Turning on her phone's flashlight, she got out of bed. Without thinking twice, she pulled the blanket around her and walked slowly through the dark. Each step felt heavier than the last, her heartbeat thudding in her chest like a drum. 

            “BOOM!”. Something fell to the ground, followed by the sound of footsteps near the front door. When the door opened, she saw nothing but the dark hallway leading to her parents’ room. Fear gripped her heart, but curiosity refused to let her turn away. Emily’s breath quickened as she held her phone tighter, its dim light barely cutting through the darkness. The hallway stretched endlessly, the air thick with silence. 

            Another buzz. "Stay where you are."She froze. A whisper drifted from her parents’ room. Her fingers trembled as she reached for the door. It creaked open. Empty. The bed was untouched. No sign of them. Her phone flickered.A shadow moved behind her. Cold breath brushed her neck.She turned. A tall figure stood inches away. Its face was her own. Pale. Smiling.Her phone slipped from her grip. The screen blinked: "You looked." The lights went out.

By morning, the front door was wide open. Emily was gone. Only her phone remained, cracked on the floor. A final message glowed on the screen: "Now it’s their turn."

The phone buzzed at 3:17 a.m. A single message appeared:

"Don't look outside."

I blinked at the screen, my heart still heavy from exhaustion. It had been months since the world fell apart. A virus—V-39—had swept across the globe, wiping out entire cities in weeks. Those who got infected didn’t just die. They changed.

The government called it a mutation. We called them The Silent.

The first symptom was a fever, then hallucinations. By the third stage, the infected would stand completely still, staring at walls, windows, or mirrors—silent, unmoving, as if waiting. No one knew what they were waiting for. No one who saw them up close lived long enough to tell.

I sat up in my cot, the air in my bunker stale. The message was from Command. That meant it was serious.

Another buzz.

"Stay inside. They’re here."

I felt my stomach drop. They? The Silent? That was impossible. My underground shelter was hidden, reinforced. No one—nothing—should’ve been able to find me.

Then I heard it.

A faint shuffling. Slow, deliberate. Right above me.

The ground-level hatch.

I reached for my rifle, careful not to make a sound. My heartbeat pounded in my ears. Then, a faint tap, tap, tap echoed from the metal door.

My phone buzzed again.

"DO NOT LOOK."

I clenched my jaw. What was outside? How had they found me?

A long, unnatural scrape followed, like nails dragging against steel. Then… silence.

My mind screamed at me to obey. To stay still.

But curiosity is a dangerous thing.

I crawled toward the security monitor and switched on the external camera feed. The night-vision flickered for a second before stabilizing.

At first, I saw nothing. Just the barren wasteland outside. No movement. No threats.

Then, I noticed something off.

The shadows were wrong.

There was a figure near the hatch. Not moving, not breathing. Just… standing. Facing the camera.

It looked human. But its face—its face was blurred. Like static.

And then—it turned its head toward me.

My bunker was soundproof. There was no way it knew I was watching.

But it did.

The moment its static-covered eyes locked onto the camera, my entire bunker shook violently. The walls groaned. My lights flickered. The screens distorted with a horrible screeching noise.

My phone buzzed one last time.

"You looked. Now, they know."

Then—

The hatch unlocked.

Half-asleep, I blinked at the screen, my heart already picking up speed. The message was from an unknown number. Probably a prank. Probably. Then I heard it. A slow tap, tap, tap at my second-floor window. My security cameras were offline. Another message was sent “Seriously. Do NOT look.” I peeked outside but there’s nothing. Relief washed over me until my phone vibrated again: “Now you’ve done it.” The tapping resumed inside the room. Panicked, I rushed to my roommate Evan’s room. He was pale, staring at his phone. A message which says  “Don’t let him see you.” Then, the closet door creaked. Tap, tap, tap. A whisper echoed from our phones: “I see you.” A reflection in the closet mirror moved—wrong. It grinned, then reached through the glass. It looked like me. Was me. A message appeared “It’s your turn now.” The mirror shattered as Evan yanked me away. We fled outside, breathless. Then, one last message “Look behind you.” I didn’t. But Evan did. And he screamed.

Another message followed: "I warned you".The lights flickered, then the power cut out. A loud bang shattered the silence. The door creaked open. Chaos erupted.

Nieys was the first to fall, a blade silencing her sobs. Honey’s scream was cut short by a rope tightening around her throat. Han and Candy trembled, paralyzed. Rina tried to run, but a hand yanked her back.

