The reinforced steel doors rumbled as they slid open.
The room was so enormous that the echoes lingered for several long seconds, bouncing off the towering concrete walls and disappearing into the darkness high above.
Cold, stale air drifted in from the darkness beyond. There was no light.
Only a vast, impenetrable blackness that seemed to devour every ray spilling from the chamber.
A single crimson eye opened, its glow was faint at first, burning like a dying ember deep within the void.
A second appeared beside it.
Then another and another.
The darkness itself seemed to awaken.
Pairs of blood-red eyes emerged one after another, silently igniting throughout the blackness.
Some hovered close to the floor.
Others appeared much higher, as though their unseen owners stood far taller than any human.
Others lingered so deep in the darkness that they looked like distant stars stained red with blood.
There were too many to count.
Dozens...Then scores...Then what felt like an endless sea of glowing crimson eyes.
None of them blinked, none of them moved.
They simply watched.
The chamber seemed to grow colder with every passing second.
The children stared in frozen horror, unable to tear their eyes away from the countless scarlet lights glaring back at them from the darkness beyond the open doors.
Then— The silence broke.
A low chorus of growls rolled out from the darkness,Something moved.
One shadow, then another.Then dozens more. They emerged from the blackness
in a steady tide.
Enormous black dogs.
Their coats were as dark as the void behind them.Powerful muscles shifted beneath their sleek bodies with every measured step.
Their ears stood rigid, their tails hung unnaturally still, and their glowing crimson eyes never wandered from the children gathered in the center of the vast arena.
More kept coming.
From every open doorway, black hounds poured into the chamber, their claws clicking sharply against the steel floor in an endless rhythm that echoed throughout the cavernous room.
One...Five...Soon there were too many to count.
Maya's eyes remained fixed on the countless black hounds as they poured from the darkness.
Their glowing crimson eyes locking onto the children with unnerving intensity.
For a moment, her mind went completely blank.
Then, the boy's trembling whisper returned to her. "If we stay alive... I'll tell you later."
The words echoed through her mind again...
And again.
A cold weight settled deep in her chest.
She understood.
She finally understood why the boy had kept his head lowered from the moment she woke.
Why every child had remained perfectly silent.
Why no one had dared to whisper.
And most of all...She understood the look on the boy's face when she had asked, "Alive?"
It had been the expression of someone who already knew what happened when those massive doors opened.
Her gaze drifted across the enormous arena.
The black hounds continued to emerge, their numbers growing with every passing second until they seemed to fill the chamber itself.
Their claws scraped across the steel floor.
Their low, rumbling growls rolled through the air. They were closing in.
Maya felt her heartbeat quicken.
For the first time since waking, the full meaning of the boy's warning became terrifyingly clear.
The speakers emitted a sharp electronic tone.
" Attack. "
Instantly, the black hounds moved.
The steel floor exploded beneath the impact of hundreds of pounding paws.
The deafening rhythm rolled through the chamber like an approaching avalanche.
Panic erupted.
Children scattered in every direction...Some cried out in fear as they stumbled to their feet.
Others bolted without even looking where they were going, colliding with one another before scrambling away again.
A few stood frozen, their wide eyes locked on the advancing hounds, unable to force their trembling legs to move.
The arena dissolved into chaos.
Maya's breath caught in her throat... Everywhere she looked, children were running.
The echo of frantic footsteps mixed with terrified cries, creating a wall of sound that filled the vast chamber.
She saw a little girl clutching the front of her shirt as she sprinted past, tears streaming down her face.
The black hounds swept across the arena in coordinated waves.
They spread out with uncanny precision, silently cutting off open paths and forcing the fleeing children to change direction again and again.
Their glowing crimson eyes never left their targets.
Their powerful bodies flowed across the steel floor with frightening speed, each stride closing the distance.
Maya's pulse pounded in her ears.
Among the sea of fleeing children, one boy stumbled.
His foot caught against the steel floor, and he pitched forward, hitting the ground with a sharp clang .
Before he could recover, the crowd had already rushed past him.
For a few frantic seconds, he pushed against the cold metal, desperately trying to stand.
His trembling arms gave way, he fell again.
