2025-11-28 03:11:29Uche didn’t blink for almost a full minute.
The two papers in the wardrobe stared back at him:
YOU HAVE 24 HOURS TO PROVE YOU’RE WORTH THE ROOM.
OR YOU WILL BE REMOVED.His breath came out in short, broken bursts. Removed? Removed how? Removed where? By who?
“Seyi?” he whispered.
Silence.
He checked the bathroom. Empty.
Checked outside the room. Nothing.Seyi was gone.Again.
His chest tightened. “This is madness. This is real madness.”
He closed the wardrobe slowly. The metal hinges squeaked like they were laughing at him.
24 hours.
24 hours for what?
He sat on his bed, hands in his hair, trying not to panic. His phone vibrated suddenly. He jumped.
A message from an unknown number:
1/24.
Just that.
Nothing else.He almost threw the phone in fear.
“God, what have I entered?”
By morning, Uche’s head felt heavy. His eyes stung. His body vibrated with restless energy. Every second felt like a countdown he couldn’t stop.
He reached the faculty building earlier than everyone else. He didn’t want to be anywhere near the room. The campus was already awake—students rushing, lecturers shouting, cleaners sweeping—but it felt like everyone moved in slow motion.
He kept hearing his own heartbeat.
When he got to the hallway, someone suddenly blocked his path.
A tall, bulky guy. Same red hoodie from yesterday. Same cold stare.
“You didn’t finish your answer,” Red Hoodie said. “What room are you in?”
Uche hesitated. His pulse quickened.
“Room 10,” he lied.
Red Hoodie stepped closer. “Say it again.”
“Room 10.”
The guy stared so intensely Uche felt his skin prickle. Then Red Hoodie smirked.
“You’re a bad liar.”
Uche moved back.
Red Hoodie whispered, “They’re already watching you. Don’t disgrace yourself.”
“Who is watching me?” Uche asked.
“You’ll find out. Maybe today. Maybe tonight.”
Red Hoodie moved away without another word.
Uche stood frozen.
They? Who is they?
Registration continued. Uche tried to focus. Every lecturer he met sounded distant. Every face looked suspicious.
His phone vibrated again.
3/24.
His heart dropped.
Another hour.
Wasted.And he still didn’t know what “prove yourself” meant.“Are you okay?” someone asked behind him.
Uche turned sharply.
A guy he recognized—short, muscular, always joking in class.
Chidera.
“Guy, you look like you saw demon,” Chidera laughed. “You okay?”
Uche forced a smile. “Just stressed.”
“You sure? You look like you’re about to faint.”
“I’m fine,” Uche lied.
Chidera shrugged. “If you need anything, let me know.”
He walked off.
Uche watched him leave, suspicious of even kindness.
Then his phone buzzed a third time.
This wasn’t a message.
It was a video.
Sent via Bluetooth.No sender.His heart pounded as he opened it.
The video showed…
His room.
Room 49.Shot from above, like a hidden camera.The footage was from 2:13 a.m.
It showed the wardrobe door opening on its own.
Uche standing in fear.Him picking the note.Him backing away.His blood ran ice cold.
The video ended with a caption:
PROVE YOU’RE WORTH THE ROOM.
He closed the phone so fast it almost flew from his hand.
He couldn’t breathe.
Someone had access to his room. Cameras. Surveillance. They watched him all night. They saw everything.
This wasn’t a curse.
This was a controlled test.
He stood up immediately and ran toward the school library. It was empty enough to hide but public enough to feel safe.
He sat in the corner and tried to think.
What do they want? What do I prove? Courage? Obedience? Intelligence? What?
“Uche.”
His head snapped up.
It was the girl from yesterday—the one who warned him about the flash drive.
“You’re not supposed to talk to me,” Uche whispered.
She sat anyway. “I know what they want.”
His breath caught. “Tell me. Please.”
“You need to survive the day.”
“What does that even mean?”
She lowered her voice. “The Program wants to see if you break. If you run. If you fear easily.”
“I fear everything right now!”
