TRAPPED BY FEAR
Episode 1: The Whisper Behind the Rain
The city of Lagos never truly slept. Even at midnight, buses still honked loudly, street vendors shouted beside the roadside, and generators hummed endlessly in crowded neighborhoods.
But on nights when heavy rain fell, the city changed completely.
The roads became empty.
The wind sounded strange.
And shadows looked alive.
Twenty-two-year-old Daniel Adebayo hated nights like that.
Daniel was a quiet young man who worked as a graphic designer in a small printing company at Ikeja. He lived with his widowed mother, Mama Grace, and his younger sister, Peace, in a small rented apartment.
Unlike Peace, who laughed loudly and made friends easily, Daniel always kept to himself.
Fear had shaped his entire life.
As a child, he was afraid of speaking in class.
As a teenager, he feared rejection.
Now as an adult, he feared failure so much that he avoided opportunities completely.
His best friend, Michael, often joked about it.
“Guy, one day you’ll be afraid of your own shadow.”
Daniel would laugh awkwardly, but deep inside, the words hurt because they were true.
That Friday evening, rain began pouring heavily while Daniel was closing from work.
“Daniel!” his colleague Anita called.
Anita was lively, bold, and always cheerful. She walked up holding her umbrella.
“You’re still here?” she asked.
Daniel shrugged. “Waiting for the rain to reduce.”
Anita smiled. “Or waiting because you’re scared of walking home in the dark?”
Daniel forced a smile. “Very funny.”
She laughed softly. “You think too much, Daniel. Relax sometimes.”
But relaxing was impossible for him.
As Daniel finally walked home alone, thunder exploded across the sky. The streetlights flickered weakly while water flooded the road.
Then he reached the abandoned building near his street.
Everyone in the area knew the building. Children avoided it completely. Rumors claimed strange things happened there at night.
Daniel lowered his head and walked faster.
Then suddenly—
“Daniel…”
He froze instantly.
The voice sounded soft… cold… almost whispering directly into his ear.
He turned quickly.
Nobody.
His breathing became shaky.
“Who’s there?” he whispered.
Silence.
Then—
BANG!
A rusty drum rolled violently from inside the abandoned building.
Daniel screamed and ran.
By the time he reached home, he was completely drenched.
Peace burst into laughter immediately.
“You look like someone chased by ghosts!”
Mama Grace frowned. “Peace, stop laughing.”
But even she looked worried.
Daniel sat down quietly, unable to explain what happened.
That night, sleep refused to come.
Every small sound made his heart race.
At exactly 2:13 AM, the electricity suddenly went off.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Then slowly…
He heard breathing beneath his bed.
Daniel’s eyes widened in horror.
“Daniel…” the whisper returned.
His body froze.
Slowly, trembling violently, he bent down to look under the bed.
Then suddenly—
A hand grabbed his ankle.
Daniel screamed so loudly that Peace rushed into the room immediately.
The light returned instantly.
There was nobody there.
But Daniel’s fear had only just begun.