~~
Silence. The kind that follows when reality itself stops making sense.
The mansion seemed to forget how to breathe. Every face remained frozen.
Every eye was locked on the projection.
Hundreds of black hounds...Every one of them sitting perfectly still.
Every head lowered before a little girl who could barely remain on her knees.
For several endless seconds...No one moved.
No one even seemed capable of blinking.
It was Naya who broke first , "...No..."
Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.
She took one hesitant step toward the screen, her trembling hand reaching out as though she wanted to touch Maya through the projection.
"...They're not hurting her...They... they stopped..."
She stared in complete disbelief,
"They bowed...why???? "
Farhan stood as rigid as stone.
Only moments ago, he had been shouting at the screen, Now...He couldn't find a single word.
His lips parted, nothing came out.
His chest rose sharply as he struggled to understand what he was seeing.
Then he let out a slow, disbelieving laugh.
Because his mind refused to accept the impossible.
"...This can't be real.It... doesn't make sense."
Mahim's heart pounded so violently he could hear it in his ears.
He leaned so close to the projection that the light washed across his face.
His eyes raced over every hound.
A hundred...Every single one had lowered its head, "Impossible..."
Faha covered his mouth with both hands,
"Why? Why are they... bowing to her?"
Anik slowly lowered his eyes, searching desperately for an explanation.
"There has to be a signal.
A command... something."
His voice grew quieter with every word.
Then he stopped.
Because he couldn't find one.
Fahad stared at the screen without blinking.
He slowly shook his head, "What the hell am I looking at?"
Everyone looked at him.
His eyes never left Maya.
"...Look at them carefully. They aren't obeying.They're submitting."
Those words struck the room like thunder.
The silence lingered until Fahim finally spoke.
"...Animals don't do this without a reason."
Every eye turned toward him.
He kept his gaze fixed on the projection, watching the sea of black hounds with unsettling focus.
"Predators don't lower their heads.
They do it only when they recognize something greater than themselves."
Farhan frowned,"...What are you saying?"
Fahim slowly exhaled,
"In the wild, a predator bows only when it perceives the presence of an even greater predator."
His eyes never left Maya,
"It isn't fear alone.It's instinct.
The kind of instinct that has kept predators alive for thousands of years."
Mahi felt a chill crawl down her spine, her eyes filled with tears all over again,
"...She's just a little girl, so... why do they
look at her like that?"
Fahish swallowed hard.
He had spent his entire life believing predators only respected strength.
Yet before him stood a child who could barely lift herself from the floor..... And an army of terrifying beasts that refused to touch her.
He whispered almost to himself,
"...What... is Maya?"
The question hung in the air.
No one dared respond.
~~
Maya remained frozen where she was.
She couldn't look away.
The sea of black hounds stretched across the immense arena, every one of them sitting in absolute silence with its head lowered.
Nothing about it made sense.
Her heart raced from the terror of only moments before.
She stared ahead, searching for an explanation that refused to come.
Then—
Clap.....Clap...Clap.
The sharp sound echoed across the cavernous chamber.
Clap...Clap...Clap...
Each measured applause rolled through the arena, bouncing from the towering concrete walls before fading into the silence.
The hounds did not move.
The children did not move.
Every eye turned toward the source of the sound.
At the far end of the arena, a large reinforced steel door began to slide open with a deep mechanical rumble.
Bright white light spilled across the steel floor.
Five figures emerged. They walked side by side with calm, measured steps.
Each wore an immaculate white laboratory coat that swayed gently with every stride.
Their polished black shoes echoed rhythmically against the steel floor.
Identification cards hung neatly from their collars.
Thin electronic tablets rested beneath the arms of two of them, while another carried a sleek metallic case.
None of them appeared alarmed.
The applause slowly faded.
Yet the expressions on their faces were far more unsettling than the sound itself.
Wonder. Satisfaction.
And something else...Their eyes gleamed with an almost obsessive hunger.
Not the hunger of predators....
But the relentless desire of researchers who had spent years chasing an impossible answer—
Only to watch it unfold before their own eyes.
One scientist's lips curved into a faint smile, restrained but impossible to hide.