She shook her head. “But you’re still here. That’s what they’re testing.”
“So what exactly do I do?”
“You face everything today without flinching. No matter what happens.”
“No matter what happens? What does that mean?”
She leaned closer. “Someone will try to provoke you. Someone will try to trick you. Someone will try to scare you. Or hurt you. Or follow you.”
Uche’s heartbeat soared.
“Hurt me? Follow me? How—”
She grabbed his wrist. “Listen to me. Act like you expect it. Act like you’re not afraid.”
“How does that—”
“If you panic… you fail.”
He felt sweat gather on his forehead.
“And if I fail?”
Her eyes softened. “People don’t fail Room 49. They disappear.”
Uche swallowed hard.
“Is that what happened to the last guy?” he whispered.
She didn’t answer.
His phone buzzed.
7/24.
Time was moving too fast.
He left the library praying in his head nonstop.
When he stepped outside—
Someone was waiting for him.Red Hoodie.
The guy walked up slowly, confidently, like a predator approaching prey.
“Why are you following me?” Uche asked, voice shaking.
Red Hoodie smirked. “The Program needs pressure. I’m pressure.”
He stepped closer.
“You’re the type that breaks,” Red Hoodie said. “Soft face. Soft eyes. No scars.”
Uche balled his fists. “Leave me alone.”
“Or what?” Red Hoodie asked. “You fight? You run? You scream?”
He leaned in until their noses almost touched.
“You’re not built for 49.”
“Stay away from me,” Uche said again—stronger this time.
Red Hoodie laughed. “If you want to prove yourself, punch me.”
“What?”
“Punch me. Right here.”
He tapped his cheek. “Or go back to your room and pack.”Uche froze.
“If you walk away,” Red Hoodie continued, “I’ll tell them you’re weak.”
People were staring now—students pretending to mind their business but clearly watching. Some phones were out. Some whispers started.
This was public humiliation.
A planned public humiliation.
They’re testing me.
Punch him?
Walk away?Both could be failure.He thought fast.
He stepped back—not in fear, but in control.
Red Hoodie smiled, thinking he won.
Then Uche spoke clearly, loudly:
“I don’t need to punch you to prove anything. When the time comes, you’ll know what I can do.”
A few people gasped.
Red Hoodie’s face tightened. “You think you’re smart.”
“I think you talk too much,” Uche said.
The crowd stirred.
Red Hoodie’s jaw clenched. He wanted to hit Uche. Badly. Uche could see it in his eyes.
But he didn’t.
He only smirked darkly and whispered:
“They’re watching. You bought yourself time.”
Then he walked away.
Uche exhaled shakily.
His hands still trembled. His body felt like jelly. His brain felt like fire.
But he hadn’t broken.
His phone buzzed.
9/24. GOOD.
He almost collapsed from relief—and fear.
Someone was controlling this game minute by minute.
Hours crawled by.
Everywhere Uche went, someone watched him.
When he entered the cafeteria, three people stared.When he walked to class, two guys in caps whispered.When he bought water, the vendor froze like he recognized him.The entire campus suddenly felt like a stage. He moved through it, acting normal though every muscle in his body wanted to run.
At 14/24, he was approached again.
Not by a student.
Not by Red Hoodie.But by a lecturer.A female lecturer in a brown gown and glasses.
“Are you Uche Obi?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said carefully.
She handed him a brown envelope.
“For your test.”
Uche almost dropped it. “Test?”
She gave him a cold smile. “Don’t open it here.”
“Who sent it?”
She walked away without answering.
Uche stared at the envelope like it could bite him.
He took it to the far back of the faculty building, opened it slowly, and gasped.
Inside was a single sheet of paper:
PROVE YOU CAN FOLLOW ORDERS.
Below it:
GO TO THE ABANDONED CLASSROOM BEHIND BLOCK F.
BE ALONE.BE THERE BY 17/24.His stomach twisted.
Block F? Abandoned classroom? Alone?
He looked at his phone.
15/24.
He had two hours left.
He reached Block F exactly at 16/24.