A shadow swept across the floor.
One of the black hounds had broken away from the pack.
It was coming straight toward him.
The boy's breathing became short, uneven gasps.His eyes widened until they seemed almost impossibly large.
He stared at the approaching animal without blinking, his mouth slowly falling open in silent terror.
Every instinct screamed at him to run.
To get up, to move.
But his body refused to obey.
His legs felt impossibly heavy, as though invisible chains had wrapped themselves around his ankles.
He tried to pull one knee beneath him.
It barely moved.
A violent tremor ran through his entire body.
The hound continued its measured approach.
Its crimson eyes never left him.
Each deliberate step echoed against the steel floor.
Clack...Clack...Clack...
The distance between them shrank with every heartbeat.
The boy could do nothing except watch.
His fingers dug helplessly against the smooth steel floor, searching for purchase that wasn't there.
His chest rose and fell in frantic, shallow breaths.
A tear escaped one eye and rolled silently down his pale cheek. His lips quivered.
The arena around him dissolved into a blur of running feet, desperate cries, and thunderous echoes.
The black hound lunged.
Its powerful body exploded forward, crossing the remaining distance in a single terrifying leap.
The boy sat frozen, his wide eyes locked on the creature racing toward him.His body had surrendered completely to fear.
Then— "MOVE!"
A small figure burst from the chaos.
Maya.
Without stopping to think, she threw herself toward the terrified boy with every ounce of strength she had left.
The impact knocked the air from both of their lungs.
Her shoulder slammed into his chest, knocking him sideways just as the hound descended.
For the briefest instant, the creature's snapping jaws passed through the empty space where he had been only a heartbeat before.
Momentum sent both of them sprawling across the steel floor.
They rolled together, the cold metal scraping beneath them as momentum carried them several feet across the arena.
The world became a blur of flashing lights, cold steel, and spinning shadows.
Their elbows scraped against the rough floor.
Pain shot through Maya's bruised arms and aching shoulders as they rolled helplessly across the arena.
Finally, they slid to a stop.
For one dizzy moment, neither of them could breathe.
The boy lay staring upward, his chest rising and falling in frantic gasps ..... His heart hammered so violently he thought it might burst.
He gasped in shock.
For a moment, he couldn't understand what had happened.
Maya landed hard beside him, the breath driven from her lungs by the force of the fall.
Pain shot through her bruised body, but she barely noticed.
She pushed herself up instinctively, twisting around to look behind them.
The black hound crashed onto the spot where the boy had been only an instant earlier.
Its claws struck the steel floor with a deafening clang, skidding across the metal before it wheeled around in one fluid motion.
The boy stared at Maya, his eyes wide with disbelief.
He stared at the small girl who had thrown herself into danger to protect someone she had met only seconds before.
The black hound landed where the boy had been sitting only a fraction of a second earlier.
Its claws gouged across the steel floor as it skidded forward, sparks briefly flashing beneath its weight before it twisted around with frightening agility.
Its crimson eyes found them again.
A deep growl rumbled from its chest.
Maya forced herself onto one knee, every muscle in her small body screaming in protest.
She barely had time to catch her breath before she looked at the boy.
He was still staring at her in stunned disbelief, too shaken to move.
Maya's heart pounded.There wasn't enough time.
She reached out, grabbed the front of the boy's sleeve, and gave it a desperate tug.
"Run!" she cried, her voice trembling. "Go! Hurry!"
The boy didn't react, he only stared at her, frozen between fear and shock.
Maya shook him again,
"Don't just sit there!" she shouted. "Run!"
The hound let out a low, rumbling growl.
It was closer now.
Maya pushed the boy away with both hands.
"Go!" she yelled. "I'll catch up!"
For a heartbeat, the boy remained motionless.
Then, as if her words had finally broken through the terror gripping him, he stumbled to his feet.
He looked back at Maya once, his face filled with fear and disbelief. Without another word, he turned and ran into the chaos of the arena.
Maya tried to push herself up.
The moment she planted her hands against the cold steel floor, a sharp wave of pain raced through her arms.
Her strength vanished.
