded her bag.
Carmilla sighed before sauntering over to her own side of the room. After smoothing out her clothes, the random girl told Carmilla to call her and promptly made her exit. Laura slammed the door shut behind her. Balling her hands into fists, she turned and marched right up to Carmilla.
“Today has been very weird, very scary, and very confusing.” She pointed a finger at her roommate. “And you've been at the center of everything.”
The smugness practically oozed off of Carmilla. “Oh, do explain, won’t you? I’m ever so curious as to how I am the sole cause for all your little troubles.”
“You hurt that girl, didn’t you?” Laura was just as surprised at her words as Carmilla was. “I saw you coming out of the forest. I saw you! I don’t know how you made it back here so fast, or where you found that random girl, but I know it was you. How could you hurt Sarah Jane like that? Why did you run away and leave her there? Were you trying to kill her?”
Carmilla feigned innocence. “Slow your roll, Creampuff. I didn’t hurt anyone. I don’t even have the faintest idea of what you’re going on about. I've been in this room all night. You could go ask that random girl, but I don’t know if your poor little heart could handle all the dirty details.”
Laura frowned. “My gut instinct was right about you.”
She smirked. “Oh? And what did your all-knowing intestinal instinct tell you about me?”
“That you’re not a good person.” Laura watched as Carmilla’s smirk faded. “Things are getting weird around here, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”
—
“Hey, Danny, hold up!” Despite being late for class, Danny stopped to let LaFontaine to catch up to her. “Geez, you walk fast.” LaFontaine paused to catch their breath. “I've been trying to get your attention since you passed by the library.”
“Sorry, I've got class.” Danny explained.
“This’ll only take a second.” LaFontaine promised before launching into an in-depth explanation on how they should properly go about asking Perry on a date. Danny tried to listen, but found her mind wandering. Luckily, she zoned back in just in time to catch her ex-infatuation’s name.
“—and Laura totally screwed up my moment yesterday when I tried to ask Perry out. She wouldn't stop going on and on about her shitty new roommate, Caramel the gothic hamster or whatever. I love that kid, I do, but she has got to learn that not everyone is going to like her.”
“Laura has a new roommate?” Suddenly, getting to class didn’t seem all that important.
“Yeah, and apparently she gives Laura ‘bad vibes’.” LaFontaine chuckled. “She’s convinced this new roommate is, like, the actual devil.”
“I've got class. See you.” Danny abruptly turned and walked away. She quickly crossed campus, in the opposite direction of her class, to the freshman dorms. Stopping at the end of Laura’s hall, she spotted a dark haired girl unlocking the door to Room 307. Danny’s brows furrow, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. The girl disappeared inside, leaving Danny alone in the hallway. She shook her head in disbelief.
“No.” She whispered under her breath, unable to move as a flood of mixed emotions rained down on her. “Laura.”
—
The days rolled by swiftly. Laura was busier than ever, both with her classes and with trying to keep tabs on the roommate from hell. Carmilla was exceedingly difficult to live with. She never cleaned, had a habit of taking things before asking, and she was practically nocturnal. She’d stay up late into the night, sometimes until daybreak, but she was always in bed by the time that Laura’s alarm went off. She would typically sleep in until Laura returned from her afternoon classes. Carmilla’s class schedule was a mystery as well. The girl would leave the room for hours on end, but at strange times. She never carried textbooks, never worked on any assignments. All she ever did was read novels and make snarky comments. It was driving Laura insane.
There had been much talk around campus about Sarah Jane the last several days, too. The authorities were keeping the details to themselves, but they had released a few tidbits of information that caused quite a stir. Apparently, Perry had been right. It was an animal that had attacked Sarah Jane, and it was something big enough to leave nasty slash marks across her back. The Silas officials were trying to keep the whole ordeal quiet. They’d offered a promise to ‘look into it’, but everyone knew that the forest wasn't a place to go poking around. Laura didn’t believe the myths and legends about sinister creatures hiding out in those woods, but even she couldn't deny that there was something extremely treacherous about that place.
In Room 307, hovering over a couple of spread out notebooks, Laura glanced at Carmilla. She was reading, like always, but today there was a particularly enthralled look to her. She was captivated by her book, completely disconnected from reality. Laura watched her read; watched her eyes dart from sentence to sentence, watched the way her fingers carefully readied the next page, watched as her lips would hint at a smile every now and then.
Suddenly, Carmilla’s eyes were locked with her own, causing Laura to jump. “You need something, Cupcake?”
“No, I mean, yeah, sort of, or…” Laura groaned as she stumbled over her words. “I, um, I never apologized to you.”
“Apologized?” That certainly got her attention. “For what?”
Laura pushed down her pride. “For accusing you of hurting Sarah Jane. I don’t even know what I was thinking. I thought for sure that I saw you trying to sneak out of the forest, but my friends keep telling me that I was probably just freaking out about finding Sarah Jane like that and I started seeing things. I guess that’s what had to have happened. So, I’m officially apologizing for thinking you had anything to do with her getting hurt.”
Carmilla chewed on her lip. “Apology accepted.”
Laura nodded, letting the conversation end there. She was done trying to talk to Carmilla, done trying to befriend her. It was going to be a long and awkward semester, but if living with a bad roommate was the real university experience, then Laura could handle it.
She picked up one of her notebooks, flipping to a half-full page and scribbling down a few notes. She ran her fingers over the title for the page: Proof My Roommate Is A Psycho Killer.
—
Deep within the forest, Danny sat with her back to a tree. Her tangled hair fell in strands around her face as she picked at the grit beneath her fingernails. Her eyes, glazed over, stared straight ahead.
She felt nothing.
Not the harsh cold of the shadowy forest, not the aching of her bare feet, not the exhaustion from not having had a proper night’s sleep in ages. She sat there, awaiting nightfall, utterly numb. Time moved painfully slow, but eventually the sun left the sky and slivers of moonlight slipped between the trees. The nocturnal creatures slowly awakened as the fog set in.
There are two types of people in the world, Danny thought. Those who are afraid of the dark forest, and those who find peace within it.
Her ear twitched at the sound of approaching footsteps. She craned her neck to see who was coming. The visitor stayed a safe distance away, but held a confident pose.
“I know what you’re going to say.” Danny’s eyes fell to the space between them. “Room 307, right?”
The visitor said nothing.
“Well, we need to do something.” Danny stood, her expression hardening. “Before she hurts anyone else.”