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I cautiously open it, uncovering pages covered with worn writing and forbidden rituals of flesh. The words leap off the pages with powerful impact, capturing my attention. One word jumps out from the title.
"Prey."
The single word hangs in the air, heavy with the weight of forbidden knowledge. Rose reads along with me. Her eyes move across the pages in sync.
With trembling hands, I trace the lines of text, each sentence unraveling the dark tapestry of the Kenyan University's past. It talks about secret societies, hidden rituals, and a chilling truth buried beneath the veneer of academic prestige.
A cold chill races over my arm, causing my fingertips to shake slightly. My heart quickens with each revelation as we read.
“Oh. Fuck,” Rose whispers.
The underprivileged are pawns in a sinister game. They are the Prey, hunted by the privileged elite for sport; their lives are mere playthings to satisfy the whims of the powerful. To be chosen meant to be hunted, to be pursued through the halls and dimly lit corridors, until the predator claimed their prize. Prey are the property of the elite member the minute they accept the offer. A signature binding the agreement is in blood. No one leaves until they are claimed. Once claimed, the predator decides their fate.
I delve deeper into the pages, my stomach dropping with the weight of each revelation. Every minute is a crossroad, a choice looming like a phantom in the night. To turn away meant ignorance, to remain blissfully unaware of the dangers lurking. But to embrace the truth means to risk everything—safety, sanity, and your very soul.
“If a predator claims the hunted and the Prey chooses to stay, the Prey belongs to the predator and is immune to sins of the flesh otherwise forbidden.”
“This has to be a joke,” she says in disbelief.
I look up at Rose’s stricken expression. “It’s why your sister didn’t want you here. She was…”
“Prey. She was Garret’s.”
“It’s why the sons are married.”
“What?” she asks, confused.
I lick my dry lips. “The sons of Kenyan are all married. I bet there is some rule.” I flip through the pages. “As a rule, they have to marry before the hunt is over or they graduate. It makes sense. It’s why they are all married. It’s why they are all close in age. The timing. The scholarships.”
It makes sense. It means Valen.
There are no innocents with privileges here, only predators and Prey. Deep down, I could no longer hide in the safety of ignorance.Reason, not the whims of fate, had chosen them.I turn the page. And now, Prey must choose—or the choice will be made.
“We’re Prey,” she whispers, the weight of the truth sinking in.
I nod. “Whoever left this"—I close the book—"is trying to tell us why we are here.”
“Why would they…?” She shakes her head slowly, her eyes wide.
“At least we know why they don’t have a football team.”
They want us to know. They're watching us.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Rose says, like something just dawned. “If the rich hunt for Prey, it means they are watching us. They know where we are, right?”
She’s right. Like right now, they know we’re here. The feeling when I walk on campus. The strange, knowing looks. The leers. That deep feeling I get when people stare at me like they know something I don’t. Why my internal alarm went off the first day I walked on campus.
The worst part is that my brother has no idea what he got me into. There is no way he would have allowed me to set foot in this place if he thought I was in danger. A sense of dread rakes over my skin when I think about the night in Valen’s pool. The night he said,“You’re mine, now.”
“Have you been with anyone on campus, Rose?”
“No.”
“Are you…”
“A virgin? No. I slept with two guys in high school at a party. It’s how I learned what assholes they can be once they get what they want.”
“This is not high school, Rose. I don’t think the people who run this place play high school games.”
