I sighed as I returned to Kyrie. He assured me that we would get out unscathed but I completely doubted him. How we found ourselves in such a dilemma, I didn't know, and neither did Kyrie.
He staggered down the room in an unsteady gait due to fatigue just before we stopped to get a little breathing.
"This room's really big. Who knew a soccer field was this large? I always thought it could fit in my backyard based on what I watched on TV." Kyrie joked as we both panted.
"Ugh, you must know nothing about soccer. It's a great sport and I enjoy it but before we start talking about it, we have to understand where we are first.
It's not like we're going to live here forever but our survival isn't assured so let's put soccer aside for now."
"Okay..." Kyrie replied reluctantly with a slight urge to continue the joke.
As we panted, I fell on the ground back-first and after a few seconds, Kyrie did the same. I saw something in the ceiling, a dark-colored device although I didn't know what it was.
It was too blurry to see so I signaled Kyrie, pointing at the device.
"Yeah, that's a camera. Someone here told me that." Kyrie stated.
I wondered who the person was, how he knew, or who told him. I fell into a state of questioning and it was visible on my face. My expression was one of confusion.
Kyrie noticed it quickly and tapped me on the hand as we lay on the hard metallic ground.
"You must be wondering how the person knew about the camera, and I thought that too. But let's just be thankful that the person helped us."
At that point, I began convincing myself that my eyesight was too poor to grasp what the device was. Or maybe, it was just because I was lying down and tired.
I closed my eyes, assured that Kyrie would protect me in my vulnerability. I saw my eyelids slowly close as darkness engulfed my thoughts.
"I'm sleeping again? Maybe it's an effect of that injection my dad gave me."
[12 Hours Later]
I was awakened by the sound of the murmuring crowd. They had all gathered around but I didn't know why and what they circled.
I rubbed my eyes, turning my body towards Kyrie.
"Hey wake up, there's something going on here," I whispered as softly as I could to avoid being caught sleeping carelessly in the room.
I didn't want to be seen as a weak and carefree person, but in reality, that was the definition of who I was. The only thing hindering me from maintaining my vulnerable position was to preserve Kyrie's position.
'Even though I don't care about other people's thoughts, I'm sure Kyrie does.'I thought, slapping the living hell out of Kyrie's tender face as some sort of revenge for splashing the water on me.
I hadn't noticed it before but everyone had a water bottle beside them and so did I. It was as if it was fabricated out of thin air, like a sci-fi movie.
[Attention!]
A loud female voice echoed, silencing the disordered side talks of the teenagers within the room.
I urged Kyrie to wake up, and finally, his eyelids lifted. As I raised him, resting him on my shoulder, a strange-looking boy who looked a year younger than me stared daringly at Kyrie and I.
"What's this weirdo's issue?" I asked Kyrie as he regained his consciousness.
"Oh, you mean that guy. He's the one who told me about the camera." Kyrie stated with a hint of tiredness in his voice.
I quickly discussed the situation with Kyrie; the gathering of the teenagers and a strange female voice. We walked up to the gathering and saw a miniature robot in the center.
It looked deformed, with a missing leg and an iPad for a face. The sound resonated from other places, hidden speakers perhaps.
I looked closer at the face of the robot with a pair of broken wheels and with the gruesome cracks of the screen, I recognized a line of text.
[Initiating...]
It loaded up like a game and it didn't seem too far-fetched from what my dad had informed me about. The text only increased with more lines popping up on the screen until it couldn't contain the large chain of text.
"What's going on with this thing?" I murmured to myself, slowly walking away from the robot in confusion.
[Attention! System Successfully Loaded]
The female voice aroused a lot of murmurs from the teenagers once more but all I could make out from the situation was a bad body odor coupled with bad breath.
I wouldn't blame them considering we all had spent over 12 hours in the same room and honestly, I too emitted awful stenches from my body.
The crowd continued discussing among themselves in confusion and amazement and was soon disrupted by the female voice.
[Attention! All teenagers here, ages 13-16 have been brought for the sole purpose of serving our cause. Your parents; mother, father, stepmother, stepfather, or even extended relatives have introduced you to this inhabitable area.
How do you feel being betrayed? Are you angry? Sad? Vengeful? Or even happy similar to a few maniacs that have been scanned in the area.
Furthermore, your purpose in this world henceforth is for our cause and you must fulfill it.]
The voice took a brief pause, paving the way for a brief act of anger from the teenagers. What cause could the voice be referring to? Everyone questioned themselves and some who had friends, asked their friends.
Unfortunately, the stalker was still fixated on me. I shrugged it off as an act of admiration but it was something not as good as that. His eyes weren't filled with awe, rather, they were lifeless.
As I maintained eye contact with him, the robot's screen went black, and an isolated part of a wall in the building shone a bright light.
The focus of everyone shifted towards the seemingly technologically advanced TV that emerged from the walls.
[Yes, to end it all, you all are participating in an academy now having successfully been enrolled by your relatives. You are expected to offer total compliance to the United Soul Academy.
You heard me right, you will be attending a school here but only those who pass the test will be given a chance to train in the school]
Once again, a brief pause emerged but this time, not as long as the previous one.
[Your test starts now... An individual has been implanted in this large room. You are to fend him off or he will slaughter you. Given your poor physical capacities, naturally, you will be introduced to serums that will boost your physical prowess.]
Immediately, everyone in the room scrammed away from the crowd, some leaving their friends behind and isolating themselves. Kyrie and I ran as fast as we could, settling in an isolated spot.
We panted heavily as drops of sweat reached the floor. Our faces were pale, all of us worn out.
"The serums should arrive quickly. I want to take a shot!" I could hear people screaming just to get the serums and I undoubtedly felt the same.
"At least he won't come to attack us, I think. That boy... he's a suspect. I have to kill him. Remember Levi, it's kill or be killed." I hyped myself up in readiness to attack the boy as I hyperventilated in stress alongside Kyrie.