Ozy

OZY EPISODE ONE: THE KNOCK AT MIDNIGHT The rain began at exactly 11:47 p.m. Ozy sat alone in his apartment, staring at the television. Outside, Nairobi was unusually quiet. Normally, even late at night, there were sounds of cars, motorcycles, music, and people talking. Tonight, there was only the sound of rain. His phone vibrated. UNKNOWN NUMBER. Ozy opened the message. DON'T OPEN THE DOOR. Before he could respond, another message arrived. WHATEVER YOU HEAR, DON'T OPEN IT. Ozy frowned. He looked toward his front door. "Who's trying to scare me?" He typed, Who is this? The message stayed on Sending... Then the lights went out. Ozy froze. The apartment became completely dark. He switched on his phone's flashlight and started walking toward the electrical panel. Then he heard it. Knock. He stopped. Knock. His heart began beating faster. Then came the third knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Exactly three. His phone vibrated again. I TOLD YOU NOT TO LOOK. Ozy stared at the message. Slowly, he approached the door and looked through the peephole. The corridor was empty. He stepped away. His phone vibrated again. This time, it was a photograph. The picture showed his front door from the corridor. Ozy's blood ran cold. Someone had taken the photograph from outside his apartment. At the bottom of the picture, he could see a pair of black shoes. Someone had been standing there. Ozy immediately locked the door and checked every window. Then he called his best friend, Kevin. The phone rang several times before Kevin answered. "Kevin?" There was heavy breathing. "Ozy..." "Where are you?" "Listen carefully. Don't trust anyone." "What are you talking about?" "They know about the room." Ozy went silent. "What room?" The call ended. For several seconds, Ozy couldn't move. Then he looked toward his bedroom. Three years earlier, he and Kevin had discovered an abandoned building hidden behind an old wall. Inside, they had found a strange corridor leading to a locked metal room. The room contained hundreds of photographs, documents, and a mysterious black notebook. They had taken the notebook. The following day, when they returned, the building had disappeared. Ozy had kept the notebook hidden beneath his bed ever since. Now he pulled out the wooden box containing it. His hands trembled as he opened the black notebook. The first pages were filled with names. Some were crossed out. Others had dates beside them. Then Ozy saw his own name. OZY — 06/10/2026 Underneath it was a sentence: HE WILL OPEN THE DOOR AT 12:15. Ozy looked at the clock. 12:11 a.m. "That's impossible." He turned another page and found a photograph of the abandoned building. Before he could examine it, he heard footsteps in his apartment. One. Two. Three. Someone was walking toward him. Ozy grabbed his phone and called the police. The footsteps stopped. "Ozy." A voice came from behind him. He turned. Nobody. Something moved behind the curtains. Ozy stared at them. The curtains slowly shifted. Someone was behind them. The emergency operator spoke through his phone. "Sir, are you there?" "Someone's inside my apartment." "Leave immediately if you can." Ozy ran to the door, opened it, and raced down the stairs. Outside, a black car was parked across the street. Its headlights were off. Someone was sitting inside. Watching him. The engine suddenly started. Ozy ran. The car followed slowly. He turned into a narrow alley and ran until his lungs burned. When he looked back, the car was gone. His phone vibrated. YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED INSIDE. Another message followed. NOW THEY KNOW YOU REMEMBER. Ozy knew he needed to find Kevin. He rushed to Kevin's apartment. The door was slightly open. "Kevin?" There was no answer. Inside, a chair was overturned, a window was broken, and glass covered the floor. Kevin was gone. On the wall were three words: YOU WERE WARNED. Ozy's phone vibrated. A video had arrived. He opened it. Kevin appeared on the screen. His face was bruised, and his hands appeared to be tied. "Ozy," Kevin whispered. "If you're seeing this, they found me." The video glitched. "The notebook isn't what you think it is. There's another one." Another video appeared. This one showed the abandoned building. The camera moved through the corridor and entered the mysterious room. A chair stood in the middle. Someone was sitting in it. The camera moved closer. Ozy stopped breathing. It was him. He was sitting in the chair with his eyes closed. The video ended. Ozy dropped the phone. Then something fell from Kevin's desk. A small metal key. The number 17 was engraved on it. Ozy searched the apartment and found an envelope. His name was written on it. Inside was a photograph of himself and Kevin standing outside the abandoned building. But there was someone else in the picture. A tall man stood behind them. His face was blurred. On the back of the photograph were the words: HE HAS BEEN FOLLOWING YOU SINCE THE NIGHT YOU FOUND THE ROOM. Ozy realized the truth. Whatever was happening hadn't started tonight. It had started three years ago. The following afternoon, Ozy began searching for information about the building. Eventually, he found an old newspaper article about a research facility that had burned down seventeen years earlier. Three people had disappeared. One of them was a scientist named Dr. Elias Mwangi. Ozy stared at the photograph of the missing scientist. It was the same man from the picture. He searched further and found an article mentioning