The taller scientist's eyes traveled slowly over Maya.He studied every detail with unsettling precision—
the shallow rise and fall of her chest, the blood smeared across her small hands, the cuts covering her arms and legs, the bruises already darkening beneath her pale skin.
Not once did he show pity, only quiet fascination.
Beside him, the second scientist reached
into the pocket of his laboratory coat and produced a slim electronic tablet.
Without taking his eyes off Maya, he tapped several commands across its illuminated screen.
Soft electronic chimes broke the silence as lines of data appeared one after another.
"Code Purple respiration elevated..."
The taller scientist glanced briefly toward him.
"Vitals?"
The second scientist studied the readings for a moment before replying,
"Elevated heart rate. Severe physical fatigue. Multiple lacerations....Yet motor function remains stable."
Another tap.
"No signs of psychological collapse."
The taller scientist regarded Maya in silence for a long moment. Almost imperceptibly, the corners of his mouth curved upward.
It was the quiet, restrained smile of a researcher watching years of theories
finally become undeniable fact.
"I knew you were special, I always believed you would be... different."
[Clap...Clap...Clap]
The sharp sound of applause echoed through the sterile hallway.
The second scientist lowered the handheld device he had been studying and applauded with slow rhythm.
Each clap carrying an unsettling sense of admiration.
Both scientists turned their attention past Maya.Subject 017 lay motionless where it
had fallen.
Its immense, distorted frame sprawled across the chamber floor, casting a twisted shadow beneath the harsh white lights.
Dark stains marked the sterile concrete around it, while the creature itself remained unnaturally still—
Its thunderous presence reduced to complete silence.
For years, that monster had been the end of every Code Yellow who entered the chamber.
Now it was nothing more than a lifeless specimen.
Neither scientist rushed forward to examine it.
They simply stood in quiet disbelief for a moment, their eyes lingering on the fallen Chimera before slowly returning to the small child who had survived it.
"Cause of termination?"
The second scientist enlarged several entries on the screen, "Improvised weapon. Repeated, deliberate strikes."
The taller scientist gave a quiet hum of approval, "Adaptive reasoning under extreme stress...Interesting."
The second scientist nodded, "Far beyond expectations."
The taller scientist folded his hands behind his back.
"I remember the first proposal, they said it could never happen.They insisted no Code Yellow would ever overcome Subject 017."
The second scientist allowed himself a quiet chuckle,"They weren't entirely wrong."
He glanced once more at the lifeless Chimera.
"None of the others did."
His eyes returned to Maya,"But this one...changed the outcome."
The taller scientist slowly turned his head toward his colleague, "...Far beyond our highest projections."
Almost imperceptibly, the second scientist gave a nod but there was unmistakable satisfaction beneath it.
Columns of numbers, biometric readings, and observation logs scrolled silently across the glowing display.
The taller scientist folded his hands behind his back, never taking his eyes off Maya.
"For years, every simulation reached the same conclusion.
Every projection, every behavioral model.
They all ended the same way."
His gaze drifted briefly toward the motionless body of Subject 017 lying inside the chamber.
"The subject dies."
The second scientist looked once more at the display before pressing a final command.
The screen emitted a soft tone.
"Verification complete."
He locked the device and slipped it back into his pocket.
"No statistical error, no anomaly. It's confirmed."
The two exchanged a quiet look.
The taller scientist drew a slow breath.
His expression remained composed, but a trace of genuine awe crept into his voice.
"Extraordinary..."
He took one measured step toward Maya.
"You have exceeded every expectation we ever had. You are worthy....
Of becoming A Yellow Code. From this day forward, you are Code 17: Yellow ."
The second scientist slowly removed his glasses, polishing the lenses with measured care before looking at Maya again.
"Do you realize,how many subjects have stood where you are standing now?
Hundreds.Perhaps more.
Every one of them entered believing survival was enough. None of them ever reached this point."
He glanced toward the chamber behind her.
"The words : Code were never spoken to them.
Not because they were unworthy but because none of them survived long enough to earn the right to hear those words."
