Gasping for Air.

After I joined university, I moved to its dorms. I resided in a room in the old building. It had only two levels, each consisting of a hall of 12 rooms facing each other on a 6 pair row. My room was on the ground level at the end of the hall with its door next to the utilities/basement, to its left. My roommate was an upperclassman who always kept to himself. He would come home late and wake up early, so I rarely meet him except sometimes when he would be passing in the hall.

One day, during exam periods I woke up in the middle of the night with a feeling at the base of my throat above my chest, the feeling you get when you're about to cry but you suppress it. It was difficult to breath and almost impossible to swallow. Not even second after I became aware of it, it vanished and I felt released and gasped for air, I took in a big breath I propped up my self in the bed and looked at the phone, it was 2:58. My roommate was asleep. He was snoring, or more like breathing loudly.

The next day I forgot about what happened, I was occupied with stressing about the exam. After having dinner alone in the food hall, I went back to my room, then I went to bed, too tired to recall last night.

I woke up gasping for air with pressure in my throat, although in the middle this time, just by my Adams' apple. Like when you swallow a pretzel without chewing it. Unable to breath nor gulp I struggled for a bit until I finally felt released. I checked my phone and it was 2:59. I looked at my roommate to see if I woke him up, but he was asleep and breathing loudly as last night, although his breaths sounded longer. I stayed awake until morning.

Unable to explain the last two events, I loaded up on energy drinks and snacks and I decided to stay awake and see what happens. I watched a movie and then in the middle of the second, I noticed that my roommate has not arrived yet.

After another movie I looked at the time and it was almost 3 am. Seeing as nothing happened, I decided to call it a night. I turned off my laptop and laid down. Just as my head pressed on the pillow, loud breathing sounds emanated from my right, where my roommate was supposed to be. I was sure he was not there, yet the sound of his long inhales filled the silence of the room. I felt my focus being drawn to them, my breathing following his. I became aware of my breaths, yet I was not in control, they were automatic, sending an odd sensation through my body.

I reached to my phone to turn on the flashlight and it was 3:00 am. I shined it on his bed and there he was, at least half of his head and some of his body, his hand wrapped around his neck. He was phasing through his bed or sinking. With the light of my phone being cast on his face, I could see him looking at me with a side eye that felt like a plea for help. I stumbled towards him and just as I reached his side of the room, he went through his bed and all that was left was big human sized mould-like stain and I could breath normally again.

I turned the lights on, unsure of what just happened, but sure it did. The stain was there, and it penetrated his bedding, through the mattress to the floor as if it dripped.

In the morning I called the dorm security and only told them about that my room mate did not come last night and I also showed them the stain on the bed. The security guy looked at me as if I was speaking another language and said that there was never a roommate, I lived alone. As for the stain, they checked and saw that it penetrates the flooring. They went downstairs and black mould had infested the ceiling and most of the walls.

I left those dorms and rented a room in a shared house never to go back there again.