A vast space, endless on the horizon, yet its boundaries were visible — white squares pressed together, lighting the place with a calm glow that came from nowhere.
At the center, a black point. Small as the head of a needle.
Total stillness.
Then it began.
The point didn't move toward him — it grew, slowly, deliberately, the way a pupil widens in darkness. It grew and drew closer at once, or perhaps those were the same thing. The white boundaries began to retreat, the glowing squares fading one after another, the space narrowing around him like a chest holding its breath.
The black point swallowed almost everything —
And before it could finish.
Light.
Zenon opened his eyes with difficulty, sunlight striking him without mercy. He blinked rapidly, several times, then opened his eyes fully, and before he could fully regain his senses, he found everyone staring at him strangely. He turned to his right.
Sarah. Right, her seat was next to his. Why is she looking at me like that?
She was a girl with silver hair, striking, her eyes a clear summer-sky blue. Zenon raised his hand to rub his eye, until he felt something warm. He looked at his hand and found it stained with something dark. He looked down at his clothes and found them soaked, then turned back to Sarah.
"If what I'm thinking right now is right—"
Sarah nodded, her voice tense.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I spilled my coffee when the bus hit a pothole, and—"
Zenon raised his stained hand.
"It's fine, it's fine. Let me get through so I can change."
Zenon stood — he'd been sitting at the back of the bus — and in his head he heard the supervisor's voice calling for him to stop. He started walking toward the door, his classmates' uncomfortable stares trailing him, until one of them spoke.
"She's from Aristia. How dare you make her apologize."
Zenon paused for a second, looked at him, smiled mockingly, and kept walking without a word. Everyone erupted in curses, but he didn't care, despite the irritation he kept buried.
A clap sounded from the front of the bus. It was the supervisor.
"Enough barking. We're stopping for a few minutes. Get ready, and show each other some respect."
And in the middle of the silence, Zenon said:
"You're the officials' favorite kind of people, like Cypher always says. Enough barking."
He passed by Cypher, the supervisor, and looked strangely into his eyes, thinking to himself: *his eyes and hair look so much like Sarah's.*
Cypher said:
"Watch that tongue of yours next time."
Zenon didn't answer, and stepped off the bus. After he passed, a flicker of irritation crossed Cypher's face, if only for a moment.
Zenon got off and looked around for somewhere to sit, heading toward a rock in front of the bus, where he sat lost in thought, waiting for someone amid the students filing out.
Meanwhile Cypher stood near the driver.
"Did what that kid did get to you?"
"Why would I care about a brat like him. Tell me, Virus."
"Maybe it's how rude he was to your sister."
"She's not my sister. Not right now. My focus is on this mission, finishing it without a mistake. A brat like him won't change anything."
"I hope so."
"Hope what?"
"I hope you'll bring me that boy. He'll be useful before it's over."
"Stay focused, old man. This isn't finished yet."
And in the middle of the noisy crowd of students, Zenon sat watching them one by one, thinking:
*Average. Passable. Not bad. Commendable. Average. Average.*
*That's illogical.*
Until he spotted a blond young man, a wide grin spread across his face, walking up and dropping down to sit beside him.
"Zenon, what's got you so deep in thought? We're on a school trip after a long season. No need to overcomplicate things."
"Haissi, didn't you notice something strange?"
"What?"
"The highest grade anyone here got on the exams was 'Commendable.' Why would they organize a trip for students who aren't exactly hardworking? Isn't it because we're useless?"
Haissi punched Zenon's left arm. Zenon winced and started rubbing it.
"What's with you, this isn't the time for your nonsense again."
"You're too suspicious of everything. Tell me, did you write to your father?"
"No. I don't want to hear his garbage about military service and a 'guaranteed future.'"
"He's your father, at the end of the day. He knows what's best for you. You've got a golden opportunity and you're throwing it away, kid."
"I want to decide my own fate, not depend on the scraps Spezia and its officials hand out."
"Your voice carries far. You're incredibly lucky, you know — you got to sit next to the prettiest girl in school."
"Silvestri Sarah. There's something about her that makes you curious. How does a girl from one of the ruling families end up living in Spezia?"
"To each their own dream. It might look strange to people, but I'd do anything for mine."
"Living in Aristia, in peace. That's just a pretty lie they feed you."
Haissi stood up.
"Come on, let's get back to the bus, or they might leave without us."
Zenon stood, gave Haissi's hand a strange little tap, and said with a smile:
"As you wish, noble Haissi."
Everyone climbed back on, and the bus moved off. Zenon put in his earphones, watching the sun sink slowly, while around him one by one the others fell asleep. But one thing kept circling in his mind.
*A dream.*
*A dream?*
*What is it I'm dreaming of achieving, in the middle of all this endless overthinking, this chaos? Is there even anything?*
*No. This isn't chaos. It's organized — in a way where I know exactly where everything sits. And organized, too, to cover that point. The black one. The empty one. But when everything goes dark, where is the point then?*
*Wait. What is that I'm hearing?*
*1...01.....n....e..r.....o*
Zenon's eyes snapped open, without any sense of the moment passing. Haissi was the one who'd woken him. Zenon was drenched in sweat, breathing hard, looking around. The bus was empty. Only Haissi had noticed him — but the first thing Zenon registered was that the usual fire in his friend's eyes had dimmed, just this once. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and found a few damp drops on his fingers.