Another stared at Maya without blinking, his eyes reflecting the unmistakable excitement of someone witnessing the culmination of decades of work.
A third adjusted his glasses with trembling fingers, though his face remained outwardly composed.
The effort to maintain professionalism barely concealed the excitement burning beneath it.
To them...
The countless hounds kneeling across the arena were no longer the most extraordinary sight in the room.
The little girl standing among them was.
Their gazes never left Maya.
They studied her with unsettling intensity as though every breath she took, every movement carried the answer to questions they had devoted their lives to pursuing.
The arena remained wrapped in an eerie silence.
The five scientists advanced at an unhurried pace.
Their footsteps echoed through the immense arena.
Click...Click...Click...
As they walked, none of the scientists looked at the frightened children scattered across the chamber.
Not one spared a glance for the tears, the trembling or the panic that still lingered in the air.
Their attention belonged to only one thing.
Maya and the extraordinary scene unfolding around her.
Rows upon rows of enormous black hounds remained perfectly still, their heads lowered in silent submission.
The scientists slowed their pace, almost unconsciously.... It was as though they wanted to savor the sight.
One of them let his gaze drift slowly across the kneeling hounds before returning to Maya.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Another adjusted his glasses, his eyes glittering with unconcealed fascination.
He wasn't merely observing the scene.
He was studying it.
Committing every detail to memory.The angle of the hounds' lowered heads.Their absolute stillness.Maya's exhausted posture.
The silence that bound them together.
A third scientist quietly folded his hands behind his back.
His expression remained composed, but his eyes betrayed an unmistakable sense of triumph.
Years of research...Countless failed trials...
Endless reports and impossible theories...
Everything seemed to converge into this single moment.
One scientist drew a slow breath,his voice was barely more than a whisper, "Magnificent."
No one answered.
It was a scene none of them had ever expected to witness with their own eyes.
As they drew closer to Maya, their steps became even slower.
Out of reverence for the moment itself.
Their eyes never left the astonishing spectacle before them.
Drinking in every detail as though they feared even a single blink might cause it to vanish.
For years they had imagined this outcome.
Dismissed it as nearly impossible.
Now...They were finally standing before living proof.
One of the scientists reached into the pocket of his laboratory coat, he withdrew a small silver whistle.
It gleamed beneath the harsh fluorescent lights.
For a brief moment, he simply held it between his fingers, his eyes never leaving the sea of kneeling black hounds.
Then, he raised it to his lips. A single, clear note pierced the silence.
Its sharp, haunting tone echoed across the immense arena, lingering among the towering concrete walls before slowly fading away.
The hounds reacted at once. Not with the swift obedience they had shown earlier.
Something was different. For a long moment, none of the black hounds moved.
One by one, they cautiously lifted their lowered heads.
Their crimson eyes drifted toward Maya.
They did not look at the scientist.
The nearest hound hesitated, its ears flattened slightly, and it took one slow
step backward.
Then another. Its movements were careful.
Almost reluctant.
Soon the others began to follow.
Across the vast arena, hundreds of black hounds slowly retreated in perfect silence.
Not a single growl escaped them.
Their powerful paws touched the steel floor so lightly that the echoes seemed strangely subdued.
As though even they wished to make as little noise as possible. Several hounds glanced toward Maya again before turning away.
There was an unmistakable caution in their movements .... instinctive reluctance to draw any closer.
The scientists watched with silent fascination.
One of them lowered the whistle slowly,
"Remarkable, They heard the recall..."
His eyes narrowing thoughtfully as another hound carefully backed away from Maya.
"...Yet they leave as if they're careful not to challenge her."
Soon, the entire pack began to withdraw.
Not a single hound turned its back on Maya.
Instead, they retreated one cautious step at a time, their crimson eyes never leaving her.
They walked as though they feared that even the sound of their footsteps might disturb her.
The immense arena, once filled with thunderous pounding paws, had become eerily quiet.
Hundreds of massive black hounds advanced toward the open doors with almost unnatural care, every movement slow, controlled, and silent.
It was as if they were leaving the presence of something they dared not provoke.
Only when they had put a respectful distance between themselves and Maya did they finally turn toward the darkness beyond the reinforced doors.