The second scientist folded his arms behind his back.
His gaze lingered on the countless cuts covering her small body, on the dried blood staining her clothes, and on the exhaustion that weighed down every unsteady breath.
"You truly are courageous, I have spent years watching Code Yellows enter that chamber.
Most surrender to fear long before the end.
They run, they hide, they beg."
His eyes drifted toward the motionless body of Subject 017, "But you...You stood your ground."
Maya stared at the two scientists without answering. The corridor seemed to sway around her.
The brilliant white lights overhead blurred into pale streaks.
A dull ringing filled her ears.
Her legs, which had carried her through terror, pain, and impossible determination, finally refused to hold her any longer.
Her vision darkened, the scientists' faces became distant shadows.
She tried to remain standing but couldn't.
Without a sound, her tiny body crumpled forward.
She collapsed onto the cold concrete floor, unconscious.
The taller doctor stepped forward at an unhurried pace, stopping beside the unconscious child.
He looked down at her for a brief moment, his expression as unreadable as ever.
"Complete exhaustion,The body has finally reached its limit as expected."
Without another word, he bent down and grasped Maya beneath one arm and across the back of her legs.
With practiced ease, he lifted her limp body onto his shoulder, carrying her as effortlessly as one might carry a heavy sack.
Her small arms hung motionless against his back.
One tiny hand swayed with each step.
A lock of dark hair fell across her pale face.
The doctor turned and began walking down the endless white corridor.
The second scientist followed a few steps behind.
Behind them, the reinforced chamber door began to close with a deep mechanical rumble.
The body of Subject 017 disappeared behind layers of steel as the lights inside the chamber dimmed one by one.
~~
Anik folded his arms tightly across his chest.
"They weren't monsters.They were worse."
Everyone looked at him.
Farhan clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.
"She was bleeding.She was barely conscious, and the only thing they could think about was collecting data."
Faha slowly shook her head,
"They applauded...they never called her by her name. Only 'Code Yellow', ' Code 17. ' "
Fahish looked toward the floor.
"I thought surviving the monster was the worst part. I was wrong."
Mahim slowly exhaled.
"...She wasn't rescued.She was transferred.
From one cage...to another."
No one looked at the screen anymore. The images had already etched themselves into every heart.
Mahi drew a slow, unsteady breath.
He opened his mouth as though he wanted to speak. Nothing came.
After a long moment, he lowered his head.
"...I don't have anything left to say."
No one answered.
~~
Darkness slowly gave way to blurred light.
Maya's eyelids felt impossibly heavy.
A dull ache pulsed through every part of her small body as she forced her eyes open.
For several long moments, everything was nothing more than shifting shadows.
Then...her vision slowly cleared.
She was sitting on a cold metal floor.
Around her, dozens of children sat in complete silence.
Some were no older than Eight or Nine.
Others looked several years older.
No one spoke.No one dared to whisper.
Every child sat with lowered heads, hands folded tightly in their laps or wrapped around trembling knees, as though they had learned that even the smallest movement might bring punishment.
Fear hung over them like a heavy fog.
A little boy bit his lip so hard it had turned white.
A girl hugged herself tightly, her tiny shoulders trembling with every shallow breath.
Another child stared blankly at the floor, completely motionless as though fear had drained every emotion from his face.
Maya slowly lifted her eyes.The room was enormous.
Far larger than any room she had ever seen.
The ceiling disappeared into darkness high above, crisscrossed by thick steel beams, rusted ventilation ducts, and tangled bundles of electrical cables.
Rows of harsh fluorescent lights buzzed overhead.
Several flickered endlessly.Their cold white glow left deep shadows in every corner.
The walls were made of stained gray concrete.Long cracks ran across their
surface like old scars.
Dark water stains stretched from the ceiling to the floor.
In places, the concrete had crumbled away, exposing twisted steel reinforcement beneath.
The air felt unnaturally cold.
Every breath carried the sharp smell of disinfectant mixed with damp concrete, rusted metal and something else...
A faint metallic scent that lingered in the back of the throat.
