The sound of something scraping against the thick wall
echoed faintly, a slow, rhythmic screeech...
mingling with the soft tap tap of footsteps
as they rang out within the pitch-black corridor—
a looped pattern of sound repeating itself.
The one walking was Gaia.
He let out a quiet sigh,
then continued forward, sluggishly.
His fingertips trailed along the cold, solid surface of the wall
as he kept moving ahead.
__________________________________________________
Earlier...
When the lights in the dormitory dimmed,
so too did the atmosphere settle into stillness.
The students, just returned from an unbearably heavy day of classes,
began to drift off to sleep one by one.
Rain's group had already passed out earlier than most—
sleeping deeply,
completely unaware of what was about to happen.
Once every child had returned to their dormitory,
a heavy steel door began to slide shut—
its metallic thud echoing softly: Thunk...
***
Time passed...
One by one, all of them sank into sleep—
deep, dreamless, and undisturbed.
Until—
In the silence,
a faint click broke through.
The soft sound of mechanical parts shifting.
The door creaked open again,
just enough to let something in,
with barely a sound.
A shadow slipped into the room—
slow, precise.
Five personnel members, clad in gray uniforms,
entered silently, each holding a compact black kit close to their bodies.
Outside, more guards stood watch
beneath the faint pulse of a signal light glowing dimly above the door.
With catlike stealth,
the personnel moved toward each sleeping cubicle in perfect sync.
They set their kits down gently against the floor—
not a single thud or clang.
One of them pulled out a syringe.
With meticulous care,
he unsealed the sterile packet,
removing a fresh needle
and resting it gently against the bedframe post.
Another personnel opened his kit
and retrieved a small glass vial.
He gave it a slight shake—
just enough to mix the fluid inside.
With practiced motion,
he snapped off the tip of the vial
and dipped the needle into the clear liquid,
drawing it up slowly.
Once the vial was empty,
he dropped it silently into a bio bag.
Then—tap tap—flicked the syringe lightly,
releasing a bubble of air.
One by one,
they approached the sleeping children.
They lifted each child's arm with care,
pressed lightly at the crook of the elbow
to raise the vein,
and then—
Pierced it.
Injecting the fluid
into their veins.
The used needle tips were carefully detached
and tossed into a bio bag with precise aim—
not a single clink too loud,
no unnecessary noise.
Then came the next needle,
paired with another small vial of clear liquid.
And again—
the same calm, practiced procedure repeated.
One by one...
Needle by needle...
Grk...
Gaia stirred slightly in his sleep.
He shifted a little on his bed,
as if simply trying to find a more comfortable position.
His back tensed briefly... then relaxed.
The soft rustle of the bedsheet,
the subtle creak of the frame—
it was enough to break the room's perfect silence.
And it caught the attention of the staff.
One of the gray-suited personnel,
having just finished injecting the second child,
paused mid-motion.
He turned his masked face toward Gaia's bed
and began walking over to inspect.
Step by step—
unhurried, calm.
He stopped at Gaia's bedside.
Leaning forward slowly,
his masked gaze locked onto Gaia's face,
piercing, unmoving.
He tilted in slightly closer,
until his face hovered just above Gaia's.
Gaia remained perfectly still.
Unconsciously, he held his breath.
His body didn't twitch,
his eyelids didn't flutter.
He lay there in a state of perfect stillness—
as though truly sound asleep.
The staff member stayed like that for a moment longer,
studying him—
assessing.
But Gaia didn't move a muscle.
His closed eyes betrayed no tension,
his face utterly blank, unmoved.
Finally,
the personnel straightened up
and stood motionless a second longer,
as if concluding his judgment.
Then—he turned.
And walked away,
resuming his duty
without a word from beneath the mask.
One step...
Two...
Three...
By the time the man was more than six steps away from Gaia's bed—
Thump... thump... thump...
Gaia's heart was pounding wildly.
He could hear it thudding in his ears like a drum.
He froze completely,
lying still like a mannequin—
pretending to be deeply asleep.
He had no idea what was happening.
He couldn't see—his eyes remained shut.
