Farhan let out a slow, unsteady breath. His hands were trembling. He pressed them against his knees trying to steady them
but they wouldn't stop.
"She... she ran twenty kilometers. She's four years old."
Mahim was sitting with his elbows on his knees. His shoulders were shaking.
"She kept going, Even when her body was failing, she kept going. Because she knew that if she stopped, she'd have to start over."
Faha was sitting on the floor, he let out a bitter laugh. "She's smarter than all of us."
Fahad stood near the window . His posture was rigid— the posture of a man trying to hold himself together through sheer force of will.
When the Code Instructor mentioned the punishment, something inside him cracked.
"This isn't training .... This is torture."
His chest heaving. His eyes,usually so steady, were burning with barely suppressed rage.
"And the worst part?
She doesn't even know it's wrong. She thinks this is normal. She thinks this is what she deserves."
Fahim was standing near the monitor, his eyes fixed on the data that had scrolled across the screen.
His hands— his steady hands were trembling. He had been analyzing the information. It was what he did. It was how he coped.
But the data wasn't making sense. It wasn't fitting into the neat categories he had constructed.
"Her body shouldn't have been able to do that. Twenty kilometers with her level of malnutrition and exhaustion....
it's physically impossible."
He let out a slow, unsteady breath.
"From a medical perspective, her body should have failed long before she reached the finish line. Her muscles should have seized.
Her heart should have given out. Her mind should have shut down to protect itself.
But she didn't stop.I don't know how she did it. I don't know if it's her biology or her will.
But either way... How does a four-year-old do that? How does she push herself that far and still find the strength to get back up?"
Ohi shook his head slowly.
"I can't make this easier. I can't find the right words because there are no right words for this.
She's four years old. She's been through more than most people endure in a lifetime.
I don't know how to help her. "
The other relatives were scattered across the room.
One uncle had risen from his seat the moment Maya collapsed.
He had taken a step toward the screen, his hand outstretched, as though he could somehow reach through the projection and catch her.
He had stopped himself at the last moment, his hand falling to his side. His face was pale, his jaw tight.
"Someone help her, Please. Someone help her."
He had lowered himself back into his chair, his eyes still fixed on the blank screen, his body trembling with helpless rage.
An aunt was sitting motionless, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Her face was pale, she looked like she had been frozen in place.
"They call it training but It's cruelty. Pure and simple cruelty."
~~
Two attendants stepped forward. They wore the same crisp white uniforms as the others,
their movements mechanical.
Each carried a set of metal restraints—
There voice's cut through the silence.
"You will now be escorted to your quarters. You will remain there until tomorrow morning. No meals will be provided tonight.
Those of you who performed adequately will be permitted to rest. Those of you who failed will be given additional time to reflect on your inadequacy."
Then—
they moved through the formation, their footsteps silent against the concrete.
They stopped before each child, their hands moving with practiced efficiency as they secured the restraints around the children's wrists.
Maya watched as the boy with the scar had his hands bound in front of him. He did not resist.
He simply stood there, his eyes fixed on some distant point, his expression carefully blank.
Maya's gaze drifted to the orange collar around the boy's neck.
The digital display embedded along its smooth metallic surface glowed faintly.
[SUBJECT 0004 ]
Maya stared at it for a brief moment before silently committing it to memory.
She watched as the girl with the cropped black hair had her wrists secured. Her jaw tightened slightly, but she did not speak.
The orange collar around the girl's neck.
The digital display embedded along its smooth metallic surface glowed faintly.
[SUBJECT 0002 ]
The attendant stopped in front of Maya...
The man was tall, his face sharp. He reached down, his fingers closing around her wrists.
He secured the restraints with a practiced twist of his wrist. The cuffs were tight, the edges biting into her skin.
She did not resist, her hands bound in front of her, her eyes fixed on the floor.
The children moved in silence. Their footsteps echoed against the concrete. The restraints clinked softly with each step, the sound like the rattling of chains.
Maya walked near the back of the group. Her hands were bound in front of her.They passed through a series of identical corridors, each one indistinguishable from the last.