The building was old, quiet, almost forgotten. Tall grass grew beside it. The windows were dusty. The hallway smelled like mold.
He pushed the door open to the abandoned classroom.
Empty.
Silent.Dark.He stepped inside.
The door swung shut behind him.
He jumped and turned—Seyi was at the door.
Uche’s heart almost stopped. “Seyi? Where have you been?!”
Seyi looked exhausted. Pale. Sweaty. His eyes were red.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” Seyi said.
“I was told—”
“I know. They’re testing you.”
“Who is they?! Tell me!”
Seyi closed the door fully and locked it.
“Uche… The Program is not a myth.”
“I figured that out!”
“They pick people. People who can survive pressure. Fear. Isolation. Manipulation. They want you because of your father.”
Uche felt like the floor beneath him shifted. “My father? You don’t know anything about my father.”
Seyi exhaled. “I know more than you think.”
“How? Why?”
“Because I’m not your roommate by accident.”
The room went silent.
“I was assigned to watch you,” Seyi said quietly. “Evaluate you.”
Uche froze.
“You what?”
“I didn’t want to. But the Program doesn’t take no.”
“You’re part of them?”
“No,” Seyi said firmly. “I’m trapped by them. Like you will be if you fail.”
Uche felt anger rise like fire in his chest. “Why me? Why my father? What do they want?”
“You have 8 hours to prove you can stay calm under pressure,” Seyi said. “They want to see if you break.”
“How do I pass?”
“Stay alive.”
Seyi swallowed. “And don’t fail the final task.”“What final task?”
Seyi hesitated.
Then footsteps echoed outside.
Heavy footsteps.
Someone was coming.
Seyi grabbed Uche’s shoulders.
“I can’t protect you anymore,” he whispered urgently. “Whatever happens now, don’t scream. Don’t run. Don’t beg.”
The footsteps got louder.
Closer.
Seyi pushed Uche toward the back of the classroom.
“Your final test is simple…” he said.
A shadow approached the door.
Seyi’s voice dropped to a trembling whisper.
“…you must survive the night in Room 49.”
The door handle began to turn.
Uche’s phone buzzed.
17/24.
The test had officially begun.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
CHAPTER 18 — THE BOY WHO WALKED OUT
The ground didn’t stop shaking when they reached the tunnel.It got worse.Concrete split open behind them, the Origin Wing folding in on itself like a dying animal. Fire alarms wailed. Emergency lights popped one by one, plunging long stretches of the passage into darkness.Uche half-carried, half-dragged his father forward. Obiora was conscious now, barely, his weight heavy but real.Alive.That single fact anchored Uche.“Keep moving,” Uche said, voice steady even as his chest burned. “We’re almost out.”Obiora coughed, a weak sound. “You… you’re inside it now.”Uche didn’t deny it.“I know.”The hum followed them—low, constant, like a distant engine. The fear-feedback systems were collapsing, but fear itself wasn’t gone. It bled through the tunnels, thick and metallic, soaked into the walls.Uche felt it all.Every panicked technician.Every soldier realizing the guns weren’t enough.Every system screaming because its center no longer obeyed commands.He wasn’t controlling people.
