POV: Sharon Olisa
The halls were quieter now. Not silent—watchful.
Like even the walls had ears.
Posters of unity still hung by the stairwells, fluttering slightly from the air vents, but they looked like cruel jokes now. Re-Eliora was a memory the school wanted buried—but we'd dug it up, bones and all.
And someone was angry.
"Students are advised to stay within their designated dormitory blocks after 8 p.m.," the intercom crackled overhead. "Random inspections will commence tonight. Compliance is non-negotiable."
I exchanged a glance with Zuri. She didn't say anything. She didn't need to.
The hunt had begun.
---
Jayden wasn't in class. Neither was Reina.
Bianca was.
Sitting straight-backed in her usual seat, hair perfectly slicked, blazer pristine. But she hadn't touched her pen all morning. Her eyes stayed fixed on the board, unreadable.
Like she wasn't really in the room.
"Where's Reina?" I finally whispered to Zuri, heart pacing faster.
"Didn't come back to the dorm last night," she whispered back. "Bed untouched."
I gripped my pen tighter.
---
After school, I was called into the counselor's office.
"Just checking in," Ms. Adeleke said with her sweet-sick smile. "Lots of tension lately. Some of your peers have been spreading...harmful content. Rebellious things."
I stared at her. "You mean the truth?"
Her smile didn't falter. "It's easy to confuse truth with perception, dear. And I'm only here to help students find peace."
My eyes flicked to her nails—painted red. A tiny chip on the left thumb.
The same red shade that had smeared across Reina's phone screen.
I stood up. "If that's all, I have work to do."
She didn't stop me.
But she didn't blink either.
---
Outside, Jayden appeared by the fountain. His uniform was wrinkled, one shoe untied.
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind the Music Hall.
"You need to see this," he whispered. "Now."
Zuri was already there, crouched beside Jolomi's tablet—yes, his. Apparently, his brother had smuggled it out after his expulsion.
On the screen: a hidden camera feed from the Board's underground level. A corridor I'd never seen. Red flooring. White walls. A steel door with a keypad lock.
Zuri tapped the screen. "Watch."
A group of adults filed into the corridor.
Two carried something between them. No—someone.
It was Reina.
Her head lolled to the side. Motionless.
They pushed the steel door open and dragged her inside. Then… black.
The footage cut.
---
I wanted to scream. I didn't.
Not because I wasn't terrified.
But because I didn't want to give them the satisfaction.
---
Later that night, I waited in my dorm with my shoes on, light off. A knock came at exactly 11:00 p.m.
Zuri opened the door and whispered, "Come."
We slipped out through the back path near the gardens. Past the old PE storage, across the hollow where Jolomi used to make us laugh during lunch.
Jayden met us by the garden wall.
"Reina's phone was dumped here," he said. "Smashed. But Jolomi's brother decrypted what was left of it."
He handed me the cracked screen.
One message remained.
Sent at 3:17 a.m.
> "They're tracking you now, Sharon.
You're on the list.
Run."
---
We didn't run.
We broke into the system.
---
Jayden and Zuri worked through the night. Jolomi's brother—off-campus but online—walked them through every firewall like he was cracking a Rubik's Cube.
I kept watch, mind spinning.
What was the list? Why me?
By 3:40 a.m., Zuri found it.
THE RED FILES.
Dozens of names. Mine. Jayden. Reina. Eliora.
Each labeled:
Subject Type: "Potential Rebel"
Risk Level: Moderate–Critical
Status: MONITOR / SILENCE / REFORM
"What does 'Reform' mean?" I asked quietly.
Jayden didn't answer. He didn't have to.
We'd seen what "Reform" did to Eliora.
---
Before dawn, something shifted.
The school lights dimmed for exactly thirty seconds. The halls buzzed with backup power. Security bots whirred online.
Zuri's eyes widened. "They know someone's inside the system."
We shut it all down. Bolted out the Music Hall. Split.
But as I neared my dorm, a hand reached from the shadows and yanked me back.
It was Reina.
Alive. Breathing. But pale. Shaking.
"Reina—"
She pressed something into my hand. A silver flash drive. "Don't trust anyone," she whispered. "They let me go because they think I'm scrambled. They think I won't talk."
"You okay?"
"I remember everything," she said hoarsely. "The lights. The voice. The injection. The trial room."
I froze. "The trial room?"
She nodded. "Just like Eliora's. But… they didn't wipe me clean. They tried a new method. I faked forgetting."
"What's on the flash?"
"Everything," she whispered. "Files. Testimonies. Surveillance. Even the Board's next phase."
Then she stepped back, eyes glowing in the dark. "But Sharon…"
"What?"
Her voice dropped lower.
> "They activated your file.
You're next."
---
End of Chapter 26