🌃 NDOLA NIGHTS
EPISODE 1: The Message That Came Before Midnight
People say nothing happens in Ndola.
That’s because most people are asleep before it begins.
The message came at 21:47.
Unknown number. No profile picture.
“Don’t go inside tonight.”
I stared at it, then laughed.
Because in Ndola, random messages are either scams… or someone bored.
I was outside anyway—load shedding had hit again. The street was quiet, the kind of quiet that makes your ears ring.
Then the dogs started barking.
All of them.
At the same time.
That’s when the taxi showed up.
No headlights at first. Just… there.
The driver leaned over and opened the door.
“Get in,” he said.
“Boss, I didn’t—”
“Get in if you want to see tomorrow.”
…So I got in.
EPISODE 2: The Driver Who Knew Too Much
“Seatbelt,” he said.
I looked at him.
“Since when do taxis in Ndola care about seatbelts?”
He didn’t even smile.
That’s when I knew.
This wasn’t normal.
As we drove off, I looked back at my street.
Everything looked fine… until the streetlight flickered.
For a split second—
Something was standing exactly where I had been.
Tall. Still.
Watching.
“You saw it,” the driver said.
That wasn’t a question.
EPISODE 3: The Other Ndola
We took a turn I’ve never seen before.
Same Ndola roads.
Same houses.
But everything felt… off.
Quieter. Slower.
Like the city had been copied… but something didn’t transfer properly.
“What is this?” I asked.
He shrugged.
“Ndola. Just not your version.”
Then suddenly—
Music.
Lights.
A full street party in the middle of nowhere.
People dancing like nothing in the world mattered.
Someone shoved a drink in my hand.
“Relax,” they said. “First night is always confusing.”
I almost believed them.
Until I looked down.
Nobody had a shadow.
EPISODE 4: The Girl Who Didn’t Belong
“That’s your first mistake.”
I turned.
She was leaning against a wall, arms folded, watching everything like she’d seen it a thousand times.
Unlike everyone else…
she had a shadow.
“New?” she asked.
“Is it that obvious?”
“You’re still breathing like you belong here.”
She walked up to me, calm, sharp.
“I’m Leya,” she said.
“Try not to die on your first night.”
“Comforting,” I muttered.
She smirked.
“You’ll get used to it.”
EPISODE 5: The Thing That Followed
The music stopped.
Just like that.
Everyone froze.
Then slowly… they turned.
Not at me.
Not at Leya.
But behind us.
Footsteps.
Heavy.
Slow.
Coming from the road.
Leya sighed.
“Great. It followed you.”
“WHAT followed me??”
She ignored me and grabbed my wrist.
“Rule one,” she said.
“If it knows your face… you run.”
“Run WHERE??”
“Exactly.”
EPISODE 6: First Heroic Mistake
We ran.
Through streets that didn’t make sense.
Past houses that looked abandoned… but felt occupied.
I was out of breath in seconds.
“Why is it so fast?!” I shouted.
Leya didn’t even look back.
“Because you hesitated.”
We turned a corner—and hit a dead end.
Wall. High. No escape.
Footsteps getting closer.
“Great,” I said, trying to catch my breath.
“So this is how I die? In fake Ndola?”
Leya rolled her eyes.
“You talk too much.”
Then she turned, calm.
Stepped forward.
And for the first time—
I saw fear… not in her.
But in whatever was coming.
EPISODE 7: The Girl Who Fights Back
It stepped into the light.
Tall. Twisted. Wrong in ways I couldn’t explain.
Like a person… stretched into something else.
I froze.
Leya didn’t.
She cracked her knuckles.
“Finally,” she said.
“Something interesting.”
“Interesting?? That thing wants to kill us!”
She glanced at me.
“Relax,” she said.
Then smiled—
the kind of smile that makes you question everything.
“I’ve killed worse.”
EPISODE 8: The First Fight
The thing moved first.
Fast. Too fast.
One second it was across the street—
the next, it was right in front of us.
I didn’t even see it move.
I stumbled back.
“Yeah… we’re dead.”
Leya stepped forward.
Calm.
Like she’d done this before.
“Stay behind me,” she said.
“Gladly.”
The creature lunged.
She didn’t run.
She moved sideways—quick, precise—then drove her fist straight into its chest.
A sound came out of it…
Not a scream.
More like something breaking from the inside.
“Wait…” I blinked.
“You can actually fight these things??”
She didn’t look at me.