CHAPTER 17 – THE DAY FEAR TURNED
The alarms didn’t just scream.They howled—a raw, metallic shriek that clawed through the underground facility, rattling glass, steel, and bone. Red lights spun violently, casting the halls in pulsing blood-colored flashes.Uche stood still in the center of it all.Calm.Terrifyingly calm.The mark on his wrist burned, spreading heat through his veins, syncing with the pounding hum beneath the floor. He felt the facility the way one feels their own heartbeat—every corridor, every door, every moving body.Fear wasn’t flooding him.It was feeding him.“LOCK DOWN THE ORIGIN WING.”The Director’s voice echoed through the speakers, sharp now. Controlled—but strained.Steel shutters slammed down across corridors. Armed units poured in from every access point, boots pounding in perfect rhythm.Uche turned slowly, eyes glowing faint gold.“Too late,” he whispered.1. THE FIRST STRIKEThe first Purge unit rounded the corner—six men, rifles raised, visors glowing.“TARGET ACQUIRED!”They opened
CHAPTER 16 – THE TRUTH THEY BURIED
The light burned.Not just his eyes—his mind.Uche stumbled forward as the white glare swallowed him whole, stripping away sound, gravity, even time. His thoughts fractured, memories slipping through his fingers like sand.Then—Silence.Absolute.Heavy.Oppressive.His feet touched solid ground.Uche blinked hard, vision slowly returning.He stood inside a glass chamber.Walls, floor, ceiling—transparent, spotless, cold. Beyond the glass stretched a massive underground facility, far larger than anything he had seen before. Rows of observation decks circled the chamber like a coliseum. Screens flickered to life one by one.Every screen showed him.Heart rate.Neural activity.Adrenal spikes.Fear response metrics.He staggered back.“No… no no no…”This wasn’t ancient.This wasn’t supernatural.This was designed.A voice echoed calmly through hidden speakers.“Welcome to the Origin Wing.”Uche’s blood ran cold.That voice.Older now. Colder. Controlled.“The Director,” Uche whispered
CHAPTER 15 – THE FALL AND THE FACE
Uche expected the fall to kill him.The wind roared past his ears as he plummeted downward, darkness spinning around him in a dizzying spiral. His arms flailed, reaching for anything—air, light, a ledge—nothing existed. Just the void.He screamed until his throat burned.Then—FWOOOM!He hit something soft.Not ground.Not water.Something… alive.He bounced slightly, tumbling onto a cold surface, gasping. His hands gripped the floor, feeling the strange texture beneath his palms—smooth, rubbery, pulsing faintly.Like skin.He jolted upright.He wasn’t in the chamber anymore.He was inside a long, dimly lit corridor—narrow walls arching overhead like the ribs of a giant creature. Blue veins glowed faintly inside the walls, pulsing in rhythm… like a heartbeat.An entire underground hallway made of a living organism.His stomach churned.The air smelled metallic, sharp enough to sting his nostrils. The floor beneath him vibrated softly with each pulse of the glowing veins.He forced him
CHAPTER 14 – THE WHISPERING STAIRS
The darkness swallowed Uche instantly.No lights.No walls.No sound except the faint echo of his own footsteps spiraling downward.The staircase felt endless.Cold, damp air wrapped around him like a second skin, making every breath heavy. The deeper he went, the more he felt the pressure—like an invisible hand was slowly tightening around his lungs. There was no turning back; the floor above had already sealed shut, cutting him off completely.Step.Step.Step.His footsteps sounded wrong—too loud, then too soft, as if the space around him kept changing size with every turn of the spiral.Then it began.The whispers.Faint at first.So faint he wasn’t even sure they were real.“Uche…”He stopped.The voice drifted from somewhere behind him.Or ahead?Or inside his skull?He listened.Silence.He kept moving.Then—“Uche… turn back.”He froze again. This time the voice was clearer, too clear.A voice he recognized.His father’s.His throat tightened painfully. “Dad?”A whisper moved
CHAPTER 13 – THE ROOM THAT BREATHES
Uche woke up gasping.Not because of a dream… but because Room 49 was breathing.The walls rose and fell like lungs expanding, slow and heavy, releasing a deep, vibrating hum that crawled across the floor and into his skin. For a moment he sat frozen, his chest tight, unable to tell if he was awake or trapped in another layer of the Room’s illusions.Then he felt it—a cold draft brushing his ankles.He looked down.The floor tiles had shifted halfway open on their own.A thin line of pale blue light spilled out from the cracks, pulsing like a heartbeat.No.Not a heartbeat.A signal.Uche swallowed hard, shoving off the bed. “Not now… not today…” he whispered, but Room 49 didn’t care. It never cared.The Program wanted him downstairs again.He crouched slowly and pressed a palm against one of the tiles.It was warm.Alive.As if something beneath the floor was waiting.Suddenly—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!Three violent knocks slammed into his door, loud enough to rattle the frame. Uche jumped
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