I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling as the fan hummed above me like a lullaby I couldn't sleep to. The moonlight leaked through the curtain, casting faint shadows on the wall. Sleep had been a stranger lately. And tonight, it was no different. My body was tired, but my mind? That one refused to shut up.
My thoughts bounced between panic and guilt. Panic because time was ticking soon, someone would recognize us from the footage. The blurry video kept flashing through my head. All of it out there, slowly going viral. The Council wasn't going to take it lightly. They never did.
I sat up, running my hand through my hair. I could hear Mom moving around in the kitchen earlier, her soft hums, her tired footsteps, but now the house was dead silent. She'd been working long shifts at the hospital. I didn't even know if she'd seen the video. What if someone told her before I did? What if she heard from the Council first?
A deep sigh escaped my chest. "I should tell her," I muttered to myself.
But the thought of her disappointment, her heartbreak… it made my chest tighten. She'd lost Dad to the chaos in Neo-Nija. And now me?
"What if it breaks her?" I whispered.
But what if not telling her breaks us both?
I got off the bed and paced the room, staring at the framed photo of the two of us on the desk. Her smile in that picture… it used to be all the light I needed. I hated the idea of being the reason it would fade.
My palms were sweaty. I wiped them on my pants and sat back on the edge of the bed.
"She deserves to know," I whispered again, voice firmer this time.
A notification buzzed on my holo-tab. Steven had messaged earlier: "Bro, we need to talk. Rumours everywhere. The Council's not playing."
I shut the screen off. Tomorrow, I'd tell her. Before it was too late.
And as I lay back, eyes still wide open, I prayed I wouldn't regret the decision.
The smell of fried plantain drifted down the hallway as I adjusted my collar in front of the mirror. I hadn't slept more than an hour, but I was already dressed for work. The fear of being idle was louder than my need for rest.
As I stepped into the kitchen, the clinking of plates greeted me. Mum was at the counter, tying up her apron with her usual calm but sharp efficiency. Her eyes met mine for a second and then quickly shifted to the plate she was dishing. But I could tell she'd been waiting for me.
"Morning," I mumbled.
"Morning," she replied, sliding a plate toward me. "Eat before you go. You've been looking thinner each day. You think I don't notice?"
I sat slowly, unsure if the lump in my throat was from fear or guilt. "Thanks," I said, poking at the food more than eating.
She turned off the cooker and leaned on the counter, arms crossed. "You didn't sleep again."
I paused. "I did… just a little."
She gave me that knowing look, part concerned mother, part detective. "Liam, you've had that 'world-on-your-shoulders' face for days. Talk to me."
I stared at the plantains. Suddenly, they looked like burnt pieces of guilt on a plate.
"Mum…" I began, voice cracking.
She pulled out a chair and sat across from me. "Go on."
I took a shaky breath. "That incident at Arewa Height… the explosion. The wanted video they showed… me, Steven, Ife, we were there."
She didn't flinch.
"I mean… we helped someone escape. A guy who the Council is after. But Mum, we didn't know who he was. We were just trying to help, everything happened so fast. I thought I could just… keep quiet, protect you from all this but..."
"I've seen the video," she said quietly.
My head snapped up. "What?"
She reached over and touched my hand. "I've seen it more than once, Liam. Your face wasn't clear, but I know my son's posture. I know your friends. I knew something was wrong the time you came back from that party."
I felt like my lungs had collapsed. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I was waiting for you to be ready to talk. And now that you are, we deal with it. Together."
The silence between us stretched. Not heavy just honest.
"I messed up," I whispered.
"No," she replied. "You did what you thought was right. But now, the reality is knocking. And we need help."
I blinked. "Help?"
She stood up, picking her holo-tab. "I know someone. He might be able to get you three out of this… or at least keep you safe for now."
I stood too. "Mum… who exactly are we talking about?"
She looked me in the eye. "An old friend of your father's. Someone who knows how to move in the shadows without getting burnt.
Neo-Nija had changed. Almost overnight, the city felt like a cage dressed up in chrome and silence. Drones floated above rooftops like vultures. Every junction had a checkpoint. Officers in dark blue uniforms with glowing Zenith crests stood tall with scanners in hand and suspicion in their eyes.
The air itself felt heavier as if the Council had turned oxygen into surveillance.
Steven stopped replying to texts two days ago. He said he'd "lock down" until the heat cooled. I didn't blame him. Ife had vanished too no online trace, no hologram calls, nothing. He was probably somewhere underground, sleeping next to cockroaches and hoping not to sneeze. Me? I was the only one dumb enough or maybe desperate enough to keep moving.
But I wasn't careless. I took back paths, slipped through crowded areas, used tunnels and service routes only old people remembered. I changed my outfits, wore a hood even when it was sunny. My goal was simple: get to work, act normal, survive the day, go home.
Except today, something felt... off.
It started halfway down Opon Street. I sensed it not saw, not heard. Just that eerie itch in the back of my neck. I checked a shop window and caught a flicker someone, dark jacket, walking behind me with the rhythm of someone pretending not to be close.
I turned left sharply into a narrow alley and crossed over to the next street through a shortcut by an abandoned cinema. I waited ten seconds, then peeked out.
He was there.
Still walking. Still calm. Too calm.
I crossed another block, slipped behind a delivery van, and cut through a small clothing market. I changed pace, circled back, watched him from behind a rack of secondhand jackets.
Same guy.
He wasn't trying to catch me. He just needed to watch. Track. Study.
By the time I got to work sweating, nervous, breath shaky i looked back again.
Gone.
Vanished like vapor.
But then I noticed something worse: a matte black vehicle, sleek and unfamiliar, parked directly across the supermarket. No license tag. No logo. Just there. Waiting.
I entered the store quietly, not saying a word to anyone. My hands trembled slightly as I arranged some crates near the window. I kept watching that car.
It didn't move.
Just like the man.
Watching.
Waiting.
And somehow, I knew it was only a matter of time before they stopped watching and start acting