"Everybody, line up! I am Captain Victor. Welcome to the Enclave."
Everyone's eyes turned to the man in front of us—mine included. Confusion was written all over our faces. None of us understood what was happening.
"I want all of you to listen carefully," the captain continued.
"Each one of you will be scanned and assigned to a commander in charge."
He was about to continue when someone interrupted him.
Our Student Council President, Luis.
Luis wasn't particularly tall. He had pale skin, thick brows, and wore eyeglasses with a thick frame. Despite the soldiers surrounding us, he stepped forward bravely.
"Excuse me, sir," he said firmly. "What's happening here? Why did you take us? Where are we?"
Exactly my question.
The Vice President, Mariah, quickly followed.
"Yeah, that's right," she added. "Can you at least tell us where we are?"
The captain faced the two brave students who had the courage to question armed soldiers.
"Kids," he said calmly,
"there's no time to explain. Each of you will have a commander in charge. You'll understand later once you get to your camps."
He paused, then raised his voice.
"Now everybody, line up!"
Suddenly, one student broke away from the crowd.
"I'm out of here!" he shouted as he ran toward the forest.
"I'm calling my parents!"
Before he could get far, a soldier fired a tranquilizer dart straight into his neck.
The student collapsed to the ground within seconds, losing consciousness.
Three people wearing white medical gowns rushed forward with a stretcher and carried him away.
Panic erupted among the students.
Shouting.
Crying.
Questions everywhere.
Then BANG!
The captain fired a gun into the air.
Everyone instantly fell silent.
"If you want to live," he said coldly, "and if you want to see your parents again… listen carefully."
His gaze swept across all of us.
"We are not your enemies. Just follow your commander and cooperate."
No one dared to speak.
Students stood frozen—including me.
"I'll take that as a yes," he continued.
My mind was full of questions, but I didn't have the courage to ask them. I didn't even know what I was feeling anymore. My throat felt dry and no words would come out.
Slowly, we began to line up.
One by one, soldiers scanned our wrists using strange devices that looked like military gadgets.
After scanning us, they placed colored bangles on our wrists.
I was still in shock when the soldier in front of me spoke.
"Number 89. Show me your hand."
When they captured us at school, they gave each of us a number tag.
Mine was 89.
I held out my wrist.
The soldier placed a red bangle on it.
The band lit up faintly, glowing red.
It looked like some kind of advanced smartwatch, but unlike anything I had ever seen before.
The soldiers continued scanning the other students.
That's when I noticed something strange.
Not everyone had the same color.
Most students received white bangles.
Some had green.
A few had blue.
But the red ones…
There were only a few of them.
Maybe if I looked around later, I could see how many more had red.
Once everyone was scanned, one of the commanders stepped forward.
"We will be walking through a trail," he announced. "It's about fifteen minutes from here. I know you all have many questions. I'll answer them once we arrive at the Enclave's camp."
He turned toward the forest path.
"Follow me."
We didn't have a choice.
We followed.
The path was surrounded by trees. Nothing looked familiar. No buildings. No roads.
Just forest.
Maybe we were on some island… or somewhere far away from the city.
As we walked, I heard a familiar voice behind me.
"Euri!"
I turned.
It was Krysta Miller, my classmate.
She had a green bangle on her wrist.
Krysta used to be part of our circle of friends.
Until that incident.
I didn't want to think about it right now.
"Euri, you're here!" she said with relief.
"I'm glad you're safe. I tried calling you earlier but you weren't answering."
She looked around the crowd.
"I saw Luna and Misty earlier. I think they're somewhere at the back."
She smiled a little.
"Come walk with me."
My name is Euri Ashford.
And honestly, I didn't want to walk with anyone.
Not right now.
I just wanted to be alone and figure out what was going on.
But I simply nodded.
"Do you have your phone?" Krysta asked. "I still have mine, but it's useless. There's no signal here."
"Let me check," I replied.
I pulled out my phone.
No signal.
I showed it to her.
Maybe that's why they didn't bother taking our phones.
They already knew they wouldn't work here.
After about fifteen minutes of walking, we finally arrived.
"This is the Enclave's camp," someone said.
I looked around.
This wasn't the kind of camp I expected.
There were no tents. No campfires.
Instead, there were strange capsule-shaped houses scattered around the clearing.
In the middle stood a small arena with a massive screen above it.
Maybe this was where soldiers trained.
"Alright, everyone. We're here," the commander announced.
"As you can see, we have four houses in this camp."
He pointed around the area.
"The White House, the Green House, the Blue House, and the Red House."
Students looked around nervously.
"I know you all have many questions," he continued. "You may sit. This will be a long day."
The giant screen flickered to life.
A video started playing.
A news broadcast.
"Unexpected rainfall suddenly hits the city despite the middle of summer," one reporter said.
Another report appeared.
"An unexplained tremor shook several districts earlier today."
Then the screen switched.
A woman appeared on the same screen. She looked to be around forty.
"I am Dr. Craine, a scientist and ecologist," she said calmly.
"We apologize for the sudden abduction. But do not be afraid. We are not your enemies."
The students began murmuring.
"We have worked with your parents to bring you here," she continued.
"To train you for the world crisis we are facing."
The murmuring grew louder.
"This may sound strange," she said, "but the events you saw in the news are probability changes caused by human awakening at your age."
My brows furrowed.
Probability… changes?
"You may not be aware of it," she continued, "but each of you carries abilities that are beginning to manifest."
This is ridiculous.
Is this some kind of joke?
Students around me whispered the same thing.
"When you enter your houses," Dr. Craine continued, "you will see videos recorded by your parents."
"We could not risk convincing you slowly, so we had to take you by force."
Then the screen showed footage of the city. Buildings collapsed.
Streets destroyed.
Smoke rising everywhere.
"Half of the city has been wiped out due to a powerful earthquake," she said.
My chest tightened.
"You might be wondering if your parents are safe," she added.
"Yes. They are."
But something didn't make sense.
We were at school.
Right in the city.
So why didn't we feel anything?
Why didn't we feel the earthquake?
A wave of murmurs spread across the students again.
"This has to be fake…"
"No way this is real…"
Then Dr. Craine spoke again.
"You didn't feel the earthquake," she said quietly.
"Because you are not like everyone else."
Silence fell over the camp.
"You believe those disasters are natural," she continued.
"They are not."
Images of storms, lightning, and cracked buildings flashed across the screen.
"They are side effects."
A chill ran down my spine.
"Side effects… of you."
Gasps spread among the students.
Krysta grabbed my arm.
"Euri… what is she talking about?" Krysta asked.
I couldn't answer.
Because at that moment, the red bangle on my wrist pulsed faintly.
Warm.
Alive.
Dr. Craine's voice echoed again.
"The bangles you are wearing measure the intensity of your anomaly."
The screen displayed colored circles.
White.
Green.
Blue.
Red.
"And those marked in red…"
The screen zoomed in.
A glowing red symbol appeared.
"…possess the highest probability of destabilizing reality itself."
Students slowly began turning their heads.
Looking around.
Counting.
The red bangles.
My stomach dropped.
There were only a few of us.
Very few.
I slowly looked down at my wrist.
Red.