CHAPTER 8 — The Night They Hunted Her
Adaora didn’t know where she was running—she only knew that every second counted.
The grass behind the cafeteria was damp with night dew, and the ground dipped unpredictably beneath her feet. She stumbled once, caught herself, and pushed forward. The darkness pressed around her like a thick fog, swallowing the sound of her breaths but amplifying everything else—the crunch of leaves, the thud of boots, the shouts closing in from behind.
“Adaora! Stop running!”
Okon’s voice, sharp and commanding, sliced through the night.
She didn’t stop.
She slipped between two palm trees, her body brushing against their rough bark. Aisha was somewhere ahead, though Adaora couldn’t see her yet—only the ghost of movement disappearing behind a generator house.
“Aisha!” Adaora whispered harshly.
A trembling hand reached from the shadows and pulled her behind the concrete shed.
Aisha’s breathing was frantic. “Ada—what are we going to do? They’re everywhere!”
Adaora peeked from the edge of the shed.
Okon.
Two guards with torches.
And a fourth silhouette she couldn’t fully make out.
They were fanning out in different directions—searching, circling, tightening the net.
“We need to get off the academy grounds,” Adaora whispered.
“How? The main gate is guarded—and the back fence is locked at night!”
“Then we climb.”
Aisha looked at her like she had lost her mind. “The back fence is almost eight feet, Ada!”
“Better than letting them drag us somewhere we won’t return from.”
Aisha swallowed, eyes glistening.
“Okay. Back fence.”
They crouched low and moved along the dark side of the generator house, avoiding the beams of torchlights sweeping the lawn. Adaora counted their steps, orienting herself. She had been here dozens of times during the day—but the night turned familiar paths into dangerous traps.
When they rounded the building, Aisha froze.
Two guards stood about twenty meters away, near the staff quarters. One smoked lazily; the other leaned on a wall. Both had clear sightlines to the path leading to the back fence.
“We can’t go that way,” Aisha whispered.
Adaora scanned the area quickly.
Bushes to the left.
The laundry lines to the right.
And beyond the laundry shed—a gutter tunnel used to drain rainwater during storms.
It was narrow. Dark. Dirty.
But it led almost exactly toward the back fence.
Adaora pointed. “We go through the drainage.”
Aisha covered her mouth. “Ada—it could be full of snakes!”
“Snakes are better than men with orders to silence us.”
Before Aisha could protest, Adaora took her hand and pulled her toward the ditch.
They lowered themselves carefully into the concrete drain. It was barely wide enough for them to crouch. A musty smell drifted from the tunnel ahead, but the darkness inside felt safer than the open academy grounds.
Adaora motioned for quiet.
They started crawling.
---
Inside the Tunnel...
The tunnel walls were rough, coated with dried mud. Aisha whimpered as something skittered past their hands.
“Ada… I’m scared.”
“I know,” Adaora whispered. “But we’re close. Just keep moving.”
Light from the campus faded with every meter until they were swallowed by blackness. Only the echo of their slow, dragging movements remained.
Then—
A distant shout.
“Adaora went this way! Check the back!”
Adaora froze mid-crawl. Her pulse hammered in her ears.
The guards were getting closer.
A flashlight beam suddenly swept across the drain entrance behind them.
Aisha gasped too loudly.
“Did you hear that?” one guard said.
Adaora held her breath.
Footsteps approached the entrance.
Please don’t look in here… please…
Then Okon’s voice barked from a distance:
“Leave the drainage! Check the east wing! Now!”
Adaora exhaled shakily as the footsteps retreated.
Aisha squeezed her arm. “God saved us.”
“Let’s keep going.”
Five minutes later, a faint slice of moonlight appeared ahead—another opening.
The back fence.
They crawled faster.
---
The Fence...
They climbed out of the drain, clothes dirty, hands scraped. The academy’s perimeter fence rose ahead—tall, wire-topped, intimidating.
Aisha groaned. “How do we climb this?”
Adaora scanned quickly and spotted a wooden ladder abandoned beside the maintenance shed. Maybe someone had used it earlier in the day.
“Aisha—help me.”
They dragged the ladder toward the fence as quietly as possible. Adaora leaned it against the wall. It reached almost to the top.
“Go first,” she whispered.
“No, you!” Aisha protested. “You’re the one they want most!”
“That’s why I go last.”
Aisha hesitated—then began climbing.
But before she reached the top—
A voice shouted from across the field.
“There! By the fence!”
Adaora’s stomach clenched.
Torchlights flared to life, beams darting across the grass toward them.
Aisha froze on the ladder.
“Ada, they saw us!”
“Keep climbing!”
Aisha scrambled up the last steps and swung her leg over the wall.
“Ada! Hurry!”
Adaora grabbed the ladder and climbed. Her legs shook. Her hands slipped on the dirty wood. She could hear the guards running now—boots pounding the earth.
“Adaora!” Okon's voice thundered. “STOP!”
