It was no surprise. There was no shouting or shock at the guards and teachers’ disappearance. It was as though everyone had thought the same thing while we had been walking down the hallway. If the teachers had been there, it would have confirmed the suspicion that they weren’t necessary, but now, this clearly showed that they were.But when it came to us, there was no escape. “This whole thing was just a diversion,” Zane said, looking at each of us. We were now seated in a circle in an empty classroom, free of the bloody carnage outside. Everett suggested we all thought about what to do. Zane was still talking. “They wanted us out of the way so they could take the guards and teachers.” “A good trick, though,” I said, “They knew we wouldn’t want to release them, so we were left to fight off the destitute while they went about it.”“What’s more important is what is going to happen now.” Everett crossed her arms, her expression pensive. “Since the guards are on their sides, they co
Two more people joined us to decode the symbols. They were experts like Barry, though they claimed he was much better than them. We didn’t even have a choice because if we wanted to leave, we had to work with what we had. Except that there was a problem. “Two of them are identical,” Barry said, pointing to two specific symbols. Since it was my drawing, I felt I was to blame. “Maybe there was a mistake—” “No,” Barry said. “There has to be a reason for this.” “Maybe for emphasis,” one of the boys who joined us asked. “What is the problem?” Everett asked, walking towards us. Though we were in the class, we had taken a secluded spot where we could work without distractions. But now, we needed other ideas. The boy told her, and soon, the others surrounded us. Some argued that the door might be the key to our escape, and others believed we should avoid it. I sat aside, wondering what to do. Since I already had a hint about the doors, I could tell them, but I didn’t know how to do t
Once again, we faced the doors. One more time. One last try. I was sure they were the words ringing in everyone’s ears as we stood in the room, staring at the doors that would tell our fate. It was funny to think that a non-living object had that power, but that was just the case. I wished the doors could say to us what lay inside the room, but they were silent, waiting for our moves. “Okay, we are going to split ourselves into a group of six,” Barry said, standing before us. “We’ll follow the code, and each group will open each door until we reach the final door. We don’t have any try after the seventh door, so make sure you listen to what I say.” We split into six, with Dale being with me. Then, Barry began to call the numbers, and each group did as he said until we reached the number with two doors. Yesterday, we agreed that Barry would choose a door since he was an expert on the code, but things took a turn at this point. He seemed slow to decide, and the rest began to panic a
The control room wasn’t a large one.It was a small, cramped white room, but its atmosphere lacked warmth, instead exuding the personality of a bland, sterile object. The furniture within was scattered. A massive screen dominated the wall at the end of the room, its surface blank. Rows of tables, each lined with about six computers, stood in uneven rows, their screens dark and inactive. The drawers, too, seemed stuck, refusing to budge no matter how hard we tried.As I surveyed the room, a sense of unease washed over me. Everything felt off, as though the setting was nothing more than a caricature of its authentic self. Perhaps that was why it was empty. “He won’t starve us here, right?” The girl that had argued for the second door asked, her voice tinged in fear. “There’s no way he will keep us here forever.” When no one answered, she added, “Right?”“Mia, I think if we all knew that question, we wouldn’t be scared shitless,” Everett said, a frown on her face. The boy who had argue
Unknown to the students, the chaos they were facing was also affecting the watchers, particularly the ones in the VIP section of the building. The people had been divided into three fractions thanks to the events that had unfolded, and it was getting more challenging to get them to calm down, especially when they were of critical status. "How are the viewing centres taking this?" The principal asked. The man by his side did not look like he had anything positive to say. He did not. Tightly hugging his pad, he rushes forward to give his review. "Not so well, sir. Their reaction is just like our VIP clients. It's a good thing they're of lower status and hold less importance. We've been able to handle them well, thanks to that. With a sigh, the man watched all the drama and uproar escalate without being able to control the crowd this time. The room they were situated in was less calm than usual, as the current events have shaken things up. Everyone had questions, and as each was a
We didn’t have a discussion immediately. Instead, when we all returned, everyone broke into small groups and discussed amongst themselves while I went to the dorm to rest. I didn’t get to. Instead, my eyes refused to close, and my mind would not stop thinking. Instead, it kept on rewinding the Principal’s words. “Five of you will only live.” Had that been the plan all along? Put a group of students in a building, force them to play deadly games, and limit the winners to five. It wasn’t even a quarter of the number of the initial students. I couldn’t fathom it. My heart raced with possibilities and questions the Principal could only answer if he had a good conscience. Then, I heard Everett’s voice in the hallway. “Guys! We need to talk!” We gathered in the classroom again, but this time, we were quiet, as if everyone was still processing what had happened. Even Everett said nothing until Dale coughed, and she blinked. “I don’t need to say why we are here. I mean, we were all t
Everett wasn’t in her room. The room lay quiet, devoid of life, and I didn’t bother searching around. I didn’t even think I’d see anything new. Also, with her character, I didn’t think she’d leave anything suspicious lying about. I didn’t stop but continued checking the classes while avoiding the one where we kept the bodies and the other dorms, but Everett was nowhere to be seen. Upon seeing a few others, I asked about where she could be, emphasizing that it was vital I saw her as I had something important to say (a lie, but I needed them to break the walk of silence they put up against me). I finally received some answers but they were either places I’d searched or she wasn’t there at all. It was like she made a disappearing act.Finally, I considered she was in the shower room where she could be taking her time so I returned to my dorm, hoping I’d see her later. At least there was nowhere to run or hide. Now that we were well on our own without guidance or can’t classe
I was used to being alone. As an only child, I didn’t have bonding moments with siblings and only got to see my friends when I could. So I was used to being lonely and being alone, which I knew would be part of my life. It wasn’t anything new.Except that it was different this time. Despite the Principal’s words, these were my mates, people I at least considered friends, who now had their backs turned against me. I wished I could turn back time, but looking at it, what could I have done? The voice ensured that I abided by the rule, and I couldn’t risk going against it. And as a result, I was being punished. Anywhere I turned, the others looked at me like there was something wrong with me, and even Ethan, Dale, and Zane had nothing to say to me, except about my duty. I could see the pain in their eyes and wished I could tell them everything, but I couldn’t. There was no solution in sight, which was why I stayed in my room. It was a cowardly thing to do but was much better than be