“Not fight,” she said.
“I end them.”
EPISODE 9: The Rules of the Night
After it disappeared—literally faded into nothing—I finally exhaled.
“Okay,” I said. “You’re explaining everything.”
We sat on a low wall.
Somewhere far off, I could hear music again.
Like nothing had happened.
Leya held up three fingers.
“Simple rules,” she said.
“Rule one: If it watches you, it’s already too late.”
“Rule two: Don’t trust anything that feels familiar.”
“Rule three: If Ndola feels normal… run.”
I stared at her.
“That’s not simple.”
She shrugged.
“You’ll learn fast… or not at all.”
EPISODE 10: The Conductor
We didn’t walk far before we saw him.
Standing in the middle of the road.
Wearing a bright conductor vest.
Holding a minibus door… with no bus attached.
“Boss!” he shouted.
“Town! Town! Last seat!”
I frowned.
“Is this guy serious right now?”
Leya went still.
“That’s not a conductor,” she said quietly.
The man smiled too wide.
“Come,” he said.
“Free ride tonight.”
“Yeah, I’m good,” I said.
He tilted his head.
“Everyone gets on eventually.”
Leya grabbed my arm.
“Don’t answer him again,” she whispered.
“Why?”
“Because the moment you agree…”
“…you don’t get off.”
EPISODE 11: Running Isn’t Enough
We walked faster.
Then faster.
Then… we were running again.
Behind us, I could hear him shouting—
“Last seat! LAST SEAT!”
I glanced back.
Big mistake.
Now there was a bus.
Full.
Every seat occupied.
Every passenger staring at me.
None of them blinking.
“Don’t look!” Leya snapped.
“I already did!”
“Then run faster!”
EPISODE 12: The Safe Place That Isn’t Safe
We ducked into a small food spot.
A late-night stand.
Charcoal. Smoke. The smell of grilled meat.
Everything looked normal again.
A guy behind the stand looked up.
“Boss, what will you have?”
I almost cried.
“Finally. A normal human being.”
Leya didn’t relax.
“What day is it?” she asked him.
He paused.
Too long.
Then smiled.
“Any day you want.”
She grabbed me again.
“We’re leaving.”
“Wait, I didn’t even order!”
“You don’t eat in places that don’t exist.”
EPISODE 13: The Truth About Me
We stopped near an empty football field.
No lights. Just moonlight.
I sat down, exhausted.
“Why me?” I asked.
Leya didn’t answer immediately.
Then she said—
“Because it saw you first.”
“What does that mean?”
She looked at me seriously now.
“Most people pass through the night and never notice it.”
“You noticed.”
“And?”
“And it noticed back.”
Silence.
“So what… I’m just stuck in this now?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Pause.
“You’re connected to it now.”
EPISODE 14: The Real Villain
The air changed.
Cold.
Heavy.
Even Leya stood up slowly.
“That’s not good.”
“WHAT now??”
She didn’t answer.
She was looking behind me.
I turned.
And there it was.
Not like the others.
Bigger.
Still.
Controlled.
It didn’t chase.
Didn’t rush.
It just stood there…
Like it owned everything.
“What is that?” I whispered.
Leya’s voice dropped.
“That’s the one that runs this side of Ndola.”
“…runs it??”
She nodded.
“It’s called The Watcher.”
EPISODE 15: The Hero You Didn’t Choose to Be
The Watcher stepped forward.
Slow.
Deliberate.
I couldn’t move.
My body just… froze.
Leya stepped in front of me.
For the first time—
she looked unsure.
“Listen,” she said quickly.
“If I say run, you run. Don’t think. Don’t stop.”
“What about you?”
She smirked.
Even now.
“I’ll catch up.”
The Watcher tilted its head.
Like it was studying me.
Then it spoke.
Not loud.
Not scary.
Just… certain.
“You’re not supposed to be here.”
I swallowed.
“Yeah… I figured that out.”
It took another step.
“But now that you are…”
Pause.
“…you don’t leave.”
Something in me snapped.
Not fear.
Something else.
Maybe anger.
Maybe survival.
I stepped forward.
Past Leya.
She grabbed my arm.
“What are you doing??”
I looked at The Watcher.
Heart racing.
“I don’t know what this place is,” I said.
“…but I’m not dying in it.”
For a second—
everything went still.
Then The Watcher smiled.
And Leya whispered:
“…yeah.”
“Now you’re becoming dangerous.”
To be continued…
