DAY 1: THE HUM
A low hum vibrated through the floor.
Everyone froze. "Did you hear that?" someone whispered. The sound vanished as suddenly as it appeared, leaving behind an even deeper silence,thicker, heavier, as if the room itself was holding its breath.
Amara's gaze drifted upward. The unreachable beam of light flickered faintly, dust particles suspended within it like frozen stars. The walls stood unmoving, smooth and indifferent. Too perfect.
Somewhere beyond their sight, something unseen seemed to wait. And though no rules had been spoken… every one of them felt it.
This room was not meant to be escaped easily.
"Okay," Axle said at last, breaking the silence. "Nobody move unless you have to."
Too late....A boy near the wall pressed his palm against it experimentally. "It's so cold," he muttered. "Like metal… but not."
His voice echoed oddly, bending in a way that made Amara's skin crawl.
"Don't touch anything yet," she said quickly. "We don't know what triggers...". The hum suddenly returned. Stronger this time.
The floor vibrated beneath their feet, just enough to be felt, not enough to knock anyone over.
A few students cried out. Someone grabbed onto another person's arm."Is it an earthquake?" a girl asked, panic rising.
"No. This is controlled" Axle replied, eyes scanning the room.
The hum died down. then...CLICK.
A sharp mechanical sound echoed through the chamber. Everyone turned their heads to the direction. A thin line appeared on the wall opposite the light beam, glowing faintly white. Slowly, almost painfully slowly, the line widened.
"A door…" Xavier whispered. But it wasn't a normal door.No handle, no frame, just a vertical seam of light cutting into the wall as if reality itself were splitting open.
"Did it just… open because we touched the wall?" someone asked. "No...It opened because it wanted to" Amara said. Her heart was pounding, but her voice stayed steady.
The seam stopped widening, leaving an opening just large enough for one person to pass through. Darkness stretched beyond it on the other side.
"I don't like this feeling I'm getting". Xavier murmured, stepping closer to Amara. "What if it closes?".
Axle cracked his neck. "Only one way to find out". He took a step forward.
"Axle, wait..." Amara reached out, but he was already standing at the threshold, peering inside.
Nothing. No light. No sound. Just black.
"I'll go first," he said. "No," Amara replied firmly. "We don't split up. Not yet".
Axle glanced back at her, surprised then smirked. "You always were bossy". Still he stepped aside.
They stood there, twenty students breathing the same recycled air, staring into a doorway that hadn't existed minutes ago.Then something else changed. A faint glow appeared above the opening.
Numbers. Large digital.
07:00:00
"What… is that?" someone whispered.The numbers began to move.
06:59:59
06:59:58
A countdown.
Xavier's breath caught. "Seven hours?"
Amara shook her head slowly. "No."
She stared at the numbers, her stomach sinking. "Seven days," she said.
Silence slammed into the room. "That's not possible.You're guessing" a boy protested. "Am I?" Amara asked quietly.
The hum returned soft now, almost pleased.
A second line of light flickered briefly beneath the numbers, then vanished before anyone could read it.
"What did it say?" someone cried. "I didn't see it!". "Me neither!".
Axle clenched his fists. "So that's it," he muttered. "A countdown. A door. No instructions". "Yet..." Amara corrected.
She took a slow step forward, toward the opening. "Day 1," she said under her breath. "Whatever this place is… it's only just beginning". And somewhere deep within the walls, something seemed to listen.