I was shoved into Room 8 with a brutality I had only ever experienced in this place. The metallic screech of the door slamming shut behind me echoed down the corridor like a sentence of solitary confinement—a dry, hollow echo informing you that the outside world had completely ceased to exist beyond that iron slab. Dead center in the room, and quite unexpectedly, sat an old wooden chair. Its worn, splintered legs suggested it had borne the weight of many occupants before me.
And upon that chair sat a girl, looking directly at the door... looking directly at me.
She didn't move an inch when I entered. She just kept smiling coldly, her eyes tracking my every move—from my rapid, shallow breathing to my cautious glances sweeping the corners of the room for any hidden threats. A suffocating stillness settled between us, the kind of calm that precedes a massive storm. It was broken only by the incessant, buzzing hum of the white fluorescent lights above us—a continuous hum that drills into your skull, a constant reminder that you are under perpetual surveillance. I didn't utter a single word, unwilling to shatter this silence with stupid questions. I walked straight to the iron bunk bed in the corner of the room, mechanically climbed the cold metal ladder, and sat on the top bunk. I let my legs dangle in the void, staring at the blank white wall opposite me, trying my hardest to ignore her presence below.
"What is your name?" she asked in a quiet voice, yet it pierced the silence with absolute clarity. It was a voice carrying the tone of someone who knows far more than they let on.
I didn't answer. I kept staring at the cracks in the white paint, trying to gather my scattered thoughts.
"What's wrong? Are you tired?" she continued with a provocative curiosity, acting as if she had all the time in the world.
I ignored her completely, pressing my hands against the edge of the iron bed until I felt its chill seep into my bones.
"So... you definitely are tired." She let out an audible sigh, then said in a strange tone, one laced with anticipation: "I hope you regain your strength quickly, because today will be our test."
I looked down at her, unable to suppress my surprise. How did she know? No one had told us anything since morning. I furrowed my brows and asked dryly: "A test?"
Her smile widened, and tilting her head slightly, she said: "Only now did you pay attention to me. I was lying just to force you to listen. It seems the word 'test' is the only thing that gets a reaction in this place."
Before I could reply with a single word, a sharp, sudden automated voice erupted from the speakers mounted in the corners of the ceiling—a mechanical voice entirely devoid of human emotion: [Alert: The Performance Evaluation Test will begin in 10 minutes. The two partners in each room constitute a single team. Please prepare immediately and proceed to the courtyard.]
Suddenly, the girl burst into laughter. She laughed maniacally, laughing so hard she had to wipe away tears with the hem of her gray shirt, as if what just happened was the joke of the century that even she couldn't believe.
"I swear to you... I had no idea!" she managed to say, catching her breath amidst her giggles. "I just wanted to get your attention... What a terrifying coincidence."
I looked at her with intense suspicion; this lunatic could be a massive burden in a place that shows no mercy to failures. She wiped away the last of her tears and, trying to regain her composure, said: "I am Ellie... What is your name?"
I didn't reply immediately. I remained silent for a few seconds, analyzing her features. She gave me a provocative look and said: "Oh, you definitely don't use names here. Have you surrendered to their system and become just a number? Have you forgotten who you really are?"
I sighed in frustration, feeling the heavy weight of the name on my tongue in a place actively trying to erase you completely. "Skyro."
"A beautiful name..." she said, standing up from the wooden chair. She approached the top bunk and looked me directly in the eyes from below. "I don't like the weak, Skyro... I hope you are strong enough to keep that name."
Her words were cut short by the heavy footsteps of guards in the corridors, the sound of their batons striking the metal doors to alert us. Ellie stood up, dusted off her clothes, and said coldly: "Let's go. The show is about to begin."
We stepped out into the corridor and lined up with the rest of the numbers. The hallways were choked with pale bodies and sunken eyes brimming with anxiety. We descended the concrete stairs to the outer courtyard, where the freezing air lashed at our faces. A guard stood on a raised wooden platform, watching us with dead eyes, as if observing worthless chess pieces.
The guard began to explain with absolute strictness: "Listen carefully, for these rules will determine who among you will live to see the sun next month. You have 30 days ahead of you, and every day there is a test. The Second Section only has room for exactly 10 people—that is, 5 teams."
The guard slammed his baton against the ground and continued sternly: "Your system relies on cumulative points. Every test you undertake will grant you points that raise your rank on the main leaderboard. But points are not just numbers; those at the top of the rankings will receive full meals, a comfortable bed, and balanced weapons. As for those at the bottom of the list... they will eat scraps, sleep on the freezing tiles, and enter their future tests with rusted blades."
Terror washed over the faces in the crowd, but the guard wasn't finished. He approached "Dan," looked him dead in the eye, and added: "And most importantly... the Rule of Three Losses. Anyone who loses in three consecutive tests, or whose score drops to the bottom three times, will be eliminated immediately. We do not waste our resources on garbage that doesn't learn from its failures."
The guard pointed a thick finger at Dan and me: "You and your roommate are a single entity. Your victory is their victory, and your fall means dragging them down into the abyss with you. If your partner fails to protect you or falls short in their performance, you will bear the consequences of their stupidity. There are no excuses here... the strong lift their partner, and the weak drown, taking whoever they are bound to down with them."
He finished his speech with a cold smile: "The countdown has begun. 30 days, 30 guillotines waiting for your necks. Prepare yourselves."
A silent horror settled among us. Only 5 teams out of all these children? That meant mercy had officially ended today. I directed my gaze toward the massive structure in the center of the courtyard.
