As the days dwindled down to only two left before the game closes forever, Mathias felt an urgency like never before.
The key to escape lay entwined with the tragic fate of Madam Koi-koi's death.
The atmosphere crackled with tension as Mathias, Marcus, and Max stormed back into the headmaster's office.
Their eerie determination was palpable as they knocked firmly on the door.
"Yes... come in."
Slowly he raised his head to recognize who stood before him, his surprise twisted into fear; he'd hoped they weren't the ones Infront of him..
"You again!" he exclaimed, his facade faltering as he attempted to wave them off.
"I have classes to attend," he protested, Mathias knew it was a trick, he held him by the shoulder and pushed him back to his seat, the urgency in their eyes reflected a blend of fury and desperation.
With a burdened sigh, Mathias then raised his foot on the table, then looked at the headmaster's face.
"I'm afraid, you're not leaving until you answer all our questions," Mathias declared, his voice dark like the night sky filled with unyielding stars.
The headmaster's eyes widened, panic surging as he tried to evade their penetrating stares.
"I don't know what you are talkin about." He stammered.
Mathias knew he wouldn't talk, that so easily, force needed to be applied.
" Ok...let me make you to remember..
He looked around, and gazed at an empty vessel, he picked it and raised high, almost hitting the headmaster's head. That he got scared and screamed.
"Please... I'll talk, l will talk," he stammered, the tremor in his voice betraying his fear. "Just don't harm me."
" So....,you remember now? Okay!
"Who was the director, and why did he leave?" he asked, his tone demanding answers.
The headmaster glanced at the papers on his desk, then met Mathias's unwavering gaze.
"The director.., Ihemi Jacob, left after... well, after Madam Koi-Koi's death," he confessed, his voice barely a whisper.
"His son, Mark, was involved. After Madam Koi-Koi perished, the school became haunted—no father could bear to see his son among such horror."
"Why not tell us these things sooner?!" Marcus shouted, his frustration bubbling to the surface.
The headmaster's trembling hands gestured helplessly. "Mark Jacob withdrew immediately after the rumors of the haunted class escalated. Only two students escaped the grim fate."
A chilling feeling washed over them. They had to confront Charles, the only other survivor left to unravel the enigma of the haunting.
But Charles had been absent for few days, the urgency increasing as every second counted down to oblivion.
" Call Charles, now!"
Without the slightest hesitation, the headmaster dialed Charles's father, pressing upon him the need for his son to return to school at once.
While the trio focused on their mission, amidst the shadows, a group of other students moved, each step plotting against them, eager to see their rivals fail. They had their own ambitions, convinced that if Mathias and the others solved the mystery, they could erase them and claim the elusive key to freedom.
At dusk, Charles arrived, eyes wide with an understanding that he was in the lion's den. As he stood before Mathias and the others, the question loomed heavy. "How is it that you're still alive?" Mathias demanded, the urgency cutting through the silence.
"I never answered Madam Koi-Koi's riddles," Charles explained, his voice trembling. "Those who were taken—they had answered her riddles." A glimmer of truth sketched across their thoughts, but it felt incomplete.
"What about Mark? Why is he still untouched by the curse of the riddle?" Mathias pressed, his patience wavering.
Charles looked down, guilt-infused words spilling forth. "He left the school the moment the whispers of Madam Koi-Koi spread like wildfire." Memories flooded back, snippets of that fateful day when everything changed.
"Tell us what happened," Mathias urged, sensing the weight of history clawing at them. As Charles recounted the chilling events unfolded.
On that grim day, Mark Jacob, along with his gang, plotted to revenge against Madam Koi-Koi, for flogging him brutally over a crime he didn't do.
At times, the blame also goes to the school administrators, who didn't take action , when madam Esther's brutal punishments were reported by students.
Neither did she stop, rather the brutal punishments escalated even more .
The boys, emboldened by the anonymity of anger, had to confront her, when everyone else had left school, brutally attacking her in the empty class, were she was packing her text books.
When she fell silent on the floor, they panicked, believing they had accidentally ended her life. In their haste to retain their freedom, they dumped her body in the nearby woods.
Unfortunately, as they turned their backs to leave, madam Esther regained consciousness, that was also a threat to the boys.
Let's take her to the hospital ". Charles suggested, but mark wasn't happy as he told them, " if she reports us to the police, out lives will be ruined forever.
He looked around and saw a hug rock, curried it and smashed madam Esther on the head, then they treked , leaving her bleeding to death.
Charles had wanted to help; he tried to return, but found her lifeless body. Overcome with despair and fear, he fled.
Then in the morningadam Esther didn't report to school, which was unlike her,. All they found was her red shoe in the middle of the school compound.
The police got involved and found her body in the forest, brutally murdered.
From that day, the school become haunted.
The name madam koi-koi, come from the echos of her shoes-koi-koi-koi-koi, when she walks haunting the classrooms.
As the retelling ended, the tension thickened; Mathias realized they needed to confront Mark Jacob too directly.
But the question remained—who was truly guilty? Mark would turn the daisies into thorns; they needed to pull the truth from both of them.
The headmaster made another call, and soon enough, Mark strode into the office, the ominous atmosphere wrapping around him like a smothering cloak.
Trapped within the walls of confrontation, he knew escape was no longer an option.
"Mark," Mathias's voice cut through the air like a sharp needle"Did you kill Madam Esther Koi-Koi?"
With a wicked glimmer in his eye, Mark began to spin his own version of the events—putting the blame on Charles to save his own skin.
Ugh!..Medicine man and poisoner, the truth became lost in a web of deceit.
Mathias peered into Mark's eyes, searching for honesty but he didn't know wh was speaking the truth, since only the two of them know what really happened.
The clock ticked down, and with every second, their chance to discover Madam Koi-Koi's truth slipped further away.
In that moment, Mathias realized they weren't just solving a mystery about a ghost; they were unearthing the layers of fear, guilt, and betrayal that held them captive.
Underneath the hauntings lay a universal truth—that sometimes, it isn't the spirits we should be afraid of, but the lives we lived and the shadows cloaked in our made decisions.