A voice from the past whispered, "You were never supposed to leave." Panic surged through her. A memory surfaced from years ago, a boy alone, crying, their laughter haunting him. "It's you",she gasped.

The man grinned. "Now you remember".

Rina’s scream was swallowed by the night. Her phone screen flickered as the last message unread: "Game over".

Han, Honey, and Candy sat in the dimly lit living room, the party long over. The sudden message sent a chill through them.

"Who sent that?" Nieys muttered. Han frowned at the screen. "Wait... isn't that the guy from earlier?". Earlier that night, during a reckless game of Truth or Dare, they had prank-called a stranger, mocking and insulting him. At the time, it was just a joke. However, they never thought he would take it seriously.

A second message appeared. Nieys' face went pale. "I warned you". As the wind rattled the window, Honey clutched a pillow. "This isn't funny," she whispered. Candy scoffed. "What could he do? He's just some random guy". Meanwhile, Rina's eyes remained on the flickering light.

"We shouldn't have called him". Suddenly, the power went out.

A loud bang shattered the silence as the front door creaked open. Immediately, chaos erupted Nieys collapsed as a blade sank into her. Honey's scream was cut off by a rope tightening around her throat. Han and Candy stood frozen, forced to watch. At first, Rina stood paralyzed However, her survival instinct kicked in, and she ran. Yet, she was not fast enough.

A hand grabbed her wrist, yanking her back. Her phone slipped from her grasp, its glow barely illuminating the room. At that moment, a chilling voice whispered, "Do you remember me now?".

Instantly, a buried memory surfaced. A boy, alone in the dark, surrounded by cruel laughter. A prank they had long forgotten, but he never did.

Rina's stomach twisted. "It's you". The man grinned. "Now you remember". Her scream vanished into the night as her phone screen flickered before going black. The last message remained unread.

"Game over".

A story by Hanim, Syukrina, Iffah, Kandias and Rehan.

Shawn groggily reached for it, squinting against the brightness of the screen. A single message stared back at him “Don’t look outside.”

He frowned. No name, no number. Just the message. Probably a prank. With a sigh, he placed the phone back on his nightstand and rolled over.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

His body stiffened. The sound was soft, deliberate. It came from the window. Shawn held his breath, heart pounding. It had to be a tree branch, right? But he lived on the fourth floor there were no trees outside his window.

Buzz.

His hand trembled as he lifted the phone. Another message. “It knows you’re awake.” A shiver ran down his spine. He wasn’t alone. Slowly, he turned his head toward the window.

A figure stood on the other side of the glass. Tall, impossibly thin. Its face was obscured by darkness, but Liam felt its gaze boring into him.

Buzz.

“If you see it, it sees you.” His breath came in short, shallow gasps. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping praying it would go away. The tapping grew louder. More urgent. Then asilence. Shawn stayed frozen, counting the seconds. Minutes passed. His lungs burned, but he refused to move. Finally, gathering his courage, he cracked one eye open.

Nothing.

Relief washed over him. He exhaled shakily, reaching for his phone one last time. Another message awaited him. “You looked, didn’t you?” The hairs on his neck rose. A cold breath whispered against his skin.

Behind him… something moved.

Shawn groggily reached for it, squinting against the brightness of the screen. A single message stared back at him “Don’t look outside.”

He frowned. No name, no number. Just the message. Probably a prank. With a sigh, he placed the phone back on his nightstand and rolled over.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

His body stiffened. The sound was soft, deliberate. It came from the window. Shawn held his breath, heart pounding. It had to be a tree branch, right? But he lived on the fourth floor there were no trees outside his window.

Buzz.

His hand trembled as he lifted the phone. Another message. “It knows you’re awake.” A shiver ran down his spine. He wasn’t alone. Slowly, he turned his head toward the window.

A figure stood on the other side of the glass. Tall, impossibly thin. Its face was obscured by darkness, but Shawn felt its gaze boring into him.

Buzz.

“If you see it, it sees you.” His breath came in short, shallow gasps. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping praying it would go away. The tapping grew louder. More urgent. Then asilence. Shawn stayed frozen, counting the seconds. Minutes passed. His lungs burned, but he refused to move. Finally, gathering his courage, he cracked one eye open.

Nothing.

Relief washed over him. He exhaled shakily, reaching for his phone one last time. Another message awaited him. “You looked, didn’t you?” The hairs on his neck rose. A cold breath whispered against his skin.

Behind him… something moved.

