> "Sometimes, they don't erase people… they rewrite them."
— Reina Eze
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🌒 Midnight Mission
The east wing was forbidden.
Sharon had walked past it a dozen times this term — always locked, always silent. A hallway that led to nothing but myths: expulsion threats, rumors of "deleted" students, and the faint smell of disinfectant and regret.
But tonight, under moonlight filtered through cracked windows, she and Reina crept down its quiet length.
Reina, flashlight in one hand and a lockpick in the other, muttered, "If I get expelled for this, I swear—"
"You already know too much," Sharon said. "That's more dangerous than breaking a lock."
The door opened.
And behind it… the Archive.
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🗂️ The Archive
It wasn't what Sharon expected.
No rows of dusty books. No ancient scrolls or stone-carved secrets.
Just rows of file cabinets. Metallic. Precise. Humid air. Cameras everywhere — except they weren't on.
One drawer.
Labeled: Expelled 2017-2023
She opened it.
Dozens of names. Some she recognized. Some she didn't. Then—
> STUDENT NAME: EZEKIEL ONUORA
STATUS: DECEASED
REMOVAL DATE: SEPTEMBER 2021
"Deceased?" Sharon whispered. "But—"
A noise cut through the silence.
Footsteps. Not security.
Breathless. Barefoot.
Then the figure emerged from behind the file cabinet.
He wasn't a ghost.
He was breathing.
Alive.
And definitely Ezekiel Onuora.
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🧟 The Boy Who Wasn't Gone
His skin was pale, like he hadn't seen sunlight in months. Hair cropped short. A scar on his jawline.
But his eyes were awake. Wild.
"You shouldn't be here," Ezekiel said, voice raw.
Reina backed into Sharon. "He's dead. I read the board. His name—"
"They didn't kill me," Ezekiel muttered. "They unmade me. Made me into something I'm not supposed to be."
Sharon stepped forward. "What is this place?"
He looked at the rows behind him. "It's where they keep what they don't want the world to remember. Not just files. Not just people."
Reina stared. "They faked your death?"
He nodded. "They needed space in the system. So they deleted me from it."
---
🧬 The Revelation
Ezekiel walked them through the hidden tunnel at the back of the Archive — a corridor filled with cots, wires, half-used IVs.
"A few of us were 'removed.' Some ran. Some... accepted it."
Sharon stopped at a rusted cabinet. Inside, she found a set of folders labeled:
> SUBJECT 08: DAMIAN OKOYE
STATUS: DORMANT
CONNECTION: PRIMARY GUARDIAN TO HALO-07
THREAT LEVEL: UNCLASSIFIED
She gasped. "My uncle?"
Ezekiel nodded slowly. "You think he's protecting you. But he's part of the system. He always was."
---
🗣️ Echoes From the Past
A voice came through an old speaker in the corner of the room.
Not live. A recording.
> "Every subject must be linked to a handler. A shadow in the light. If the subject resists the transformation, the handler ensures compliance."
It repeated. Over and over.
Handler. Subject. Compliance.
Sharon stumbled back, the words cutting deeper than any knife. "So... Damian wasn't here to protect me. He was sent to manage me."
Reina whispered, "Who sent him?"
Ezekiel looked up, haunted. "That's what we still don't know."
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🕳️ Meanwhile: Someone Else Is Listening
In a different room — one filled with monitors and audio feeds — a figure sat cross-legged in a chair.
The hood masked their face.
But the voice that came from beneath it was female. Soft. Familiar.
"Looks like Halo-07 has finally woken up."
She turned toward the monitor showing Sharon's face.
"I wonder how long she'll survive now that she knows."
---
🔚 End of Chapter Thirty-Two
> A dead boy returns.
A trusted guardian is no longer innocent.
The Archive has only revealed the first layer — the system still runs deeper.
---
🔜 Coming Up in Chapter Thirty-Three: Handler
– Sharon confronts Damian about the file — and his silence.
– The girl behind the hood is revealed.
– A new name appears in the project list: Reina Eze.
Ready for Chapter Thirty-Three?