*Is sweat usually this thick? No. This is more like tears.*
Haissi said:
"What's wrong with you? You don't look right."
"It's nothing. Let's get off."
They stepped off the bus, and Zenon found himself standing in front of something he never expected to see with his own eyes.
Cypher shouted:
"Move it, students. You're not children. Up onto the yacht, one at a time."
Gasps of astonishment rose from every direction.
Haissi whispered:
"What's a yacht?"
"A big, expensive boat. No idea how they afforded this for us."
"Amazing." Haissi held up his hand. "Look what I bought when we stopped."
Two small rings.
"I didn't see you when we stopped."
"One for me and one for her. They've got 'Dream' engraved on them. And you're going to clear my path to getting her number."
"Sarah? Don't drag me into this." Zenon kept walking. "The worst she can say is no."
They boarded one by one. Cypher said:
"The girls' quarters are separate. Did you hear me? Any boy who trespasses, I'll throw him off the yacht."
Haissi looked around the room.
"Look how spacious this is! Ten people in a space like this? Come on, let's play something to pass the time until we get there."
Someone said:
"You're welcome to join, Haissi. Just you."
"And Zenon?"
Zenon cut in.
"Not interested. I'm going to the bathroom."
"Always so full of himself," someone muttered.
"Arrogant?" Haissi shot back. "You're the last one who should be saying that. And those cards of yours — you know exactly where to shove them."
Zenon stood off to the side, looking out at the wide sea. On the far horizon, a dark mass was beginning to take shape.
*I'll go to the bathroom, then sleep. I'm excited for when we arrive, even if that feels strange. That's just who you are. That's what Haissi would say about me.*
He went in.
The bathroom was gleaming, spotless.
But the smell reached him before he opened the door.
He opened it.
Blood on the walls. Stains everywhere. And four bodies on the floor.
Zenon stumbled back a step, frozen, trying to process what he was seeing, sweat suddenly pouring from his forehead, something starting to pound in his chest. He turned and started running.
He passed the girls' bathroom and stopped.
A sound.
From inside.
"I told you, you slaves. Whoever spies on the girls—"
The sound of something being thrown into the sea.
Zenon walked fast, without running, without looking back.
He threw open the door to the room.
"Haissi. I found bodies in the bathroom. We need to leave, now."
Everyone turned to look at him.
Then they laughed.
A rolling, rising laugh — but it cut off.
When the screaming started.
From the other side.
Faces drained white. People jumping up, sweat, chaos. But one of them raised a hand.
"Are you serious right now? That's probably just a girl on her period. I know that scream."
He walked off alone toward the other side.
Everyone froze. Waiting. The silence settled back, heavy.
He didn't come back.
Beads of sweat gathering. Eyes darting between each other.
Then something appeared, crawling out from the corridor.
It was the same boy. But without eyes. His foot severed. And behind him, Cypher walked calmly, carrying something glowing white.
"Jump for the sea!"
Everyone jumped. Except Zenon. He stood, pointing ahead.
"Haissi. Do you see that island?"
"Yeah?"
"It's not an island. It's a continent." He lowered his voice. "Amazon."
"Amazon?" Haissi swallowed hard. "That place is uninhabitable because of the experiments... the scientific ones."
"We're the experiments."
"Zenon, come on, Cypher's getting closer—"
Haissi shoved him into the sea, and they jumped together. They hit the water near the shore and swam fast toward the sand.
They stood on it, the yacht drifting toward them with deliberate slowness.
"What are we going to do? Are we going to die here?" Sofian shouted.
"We need to get away. No time." Haissi said. "Zenon, you got a plan?"
Zenon was staring at the yacht. Then he said, with strange calm:
"I knew it from the start. We don't matter. We're garbage."
"This isn't the time for that, Zenon! Your phone, give it— what? Why did you even bring this ancient thing?"
"I wanted to get away from social media. Turns out I think I'm about to get away from life instead." He looked around at the others. "I don't want to die next to these people."
"You bastard! I hate you! When we get out of here—"
Light.
Blood sprayed through the air.
Alex's head was gone.
"Alex—" Haissi's voice broke apart.
Cypher rose slowly from the water.
"No screaming, slaves."
"Run!"
Everyone ran. Except Zenon. He stopped, and didn't turn.
"That's illogical. Why are we running from one person when there are ten of us?"
"Well said."
Zenon turned around.
The sand was red. Everyone was on the ground. Haissi included.
And Zenon, without even realizing it, had fallen too, clutching at his severed foot, screaming from the pain.
He looked at them. He looked at Cypher. He looked at the forest behind him.
Then something in his eyes began to change. Not gradually — all at once, like a bulb switched fully on in a single instant. A blinding light filling his eyes from the inside out.
Until they burst.
Blood sprayed into the air.
And Zenon lost his sight.
Then his consciousness.
And collapsed onto the sand.
To be continued…