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Those strange words echoed loudly in a robotic voice inside my head.
For some reason, I feel disoriented. My world is enveloped in darkness.
It takes me a while to realize that my eyes are tightly closed.
I try to open them, but they feel so heavy.
"Hey, wake up!"
An unfamiliar voice calls out to me.
It's a girl's voice.
Her voice seems to bounce around the room.
"Maybe he's dead," another voice says. This time, it's a boy. He has a deep, almost toughish accent.
"I don't think so. He's still breathing," the girl replies.
I can feel that I'm lying on the ground, and they're both standing over me. One on either side.
The boy with the roguish voice growls.
"Fine. If the idiot doesn't want to wake up, then I guess I'll just have to wake him up myself."
I feel his shadow loom closer.
Then—
SMACK!
Pain reverberates through my skull like electricity, forcing my eyes open, though not completely. But enough to get a blurry view of the world around me.
"Hey! Why did you do that?" the girl snaps, dragging the boy away from me.
The boy shrugs. "To see if he was truly alive."
My vision slowly clears. I get a better look at them as they argue beside me.
The boy has a simple low cut, and his face is sharply defined.
He wears a plain black shirt and green combat jeans. He's tall.
I'd guess around 5'7".
Not just tall—built, like 160 pounds of lean muscle.
A gulp slides down my throat.
Yeah… no avenging that smack anytime soon.
My gaze shifts to the girl.
She has an oval-shaped head beneath her shoulder-length braids.
Almond-shaped eyes, rich chestnut skin.
She wears a green tracksuit, black leggings, and red sneakers.
Her face is striking and her figure, decent.
Standing next to that tank of a boy, she looks fragile.But the confident way she's arguing?
There's definitely more to her than meets the eye.
I tear my gaze from them and take in the world around me, searching for anything familiar.
"Where the hell am I?" I mutter, feeling a sharp pain in my head.
The last thing I remember…
Picking up my little brother, Nonso, from school.
Then…
Nothing.
A chill runs down my spine.
With a groan, I push myself to my feet. The world tilts.
They don't notice I'm up—and honestly, I don't care.
I glance around, stunned.
We're in a square room. No windows.
A single door stands in the wall, with the number 2 inscribed in red ink.
I try walking toward it, but my leg gives out. I stumble—barely managing to stay upright.
"He's awake," the strange girl says, ending the argument.
The boy eyes me, then grins.
"Well, it's all thanks to my smack," he shrugs.
The girl rolls her eyes and steps toward me, closing the distance with two deliberate strides.
Up close, she's even more gorgeous.
She smiles. "How are you feeling? You've been asleep for more than an hour."
"Where… am… I?" I croak, my voice strained.
"In hell," the scary boy answers, strolling toward us with hands in his pockets.
"You died, and now you're in hell."
The look on his face sends a ripple of dread through my body.
For a moment… I almost believe him.
"Don't mind him," the girl says with an eye roll.
"Honestly, none of us have an idea where we are. Just like you, we both woke up here with no clue how we got here."
Her words send my head spinning.
"I'm Ifeoma, by the way. But you can call me Ife," she adds, offering her hand.
I hesitantly take it.
Her grip is surprisingly firm.
"Ife?" I echo.
She nods. "And that blockhead over there is Kelvin."
She thumbs toward the boy behind her.
He gives a lazy salute. "Sup."
"How about you? What's your name?" she asks.
"Uh… Tobi… Oluwatobi. But Tobi's fine," I stammer.
Her smile deepens.
"Nice to meet you, Tobi. Though I wish it was under better circumstances."
Our hands part. I glance around again, eyes roaming the grey walls lit by a single flickering fluorescent bulb above.
"What the hell is this place?"
She shrugs. "Dunno. I've been trying to figure it out for almost three hours… though I'm not even sure of the time."
She taps her wristwatch.
"For some reason, it isn't working. My phone's gone too. And the door's locked. So yeah—we're stuck."
I stare blankly, then sigh and run my hands through my hair.
This doesn't make any sense.
Where the hell am I?
I could swear I was just picking up Nonso…
Why can't I remember anything?
I want to scream.
A thick hand clamps down on my shoulder.
It's Kelvin.
A chill shoots through my nerves.
"Don't wear your brain out, kid," he says.
I try to pull away, but his grip tightens.
He leans closer, voice dropping into a whisper.
"Besides, it's not all bad. Just imagine all the fun we could have… I call dibs."
His eyes flick toward Ife.
I gulp and wriggle out of his hold, moving closer to Ife.
She's looking around the room—oblivious to Kelvin's intent.
She sighs. "Well, at least the four of us are awake now."
My brow lifts. "Four?"
She nods. "Meathead here's the third, I'm the second, and he's the first."
She gestures behind me.
There's another boy—on his knees, eyes shut tight, fingers laced in a desperate prayer.
"Don't bother," Ife says like she read my thoughts. "He's just as clueless as the rest of us."
Kelvin snorts and says with a grin.
"Oi, pastor! Still praying? Let us know when your legion of angels comes to bust us out."
But the boy doesn't stop praying.
I sigh, glancing at the door again.
Maybe… we could try ramming it down?
---
Commencing player registration.
That voice again. Inside my head.
"You heard that?" I ask.
Ife nods, alert.
"We heard it too, before we woke up," Kelvin says, eyes narrowing.
Even 'Pastor' stops praying.
---
Loading player details...
A holographic screen flickers to life before my eyes.
My picture appears, along with stats and strange details I don't understand.
The others are seeing the same thing.
Their faces say it all.
---
Player details:
Name: Adaboye Oluwatobi
Age: 17
PlayerID: D124Z
Points: 0
Rank: Beginner
RankStar: 0
---
Player registration complete.
Loading default task…
Loading complete.
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TaskTitle: Escape Room
TaskDescription:Players are to escape the room within the stipulated time.
Task Duration: 20 minutes
Task Rank: A
Task Reward: 1,000,000 points. 1 Sabbath.
Task Penalty: Death
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Thecommences in 5 minutes.
---
Silence falls.
Heavy. Ominous.