When we arrived at the shore, a white-haired man in a suit and glasses came down and congratulated us. He looked to be around sixty years old. He was probably either the chief or the manager, but it was clear from his posture that he was the leader of the men beside him. The men next to him were muscular, broad-shouldered, all wearing earpieces and sunglasses. They were dressed in black suits, clean-shaven — unmistakably bodyguards.
We thought we were ready to face the darkness waiting for us on the shore… but things didn't go as expected. The unexpected happened at an unexpected time. Soner suddenly grabbed the gun from Serhat's belt and pointed it directly at the suited man. The bodyguards instantly drew their weapons and aimed, ready to fire. But their leader raised his hand — and they waited.
"It's because of you that I've been stuck here for a week! I almost got killed! Take me home. Now!"
"Look, son. If you don't know how to use that gun, don't pick it up," the man replied calmly.
Soner cocked the hammer and pulled the trigger — the hammer dropped without firing. The man swiftly lowered his hand.
In that moment, the guards fired a single shot each. The golden sand of the beach suddenly turned red. Blood speckled our faces. We froze, stunned and terrified. We couldn't move for minutes. Then the man spoke:
"My name is Karahan. I will be the face of the system you see throughout this process. Now, if you'd like, let's get in the car. We've got a long road ahead."
He headed toward the car. Just before getting in, he turned around and said:
"Those who try to hunt the system become the hunted. Those who stand against the system become prey. And one last thing: The system has always known about you. You are special."
He motioned with his hand for us to enter. No one said a word. We all got in. We were all afraid of dying — except for Serhat and Levent. They weren't nervous. Just surprised. Karahan sat across from me, lit his pipe, and began analyzing each of us silently. After a moment, he spoke:
"Levent, left-handed, former police officer. Wife died of illness. Grew up in an orphanage for years.Serhat Dağ — never married. Grew up in the orphanage with Levent. Former special forces sergeant. Wounded in action, shrapnel still in your body, officially a veteran. Worked in private security after, but couldn't hold a steady job.Yaman Bulut, wrestler. All you know is fighting and chaos. Your mother died. Your father remarried and left.Tarık, taxi driver. Your wife cheated on you. Married for five years. Father retired civil servant. Mother is a homemaker.And your dear friend Soner... is now nobody."
He knew everything about us. But he said nothing about Caner or me. Did he not know, or was he hiding something?
Serhat called out from behind:
"You skipped two people. Are your files missing, Karahan?"
Karahan replied, still calm:
"Caner Erkan. Factory worker. No family left. Recently lost his grandmother.And now, my favorite... this kid is my..."
He was about to talk about me when his phone rang. He ordered the driver to stop and stepped outside. I noticed a desk with files — and only the others' files were there. No files for Caner, Serhat, Levent, or me. I grabbed a pen and began writing down everything that had just happened. Serhat walked up to me.
"What are you doing? These files, these notes — what do they mean?"
"I got a map from the man we captured. I marked our starting point from the beach and have been tracking our route. I also took his watch — noted the date and time."
"You've been doing this since the dungeon?"
"I've been collecting everything I can. From what I estimate, we've been here eight days."
"No wonder Karahan likes you. What did you do before all this, kid?"
Just then, Karahan returned and continued his sentence:
"Alpay Turan… A mind like a machine. His past life, current life, and future will shape and sharpen him."
He didn't say much more about me. He was hiding something. What did even they not need to know?
After another 30 minutes of driving, we arrived at a farm surrounded by forest. A large estate, divided into five sections — clearly prepared. Like a camp. We got out of the vehicle.
"Welcome to Humus, kids," Karahan said, and we were all sent to rooms to settle in.
Servants led the way — we followed behind. Once, I wore what they wore. Now, they were dressed to serve me. Inside, the building had a mix of modern and old architecture. A deer skull above the fireplace, a large dining table, a bearskin rug… As we climbed the stairs, we were assigned rooms in a long row, not by names but with complex numbers. They told us to shower and change.
Looking out the window, I noticed — this place was crawling with armed guards. Something wasn't adding up. I changed clothes without showering and slipped out. A staff member was waiting at the door.
"How may I help you, sir?"
"I know you're just doing your job. But don't call me sir. And take me to Karahan."
He nodded and gestured for me to follow. We walked outside for a bit, approaching Karahan. His men tried to stop me, but he waved them off. I walked straight toward him and started yelling:
"You know I don't want to be here. But you brought me anyway. You knew everything from the start!"
"That's what I like about you. A mind like a machine. Always thinking. Wondering what we're doing here. Come, let's take a walk. Into the woods or toward the horses, maybe?"
We walked a bit more before he spoke again:
"You were the hardest to convince. In fact, you weren't convinced at all. We needed you for the project to start. We followed you for months. You were the only one who wanted to change your life. The others wanted to escape — you wanted to be reborn. We watched you on the boat, at home, at the wall, on the beach... even the farewell letter you wrote to your father — though you backed out, we let it be."
"You what?! Now my father will think I'm a traitor!"
"That was the plan — to cut you off from your old life."
"Why are you hiding my past from the others? You told everyone else's story in detail but skipped me!"
"Because you never wanted to be known. From the very beginning, you were cautious. You stayed distant — except for Caner. You deliberately avoided leadership, because you were observing, analyzing. Just like I watched you, you watched them. You even disabled the mini-cameras. You wanted to go deeper, to know more. You wouldn't rest until every question in your mind was answered — right?"
I looked into the distance and nodded silently.
"There were only three files in the car. Why not mine and the others'?"
"You can't learn everything in one day, son."
I was growing impatient. There were still so many questions I wanted to ask.
"So how does the system work?"
"I knew you'd ask that. What the prisoner told you wasn't enough? He told the truth. After building that place, the system created this one. A farm. A training ground. Firearms, physical endurance, tactics — everything. To make it look good from the outside, we added some animals. But this place is where we train special people, to be released into the outside world."
He continued explaining the system.
"And what happens afterward?"
"There's no such thing as escaping the system. It becomes part of you. Even if you leave, you'll still serve. Or stay as one of its soldiers. Most can't adapt once they leave — they return, and choose to stay as soldiers. Don't dwell on it. Focus on your training. You are someone who must evolve."
"Now go rest, soldier."