The Group Chat
EPISODE 3: “Offline”
Estimated Read Time: 4 minutes
Time: 4:12 AM.
Campus is silent, but panic is loud in everyone’s mind.
Ruky’s photo is still in the chat—gagged, bound, her terrified eyes frozen on everyone’s screen.
Nobody’s left the group.
Nobody can.
Jide is still missing. Ruky is now “unreachable.”
Mimi hasn’t slept in 2 days.
Dapo deleted WhatsApp.
It reinstalled itself.
Jide’s Return
Just as dawn breaks, Jide’s number comes back into the group.
But something’s different.
His profile picture is now pitch black.
His status?
“I see better in the dark.”
Then a voice note drops.
It’s Jide… whispering. But not quite sounding like himself.
Jide (slowly):
“He’s not done with us. He’s watching even when you think you’re alone… especially when you turn off your phone.”
Mimi messages him privately:
Mimi: “Jide, are you okay? Where are you?”
Jide reads it.
No reply.
Instead, she hears a soft knock on her door. Three slow knocks.
KNOCK… KNOCK… KNOCK.
She doesn’t move.
Her phone buzzes.
A new group message.
Admin:
“Next challenge: Go Offline.
Whoever stays online after 5:00 AM will be visited. Personally.
You have 10 minutes. Switch off your phones. Let’s see who listens.”
The Countdown Begins
Students begin panicking. Messages fly.
Kemi: “What is this madness? I'm leaving the group.”
[She exits the chat.]
A second later, she’s automatically re-added.
Her phone buzzes again.
Admin:
“Nobody leaves. Ever.”
Mimi’s hands are shaking. Her phone reads 4:51 AM.
Razor (one of the guys): “Guy, what if we all switch off at the same time? What can he do then?”
Dapo: “Bro, I tried deleting the app. It reinstalled. You can’t outsmart this guy.”
Blessing: “I’m just going to turn off my phone and go to church. I rebuke this demon in Jesus’ name.”
She turns off her phone.
5:01 AM….
Everyone goes dark.
Except one person—Chuka. He didn’t believe it.
He stayed online. Mocked the Admin with memes.
5:03 AM…
Chuka’s final message is a selfie:
“See? Nothing happened 😂”
5:05 AM…
A livestream suddenly starts in the group chat.
It’s grainy CCTV footage. From a hostel hallway.
The figure in the video is Chuka. Walking.
Laughing into his phone.
Then, he suddenly stops. Looks directly at the camera, confused.
His smile fades.
From behind him, a tall masked figure steps out of the shadows.
Black hoodie. White blank mask. Silent.
Chuka turns around, too late.
The camera shakes violently as Chuka is dragged out of frame. His phone hits the ground.
It keeps streaming.
A bloody hand hits the lens.
The stream ends.
Silent Morning mourning
Someone tries to report the group.
It fails.
Someone calls security. No one comes.
Someone tries to uninstall WhatsApp. It restarts their phone.
Then the Admin drops a message:
“One more person will stay offline permanently. Guess who?”
What next?
Dapo suddenly starts typing.
Dapo: “I know who you are.”
Everyone waits.
Dapo: “Admin, you made a mistake. You uploaded an old hostel camera footage from last year. I remember because it was the same day we had water shortage and fought with the porters.”
Silence.
Then Dapo continues:
Dapo: “And I know who had access to that footage. Only two people did. One was expelled. The other is still around…”
He tags someone:
@Sandra.
Everyone freezes.
Mimi’s eyes widen.
Sandra replies for the first time in days.
Sandra:
“Be careful, Dapo. You’re not as smart as you think.”
“Besides… you still haven’t confessed what you did. But I know.”
Mimi’s Nightmare
That night, Mimi hears her name whispered again.
This time from inside her wardrobe.
“Mimiiii…”
She grabs her torchlight and opens it. Nothing.
Until her phone buzzes. Airdrop request.
From UNKNOWN DEVICE.
She accepts it, but by mistake.
A video plays.
It’s her. Sleeping again.
But this time, someone strokes her hair.
The camera pans.
The person is her roommate, Sandra.
Smiling into the lens.
Final Message from Admin:
“You think this is about secrets?
This is about justice.
And justice... isn't done yet…………………….”
Who’s ready for Sandra’s backstory? Please grab your popcorn…(laughs in Tinubu..)