Milas Town rose beneath the late-morning sun like a forgotten corner of the past—dusty roads, aging rooftops, and an eerie quiet that felt older than the town itself. Along a narrow bush path, murmurs gathered as townspeople huddled around two lifeless bodies lying in the dirt, their clothes soaked in dark blood.
The sudden wail of a police siren sliced through the silence.
A patrol car burst through the bend and skidded to a halt. Captain Dogo stepped out first—broad-shouldered, sharp-eyed, every line of his thirty-three-year-old face carved by authority. Sergeant Miles followed with controlled precision, her gaze already sweeping the scene. The crowd scattered the moment the officers approached.
The bodies belonged to two young men, barely in their twenties. Their faces were twisted in a silence that spoke louder than screams.
Dogo knelt, studying the wounds. Miles drifted toward the bushes, her instincts pulling her away from the crowd and deeper into the shadows. A soft beep from Dogo's walkie-talkie broke the tension.
"Yes, as soon as possible," he muttered to the person on the other end.
Miles' device buzzed next. She answered without looking away from the bushes.
"Any clue?" Dogo asked.
"Not yet, Captain… but the tracks lead somewhere. Someone brought them here."
Before Dogo could respond, Miles tensed. Her eyes locked onto something hidden within the thicket—something she didn't dare approach yet.
"Miles, do you copy?" Dogo's voice cut in sharply.
No answer.
Worry crept into his expression until her voice finally returned, shaky but controlled.
"Captain… you need to come over."
The paramedics arrived moments later, lifting the bodies with clinical detachment. Dogo and Miles reappeared from the bushes, both wearing faces shadowed with concern. They watched the corpses disappear into the waiting van before it rolled away, leaving tension behind like smoke.
"Any information?" Miles asked.
"I've spoken with the press," Dogo replied coldly. "Let's return to the station. We need to decide our next move."
They entered their car in heavy silence and drove off.
In Douglas Town, far from the bloodshed, a young man named Jabari Newton sat alone in his dim bedroom. The lantern in the corner flickered softly, illuminating walls plastered with pictures of legends and quotes he clung to for strength.
He wrote with the determination of someone fighting fate itself.
Life puts people in strange positions, he thought as he scribbled another letter to the Recruiting Command. I have applied every day, waited every night… yet no reply.
He folded the paper neatly and stared through the open window. Hope was beginning to taste like disappointment.
He paced. Lay down. Rose again. He couldn't keep still.
I know how to follow direction, he whispered in his mind. I can adapt. I can endure trauma. Why won't they give me a chance?
The sudden blare of a taxi horn outside snapped him awake. He bolted from the room.
Outside, a delivery man stood by the gate holding a khaki envelope. Jabari grabbed it with trembling hands, his heart swelling with anticipation.
He rushed back inside and tore it open.
His breath shattered.
He had not been posted to Milas Town—the place he had dreamed of, prayed for, begged for.
The disappointment made his chest tighten. The letter slipped from his hands, falling to the floor with a dull thud… and then—
The landline rang.
A cold, trembling sound.
Jabari answered.
What he heard on the other end wasn't a voice—it was terror. A whisper mixed with a distant wail. A sound that didn't belong in the world of the living.
THE DEATH CALLS, the voice hissed.
Then the call ended. And the silence that followed felt alive.
Far away, the people of Milas Town were still in uproar. The reporter from WT TV stood on Wolo Street, delivering the news.
"Two bodies, believed to be students of the academy, were found mutilated. Captain Dogo and Sergeant Miles are investigating…"
Parents pleaded for justice. Residents cried for security. Fear wrapped itself around the entire street.
Inside the Zonal Coordinator's office, the military-appointed leader watched the news with swelling anger.
"That story shouldn't have been presented that way," he snarled. "Call Captain Dogo. He must correct this immediately. And he must dig deeper. The culprit must surface. Someone must pay."
Back at the station, Dogo tossed a newspaper at Miles.
"This is NOT what happened!" he thundered.
Miles scanned the headline, horrified.
"Sir… some case files are missing."
Dogo's eyes widened. "How?!"
"I—I don't know."
He ran a hand over his face.
"The General will destroy us if this continues. Reopen every case. Warn every publisher. And remember—the secret of this school stays within the school."
Miles nodded stiffly. "Yes, Sir."
But the look in her eyes hinted at a truth she wasn't sharing.
Meanwhile, Jabari's taxi rattled toward Milas Town. His eyes drifted shut—and the nightmares came.
Bodies—students—lying in pools of blood on a training ground.
Kate.
Jamal.
Friends he hadn't even met yet.
He saw them dead before he even arrived.
The driver's voice jolted him.
"We're here already!"
Jabari blinked, shaken, and stepped out of the vehicle. He pulled his luggage out slowly, staring at the gate in front of him:
WELCOME TO MILAS RECRUITS ACADEMY
Something inside him twisted. It felt wrong. All of it.
He soon found himself seated in Captain Dogo's office, feeling small under the weight of the man's presence. Files lay scattered everywhere, each hiding a secret Jabari couldn't yet understand.
The door opened.
Sergeant Miles walked in.
Jabari stood quickly. "Good day, ma'am—"
"Ma'am?" she snapped sharply. "Address me properly. Sergeant Miles."
"Sorry… Sergeant Miles."
She ignored him and turned to Dogo.
"This is Jabari," Dogo said. "One of our new recruits."
He handed Miles an envelope. The same kind Jabari had received earlier—a detail that made his stomach twist.
"Take him to his lodge," Dogo ordered.
Miles turned and walked out without another word.
Jabari followed her, clutching his luggage, his heart pounding.
Ever since that nightmare in the taxi, he thought, I've regretted coming here.
As they stepped into the hallway, a cold whisper crawled across his spine.
Something was waiting for him in Milas Town.
Something that had already called him once…
And would call again.