The floor beneath the children was smooth steel instead of stone.
Countless scratches crossed its surface.
Some were shallow.
Others looked as though something unimaginably heavy had been dragged across it over and over again.
Near one wall stood several enormous reinforced steel doors.
Each was covered in deep dents, long claw-like gouges, and patches of fresh weld marks.
Massive locking mechanisms lined their edges. Above every door glowed a small
red indicator light.
Black speakers were mounted in every corner of the ceiling. None of them made a sound.
Their silence somehow felt more threatening than if they had been speaking.
Only rows of narrow metal benches bolted permanently to the floor.
Most of the children avoided sitting on them.
Instead, they remained on the cold floor exactly where they had been placed.
At the far end of the chamber stood a thick wall of reinforced glass stretching from floor to ceiling.
The glass was so dark that nothing beyond it could be seen.
Maya's eyes slowly wandered across the room.Then...Something unusual caught
her attention.
Every child wore a thick band fastened tightly around their neck.
Some were bright green. Some glowed a dull yellow beneath the harsh fluorescent lights.
Each band was made from a seamless ring
of reinforced metal and dense composite material.
There was no visible buckle, no keyhole.
Nothing suggested they had ever been opened.
The surface was perfectly smooth, interrupted only by tiny ventilation slits, microscopic sensor ports, and a narrow strip of dimly glowing lights that pulsed every few seconds.
Tiny black lenses, no larger than grains of rice, were embedded around the collar.
Whether they were cameras, sensors, or something even more advanced, she couldn't tell.
Thin engraved numbers circled the inside edge of every band.
Each child carried a different identification code.
Maya's gaze moved from one child to another.
A pattern slowly emerged.
The oldest children— those who looked twelve, perhaps even older—
almost all wore Green bands.
They sat unnaturally still.
Their hands rested quietly in their laps.
Their expressions were almost empty.
They neither cried nor looked around.
Years of fear seemed to have taught them that silence was the safest answer.
Some stared at the floor without blinking.
HTheir faces were pale, their eyes darted constantly around the room.
Others kept their eyes fixed on nothing at
all, as though hope itself had become too exhausting to carry.
A few shifted nervously where they sat.
One boy repeatedly rubbed his trembling palms against his trousers.
A little girl kept glancing toward the enormous steel doors before quickly lowering her eyes again.
Others hugged their knees tightly, as though trying to make themselves disappear.
Finally...Her eyes came to the smallest children.
Tiny boys and girls, 3 or 4 years older than herself. Each one wore a yellow band.
The bright color stood out painfully against their small necks.
One little boy quietly sucked on the sleeve of his shirt to stop himself from crying.
Another child leaned against the wall with tears silently rolling down both cheeks.
A tiny girl clutched a worn piece of cloth so tightly her knuckles had turned white.
Every few moments she looked toward the massive steel doors, as though expecting something terrible to emerge.
Their fear was open, untamed.
Unlike the older children, they had not yet learned how to bury it beneath stillness.
The room itself seemed divided not by walls...
But by colors. Each color marked a different place in a system.
Maya slowly turned her head. Sitting beside her was a boy a few years older than she was.
His body was unnaturally thin, as though he hadn't eaten properly in a long time. Beneath the loose gray uniform, his shoulders appeared narrow and frail.
His dark hair hung in uneven strands across his forehead, messy enough to suggest it had been cut without care.
His skin was pale beneath the cold fluorescent lights, making the faint
shadows under his eyes stand out
even more.
A green band rested snugly around his neck.
He sat perfectly still, his hands were folded tightly in his lap.
His eyes remained fixed on the metal floor.
He didn't look at anyone, he didn't speak.
Even while sitting , he looked like someone expecting something terrible to happen at
any moment.
Maya watched him quietly for a few moments.
Then, in a hesitant voice, she whispered, "...Hey ?"
No response.
"...Can you hear me?"
Nothing.
Maya looked around the room, every other child was just as silent.
Slowly, she looked back at the boy,
"...Do you know where we are?"
Again...Nothing.
The boy's expression never changed.