One by one...Row by row...
The black hounds disappeared into the endless void from which they had come.
One of the scientists quietly broke away from the others, he walked toward Maya.
His polished shoes echoed softly across the steel floor. Click...Click...Click...
Every measured step brought him closer.
Maya's breathing quickened.Her tired eyes remained fixed on the approaching man.
She didn't know what he wanted.
She only knew that every adult she had met in this place had brought pain or another impossible trial.
Instinct took over, she tried to move away.
Her palms slid against the cold steel as she pushed herself backward.
Once....Twice....again.
Each movement sent fresh pain through her bruised arms and aching legs, but she refused to stop.
The scientist continued walking.
Maya dragged herself back another few inches. Her breathing grew uneven.
The arena seemed endless yet somehow there was nowhere left to go.
The scientist finally stopped in front of her.
He looked down silently.
Maya stared back with wide, frightened eyes.
She shook her head ever so slightly, "Please..."
The word barely escaped her lips.
Without replying, the scientist bent down.
His hand closed around the back of Maya's Shirt.
He lifted her effortlessly.
Her feet left the floor.
Her small body dangled in the air, suspended by a single hand as easily as if she weighed almost nothing.
For an instant, Maya froze in shock.
Then she struggled.
She twisted desperately, trying to pull herself free. Her legs kicked helplessly in the empty air.
Her hands grabbed at the scientist's wrist, pushing, pulling, desperately trying to loosen his grip.
She fought with everything she had left but exhaustion had already stolen most of her strength.
The scientist's arm never wavered.
To him, her desperate struggle was barely enough to disturb his balance.
Maya continued squirming, her frightened breaths coming in quick, uneven gasps.
Her fingers trembled with effort.Every attempt to break free grew weaker than the last.
The scientist merely watched her with detached curiosity, as though observing a specimen reacting exactly as expected.
Around them, the other scientists remained silent.
None attempted to intervene, they simply observed.Taking in every movement.
Every sign of resistance.
At last, Maya's frantic struggles began to slow.
Not because she wanted to stop—
But because her exhausted body could no longer keep pace with her determination.
Even then, she did not surrender.
Her small hands still pushed weakly against the scientist's arm, refusing to give up despite knowing she was hopelessly overpowered.
The four scientists turned without another word.One of them carried Maya effortlessly over his shoulder.
Her small body hung limp with exhaustion.
A strand of dark hair had fallen across her face, hiding her closed eyes.
She no longer struggled.
Not because she had accepted her fate.....
But because her battered body had nothing left to give.
They walked toward the massive reinforced doors at the far end of the arena with the same measured calm they had entered with.
Their footsteps echoed steadily through the immense chamber.
Click...Click...Click...
Every child watched. Some stared at Maya with disbelief. A few with quiet gratitude.
The boy Maya had saved stood among them, unable to take his eyes off her..... His lips trembled.
He wanted to say something, to thank her.
But the words remained trapped in his throat.
All he could do was watch as the little girl who had risked everything for a stranger disappeared farther and farther away.
The enormous steel doors slid open.
Brilliant white light poured through the opening, swallowing the silhouettes of
the five scientists.
Just before they stepped through, one scientist slowed. He stopped.
Without turning immediately, he adjusted
the cuff of his laboratory coat with casual precision.
Only then did he glance back over his shoulder, his eyes swept slowly across
the arena.
Across the frightened children, Across their pale faces, their trembling hands,their tear-stained cheeks.
The corners of his mouth curved upward into a faint, almost pleasant smile.
It was the composed smile of someone announcing the results of a successful experiment,
"Well...It appears fortune favored you today."
A few children exchanged fearful glances.
The scientist's smile deepened ever so slightly,
"Congratulations.You all survived.
Most subjects never live long enough to receive a second designation."
He paused, letting the words settle,
"...Far more easily than expected. How unexpectedly efficient. "
A few of the youngest children looked at one another.
Wasn't surviving a good thing?
Didn't that mean they were safe?
But before hope could take root...
The older children reacted.
One by one..Their expressions changed.
A boy who looked no older than thirteen slowly lowered his head, his shoulders stiffened.