Adaora climbed faster, heart choking her throat.
But just as she reached the top—
A hand latched onto her ankle.
She screamed.
Okon had reached the ladder base and grabbed her leg.
“Come down before you hurt yourself,” he said, tone mocking.
“Ada! Kick him!” Aisha screamed from the other side.
Adaora kicked—once, twice—finally landing a hit that made Okon grunt. His grip loosened.
She pulled her leg free and swung over the top.
Aisha grabbed her wrist and helped her land on the other side.
They didn’t look back.
They ran.
---
The Road Outside...
The back road behind the academy was quiet and empty, just the hum of distant traffic. Streetlights flickered weakly, casting long shadows.
Adaora gasped in lungfuls of fresh air, her chest burning.
“We need help,” she panted. “We need somewhere safe.”
Aisha nodded weakly.
Adaora checked her phone—1% battery.
Then it died.
“No… no no no,” Adaora whispered.
They were alone. No GPS. No emergency call. No way to contact Halima.
Aisha clutched her arm. “Adaora… where will we go?”
Adaora scanned the road, thinking fast.
Then she saw something—coming from the opposite end of the street.
Headlights.
A single car.
Rolling slowly toward them.
Aisha stiffened. “Is that… is that one of them?”
Adaora’s heart pounded.
She grabbed Aisha and pulled her behind an abandoned kiosk.
The car slowed… slowed…
Then stopped.
The door opened.
A tall figure stepped out.
Adaora held her breath.
Moonlight revealed the outline of a woman.
A familiar voice called softly into the night—
“Adaora Nwosu?”
Adaora’s heart nearly collapsed with relief.
Inspector Halima Yusuf.
She stepped into the light, eyes sharp, expression unreadable.
“You’re early,” Adaora whispered shakily as she and Aisha emerged.
Halima nodded. “You said morning. But given the kind of people involved? Morning would have been too late.”
Adaora felt her knees weaken.
Halima’s gaze hardened.
“Get in the car,” she ordered. “Both of you.”
Behind them, inside the academy walls, angry shouts erupted as guards realized their prey had escaped.
Halima opened the back door, her voice cold and sure.
“The hunters have become nervous.
Good.
Now it’s our turn.”
Adaora climbed in.
The real investigation had just begun.
--- #ShadowsBeneathTheFloodlight #SarahFamous #TheirSecretStories #StoriesBySarah #InvestigativeThriller #NewStoryAlert #NigerianFiction #SuspenseReads #DarkSecrets #FootballMystery #ThrillerSeries
Adaora didn’t know where she was running—she only knew that every second counted.
The grass behind the cafeteria was damp with night dew, and the ground dipped unpredictably beneath her feet. She stumbled once, caught herself, and pushed forward. The darkness pressed around her like a thick fog, swallowing the sound of her breaths but amplifying everything else—the crunch of leaves, the thud of boots, the shouts closing in from behind.
“Adaora! Stop running!”
Okon’s voice, sharp and commanding, sliced through the night.
She didn’t stop.
She slipped between two palm trees, her body brushing against their rough bark. Aisha was somewhere ahead, though Adaora couldn’t see her yet—only the ghost of movement disappearing behind a generator house.
“Aisha!” Adaora whispered harshly.
A trembling hand reached from the shadows and pulled her behind the concrete shed.
Aisha’s breathing was frantic. “Ada—what are we going to do? They’re everywhere!”
Adaora peeked from the edge of the shed.
Okon.
Two guards with torches.
And a fourth silhouette she couldn’t fully make out.
They were fanning out in different directions—searching, circling, tightening the net.
“We need to get off the academy grounds,” Adaora whispered.
“How? The main gate is guarded—and the back fence is locked at night!”
“Then we climb.”
Aisha looked at her like she had lost her mind. “The back fence is almost eight feet, Ada!”
“Better than letting them drag us somewhere we won’t return from.”
Aisha swallowed, eyes glistening.
“Okay. Back fence.”
They crouched low and moved along the dark side of the generator house, avoiding the beams of torchlights sweeping the lawn. Adaora counted their steps, orienting herself. She had been here dozens of times during the day—but the night turned familiar paths into dangerous traps.
When they rounded the building, Aisha froze.
Two guards stood about twenty meters away, near the staff quarters. One smoked lazily; the other leaned on a wall. Both had clear sightlines to the path leading to the back fence.
“We can’t go that way,” Aisha whispered.
Adaora scanned the area quickly.
Bushes to the left.
The laundry lines to the right.
And beyond the laundry shed—a gutter tunnel used to drain rainwater during storms.
It was narrow. Dark. Dirty.
But it led almost exactly toward the back fence.
Adaora pointed. “We go through the drainage.”
Aisha covered her mouth. “Ada—it could be full of snakes!”
“Snakes are better than men with orders to silence us.”
Before Aisha could protest, Adaora took her hand and pulled her toward the ditch.
