• Zarina

The noise had built up subconsciously from the edges of her perception. A loud shout piercing the noise from her headphones briefly. She frowned, but shook her head and continued typing her paper. It was due tomorrow, and she was already behind as it was. But if she could at least get to the halfway mark before lunch, she could go to her next classes and then make a big pot of coffee for herself and spend all night making sure that -

"Zarina... Door..." she heard over her headphones, along with a thumping sound. Closer. She frowned again, but took her headphones off and got up from her tiny desk.

"Anne?" She asked. It sounded like her voice, but... Something was off.

"Zarina! Thank god," hissed the voice from the other side of the door. It was Anne's but unlike anything Zarina had heard her roommate say. Her voice was thick with fear and she heard a trembling jingle of keys as her roomate struggled with the key. "Please fucking let me in, I..." A pause, then her next words came as a terrified hiss. "Oh shit... He's here. Ohshitopenthegoddamndoor!"

Zarina jumped into action and unlocked the door in swift movements, the fear in her companion's heart transferring to her own, as if contagious. And barely was the door open before Anne rushed inside and closed the door before locking it. Zarina looked at her friend, Anne looked pale as a sheet, her long, dirty-blonde hair looking disheveled as it half-covered the woman's wide brown eyes and terrified expression. She was sweaty from running and out of breath, taking deep gulps of air as she stared at the door. "What happened -" Zarina begun to ask, before being cut short.

There was a loud thump at the door. "Hey! Young girly!" Came a voice from the other side, male and older. Anne recoiled a step back, as if stung. "You... You don't have to worry about nothing, ok? That girl was... Y'know. She was just a huge bitch, ok? Trust me, I..."

"Yeah, he did nothing wrong," added another voice from behind the door, this one younger and feminine. This surprised Zarina, who felt more and more confused with every moment.

"Yeah! See?" Went the first voice. "So... If I could just explain myself... I didn't mean no harm, really..."

Zarina approached the peephole. Looking into it, she saw an old janitor she vaguely recognized on the other side, with a young woman behind him. A student at the college? Or was she his family?

Then her eyes widened when she saw the young woman reach down and rub and the old man's crotch sensuously with her hand, a sly smile on her lips. He attempted feebly to push her hand away, but she was insistent, and his enjoyment was obvious as he grunted in pleasure. "Uhhnn... Stop it! Not now! Uhh, I mean... Look, I just want to talk, promise!"

Zarina had heard and seen enough. She backed away and put her best brave voice, firm and steady even as her hands trembled. "Sir, we're not opening this door and we don't want to talk! Please leave!"

"But... But I didn't do anything wrong!" Whined the man's voice from the other side. "It was just... A thing of the moment... And this little bitch has been giving me trouble all week long..."

"I'm sorry... " Said the feminine voice. "I shouldn't have spilled my coffee on the carpet. Look, you can take it out on me, if you want. It's ok. You can do anything you want." And the way she emphasized 'anything' left little to Zarina's imagination.

"Sir! if you don't leave I will call the police! Leave us alone!" Said Zarina again.

A moment of uncertainty, broken by the man. "Shit..." Then the two roommates heard footsteps going further away, although now that she was paying attention, Zarina was sure she heard another woman shouting something in the distance, too far for her to hear. She turned to Anne, only for the woman to embrace her tightly. Warm tears stained the shoulder of Zarina's dress and hijab, but she paid it no mind, too worried for her roommate to care. "Hey... Hey, you're ok now. You're safe..." She patted Anna awkwardly as she cried, before asking, "what is going on?"

"Did you get the message?" Asked Anna.

"What message?" Zarina glanced at the desk and noticed her phone was completely off, and unplugged. "Oh, did I forget to charge my phone again?"

Anne broke from the hug to scramble through her smartphone, before showing it to her. "Everyone got the same message as I was walking back from the library! Look! It says something about how men can now claim women by just holding them and saying so? And I know! I know it sounds like a prank, but listen...! I... I don't think it's a prank."

Zarina read the message from this mysterious Source and frowned the more she read. "This can't be real... Can it?" Her voice trembled, unsure. She didn't want to believe it was true. This was something out of science fiction or a seedy erotica, this wasn't...

"I thought the same at first, but I REALLY think it's true. It's actually true somehow." Anna gestured at the door. "The guy and the girl that were outside? Before she was screaming at him to get away. Then he... 'claimed' her, like the message said and she changed completely! Started... Touching him." Anna shivered, her shoulders slumping down in defeat. "I don't think that was acting. It felt way too real..."

They were interrupted by another scream. Outside, and close enough to draw their attention. Both ran to the window just in time to see a woman running away from two fit young men. They caught up to her, grabbed as she screamed in terror, only for her scream to be cut short. And then, before their eyes, the young woman stopped struggling and cuddled to one of the men. It was impossible to see their expression or hear what they said, but the change in her demeanor was so **** Zarina and Anna could see it, even from a hundred yards away, how unnatural it was. One of the men walked away angrily while the woman followed meekly behind the other while he continued looking around the campus.

Searching for his next prey.

And all Zarina could think of was 'This is real. This is happening. Al'ama, this is really happening fuck... How could they do this? How could these men, normal men that passed them on the street without a glance only a day ago, be doing this to women now? What was wrong with this world? '

The two then saw the young man glance up at the dorm and make a immediate turn, heading towards the building, followed by his attentive 'catch'. Zarina's blood ran cold, but it was her turn to freeze, paralyzed by the horrific reality that unfolded around her. She was shaken by Anne, who pulled her away from the window.

"We have to hide!" She whispered, eyes wide with fear.

The two ducked under the window, while another scream was heard, a male one this time, outside. Far too quickly the world was unraveling into chaos.