Two days had passed.
Ren opened his eyes to the same suffocating darkness. No food, only water. His stomach growled with a hollow ache. His lips were dry, and his limbs felt like lead.
Suddenly, click.
The sound of the iron door unlocking echoed in the stone chamber. A piercing shaft of light crept through the opening, stabbing into Ren's face.
He flinched, instinctively shielding his eyes. The door creaked wider.
He sat curled in the corner, back to the wall, blinking rapidly. 'What's that? '
Keva stepped in. Her voice was cold and mechanical.
"Come, kid. It's time to go outside."
He slowly stood, legs trembling under him. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the light and stumbled forward.
As he stepped out of the room, the light nearly blinded him. He squinted hard, blinking through the pain, trying to see the enormous cavern around him.
"Walk," Keva barked, pushing him from behind.
He obeyed, dragging his feet across the rough ground. They walked for what felt like forever, twenty minutes, maybe more. All the while, he saw other children. Some are scrubbing the floor. Some washing walls. Others just stood, hollow-eyed and still.
More children joined them along the way. Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands. A human river of young slaves.
He stopped, frozen at the sight. ' So many people are here. '
Keva shoved him forward. "Go. Follow the others. Do what they do."
She disappeared into the crowd.
He walked, barely able to keep pace. The swarm of children marched toward a massive iron gate.
As he passed through, he realized it was a school.
But not like any school he had ever seen.
Guards stood like statues at the entrance, eyes scanning coldly. The children filed into different rooms like obedient cattle.
He stood still, confused and frightened.
A guard approached. "Why are you standing here?"
"I… I don't know where to go," he stammered, voice trembling.
The guard glanced at Ren's neck. "New one, huh? Come with me."
He grabbed his wrist and dragged him through the corridors.
They stopped in a dim room filled with the smell of tobacco.
A man in a black robe stood there, a tall hat atop his head, puffing a pipe.
"What's this now?" the man asked without looking.
"No seal," the guard said.
The robed man exhaled smoke slowly. "Right."
He stepped forward. "Grab him."
The guard grabbed his arms. He struggled, trying to wriggle free, but he was too weak.
The man placed a glowing hand on his neck and began to chant. "Vinctura Servitum."
Purple light surged from the man's palm, forming a glowing ring around his neck, a seal.
"It's for discipline," the man said, watching Ren's terrified face. "Disobey, and it'll give you a shock you'll never forget."
His eyes filled with terror.
"Do you understand?" the man asked.
Ren nodded silently.
"Good."
He turned back to the guard. "Take him to the new ones."
The guard pushed him forward again, and he stumbled out of the room, blank-eyed.
How… did I end up here? Why is this happening to me?
The guard led him into a classroom and shoved him inside.
Ren staggered in, legs shaking. He scanned the room, rows of children his age, all sitting quietly. He moved to a seat at the back and sat beside a boy about his age.
He swallowed, hesitated, then whispered, "W-what's your name? Where… are we?"
The boy turned to him. His face was pale. His eyes were cold and lifeless.
"…Name?" then said nothing.
He looked down, curling into himself.
'I don't understand… Where am I? I want to go home… please…'
He sat like that for hours.
Eventually, a loud bell rang.
He lifted his head as the other children stood and began filing out. He followed, barely able to keep up.
They arrived at a giant cafeteria, a canteen. Hundreds of children lined up.
He got in line. Slowly, they inched forward. At the front, each child took a plate and received a scoop of thin gruel.
He stepped forward, held out his plate.
The man behind the counter dumped the gruel on it carelessly.
He stared at it, disappointed, starving, hopeless.
Suddenly, someone shoved him from behind.
He lost balance, fell to the ground. The plate clattered, the food spilled.
He tried to stand, but his body wouldn't cooperate.
A hand seized the back of his neck and yanked him up.
"Don't just lie there like a damn rat!" a guard snarled, slapping Ren across the face.
Pain exploded through his cheek. His face swelled instantly.
He collapsed to the floor again.
"Get out of here before I break your spine!"
He limped away, barely holding it together. He sat at a far corner of the room, away from everyone. Blank-eyed. Numb.
'Why… why is this happening? What is this place?'
Suddenly, a scream pierced the air. He turned, trembling.
A girl, maybe sixteen, was being dragged by a guard. She kicked, cried, pleaded.
"Please! Just give me food! My brother, he needs—!"
The guard didn't listen. Then screamed, "Anyone who shall defy the rules will meet the same fate."
The guard grabbed the girl and dragged her out of the hall through the gate, while she continued to scream.
Nobody moved. Nobody screamed. All the children kept eating.
Ren clutched his head, rocking slightly.
'This… is hell. I'm in hell.'
Tears spilled silently down his cheeks, falling onto the metal table.
Then he heard someone sit down across from him.
He slowly looked up.
A boy, about his age, with a sharp face and tired eyes, was watching him.
"I'm Finn," the boy said quietly.