Beside him, a girl quietly closed her eyes.
The color drained from her face.
Another child unconsciously took half a step backward, his breathing became shallow.
A taller boy clenched his trembling hands so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Not one looked relieved.
Instead...The fear in their eyes deepened.
It was the kind of fear that came from understanding something the younger children did not.
Several of them exchanged brief, uneasy glances.
No words passed between them.
They knew what usually came next.
The younger children slowly noticed the change.
Their hopeful expressions faded.
One little girl looked up at an older child, silently searching his face for reassurance.
She found none.
Another child hugged himself tightly.
His lower lip trembled.
He didn't know why the older children suddenly looked so terrified.
The scientist clasped his hands behind his back.
His tone became almost conversational, as though he were addressing a classroom rather than a room full of terrified children.
"Now then...It is time to update your classifications."
Every child instinctively stiffened.
Even those who had no idea what the announcement meant could sense its importance.
The scientist looked toward the rows of frightened children.
"All Yellow Codes...have officially advanced."
His words echoed through the arena.
"From this moment onward...You are Green Code."
Silence.
A little boy blinked in confusion.
A young girl instinctively reached for the yellow collar around her neck.
She stared at it as if expecting its color to change before her eyes.
"All existing Green Codes...have successfully entered Phase One."
His gaze swept across the older children,
"Your new designation...Orange Code."
Several of the older children visibly tensed.
One boy slowly closed his eyes.
A girl beside him lowered her head, her shoulders becoming rigid.
They knew what those words meant.
The younger children did not.
The scientist noticed their reactions.
His smile remained, "Congratulations."
The word sounded strangely hollow.
"There are many who never lived long enough to hear those promotions."
A heavy silence settled over the arena.
No celebration followed.
Promotion...In any ordinary place, it would have been a reward.
Here...It sounded like the announcement of another nightmare.
Another hell waiting to begin.
The scientist watched them quietly for several moments.
Then he gave a polite nod, as though concluding an ordinary meeting.
"Your schedules will be updated shortly.
Prepare yourselves."
His eyes lingered briefly on the Green Codes who were now Orange.
There was unmistakable anticipation behind his calm expression.
"I sincerely hope...your performance continues to exceed expectations."
Without another word, he turned.
The reinforced doors began to close behind him with a deep mechanical rumble.
The brilliant white light narrowed into a thin line...Then disappeared.
The arena was left in silence once more.
Only the frightened children remained.
Some stared at the closed doors.
Some looked down at the colored bands around their necks.
~~
The weight of the scientists' words seemed to remain suspended in the air.
*"Yellow Code... Green Code..."*
*"Green Code... Orange Code..."*
*"Congratulations."*
The word echoed over and over in everyone's mind.
Not a single person in the mansion believed it had been a congratulation. It had sounded like a sentence.
A promise that something even worse was waiting.
Naya slowly sank back into her chair. She stared blankly at the projection, her lips trembling.
"They...They called it a promotion."
She gave a broken laugh,"They're children..."
Her voice cracked.
"They're treating children like they're moving to the next level of an experiment...
Oh God...It only meant the nightmare got bigger."
---
Farhan slammed both hands against the table, "They're insane!"
His voice thundered through the mansion.
"Those crazy monsters....They celebrated.
They rewarded survival.
As if every child in that room was nothing more than equipment. I've never hated anyone this much."
---
Mahim remained standing.
He hadn't realized he was still clenching his fists until his nails dug painfully into his palms.
"...Now I understand, why the older children looked dead inside.They'd already seen what came after."
---
Faha wiped at his eyes.His breathing was uneven, "...Did you see them?"
He looked around the room.
"The younger children...They almost looked happy.They thought surviving was enough."
His voice broke.
"They had no idea...The older ones looked terrified. They already knew what the next color meant."
He swallowed hard.
"Imagine being so young...that getting rewarded becomes the thing you fear most."
---
Fahish leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"The older kids....They looked like prisoners hearing they'd been transferred."
A long silence followed.
"I don't think they were afraid of becoming Orange. I think they already knew what.....
what Orange Code does."
Those words sent a chill through the room.
~~