She faltered and collapsed back onto one knee.A trembling breath escaped her lips.
She tried again.
Nothing.
Her bruised legs quivered beneath her, refusing to support even her slight weight.
Every cut, every bruise, every aching muscle seemed to demand the same thing—
No more.
For the first time, her body simply refused to obey.
The boy's hurried footsteps faded into the distance.
Maya remained where she was.
A heavy thud echoed across the steel floor.
Then another.
She slowly lifted her head. The black hound stood only a few strides away.
Its crimson eyes were fixed on her without wavering.
Maya's fingers tightened weakly against the smooth metal beneath her.
She tried to crawl backward, her arms shook violently.She barely moved an inch.
The hound lowered its body, its powerful muscles tightened,its ears angled forward.
Every instinct told Maya what was about to happen..Her heartbeat pounded so loudly that it drowned out everything else.
All of it faded into a distant blur.
There was only the creature before her.
A single thought drifted through her exhausted mind. I can't move...
The hound sprang, its dark form shot through the air like an arrow released from a bow.
Time seemed to slow.
Maya watched the shadow racing toward her.
She wanted to move, she wanted to lift her arms.But her body remained perfectly still.
A quiet, trembling breath escaped her.
Then...She slowly closed her eyes.
The rushing sound of the hound filled her ears as it descended.
~~
"No!"
Naya's scream tore through the mansion before she even realized she'd stood up.
Her chair crashed backward onto the polished floor. Both hands flew to her mouth as tears flooded her eyes.
"Maya!"
She knew it was only a memory.
Her heart refused to believe it.
Farhan shot to his feet so violently that the coffee table rattled, "MOVE!"
The word exploded from him,
"Get up! Please... get up..."
He stared at the screen with desperate, wide eyes, as though his shouting could somehow reach across time.
"Run!"
Faha cried, "Please run!"
He took several instinctive steps toward the projection before stopping abruptly.
Reality crashed back into him.
It wasn't happening now.
It had already happened.
"...No..."
Mahim lurched forward in his chair.
His entire body tensed.
Every muscle screamed at him to do something. Anything.
His fingers dug into the armrests so hard the wood creaked beneath the pressure.
"She's too tired....She can't move..."
Mahi burst into tears. She covered her face with trembling hands, "I can't watch this..."
Yet she couldn't look away.
Every few seconds she lowered one shaking hand, only to see the black hound drawing closer.
Anik took an unconscious step toward the screen, his jaw tightened until it hurt.
"Get up....Come on..."
For the first time in years...He was pleading with someone who couldn't hear him.
Fahad slammed his fist against the wall.
"Damn it!"
He couldn't tear his eyes away.
Fahan grabbed his own hair with both hands.
"No...No...There has to be something..."
His eyes darted desperately between the screen and Fahim as though expecting him
to stop the memory.
To pause it.
Fahish stood completely frozen.
The room filled with overlapping voices.
"Get up!"
"Maya!"
"Move!"
"Please!"
"Run!"
The desperate cries echoed through the mansion.
Every person knew the truth, none of them could change what had already happened.
Still...They shouted because doing nothing was unbearable.
~~
The instant the black hound reached her—
A deafening cry ripped through the arena.
It was so sudden, so piercing, that it seemed to tear the room itself apart.
It wasn't the triumphant bark of a predator closing in on its prey. It was sharp, abrupt.
Almost startled.
The sound tore through the arena, echoing from the towering concrete walls before fading into an eerie silence.
Then...Everything stopped.
The frantic pounding of running feet.
The desperate cries of terrified children.
Even the low growls that had filled the chamber only moments before seemed to vanish.
An uncanny stillness settled over the immense arena.
Maya kept her eyes tightly shut.
Her heart pounded so hard she could feel it against her ribs.
She waited.Every muscle in her small body remained locked in anticipation.
She had braced herself for the crushing impact.
For the cold steel beneath her to shake.
For a wave of pain to explode through her battered body.
Her heart counted the seconds.
One...Two...Three...
Nothing.
Not even the brush of fur, not the scrape of claws, not the rush of hot breath against her face.
Nothing.Only silence.
A slow, uncertain breath slipped from her lips.
