Five rooms. Identical to one another. Quiet, sterile, with white walls. Neither sounds nor sights from the outside could be heard or seen from within. But the outside was watching them. These rooms seemed to consume not only sounds, but also time. The air... was heavy. It felt as if the ceiling was collapsing down on them.
In each room, there was only one chair, and in front of it, a small, pitch-black screen. They were all unconscious. Motionless. Like shadows, they had been torn from their pasts and brought here, one by one, silently. From distant countries, from different lives, without anyone being informed...
And then... a movement. For the first time, the frozen flow of time cracked.
Grace opened her eyes. Her head was buzzing, her forehead was sweating. There was something in her eye. A thick fabric. Trying to stay calm, she peeled it off her face and threw it away. Her eyes tried to adjust to the completely empty room with white walls. No window, no exit. No clock, no trace. Only the black screen in front of her and the chair beneath it. She squinted, focusing on the screen. Darkness. But an expectant darkness. It felt like she was being watched.
Then... another vibration. In another room, another girl opened her eyes.
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Miya. Her eyes were wide. She sprang up from her place like a ghost. "Hello! Is no one here?" Her screams echoed in the room. They came back muffled, distorted. She began hitting the walls with her fists. "Get me out of here! Can you hear me?!"
Hazel, scanning her surroundings, sat up. Instead of shouting, she analyzed. She moved her fingers to the panel around the door, furrowing her brow. She was inspecting the lock mechanism, searching for a code with her eyes. "There must be an exit... Every system has a weak point," she whispered.
Gwen furiously stood up. Her brows furrowed, her fists clenched. Cursing, she walked toward the walls. "Whoever did this... I'm going to tear you apart!" Her anger was almost tangible. The room felt small, and she was out of breath.
Maria immediately launched an attack. She ran toward the door. "This is thin... it could break," she said, delivering successive kicks. She leaned her shoulder against it and charged again. Her breathing was ragged, but the determination in her eyes was unshakable.
Each of them was searching for a way out of this strange cage in their own way. All five... were alone. But they were all caught in the same thing: uncertainty. The only question ringing in their minds: Why am I here?
Just then...
The screens flickered to life at once. The silence was torn apart. In each room, the screens lit up; on the pitch-black surface, only a moving sound wave appeared. There was no face, no explanation. Only a voice:
"Ladies... welcome."
These cold, calmly uttered words filled the rooms. Time stopped. Their movements paused simultaneously, and their eyes locked on the screens. This... was the first contact with the Big Boss.