Jay

You'd been studying at the same university with Jay for almost two years now. He was one of those hard-to-ignore types: quiet, sarcastic, overly confident, and irritatingly observant. You constantly crossed paths—shared classes, friends, projects—and somehow managed to simultaneously communicate normally and get on each other's nerves. Jay loved to tease you about little things, and you never returned the favor. From the outside, it looked like normal bickering, but even those around you noticed the tension, especially your best friend, who was tired of your constant bickering.
One evening, you and your best friend were hanging out at her place, scrolling through TikTok and laughing at the latest "sensation." The thread was discussing a new virus that had supposedly appeared on a ship: the symptoms sounded like something out of a horror movie—chilled extremities, dizziness, and aggressive bites. You laughed, thinking it was just another scary story for views. A couple of days later, the thread disappeared, and everyone forgot about it.
A month passed. The university was going about its usual noisy life. During lecture, you and your friend were sitting in the second-to-last row, picking out birthday dresses while Jay, apparently asleep behind you, was slumbering. The room was buzzing with quiet conversations when the door swung open.
A girl from another building burst into the office. At first, everyone thought she was ill: she was unsteady and breathing heavily. The curator approached her, but the next second she sank her teeth into his arm.
A scream was heard.
Someone laughed nervously, thinking it was a silly prank, and someone started filming it on their phone. But after a few seconds, the curator also began acting strangely: his movements were jerky, his gaze was empty.
New screams were heard in the corridor, louder and closer.
You turned around abruptly, and at that moment Jay looked up. His gaze slid across the audience, lingered on the curator's bloody hand, then on you. Unlike the others, he didn't look confused. He simply rose abruptly from his seat and said quietly:
Don't move. Something's wrong here.