Yvessirae Pov
The wrought-iron gates of St. Jude's University didn't look like the entrance to a trap. They looked like an invitation to a better life.
As I pulled my suitcase across the cobblestone path, I couldn't help but stare. The architecture was breathtaking—ivory stone towers reaching toward the clouds, perfectly manicured lawns, and students dressed in crisp blazers walking with the kind of confidence only a top-tier education can provide. My parents had been so proud. "The Harvard of the East," they called it. High graduation rates, world-class professors, and a reputation for producing leaders.
I, Yvessirae, had finally made it. Or so I thought.
"New student?"
I blinked, coming out of my trance. Two girls were sitting on a stone bench near the fountain. One had her hair in a messy bun and was chewing on a pencil—that was Maia. The other, Dvora, looked sharper, her eyes moving over me with a mix of pity and curiosity.
"Yeah," I said, offering a small smile. "I'm Yvessirae. Just transferred in today."
"Nice name," Maia said, though she didn't look happy. She patted the spot next to her. "Sit. You look like you're waiting for a parade that isn't coming."
I sat, letting my suitcase handle drop. "It's just... it's beautiful here. I can't believe I actually got in."
Dvora leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. "Out of all the schools in the country—the ones with actual sunlight and normal schedules—why here, Rae?"
I shrugged, a bit confused by her tone. "The quality, obviously. The degree from St. Jude's is basically a golden ticket. Why wouldn't I come here?"
Maia and Dvora shared a look. Then, they started to laugh. It wasn't a mean laugh; it was the dry, hollow sound of people who knew a joke that wasn't funny.
"Oh, the education is great," Maia said, wiping a mock tear from her eye. "Best in the world. You'll learn more here in a week than most people learn in a year. But the tuition? It isn't paid in cash."
My smile faded. "What are you talking about?"
Maia's expression went dead serious. She leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper that barely carried over the sound of the fountain. "Did you read the fine print, Rae? About the curfew?"
"The 8:00 PM rule? I figured it was just for safety. To keep us focused on studying."
"It's for safety, alright," Dvora snapped. "But not the kind you think. Once that clock hits 8:00, this school stops being a university. It becomes a playground. A very, very dark one."
I felt a chill, despite the afternoon sun. "What do you mean?"
"The Hide-and-Seek," Maia explained. "Every night, the school resets. The doors lock. The lights go out. And then He starts looking. To stop the loop, we have to find an object. A Gold Whistle, a Cracked Lens... things that shouldn't be hard to find, but in the dark, they move. They hide."
I shook my head, my heart starting to thrum. "That's crazy. Someone must have found them by now. Why don't you just leave? Just transfer out!"
Dvora laughed again, a sharp, bitter sound. "You think we haven't tried? I drove fifty miles away last weekend. As soon as the clock hit eight, I woke up right back in my dorm room, staring at the ceiling. Once you're enrolled, you're part of the Game. It follows you. You belong to the school now."
Maia gripped my wrist. "Someone found an item once. A boy from the engineering wing. He found the Gold Whistle and for a second, the sun started to rise. We thought it was over. But then... he just disappeared. No one remembers his name. The item reset. The timer went back to zero. And we were right back at the start of the night."
I pulled my arm away, my stomach churning. "I don't believe you. This is just some hazing ritual for new students."
"Believe what you want," Dvora said, standing up and brushing off her skirt. "But a word of advice: when the bell rings, don't stay in the halls. Lock your door. And whatever you do, don't look through the keyhole."
—
The rest of the day was a blur of orientation and unpacking, but their words haunted me. I tried to focus on my beautiful new dorm room—the high ceilings, the mahogany desk, the view of the quad. It felt normal. It felt safe.
But as the sun began to dip below the horizon, the atmosphere in the building shifted. I noticed other students sprinting back to their rooms, their faces pale and drawn. No one was laughing anymore.
I retreated to my room and checked my watch.
7:58 PM.
I felt foolish, but I did it anyway. I turned the deadbolt on my door. I pushed my heavy trunk in front of the wood. I went to the window and latched the security bar, checking it twice. My heart was a drum inside my chest, loud and erratic.
7:59 PM.
I sat on my bed, clutching a pillow. It's just a story, I told myself. Maia and Dvora were just trying to freak me out.
Then, the clock flipped.
A bell—heavy, ancient, and bone-chilling—boomed through the walls of the dorm. It wasn't the electronic buzz of a school bell. It sounded like a funeral toll.
Immediately, the power cut. The world went into a total, suffocating blackout.
Then, a voice crackled over the intercom system. It didn't sound human; it sounded like a recording played through a throat full of gravel.
"The sun has set. The gates are closed. Ready or not, here I come. Be a hider... or be a seeker. The Game begins now."
Silence followed. A silence so deep I could hear the blood rushing through my ears.
Then, from the other side of my reinforced door, came a sound that made my soul scream.
Clack. Drag. Clack. Drag.
It stopped right outside my room.
BOOM.
Something hit the door with the force of a sledgehammer. The wood groaned. The trunk I had pushed against it slid an inch forward.
BOOM.
Another hit. The door didn't break, but the handle began to turn, slowly, desperately, as if someone—or something—was testing the lock.
I backed away into the corner of the room, my eyes wide in the dark, realizing with a jolt of pure terror that the girls hadn't been lying. I wasn't at a university.
I was in a cage.
end of chapter 1