a secret research project called OZYRIS. Before he could learn more, his computer screen went black. His phone vibrated. STOP SEARCHING. Then: YOU ARE GETTING TOO CLOSE. Then: LOOK BEHIND YOU. Ozy slowly turned. Nobody was there. His computer screen suddenly came back on. A live video showed his apartment from above. Ozy looked at the ceiling. There was a small camera hidden near the light. His phone rang. Unknown number. He answered. A man's voice spoke. "You finally noticed." "Who are you?" "You already know." "Dr. Mwangi?" The man laughed. "You're smarter than Kevin." "What have you done to him?" "Bring me the notebook." "Where?" "Midnight. You will know." The call ended. A new page appeared inside the notebook. A location was written on it. Beneath the location were two words: COME ALONE. At 11:20 p.m., Ozy arrived at the location. It was an old building surrounded by trees. There were no lights. No people. The entrance door opened by itself. Ozy stepped inside. A long corridor stretched before him. It was exactly like the corridor from his dreams. At the end was a metal door marked: 17. He used the key. The door opened. Inside was the room. But this time, there were seven tables. On each table sat a black notebook. Ozy approached the first. It opened by itself. ONE — THE PAST. The second opened. TWO — THE PRESENT. The third: THREE — THE FUTURE. The fourth: FOUR — THE LIAR. The fifth: FIVE — THE WATCHER. The sixth: SIX — THE DEAD. The seventh remained closed. Then a voice came from behind him. "You shouldn't have come." Ozy turned. Kevin stood in the doorway. He was alive. His clothes were torn, and blood covered his hands. "Kevin!" Ozy moved toward him. Kevin stepped back. "Don't touch me." "What happened?" "They've been waiting for you." "Who?" "The people who started this." "Dr. Mwangi?" Kevin shook his head. "He's only one of them." Ozy looked at the seventh notebook. "What's inside?" Kevin's face became pale. "Don't open it." "Why?" "Because once you know the truth, you can't go back." The seventh notebook suddenly opened. A sentence appeared: THE PERSON WHO OPENS THIS BOOK WILL KNOW EVERYTHING. Ozy reached toward it. Kevin grabbed his wrist. "Don't!" Before Ozy could respond, footsteps echoed through the corridor. "They're here," Kevin whispered. The lights went out. A scream filled the room. Then a gunshot. When the emergency lights came on, Kevin was gone. The seventh notebook was gone too. Ozy ran. He raced through the corridor and burst outside into the rain. He ran into the forest. Behind him, someone shouted his name. "Ozy!" He stopped. Kevin stood between the trees. Bleeding. "Don't leave me." Ozy stared at him. "Tell me something only you would know." Kevin smiled. "You always hated mangoes when we were kids." Ozy almost stepped toward him. Then he noticed something. Kevin's shadow was pointing in the wrong direction. Ozy stepped backward. Kevin's smile disappeared. "You noticed." Ozy ran. He didn't stop until he reached the main road. A taxi stopped, and he jumped inside. "Drive!" The driver looked at him through the mirror. "You shouldn't have gone there." Ozy froze. "How do you know?" The driver smiled. "You should never have opened the seventh notebook." Ozy reached for the door. It was locked. The driver slowly turned his head. His eyes were completely black. Ozy screamed. The doors suddenly opened. He jumped out and ran. Minutes later, his phone rang. Kevin. Ozy answered. "Ozy," Kevin whispered. "Where are you?" "I don't know." "What is happening?" "They're coming for you." "Who?" "The people you trust." Ozy's heart sank. "What does that mean?" Kevin whispered: "Your family isn't safe." The call ended. Ozy immediately called home. His mother answered. "Ozy?" "Are you okay?" "Yes. Why?" "Where is everyone?" "Your sister is here. Your father is asleep." Ozy breathed with relief. Then he heard a knock in the background. Three knocks. Knock. Knock. Knock. Ozy froze. "Mom, don't open the door." Silence. "Mom?" Nothing. Then someone picked up the phone. A man's voice spoke. "Hello, Ozy." Ozy recognized him. Dr. Mwangi. "Where is my mother?" The man laughed. "You should have listened." "What do you want?" "The notebook." "I don't have it." "You do." Ozy looked down. The seventh notebook was in his jacket. He opened it. Words appeared across the page. YOU HAVE UNTIL DAWN. Ozy's voice trembled. "What happens at dawn?" Dr. Mwangi answered: "Everyone you love disappears." The call ended. Ozy stared at the notebook. Another sentence appeared. THE FIRST NOTEBOOK LIED. Then: THE SECOND NOTEBOOK HID THE TRUTH. Then: THE SEVENTH NOTEBOOK KNOWS THE FUTURE. Ozy turned the page. A photograph appeared. His family was sleeping. The photograph had been taken inside their house. On the back were five words: ONE OF THEM IS NOT HUMAN. Ozy dropped the photograph. His phone vibrated one final time. COME HOME, OZY. Then another message appeared. WE'RE WAITING FOR YOU. Ozy looked toward the dark road. Dawn was approaching. The knock at midnight had never been a warning. It had been an invitation. Ozy tightened his grip around the seventh notebook and began walking home. Behind him, hidden among the trees, a figure watched him disappear. The figure lifted a phone. "He's going home." A voice answered, "Good." "Should we stop him?" "No." "Why?" A pause. "Because he still thinks he's the one being hunted." The figure smiled. "And he hasn't realized yet..." Another pause. "...that he's been hunting himself." TO BE CONTINUED... END OF EPISODE ONE