Her chest rose and fell in quick, uneven rhythms as she continued kneeling on the steel floor, eyes squeezed tightly shut.
For several long moments, she remained exactly where she was, her fingers curled weakly against the steel floor.
She could still feel the ache in her bruised arms, the sting of countless cuts, and the exhaustion weighing down every muscle.
But there was no new pain.
Confusion slowly replaced fear.
...Why?
Why hasn't it happened?
She had been certain the hound would strike.
She had felt it leap, she had heard it coming.
So why...Why hadn't anything happened?
Her breathing remained shallow.
Afraid that the slightest movement might shatter whatever impossible moment she
was trapped in.
It was the only sound she could clearly hear.
Thump...Thump...Thump...
Each beat reminded her that she was still alive.
The silence around her felt unnatural.
As though the entire arena had paused, waiting for something.
Her eyelids fluttered.
For a long moment, she couldn't bring herself to open them completely.
Fear held them shut more tightly than exhaustion ever could.
What if the moment she looked...
Everything would begin again?
With trembling hesitation, she opened her eyes a fraction.
The harsh white light flooded her vision.
Everything was blurred, shapes swam
before her.
She blinked once.Her sight slowly came into focus.
And then— She froze.
The breath caught in her throat.Every thought vanished from her mind. The world seemed to stop turning.
Just a few feet away, the enormous black hound that had leaped toward her was
sitting perfectly still.
Its powerful head was lowered.
Its crimson eyes no longer burned with the predatory intensity they had held only moments before.
Instead, they remained fixed on the floor.
Silent as though it were waiting.
Maya stared at it in complete disbelief.
Her heart hammered violently against her ribs.
Slowly, almost mechanically...She lifted her gaze.
Another hound stood several meters away.
Its head was lowered as well.
Then another and another.
Her eyes swept across the arena.
The sight before her stole every remaining breath from her lungs.
The countless black hounds that had flooded the arena only moments earlier were no longer chasing the children.
They had all stopped.Every single one.
Across the vast, arena-sized chamber, row after row of the enormous beasts sat in absolute silence.
Each had lowered its head.
It was as though an invisible command had reached them all at the exact same instant.
Not one growled, not one moved.
The thunder of pounding paws...Gone.
The chaos...Gone.
Only an ocean of black forms remained, kneeling in disciplined silence beneath the cold fluorescent lights.
The arena had become so quiet that Maya could hear nothing except the frantic beating of her own heart.
...
Her lips parted soundlessly. No words came.
She couldn't understand what she was seeing.
These were the same creatures that had hunted the children without mercy only moments ago.
The same creatures whose crimson eyes had been filled with relentless purpose.
So why...Why were they bowing?
Why were they all facing her?
A chill crept through her exhausted body.
For an instant, she wondered if she was unconscious.
Perhaps A hallucination born from pain and exhaustion.
But the cold steel beneath her trembling hands felt real ..... The ache in her bruised body felt real.
Her gaze drifted across the sea of bowed heads once more.
There were dozens.
No...Hundreds.....An entire army of black hounds sat before the small, battered girl.
As though they were acknowledging a presence far greater than themselves.
Maya's bewildered gaze slowly drifted away from the sea of bowed black hounds.
Every one of the child had stopped running.
The panic that had driven them across the arena moments before had vanished, replaced by something else entirely.
Disbelief.
They stood scattered across the vast steel floor, exactly where they had frozen.
Some were still bent forward from running.
Others had one foot lifted, as though they had stopped in the middle of a step.
No one moved.
Every pair of eyes was fixed on Maya.
Their mouths hung slightly open in silent astonishment.
A little boy who had been crying moments earlier no longer seemed aware of the tears on his face.
They continued to roll down his cheeks unnoticed.
A young girl clutched the front of her uniform with trembling hands, her fingers shaking so violently that she could barely keep hold of the fabric.
An older boy stared without blinking, his expression drained of all color as though he had forgotten how to breathe. "What the —"
Another child slowly shook his head, unable to accept what he was seeing.
Everything they had witnessed before had just been shattered before their eyes.
Hundreds of black hounds sat with their heads lowered.