They lowered themselves carefully into the concrete drain. It was barely wide enough for them to crouch. A musty smell drifted from the tunnel ahead, but the darkness inside felt safer than the open academy grounds.
Adaora motioned for quiet.
They started crawling.
---
Inside the Tunnel...
The tunnel walls were rough, coated with dried mud. Aisha whimpered as something skittered past their hands.
“Ada… I’m scared.”
“I know,” Adaora whispered. “But we’re close. Just keep moving.”
Light from the campus faded with every meter until they were swallowed by blackness. Only the echo of their slow, dragging movements remained.
Then—
A distant shout.
“Adaora went this way! Check the back!”
Adaora froze mid-crawl. Her pulse hammered in her ears.
The guards were getting closer.
A flashlight beam suddenly swept across the drain entrance behind them.
Aisha gasped too loudly.
“Did you hear that?” one guard said.
Adaora held her breath.
Footsteps approached the entrance.
Please don’t look in here… please…
Then Okon’s voice barked from a distance:
“Leave the drainage! Check the east wing! Now!”
Adaora exhaled shakily as the footsteps retreated.
Aisha squeezed her arm. “God saved us.”
“Let’s keep going.”
Five minutes later, a faint slice of moonlight appeared ahead—another opening.
The back fence.
They crawled faster.
---
The Fence...
They climbed out of the drain, clothes dirty, hands scraped. The academy’s perimeter fence rose ahead—tall, wire-topped, intimidating.
Aisha groaned. “How do we climb this?”
Adaora scanned quickly and spotted a wooden ladder abandoned beside the maintenance shed. Maybe someone had used it earlier in the day.
“Aisha—help me.”
They dragged the ladder toward the fence as quietly as possible. Adaora leaned it against the wall. It reached almost to the top.
“Go first,” she whispered.
“No, you!” Aisha protested. “You’re the one they want most!”
“That’s why I go last.”
Aisha hesitated—then began climbing.
But before she reached the top—
A voice shouted from across the field.
“There! By the fence!”
Adaora’s stomach clenched.
Torchlights flared to life, beams darting across the grass toward them.
Aisha froze on the ladder.
“Ada, they saw us!”
“Keep climbing!”
Aisha scrambled up the last steps and swung her leg over the wall.
“Ada! Hurry!”
Adaora grabbed the ladder and climbed. Her legs shook. Her hands slipped on the dirty wood. She could hear the guards running now—boots pounding the earth.
“Adaora!” Okon's voice thundered. “STOP!”
Adaora climbed faster, heart choking her throat.
But just as she reached the top—
A hand latched onto her ankle.
She screamed.
Okon had reached the ladder base and grabbed her leg.
“Come down before you hurt yourself,” he said, tone mocking.
“Ada! Kick him!” Aisha screamed from the other side.
Adaora kicked—once, twice—finally landing a hit that made Okon grunt. His grip loosened.
She pulled her leg free and swung over the top.
Aisha grabbed her wrist and helped her land on the other side.
They didn’t look back.
They ran.
---
The Road Outside...
The back road behind the academy was quiet and empty, just the hum of distant traffic. Streetlights flickered weakly, casting long shadows.
Adaora gasped in lungfuls of fresh air, her chest burning.
“We need help,” she panted. “We need somewhere safe.”
Aisha nodded weakly.
Adaora checked her phone—1% battery.
Then it died.
“No… no no no,” Adaora whispered.
They were alone. No GPS. No emergency call. No way to contact Halima.
Aisha clutched her arm. “Adaora… where will we go?”
Adaora scanned the road, thinking fast.
Then she saw something—coming from the opposite end of the street.
Headlights.
A single car.
Rolling slowly toward them.
Aisha stiffened. “Is that… is that one of them?”
Adaora’s heart pounded.
She grabbed Aisha and pulled her behind an abandoned kiosk.
The car slowed… slowed…
Then stopped.
The door opened.
A tall figure stepped out.
Adaora held her breath.
Moonlight revealed the outline of a woman.
A familiar voice called softly into the night—
“Adaora Nwosu?”
Adaora’s heart nearly collapsed with relief.
Inspector Halima Yusuf.
She stepped into the light, eyes sharp, expression unreadable.
“You’re early,” Adaora whispered shakily as she and Aisha emerged.
Halima nodded. “You said morning. But given the kind of people involved? Morning would have been too late.”
Adaora felt her knees weaken.
Halima’s gaze hardened.
“Get in the car,” she ordered. “Both of you.”
Behind them, inside the academy walls, angry shouts erupted as guards realized their prey had escaped.
Halima opened the back door, her voice cold and sure.
“The hunters have become nervous.
Good.
Now it’s our turn.”
Adaora climbed in.
The real investigation had just begun.
--- #ShadowsBeneathTheFloodlight #SarahFamous #TheirSecretStories #StoriesBySarah #InvestigativeThriller #NewStoryAlert #NigerianFiction #SuspenseReads #DarkSecrets #FootballMystery #ThrillerSeries
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