They stopped before a door. It was identical to the others— reinforced, marked with a small number in angular lettering.
The attendant pressed his palm against the access panel.
The lock disengaged with a soft click. The door slid open with a low mechanical hum.
He gestured toward the room. "Inside."
Maya stepped forward. Her feet pressed against the cold floor as she crossed the threshold.
The door slid shut behind her with a soft click.
The lock engaged— Maya stood motionless for a long moment.
The room was small, smaller than she remembered.
She looked around the room, her eyes searching for something— anything that might offer some small comfort but found nothing.
She looked down at her hands, bound in front of her. The edges bit into her wrists, leaving red marks that would soon become bruises.
Then— she lowered herself to the ground. Her knees bent, her body folding inward until she was sitting on the cold floor, her back against the wall.
She heard the sound of footsteps in the corridor outside—the rhythmic march of attendants moving from room to room.
She heard the muffled sounds of other children being led to their quarters.
And then—
SILENCE.
Her gaze drifted to the collar around her neck. The orange glow was faint. A constant reminder of where she was, what she was, what she was becoming.
She remembered the Code Instructor's words.
'Your collars have been upgraded with new functionality. You will now be able to access your Code Routine directly through the collar's interface.'
She raised her bound hands, her fingers brushed against the collar, searching for
the panel.
A small indentation in the smooth surface of the metal. She pressed it.A faint, translucent holographic display flickered to life in front of her.
It hovered in the air, its surface glowing with a soft blue light. Maya stared at it.
She had seen holographic displays before—in the laboratory, in the training chamber, in the hands of the scientists.
But she had never seen one up close. She leaned forward slightly, her eyes scanning the display.
At the top of the screen, in bold, angular letters, was the word:
[ SUBJECT 17 A ]
Beneath it, a series of categories appeared:
[ STATUS: ORANGE ]
[ PHASE: ONE ]
[ DAY: 4 ]
Maya's eyes lingered on the words. She had been here for four days. Four days since she had been taken from the woman's house.
She scrolled down, her fingers hovering
over the display, the holographic interface responding to her movements.
The next section was labeled:
[ DAILY ROUTINE ]
[ 5:30 AM — WAKE / PREP
6:00 AM — CLASS ONE: OBEDIENCE THEORY
7:00 AM — BREAKFAST
7:20 AM — CLASS TWO: PHYSICAL CONDITIONING
9:00 AM — CLASS THREE: EMOTIONAL SUPPRESSION
10:30 AM — CLASS FOUR: COMBAT FUNDAMENTALS
12:00 PM — LUNCH
1:00 PM — CLASS FIVE: SURVIVAL TRAINING
3:00 PM — CLASS SIX: PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
5:00 PM — DINNER
6:00 PM — CLASS SEVEN: NIGHT CONDITIONING
11:00 PM — LIGHTS OUT ]
Maya felt a familiar pang in her stomach—
the dull ache of hunger that had become a constant companion since her arrival. She had eaten little in the past four days.
A few scraps of bread. Thin, watery soup. Nothing substantial enough to fuel her body.
She scrolled further down.
[ CODE ROUTINE ]
CURRENT CODE: ORANGE
CURRENT STAGE: ASERITH
ESTIMATED TIME TO NEXT STAGE: 30 DAYS
NEXT CODE: RED ]
Maya's breath caught —Thirty days. She had thirty days to prove herself, to survive, to earn the right to advance.
She didn't know what awaited her in Code Red. But she knew that she had to try.
She scrolled to the bottom of the display. The final section was labeled:
[ COMMUNICATION ]
[ CONTACTS: 1 ]
[ INSTRUCTOR — AVAILABLE ]
Maya stared at the word. Instructor.
She wondered if she would ever dare to use the communication feature, wondered if she would ever have a reason to call the Instructor.
She doubted it.
The Instructor had made it clear that the feature was for emergencies only. That misuse would result in severe disciplinary action.
But still— it was there. A lifeline, a connection to someone who had authority, who could make things happen.
She stared at the display for a long moment. Then, slowly, she reached up and pressed the panel on her collar again.