Pong was confused. The message was sent by an anonymous number that he couldn’t recognize. As much as he was confused, he was also frustrated. He thought this was some kind of prank by his friends, who occasionally did these things to him. But usually, not to this extreme—not to the point of getting a new phone number. Normally, they would just throw a small pebble at his window and call it a day.

However, Pong realized it was different this time. It felt much more… genuine.

Pong got up from his bed and slowly peeked outside his room. His parents weren’t home yet; they had told him they would come back by 4 because of their night shifts. He was all alone.

Scared and curious, Pong slowly mustered up some courage and quietly snuck behind the curtain beside his bed. He carefully pulled the curtain to the side, just enough to see outside without being spotted. At least… he hoped he wasn’t spotted.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tall man in an all-black suit wearing a tie. However, something was off about him. He was pale—so pale that it almost looked like he had no eyes or any other facial features. Or maybe… he actually doesn’t.

“I don’t recognize him in this town,” Pong murmured to himself.

Pong lived in a quiet town across the border of Ohio. Weird stuff always happened, but it usually stayed within the bounds of reality—never anything mystical.

The man suddenly started walking, and a bunch of white, tentacle-like things appeared behind him.

In a moment of fear, Pong rushed to the stairs to check the front door, which was located right in front of the staircase. He remembered locking the door before going to sleep, but just in case something happened, he wanted to make sure. And that something did, in fact, occur.

The doorknob was moving—turning slowly, as if someone was unlocking it with a key.

Pong sprinted to his room and locked the door. In a moment of panic, he hid in his closet underneath the clothes.

Clack.

The sound of his door being opened sent shivers through his body, along with the cold aura that the man brought. Pong tried his best to stay silent, even as his heart pounded so loudly he thought it would explode.

The man started searching the room, checking every possible hiding spot—the bathroom, under the bed, even under the blanket. Then, finally, he walked toward the closet.

He slowly opened the old closet door and started rummaging through the hanging clothes. Just as he was about to check the ones at the bottom, Pong held his breath like a turtle, trying not to make a sound.

Suddenly, a light source flashed through the window.

Pong’s parents were home.

The man stopped. Then, as if he had never been there, he walked out of the room and simply disappeared into thin air.

Pong let out a deep breath and started crying. His parents came running straight to his room when they heard his sobs.

After Pong calmed down with some warm hugs from his parents and a cup of hot chocolate his mom made, he told them everything that had happened.

From that day on, his parents always made sure to be home by midnight to ensure nothing like that ever happened again.

Sophia bolted downstairs. Olivia locked the door behind her, face pale. "I saw her," she whispered, voice shaking. "She was trying to warn me." A sudden creak made them freeze—the front door was opening. Heavy footsteps followed, and a voice hissed, "You shouldn’t have seen her." Dread settled in their bones. Alexandria’s death wasn’t an accident. The killer was here.

Then, a whisper drifted through the air. "Run." Alexandria’s voice. Without hesitation, the sisters threw open the window and leapt into the night as the door behind them burst open. A shadowy figure stepped inside, but they were already gone. Somewhere in the darkness, Alexandria’s voice whispered one last time: "I won’t let him hurt you."

Nasuha groggily reached for it. One message, unknown sender:

"Don't look outside."

Her drowsiness vanished. In her haste, she knocked against the desk, pain jolting through her knee. Shaking it off, she stumbled to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face.

A sudden knock at the door.

The curtain swayed, revealing a tall, shadowy figure standing at her doorstep. Her pulse quickened, but curiosity overtook fear. She opened the door—her brother stood there, holding snacks.

"Did you text me?" she asked.

He frowned. "No, I just got here."

Her phone buzzed again.

"You spotted the wrong person. Hehehe."

A cold dread coiled around her. The lamp flickered violently, casting twisted shadows on the walls.

THE END.

"Don't look outside." 

At first i thought it was a joke, perhaps message sent by mistake. But before i could type a response, another message appeared.

"Just stay inside. Lock the doors. I'll explain later."

I, with an uneasy feeling trying to comprehend what's going on. My father was not the type to send cryptic messages, especially in the middle of night. His word carried an urgency that sent a shiver down my spine. Was someone there outside? Was I in danger?  My room was filled with breezing wind, it was then when I decided to look outside. Suddenly, I heard a faint thud on my window. I froze. My breath caught in my throat as my heart pounded against my ribs. The message replayed in my mind

"Don't look outside."

But curiosity had already taken hold of me.

