"A game?" Cole snapped. "What sort of game kills people?"
Newton did not answer immediately. Because he did not have an answer. Instead, he pointed.
"You all saw the red line. Avoid it. If you touch it, you are dead."
He let the truth settle into them. Some cried quietly. Some nodded weakly. "Just follow my lead," Newton said. "We are going to survive this."
Brian suddenly stamped his foot. "And who made you our leader?" His eyes burned with hatred. He turned to the others.
"Newton is a clueless weakling. If you follow him, you are probably going to die."
His words cut deep. Newton felt them. Felt the old humiliation. The old weakness. But before he could speak, Cole asked,
"What then should we do? Stay here and die?"
Brian opened his mouth. Nothing came out.
Silence exposed him.
Newton turned. And began to walk. Samuel followed him immediately. Stella followed too. They did not hesitate. Behind them, others began to move.
One by one, fear pushed them forward.
Brian and his friends remained still. For a moment. Then they followed. Because being wrong was better than being alone.
"Avoid the red line," Newton warned once again.
The path between the glowing lines was narrow. Barely wide enough for one person. So they walked in single file.
Careful.
Slow.
Every step was measured. Every breath was heavy. The desert heat pressed against them.
Their legs weakened. Their throats burned. Time stretched endlessly. One hour., two hours. Then Three.
Then Cynthia's voice broke. "I am tired," she whispered. Her legs trembled. "I cannot go on."
"Don't," Newton shouted. But it was too late. She sat.
Her body touched the red line. Her scream never finished. Her body jerked violently. Her skin blackened. Smoke escaped her nose. She fell.
Dead.
Stella gasped and reached for her. Newton grabbed her hand. "Do not touch her," he said.
His voice cracked.
"You will die."
Stella covered her mouth. Tears streamed down her face. Nobody spoke. Nobody complained. Nobody slowed again.
Fear gave them strength.
Behind them, liquid hit the sand. Andy stood frozen. His pants were soaked.
Theo covered his nose. "Did you just urinate on yourself?".
Andy didn't answer. He couldn't. He was shaking too badly.
They kept walking. Nobody sat. Nobody drifted. Nobody wanted to die.
Eventually, the ground began to rise. They climbed. Their legs screamed. Their lungs burned. But they climbed.
Finally, they reached the top.
Newton stopped. His breath caught. Below them stood something impossible.
A structure.
Massive, its height touched the sky. Its width stretched beyond sight: dark and ancient.
The sight was terrifying terrifying, and magnificent at the same time.
Stella stepped beside him. "What is that place?" Newton squinted.
There were words carved into its surface: Huge, and clear.
Unavoidably, he read them. And his blood turned cold.
THE NINJA ACADEMY.
"What!"
Brandom's breath came fast, his chest rising and falling like he had been running. His eyes stayed glued to the structure below, refusing to blink as if blinking would make it disappear. He turned slowly to his best friend, Robert, his lips slightly parted.
"There is a Ninja academy in this world"
The words sounded wrong. Unreal. Like something stolen from a comic book and forced into their nightmare.
Robert did not answer immediately. His face had lost color. His throat moved as he swallowed nothing.
Brian suddenly burst through the line, pushing shoulders aside without apology. Someone stumbled. Someone cursed. He didn't care.
He needed to see it himself.
He reached the front and froze.
The building towered over them. Its walls were dark, stretching upward until the sun itself seemed to rest on its shoulders. No windows. No movement. No sign of life. Just presence.
Heavy. Watching.
Brian's mouth felt dry. He forced himself to turn back to the others.
"This might not be the best place we want to see," he said, his voice lower now, stripped of its usual arrogance. "But at least there would be people inside here that would help us understand where we are and what is happening to us"
His words dropped into them like stones into still water.
Murmurs spread.
Hope.
Thin. Fragile. Desperate.
They needed someone. Anyone.
Anything that made sense.
Then:
A sharp ringing sound stabbed into their heads.
Tah!
Tah!
Tah!
Several of them gasped. Hands flew to their temples.
A new screen appeared.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
TIME LEFT: FIFTEEN.
REWARD: TWO NINJA COIN.
FAILURE: DEATH.
The word sat there.
DEATH
It did not blink.
It did not soften.
Rebecca's hand flew to her mouth. Her fingers trembled.
"I guess we better start moving," the slim girl said.
Her voice sounded small. But it moved them.
Nobody argued.
Fear had become their master.
They began to descend the slope.
Their legs burned. Their lungs dragged air like rusted machines. Sand slipped beneath their shoes. Several nearly fell. Nobody stopped.
Newton's heart pounded harder with each step.
Fifteen minutes.
He could almost hear it ticking.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Seven minutes later, they stood before it.
The gate.
It was massive.
Iron.
Black.
Cold.
It stretched left and right endlessly. Its surface was rough, scarred, and ancient. No handle. No lock. No opening.
Just a barrier.
"How do we open this damn thing?" Brandom asked.
His voice echoed back to him.
No answer came.
Silence stretched.
Their time bled away.
Newton's eyes flicked to the corner of his screen.
TIME LEFT: EIGHT.
His stomach tightened.
Confusion mixed with fear. Panic crept into their breathing.
Rebecca suddenly stepped forward.
She moved past Brian.
Past Newton.
Past all of them.
Her footsteps sounded too loud.
Phil grabbed her wrist.
"What are you trying to do?"
She pulled free.
Her jaw clenched.
"We are running out of time," she said. "We can't just wait"
Her eyes lifted to the gate.
"Nobody knows if we are truly going to die once the time runs out"
Nobody stopped her again.
She stepped closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Newton's fingers curled into fists.
TIME LEFT: SIX.
Rebecca raised her hand.
For a moment, it hovered there.
Shaking.
Then;
Knock.
The sound was small.
Soft.
But it echoed.
And the system answered.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
SURVIVAL TASK COMPLETED.
Rebecca froze.
Her eyes widened.
Another line appeared.
Two Ninja coin has been credited into your wallet.
Rebecca turned sharply.
Her eyes searched their faces.
"Who else got this notification?"
Silence.