"Your first test is inside that box." It was a colossal, square building, entirely sealed off by white metal walls. We couldn't see inside, nor did we know any details about it.
"Inside is a thermal laser field. One of you will be blindfolded with a black cloth, and the other will act as the 'Eye,' describing the path via a wireless earpiece. You must communicate. You have exactly 20 minutes to complete the test. The team that finishes gets one point, and the very first team to finish gets two points. Failure means no points, and remaining at the bottom of the list."
We entered the box. The interior was a nerve-rackingly blinding white—a vast, empty space with absolutely nothing in the middle. On the far side was a single door: the exit. The light reflected off the walls in a way that made judging distances incredibly difficult. Ellie looked at me with an uncharacteristic calmness: "Skyro, are you fast or slow?"
"I think I'm fast."
"Excellent... I will be the guide, and you will navigate the lasers. I need a body that obeys orders quickly."
I looked around one last time before darkness consumed my vision. I saw Dan gripping Number 33—the boy who was trembling so violently his shirt shook in time with his heartbeat—while Dan snarled intense instructions into his ear. Hugh was with Number 32, who looked impressively calm and focused. As for Number 21, he stood with an eerie stillness, staring at the floor as if reading something in the void, utterly indifferent to the noise around him.
I took the black cloth and tied it tightly over my eyes. Darkness fell. I felt my other senses instantly sharpen. 3... 2... 1...
The hum of the lasers ignited, a monotonous electronic sound filling the void, and the smell of scorched air began to permeate the room. Ellie's commands started coming through the earpiece in my ear. "Move, Skyro... two steps to the left, then launch forward with wide strides!"
I moved based entirely on her voice, placing my life in the hands of her careless tone. Chaos reigned in the room; the screams of children stumbling, and the distinct hiss of clothing catching fire upon contacting the thermal beams. "Skyro, walk forward at top speed! The path ahead of you is completely clear!" Ellie yelled with a suspicious enthusiasm.
I dashed forward, trusting her description, when suddenly I felt an unbearable, searing heat bite into my right leg. "Gaaah!" I screamed in pain, feeling the laser burn through the fabric and reach my skin. I stumbled and nearly fell, but managed to regain my balance with extreme difficulty. I heard her laughter crackle through the earpiece: "Oh... I'm sorry! I didn't notice that low beam. Are you okay?"
This lunatic was definitely going to kill me. She was laughing while I was literally fighting to stay in one piece. "The others have advanced to the middle! Let's pick up the pace, trust me this time... jump to the right... Now!"
She began describing the path with astonishing speed: "Jump! Duck! Left! Get down now!" I was processing her words in fractions of a second, leaping and moving based on her timing. I could feel the blasts of heat passing inches from my face and limbs. Suddenly, I felt a hand trying to shove me—a light touch, but enough to steer me toward a laser beam I could feel radiating heat far too close. I twisted flexibly and pulled myself back at the very last second, only to hear a scream behind me... The person who tried to push me had fallen into the laser. It seemed he didn't have a partner warning him of treachery.
[Alert: 10 minutes remaining.]
Ellie continued her instructions with greater seriousness, and I finally reached the door on the far side. I ripped off the blindfold, panting violently, my chest heaving from the exertion. My leg was throbbing, and my pants were completely scorched at the knee. I found Ellie standing at the finish line, clapping and laughing merrily: "You looked so funny jumping left and right, Skyro! We survived!"
I looked around to gauge our standing in the competition. Number 21 and his partner had already arrived and were sitting with absolute icy calm. Dan and his trembling partner had also arrived, as had Hugh. They had all finished before me. I didn't know for sure who came in first, but the speed at which Number 21 had arrived was terrifying considering the complexity of the course. Hugh waved at me from afar, smiling tiredly. Dan, however, was glaring at Number 21 with murderous intent, while 21 paid him no mind whatsoever, treating us all as mere shadows.
Time was up. No one was publicly eliminated at this moment, but the two teams that failed to reach the end within the time limit were shivering with fear; they had already lost their chance at the top early on in a month that shows no mercy to stragglers. The guard's loud voice snapped us back to reality: "You will find the rankings and points in your rooms. Remember... your cumulative points will dictate who stays and earns privileges, and who leaves the facility forever at the end of this month. Dismissed."
We returned to the room. Ellie couldn't stop laughing as she described how I was jumping over the lasers like a panicked cat. We entered, and I immediately headed to the blue screen sitting on the room's single wooden desk. The screen pulsed with a cold blue light, displaying the scoreboard:
First Place: 21 & 30 (2 Points). Second Place: 38 (Hugh) & 32 (1 Point). Third Place: 39 (Dan) & 33 (1 Point). Fourth Place: 37 (Skyro) & 23 (Ellie) (1 Point). Bottom of the list: 36, 28, and...
I stared at the screen for a long time. "So... Number 21 really was the fastest," Ellie said, leaning her elbows on the desk and looking at the screen beside me. "You didn't see him navigating the lasers, Skyro... He moved with incredible speed, in a terrifying way that gives you chills. I actually think his partner wasn't even guiding him fully; he was relying entirely on his own instincts. He isn't like us."
I turned my gaze back to the screen. The blue light reflecting in my pupils gave them a cold, hardened stare. I gripped the edge of the wooden desk so tightly I felt the wood might splinter under my fingers.
"If I lose 3 times... I will be eliminated."
I looked over at Ellie, who was still smiling. Tomorrow is another day, and the game hasn't even truly begun.