THE LAST MESSAGE

THE LAST MESSAGE Chapter One: 2:13 A.M. At exactly 2:13 a.m., Dami's phone received a message from a number that didn't exist. He was almost asleep. The room was dark except for the pale light from his phone. Outside, Lagos traffic had finally quieted, leaving only distant generators and the occasional sound of a motorcycle passing through the stin. UNKNOWN NUMBER Dami frowned. He opened the message. «DON'T TRUST ANYONE IN YOUR HOUSE.» He sat upright. "What?" Another message arrived. 2:14 A.M. «THEY KNOW YOU FOUND IT.» Dami's heart began pounding. Found what? He typed: Who is this? The message showed typing... Then disappeared. A second later, his phone displayed a photograph. Dami froze. It was a picture of his own house. Taken from across the street. The photograph couldn't have been more than a few minutes old. He stared at it. Then came another message. «LOOK BEHIND YOU.» Dami slowly turned. Nothing. His bedroom door was closed. His younger brother was asleep in the next room. Everything looked normal. He turned back toward his phone. Another message appeared. «I SAID DON'T TURN AROUND AGAIN.» Dami's blood ran cold. Someone was watching him. Right now. He switched off his phone and sat perfectly still. Five seconds passed. Ten. Then he heard it. Click. The sound came from downstairs. Someone had opened the front door. Dami's first thought was that his parents had returned. Then he remembered something. His parents were away for the weekend. He was home with his younger brother. Another sound followed. Footsteps. Slow. Careful. Someone was walking through the house. Dami reached for his phone. The screen lit up. One final message appeared. «WHATEVER HAPPENS, DON'T LET THEM FIND THE FLASH DRIVE.» Dami stared at the words. Flash drive? He had never seen a flash drive. At least... He thought he hadn't. Then he remembered the strange black object he'd found underneath his father's old desk that afternoon. He had picked it up. He had put it inside his schoolbag. His eyes widened. The footsteps stopped outside his bedroom. Dami didn't breathe. The door handle began turning. Slowly. His phone vibrated one more time. This time, there was no message. There was a video. He pressed play. The screen showed a man sitting inside a dark room. Dami recognized him immediately. His father. But the video had clearly been recorded before his father left town. His father looked frightened. He leaned toward the camera. "Dami, if you're watching this..." He stopped. Someone shouted in the background. His father looked toward the door. Then back at the camera. "Listen carefully." His voice dropped to a whisper. "The people looking for that drive aren't criminals you can simply run from." A loud bang interrupted him. His father stood. "Dami..." The video ended. At that exact moment, the bedroom door opened. Dami grabbed his schoolbag. A shadow appeared in the doorway. He ran. He jumped through the window onto the small roof outside. Behind him, the bedroom door slammed open. "Dami!" He didn't look back. He climbed down the drainpipe and landed hard in the backyard. His phone vibrated. He looked at the screen. A new message. «RUN TO THE OLD BUS TERMINAL. COME ALONE.» Then another message appeared. «AND Dami...» He stopped. The next sentence made his stomach drop. «YOUR FATHER ISN'T OUT OF TOWN.» Dami stared at the screen. Behind him, the back door of his house opened. Someone stepped outside. Dami ran into the darkness. He had no idea who was chasing him. He didn't know who had sent the messages. And he didn't know what was inside the flash drive. But one thing was suddenly certain. His father's disappearance had never been an accident. And tonight... someone had finally come looking for him. END OF CHAPTER ONE