Slowly, I turned my head toward the window. The night outside was still, bathed in the dim glow of the streetlights. Nothing seemed out of place. Maybe it was just the wind or a stray branch tapping against the glass. Then, another thud. Louder this time. Closer. I swallowed hard and took a step forward. My hands were cold and clammy as I reached for the curtain. The moment I lifted it, my stomach dropped.

Something was out there. A tall, shadowy figure stood just beyond the window, its head tilted at an unnatural angle. I couldn't make out its face, but I knew it was staring at me. My phone buzzed again. With trembling hands, I glanced down. Another message from my father.

"Whatever you do, DO NOT let it know you saw it."

My blood turned to ice. I forced myself to stay still, pretending I hadn’t seen anything. But my body betrayed me. My breath hitched, too loud in the silence. The figure outside reacted. It moved. Not with a step, not with a shuffle but with a horrifying, jerking motion, like a puppet being yanked by invisible strings. Closer. Closer. The ceiling fan hummed. The crickets sang. But all I could hear was my own heartbeat as the figure pressed its face against the glass. And then…

"Don't look outside."

Selen frowned. It came from an unknown number—probably a joke. Ignoring the warning, she looked out the window. Nothing. Just stillness.

But over the next five days, the strange events escalated. Her phone buzzed at the same time every night. She found deep claw marks on the door. Muddy footprints appeared beside her bed after vivid dreams of a man silently watching her. Then Noa, her cat, went missing with a chilling message was carved into her bedsheet: “One… by… one…”

The final sign was a distorted voice recording—Noa’s meow layered with her long-lost brother’s voice, whispering: “You saw it. Now… it sees you.”

Terrified, Selen told her friend Rei. “I found something similar like yours on an obscure forum. It is known as The 3.17 Curse,” said Rei. Selen looked at screen showed by Rei.

“Are you sure it's real? It might be a prank by someone,” she replied. They theorized—was it a person? A cult? Or something... inhuman?

That night, Rei insisted on staying with her. To protect Selen and witnessing the eerie. When 3:17 a.m. arrived, nothing happened. For the first time in six nights, silence.

Relief sighed escaped their mouths. Not long after that, Selen’s phone buzzed.

“Congrats on passing.”

They looked at each other. Then a new message buzzed.

“But, he did not.”

Rei stared at her before his body twitches violently before bolting toward the window. He jumped—without a sound. Selen, who still processing what has happened, screamed by Rei creepy action.

Moments later, Noa returned—disheveled, bloodied, with Rei’s necklace clenched in his jaws. He put the necklace and meowing nonstop at the mirror behind Selen. As she turned toward the mirror, her reflection stared back—its eyes black and empty. It mouthed, “It’s… your… turn!”

Selen screamed before collapsing, unconscious. Not long after that, Rei’s phone buzzed.

“New host selected. Countdown begins!”

“Don’t look outside.”

My pulse stuttered. The message had no sender. The room felt unnaturally still, as if the night itself was holding its breath.

Then—tap. tap. tap.

The sound came from my window. My stomach knotted. I lived on the 15th floor.

The tapping turned into scratching, nails dragging against the glass. The curtains swayed despite the window being shut. A shadow loomed behind them, shifting, stretching unnaturally tall.

Another buzz.

“I see you.”

The closet door creaked open behind me. My breath hitched. Slowly, I turned the phone toward it, using the screen’s glow as a weak light.

A face stared back—grinning, hollow-eyed, its mouth stretching far beyond human limits.

The phone vibrated violently in my hand. One final message appeared:

“You shouldn’t have looked.”

The lights died. So did my scream

Half-awake, Syahir groggily reached for it. A single message flashed on the screen:

"Don't look outside."

His heart raced. Who could have sent this? Why? Was there something out there?

Curiosity tugged at him. Just as he was about to peek through the blinds—

CRASH!!!

A loud noise erupted from the backyard. Syahir yelped and dove under his blanket. "Nope! Nope! Not dealing with this!"

After a moment of silence, his phone buzzed once more.

"Actually, do look outside. I need help."

Frowning, he hesitated before pulling back the curtain.

There, sprawled in his flowerbed, lay his best friend, Syuk, with a broken ladder beside him.

"Bro," Syuk groaned. "I was trying to prank you, but I fell. My leg is stuck in a bush."

Syahir sighed. "You texted me from the ground instead of calling?"

Syuk winced. "I panicked."

Shaking his head, Syahir went to assist. "You’re such an idiot."

"Yeah, but I'm a committed idiot."