Tick... tick... tick...
It wasn't coming from a clock.
It was coming from inside Nimra's room.
She sat up straight on her mattress, drenched in sweat. The lights flickered once. Twice. Then died. Silence. Her phone vibrated violently under her pillow.
VoxSoul Notification:
"New Player Online. Code: NullNode."
"Kill Count: 2"
"Target: NIMRA SAEED"
"No… no no no…" she whispered.
"This has to be a mistake…"
But it wasn't.
The app had chosen her.
3:03 AM – Faizan's Archive Vault (Backup Audio)
Nimra rushed to the cabinet where Faizan's old hard drive was stored. It was covered in duct tape, labeled:
"DO NOT LISTEN. DO NOT OPEN. LET THEM FORGET."
She tore it open.
Plugged it in.
Click.
Static.
Then— Faizan's voice.
"If you're hearing this, I'm already dead. And he's already watching you."
"His name is not spoken. But he's called the Voice Killer."
Nimra blinked, stunned.
"He doesn't confess. He collects."
"He doesn't fear the app. He feeds it."
Suddenly—
THUD!
Her window rattled. Glass cracked slightly.
A shadow moved just outside.
FLASH!
The room plunged into darkness again.
Her phone screen lit up on its own.
A new voice, low and scratchy:
"You let him die."
"And now... you will scream like he did."
She screamed and threw the phone away. But the voice didn't come from the speaker. It came from inside her head.
3:10 AM — Emergency Broadcast App Activation
Nimra opened Faizan's hacked tool — Voice Playback Shield.
It began broadcasting a loop of chilling recordings:
"I see you when you sleep…"
"Don't turn around…"
"I buried my sister in the kitchen…"
The sound grew distorted.
Then it stopped.
A mechanical whisper:
"Player Four does not listen to voices. He drowns them."
CCTV SNAPSHOT LOADED
Her phone flashed a still image — timestamped 3:05 AM.
Player 4 - NullNode
Dark hoodie. Bare feet. Pale eyes. Standing outside a house.
Beneath him: a body with a bloodied face.
Caption: "CONFESSION DENIED. EXECUTION INITIATED."
Nimra's heart pounded.
She backed away from her window.
But—
Knock… knock… knock…
A slow, deliberate knock echoed through the room.
Not on the door.
On the wall.
"I'm already inside." the voice whispered.
3:15 AM – Memory Flashback
Her vision blurred.
Suddenly she was back in her childhood home. 13 years old. Her mother screaming. A fire in the living room. Her father unconscious. Smoke.
The same whisper in the flames:
"Confess… or burn."
She had seen the man in the black hoodie before.
He was there — in the shadows.
Watching.
She never told anyone.
Until now.
3:19 AM – Emergency Confession Mode Activated
VoxSoul app now forced her mic open.
Countdown started:
01:00... 00:59... 00:58...
"CONFESS OR EXPIRE."
Her lips trembled.
"I... I saw the fire. I knew it wasn't an accident. But I was too scared to say it."
"I saw the man with no eyes. He told me if I spoke, he'd come back."
"He's been coming back ever since."
00:00. Confession Validated. Integrity: 82%.
The screen flickered.
A message appeared:
"Target temporarily cleared. Voice Killer approaching next Host."
Nimra collapsed to the ground.
But then…
BEEP BEEP
Another notification:
"Next Confession Required: ZAHIDA SAEED (Mother)"
Meanwhile – Unknown Basement (Player 4's Domain)
The man called NullNode sat surrounded by phones — cracked, bleeding static.
He stared into a mirror smeared with red ink:
"Voice #7. Incomplete confession."
"She lies. She's still hiding the truth."
He slowly stood, barefoot on cold concrete, and pulled a phone out of the wall.
Play Audio:
"You don't get to run, Nimra. You're part of the Archive now."
He smiled.
A grotesque, stitched smile.
"Every silence… is a scream waiting to bloom."
3:30 AM – Nimra's Apartment
She sat in a corner, eyes wide, staring at the wall where someone had written in nail-scratches:
"THE WALLS REMEMBER."
Her phone lit up.
Video call request — UNKNOWN.
She answered.
The camera showed Faizan's grave.
Freshly dug up.
Empty.
And a voice from beneath:
"Don't let them bury me again."
She screamed, tossing the phone.
It rang once more.
Now Playing: LIVE LOCATION
The dot on the map — inside her building.
Level 2.
Level 3.
Level 4.
She was on 5.
"I'm not a killer, Nimra. You are."
"You started it all. You passed the app."
Her phone glitched.
And the app asked:
"Would you like to reassign the curse?"
Yes / No
She stared at the screen.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
Her mother's name flashed on the screen.
"Forgive me, Ammi…" she whispered,
"…but it's you or me."
She tapped YES.
And the house went silent.
To be continued...