Brenda leaned against the nearest wall, breathing hard. “We are going to die here.”
“No, we’re not.” Jeremiah wiped his face. “We’re just… in a situation.”
“A situation?” Hassan scoffed. “The street we were on literally doesn’t exist anymore. We’re in a situation the same way a cow in a slaughterhouse is in a ‘situation.’”
He had a point. The street behind them—the one they had walked on just five minutes ago—was gone.
Instead, a long, empty corridor stretched behind them, lined with doors that hadn’t been there before.
The town had changed. Again.
The Mayor was still there, watching them with that same too-wide grin.
Jeremiah turned to him. “What is happening?”
The Mayor chuckled. “Oh, it’s simple. You made a decision, so the town made one too.”
Brenda clenched her jaw. “What decision?”
The Mayor gave her a knowing look. “You chose to break a rule.”
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They all turned to Wachira.
“Why me?” Wachira asked, offended.
“You literally kicked a door open,” Brenda said.
Hassan nodded. “You also drank ghost tea.”
“That was before!” Wachira huffed. “Besides, it was good tea.”
The Mayor snickered. “It’s not just him. You’ve all been breaking rules in your own ways. And the town is… adapting.”
Hassan rubbed his temples. “So, what? The town is punishing us?”
“No,” the Mayor said. “It’s adjusting. To you.”
A cold chill passed through them.
That was somehow worse.
The First Door
Brenda exhaled. “Fine. We’re here. Now what?”
The Mayor gestured toward the nearest door.
“Why don’t you ask it?”
Jeremiah frowned. “Ask… what?”
“The door.”
Jeremiah hesitated. Then, feeling stupid, he cleared his throat. “Uh. Hello?”
Nothing.
Then, just as he was about to turn away, the door creaked.
Hassan took a step back. “Nope. Nope, nope, nope.”
Brenda, however, stepped forward. She had had enough.
She knocked once.
The door swung open.
A cold wind rushed out. The air inside was thick with whispers.
At first, she couldn’t make out the words.
Then, slowly, she did.
“One of you is lying.”
Silence.
Then Hassan laughed awkwardly. “Well, that’s vague and terrifying.”
Jeremiah stiffened. “Wait. It’s testing us.”
Brenda narrowed her eyes. “Testing what?”
Jeremiah turned to the group. “Someone here is lying. About something.”
The door creaked again. "One of you is not supposed to be here."
Wachira crossed his arms. “Well, that’s unsettling.”
Hassan pointed at the Mayor. "It’s him."
The Mayor gasped, offended. “How dare you.”
Brenda rubbed her temples. “Okay, let’s think. Who—”
But before she could finish, the door SLAMMED shut.
A new door, further down the hall, opened instead.
Jeremiah swallowed. “Oh. Oh, I get it.”
Brenda looked at him. “Get what?”
Jeremiah gestured to the hallway. “The town isn’t following rules. It’s testing us. Seeing how we react.”
Brenda’s blood ran cold.
That meant the town was watching.
And worse?
It was learning.
End of Chapter 10
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