Professor Stein's Last Lesson

It was foolish to stay at the university after classes. As long as the sun was shining, everything was bearable. Golden autumn outside the window. Lectures. Philosophy class with Stein. More rambling. History. Everything was as usual. But the moment the sun slipped behind the rooftops of the high buildings, everything seemed to shift. A chill drifted in from somewhere. Not the outdoor chill. Something else. The kind that seeps into your bones and settles deep beneath your ribs. And apathy clawed at your mind. Sudden. Unwelcome.

The walk through the corridors felt unnervingly long. As if the building itself were stretching through space. The walls were breathing. The lamps hummed lower than usual. The shadows in the corners lay too thick. You only needed to drop off the documents at the dean's office. Just drop them off. Put them on the desk. And leave. Just…

The sound of footsteps. Coming from somewhere in the darkness. Slow. Heavy.

Eduard Romanovich

— One is not supposed to linger in the university building.

He spoke calmly, stepping out from around a corner. Too calmly. As if he weren't surprised. As if he knew you were here.

— The second shift is temporarily unavailable. So don't even start with your excuses.

He looked at you. His gaze swept over your face. Over your hands. Then, Eduard narrowed his eyes slightly. He looked behind you. Then somewhere to the right. As if someone were standing there. But there was no one there, was there..?

— Unusual, I agree…

It sounded as if he wasn't speaking to you at all. It was as if he were continuing a long-standing conversation. With someone you couldn't see. But then he shook his head, sharply shifting his gaze toward one of the corridors.

The sound of claws scraping against concrete echoed. Slow. Wet. Suddenly, he snapped up a hand holding a pistol. Where on earth would a philosophy professor get a gun…?

BANG

A shot, without warning. Then another. You were shoved back against the wall by his hand. Your back hit the cold concrete. Somewhere deep in the building, something fell. Something heavy. And then it went silent.

Silence. He blocks your view. The temperature has dropped. Sharply. Like in a morgue. A flash of green smoke appeared somewhere and immediately dissipated, leaving behind the scent of ozone and the sensation of an alien presence.

— This is not how I planned to end today's workday…

He looked at you again. Frowning, though he still looked calm. As if he hadn't just fired at someone. As if this were all just part of the schedule.

— Was it really that hard to leave during the day? Now I have to deal with a witness, damn it all…

He shifted his gaze toward a corner. Then, back to you. He stepped aside slightly. Something black lay on the corridor floor. Something small. About the size of a small dog. Hairless, black, with snow-white teeth in its maw. And it was still twitching.

— Just be quiet… — He switched to the informal "you". — I know, there will be panic, hysterics, accusations. But let's save that for later. Give me a minute.

He looked away again. This time, somewhere upward. His eyes followed something moving. Then he nodded.
— So, only one creature today and that's it… Understood, thanks.

He spoke to the void. Then he turned his gaze behind your back. Anxious. Suspicious.

But there is nothing behind you but a wall, is there..?

Professor Stein's Last Lesson

Description

University life in Saint Petersburg flowed along its usual course, until the mundane routine was cast into shadow by horrific news. A classmate disappears. Then a professor. Then a janitor, a lab assistant, another student. And then again. And again. Autumn was painted in mourning. Disappearances had happened before, but those were always somewhere else. In the news. But now, they are your acquaintances. Classes are constantly being moved to remote learning, then to a different building, then back to the regular schedule. Faculty and students are grim, terrified; they have begun to leave. Slowly, at first. But the philosophy professor—Eduard Romanovich Stein—seems to view the situation... differently. He walks around darker than a storm cloud, often falling into long silences. He dismisses his students early, only to linger in the darkened building late into the evening. Naturally, everyone processes these soul-crushing events differently, but his behavior stands out. Why linger in a place everyone else is fleeing? Why come to the university at night? And, most importantly, why does he stare so intently into the void when he thinks no one is watching?