The holographic display flickered once—then faded, disappearing into the dim light of the room.
Maya sat against the wall, her eyes fixed on the empty space where the display had been.
Something else lingered in her mind that had been there since the first night she had arrived in this place.
'Sixteen A '
The girl behind the wall. The one who had answered her questions with dry humor and exhausted cynicism.
She had not heard from her since that first night. She had been too busy with the trials, the endless demands of survival.
She looked at the wall. She had learned that asking questions was dangerous, that reaching out could be a liability.
She hesitated but still—
She crawled across the cold floor, her bound hands scraping against the concrete until she reached the wall that separated her room from the one beside it.
She raised her bound hands and knocked softly against the wall. [Tap...Tap...Tap ]
The sound echoed softly through the silence.
For several long seconds, nothing happened.
Then—
A voice, muffled, Irritated,"Ugh... now what?"
Maya felt a small, unexpected flicker of relief. She recognized that voice. The same voice that had said, 'Stay alive, Subject Seventeen.'
Maya pressed her lips closer to the wall, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's me."
A pause, Then—
"Subject Seventeen? The little one?"
"I know who you are. You're the only one who knocks. Everyone else has learned better."
Maya could almost hear the girl on the other side rolling her eyes.
"You want to talk. In the middle of the night.
Do you have any idea what time it is?
Actually, wait. Don't answer that. I don't care what time it is. It's too late or too early. ''
"I'm sorry. I just... I needed to hear a voice."
The girl on the other side let out a long, exaggerated sigh.
"Of course you did. Because sleep is overrated.
Because I definitely didn't spend the entire day being dragged through every type of suffering imaginable."
Maya's cheeks flushed slightly. "I'm sorry. I can go—"
"No, no." Sixteen A's voice cut her off.
"You're already here. You already woke me up. Might as well say what you came to say."
Maya swallowed, "I... I had my first training session today. The Code Instructor made us run. Twenty kilometers."
"Twenty kilometers on your first day?"
"Yes."
The girl let out a low whistle.
"Not bad, kid. Not bad at all. I've seen grown subjects collapse after half that distance.
How many were behind you?"
Maya thought for a moment, "A few. Maybe five or six. "
"Five or six. So you weren't last, Good. Being last is not ideal. Now sleep. "
Maya tried forced her breathing to slow, willed her muscles to relax but the pain was everywhere—
In the hollow ache of her empty stomach.....
She shifted, trying to find a position that hurt less. There was none.
Her voice was barely a whisper, "...I'm in so much pain."
A long, exaggerated groan from the other side of the wall, followed by a voice thick with exhaustion and irritation.
"Ugh. Still awake? Do you ever sleep? Like, actually sleep or do you just sit there in the dark and wait for Death? "
"I can't sleep. Everything hurts. "
The girl on the other side let out a long, theatrical sigh.
"Of course they do. You ran twenty kilometers today. Your body is going to feel like it's been put through a meat grinder and then run over by a truck.
Actually, that's not a metaphor. I've seen what happens when someone gets run over by a truck here. It's not pretty."
"What do I do? How do I make it stop?"
The girl was quiet for a moment.
"You want my advice? The real advice?
Not the sugar-coated, 'everything's going to be okay' nonsense that adults tell you?"
"Yes."
"You don't make it stop. It's going to be there tomorrow and the day after that. So you have to find a way to deal with it."
She paused.
"Here's what I do. When it gets really bad,
when the pain is so loud that I can't think straight—
I get a basin. I fill it with cold water ss cold as I can get it and then I put my head in it. And I keep it there until I start to feel like I can't breathe."
Maya blinked. "What?"
"Don't look at me like that. I'm serious. It works."
"But... how is that supposed to help?"
"When you're underwater, your brain stops thinking about the pain. All it can focus on is the cold and the need to breathe.
For a few seconds, you get a break. That's all. And sometimes, that's enough to keep you going."
Maya sat in silence, processing her words. The idea was so strange, so counterintuitive, that she almost laughed.
"Where did you learn that?"
"Here. I learned it here. Everyone does.
It's something you figure out when you're desperate enough or someone tells you.