After another long moment, she tried again,"...What happened?"
Still no answer.
"Why are there so many children here?
.....Why is everyone so quiet?"
At first, she thought he hadn't heard her.
But then...the boy's eyelashes fluttered
ever so slightly.
It was so faint that she almost missed it.
He had heard.Yet he remained perfectly still, his eyes never leaving the cold metal floor.
The boy's throat moved in a slow, uneasy swallow. His fingers tightened around his knees until the knuckles beneath his pale
skin turned white.
His lips parted...then closed again.
Fear won.
He lowered his head a fraction further, retreating into silence once more.
Maya noticed, her voice became even softer.
"...Did I say something wrong?"
The boy lowered his head a fraction more.
His lips pressed into a thin line, he refused
to answer.
Maya looked confused. She glanced around once more before leaning a tiny bit closer.
"Please...Can you tell me what's happening?"
Several seconds passed.
The silence stretched.
Finally, without lifting his head...Without looking at her...The boy spoke.
His voice was little more than a whisper.
"...Don't."
Maya blinked, "...Don't what?"
The boy swallowed ,"...Talk."
Maya stared at him, "...Why?"
"...Don't talk."
His voice was so quiet that Maya almost wondered if she had imagined it.
She blinked, "...Why?"
The boy didn't answer immediately.
His shoulders stiffened. For the briefest instant, his eyes flickered toward one of the black speakers mounted high in the corner
of the room before dropping back to the
floor.
A slow swallow tightened his throat,
"...Just don't."
Maya fell silent.
She looked around the vast chamber once more. Every child wore the same strange metal band around their neck, only the colors were different.
Her gaze lingered on the green collar around the boy's neck.
Curiosity slowly overcame her hesitation.
She leaned forward ever so slightly and whispered,
"...What's that around everyone's neck?"
The boy's fingers immediately tightened around his knees.
Finally, without looking at her, he whispered,
" If we stay alive.....I'll tell you later."
Maya frowned, " Alive...? "
The words echoed through her mind, heavier than they should have been.
Why would he say that?
A cold knot slowly tightened in her stomach.
Was someone going to die?
The metal collar around her necks suddenly felt far more frightening than before.
What kind of place is this...?
Before she could ask another question, the boy spoke again, "...What's your code?"
Maya hesitated.
She searched her memory.
The white room, the voices of the scientists, number slowly surfaced from the haze.
She looked back at the boy and answered quietly, "I...I think.....Seventeen."
For the first time since she had noticed him, the boy reacted,his head lifted just a fraction.
His eyes widened ever so slightly before he quickly lowered them again.
A faint, almost inaudible breath escaped him.
"Se ...Seventeen..."
He repeated the number under his breath as though trying to convince himself he had heard correctly.
His lips parted soundlessly, as though he wanted to say something but the words had abandoned him.
Fear flashed across his face— raw and unmistakable.
Maya stared at the boy, utterly bewildered.
She had expected surprise... perhaps even curiosity.
But fear?
No.
The look in his eyes wasn't ordinary fear.
It was the kind of fear that appeared when someone had seen something they never believed could exist.
A heavy knot formed in Maya's chest.
What did I do?
She replayed every word she had spoken since waking up.
Did I say something I wasn't supposed to?
Did I break some rule without knowing it?
Her mind searched desperately for an answer, but found only confusion.
Then why was he looking at her like that?
His frightened stare made her feel as though she had unknowingly stepped into something dangerous—
something everyone else understood except her.
She lowered her gaze, suddenly afraid that if she spoke again, the fear in the boy's eyes would only grow worse.
A burst of static crackled from the black speakers mounted high above.
A calm, cheerful voice echoed through the vast chamber, "Let's begin ."
A deep mechanical rumble rolled through the room.
One by one, the massive reinforced steel doors lining the walls began to unlock.
Warning lights shifted from red to white.
Hydraulic pistons hissed as the enormous doors slowly slid apart, revealing only darkness beyond their widening gaps.
The sound of grinding steel filled the chamber, reverberating through the floor beneath the children's feet.