But he'd heard it.
He'd heard the metallic clink of needles.
He'd heard the faint slosh of liquid being drawn.
And just moments ago,
he'd felt a presence lean in close—
so close it almost made his soul drop out of his body.
Now, he focused on keeping calm—
keeping his breath slow and steady.
He didn't dare open his eyes.
He didn't even want to know what was happening.
He just lay there,
pretending—
praying—
that nothing more would happen.
He slowly cracked open his eyes—just enough to see.
It was dark and blurry,
but he could barely make out a shadowy figure
doing something near one of the beds.
Gaia tried to regulate his breathing,
forcing it to stay slow and steady,
even as his heart pounded inside his chest.
The gray-uniformed personnel
was steadily working their way closer—
bed by bed.
Until finally—
they stopped at his.
Gaia shut his eyes tight again,
pretending to be asleep with perfect stillness,
as if nothing at all was amiss.
The personnel extended a gloved hand slowly toward him,
leaning in.
The cold touch of a leather glove
brushed against Gaia's wrist.
It gripped him gently and lifted his arm.
The other hand pressed against the inside of his elbow—
pressing down slightly,
stimulating the vein.
Within seconds,
his vein surfaced beneath the skin.
A sharp, metallic tip
began to slide into his flesh.
Stab.
The instant the needle pierced his arm,
Gaia's fingers twitched slightly at the tips—
a reflex.
But he bit down on the reaction,
willed himself to stillness,
and didn't let it show.
The plunger pressed down to the end—
all of the clear liquid
flowed directly into his bloodstream.
Once the injection was complete,
the needle was carefully pulled out.
A tiny bead of red blood welled up at the puncture mark.
The personnel laid the needle aside
and retrieved an alcohol-soaked cotton swab,
wiping the injection site with cool, smooth motions.
The coldness brushed over his skin.
Then his arm was gently lowered back onto the bed.
Without a word,
the personnel dropped the cotton into the trash bag,
unscrewed the used needle,
replaced it with a new one,
and picked up his tools again—
—moving on to the next child.
The procedure went on for nearly half an hour.
The gray-uniformed personnel moved methodically from bed to bed—
right hand repeating the same task,
left hand fetching a fresh needle.
Each child received the injection in turn—
one by one—
until every last one had been administered the substance.
Once the final injection was complete,
the staff gathered their tools,
turned,
and exited the room in silence.
Their footsteps were ghost-like,
leaving no trace behind—
not a single drop of liquid,
not even a sound.
The steel door slowly slid shut once more,
with a quiet mechanical murmur.
Clunk... beep... bang...
The locking mechanism clicked into place in the dark.
***
A breath of relief.
Gaia opened his eyes and exhaled deeply—
a long-awaited release
after being tense and still for so long.
He turned to lie on his back
and breathed in and out slowly,
raising his injected arm
and studying it carefully under the faint light.
His other hand reached over,
gently touching the injection site.
The needle mark left behind was barely visible—
tiny, almost unnoticeable.
He laid both hands back down beside him.
Sigh.
Gaia closed his eyes again,
trying to dismiss it,
trying to fall asleep.
But there were too many things gnawing at his thoughts.
What just happened?
Who were those people in the gray suits?
What was that liquid they injected?
His mind wouldn't stop racing...
Eventually, Gaia sat up in bed,
glancing from left to right.
He was the only one awake.
Exhaustion crashed down on him like a tidal wave—
probably from a full day of intense learning.
He got up from bed
and adjusted the bedsheet,
tidying it a bit.
Then he stretched slightly
and turned his gaze toward the large steel door, now closed.
He slowly approached it.
Standing before the door,
he paused for a moment.
...
; "Do you require something, sir?"
A cold, mechanical voice emitted softly from his collar.
Gaia stayed silent for a while,
then replied:
"I need to use the bathroom…"
"Please open it."
Silence—
A still, thick silence returned for a moment…
Then the voice came again:
; "Acknowledged."
Beep.
A soft sound as the mechanism activated.
With that—
the heavy door creaked ajar,
opening just enough
to let him step out.