Sometimes, I wonder, "why are humans so heartless?"
The kind ones get used, discarded like trash, and called fools for caring, while lawbreakers are hailed and honoured. If you ask me where Karma is, I'll tell you she's probably dead
Nothing pays off. Life hurts. People hurt. Earth… it feels broken.
Whose wish was this planet?
Whose prayer was this life?
Whose dream was humanity?"
Now here we are the three of us tied together in darkness, our hands bound with rough, biting ropes. The air is thick and stale, heavy with the scent of damp concrete and forgotten fear. Our captor remains unseen, but we know one thing: he's unsettling, a shadow lurking just beyond reason.
The silence presses against our ears, broken only by our breathing as it echoes around us. No food. No water. Just the cold, the dark, and questions with no answers.
Where we are?
We don't know?
How did we get here?
Why are we still alive?
What does he want from us?
Who are we?
So… how did all this begin?
I'm Jane, an extrovert trapped in a daydream and also I spend my days indoors, imagining a future where I'm a police officer or, if that fails, maybe a serial killer. However, the jungle they called school became my real training ground suddenly.
No one understood what was happening. No one knew why things kept falling apart. The school should have been shut down, but since it was founded by missionaries, closing it would spark chaos riots, maybe even war. So instead, they let it rot.
Let me catch you up.
It's been less than a month since the term started, yet severe injuries and deaths have already piled up. The first three incidents happened within the first week.
The first was a fire outbreak in one of the girls' dormitories on the second day of resumption. Denis a very young, rude, and proud insect of a girl got trapped inside. Coincidence, right? I don't believe in coincidences. Not even close.
Thankfully, the firefighters arrived early. She survived, but the fire permanently scarred the face that once brought her joy.
Well… lucky her, she has nothing to brag about anymore.
The following week, Wednesday, another incident. This time, it was Nathan. Rumour has it that he jumped from the fourth floor of one of the school buildings. The doctor claimed he was on drugs. Though Nathan was never caught with drugs, never even known for them.
No one believed it since they all felt that there was no reason for him to kill himself. His parents are filthy rich, why would he throw his life away?
He had everything anyone could ever want.
Or did he?
That's one question no one seems able to answer.
The third case was Jasper. No one knows whether he's alive or dead. He resumed school the same day the rest of us did. He was the one who called the firefighters and led them to the burning hostel. He also rushed Nathan to the hospital, though it was already too late.
After that, Jasper vanished.
Class president.
Gentle soul.
Gone.
These incidents happened too close together to be accidents, and they were too precise to be coincidences.
My crew and I were victims of this madness too.
Back then, I wrote everything on a small board I called my investigative board a gift I got for improving my exam rank from 260th to 256th.
On the first day of my assignment at MHS, after hiding the board in my usual spot, I lay on my bed like I always did.
Then my roommate walked in.
I shared a room with one annoying girl, unfortunately.
"Lazy girl. All you do is play and sleep," Emma said, sounding as stupid as always.
She grabbed her book and walked out and with the most heartless look I could manage, I escorted her out of the room. Whenever I was focused or doing something important, she never noticed but the moment I tried to eat or relax, she suddenly cared.
A few minutes later, my best friend through the walkie talkie since phone signals are weak at the school region.
"Where are you? Over"
"Hello," I said softly.
"Where the hell are you? We have a test now," she replied aggressive.
"Test? Was it not scheduled to be next week?"
"Yes, and this is next week," Nafisat said before hanging up.
How fast time flies.
I hurried into my uniform and ran out of the room then rushed back to grab my bag. With my tiny bow legs, I ran like a cheetah, I reached the classroom, I was surprised to see most students weren't seated. Everyone was doing whatever pleased them.
As usual, Nafi sat behind me. She lightly hit my head.
"You're always late." She scolded playfully.
Before I could reply, the classroom door swung open. Everyone ran into their seats, expecting our teacher to start sharing scripts or writing questions on the board.
I silently prayed for the test to be cancelled, but instead…
The door opened slowly slowly with drama filled with tense.
The principal a man probably in his early thirties, the two vice principals, the director, the head of department, and our class teacher, all dressed in black, faces downcast, into the classroom in a solemn single file in the order I called.
The principal finally looked up. No words were spoken. There was no need for expectation.
The message was clear.