And then you pass it on. We all find ways to survive. Even the small ones. This is one of them."
Maya thought about the cold water,
"That's... that's actually a really good idea."
The girl snorted. "Don't sound so surprised. I have my moments."
Then, quieter:
"Try it. When you get a chance. And remember that you're still alive."
Maya felt something shift inside her— a small, unexpected warmth, "You said you don't care. But you keep helping me."
"Yeah, well. I've been here longer than you. I've watched a lot of kids come and go. Most of them don't make it.
So I got used to it. "
"Thank you."
"I think we're done with the heart-to-heart for tonight. I need to sleep. You need to sleep.
And if you knock on this wall again before breakfast, I will find a way to make your life miserable."
Despite everything, Maya felt the corners of her mouth twitch, "Understood."
"Good. Now shut up and try to sleep. "
The exhaustion finally claimed her.
It came slowly at first— A gentle tug at the edges of her consciousness, a heaviness
that settled into her limbs like warm sand.
Her eyelids grew heavy, her breathing slowed, and the weight of the day pressed down on her like a blanket of stone.
Her head lolled against the cold wall. The red marks on her wrists throbbed with a dull, persistent ache.
But even the pain couldn't keep her awake any longer. Slowly, she drifted into sleep.
🌼
Maya was standing on water.
The surface beneath her feet was perfectly still— unnaturally still as though it had been frozen in time but it wasn't frozen.
It rippled slightly with each breath she took, each small shift of her weight, sending slow, concentric circles across the endless expanse.
Maya looked down, the water was Red.
It was the red of blood—
Deep, dark, almost black at the edges but glowing faintly from within as though something alive pulsed beneath the surface.
It moved with a life of its own, swirling in slow, hypnotic patterns that seemed to pull at her gaze, drawing her deeper into its depths.
She took a step forward. The water rippled beneath her feet, the sound soft and musical— a gentle lapping that echoed in the vast emptiness around her.
Just an endless void of darkness that stretched in every direction, broken only by the crimson glow of the water beneath her feet.
She was alone.
A chill ran down her spine. It started at the base of her neck and traveled downward, settling into her bones like frost.
She felt it a presence. Something watching her. Something that had been watching her
all along.
Slowly, she raised her head,her soul trembled.
Above her, everywhere above her— were eyes.
Hundreds of them. Thousands of them.
Countless pairs of blue eyes, floating in the darkness like stars scattered across a black sky.
Blue eyes. Pale, luminous blue. Like the eyes of the dolls that had watched her from every corner of that terrible room.
Like the eyes of the reflection she had seen in her dreams before but these eyes were different.
They didn't blink.They simply watched her, their gaze pressing against her from all sides.
Maya's heart pounded in her chest .She wanted to close her eyes but she couldn't move.Her feet were rooted to the crimson water, frozen in place by some invisible force.
The water beneath her feet rippled. She looked down and saw her own reflection staring back at her.
But it wasn't her reflection.
It was a different face. Older, The same pale skin but the eyes were different. They were cold blue eyes that mirrored the ones above her.
And there was something else— a small, black heart-shaped mark beneath her right eye.
The reflection smiled.
It was a slow smile, knowing. The smile of someone who had been waiting for this moment.
Maya opened her mouth to scream.
No sound came.
The reflection raised one hand, pressing it against the surface of the water from below.
The eyes above her began to move.
They descended drifting downward like falling snow. Closer and closer, surrounding her.
And then— A whisper.
" Where You Go, I Go. What You See, I See
I Know I'd Never Be Me without The Security
Of Your Loving Arms, keeping Me From Harm
Put Your Hand In My Hand and We'll Stand. "
The voices overlapped, blending into a chorus that seemed to come from the eyes themselves.
Maya covered her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut. She tried to block out the voices, the eyes the reflection that was and wasn't her.
But she couldn't escape them.
🌸
[GASP] Her eyes flew open.
She was back in her room. The cold concrete floor. The faint glow of the single light above the door.
Her heart was racing.
Her hands were pressed against her chest as though trying to hold herself together .... Her entire body was trembling from fear.