Newton stood up immediately..The lights went off. Total darkness swallowed the room.
Not dim. Not shadowed. But complete darkness.
Someone inhaled sharply..Feet shuffled against the floor. They began to move.
Hands stretched out in front of bodies. Fingers spread wide, searching for air that might feel different near a wall.
Newton took a careful step. Then another..He could hear breathing now. Close. Far. Uneven.
A foot scraped against something. Someone muttered under their breath. The darkness pressed in from every direction, thick and suffocating.
Newton's palm brushed fabric. He jerked back instinctively. Another step.
His toe hit something hard. He adjusted his direction.
Then, his forehead slammed into the wall.
"Aaahhhssshhh!"
The sound tore out of him before he could swallow it.
Pain burst across his skull. He staggered backward, clutching his head. Warmth began to spread beneath his fingers.
"Watch it!" someone hissed nearby.
Across the corridor, in another room, Brandom stretched his arms wide as he walked, using them like antennae.
He moved slowly, and carefully.
Then his shoulder collided with something solid. The body did not stumble.
"Who is that damn fool?" a voice growled.
Brandom froze..The tone, was low, controlled, and dangerous.
Maxwell.
Brandom's throat tightened..He did not answer..He did not breathe louder.
He stepped sideways carefully, keeping his arms extended, then drifted away without a sound.
Speaking would give away his position. The hour dragged on. Feet collided with bed frames.
Shins cracked against metal..Someone tripped and hit the floor with a dull thud.
A muffled curse.
A suppressed cry.
In another corner, two bodies slammed into each other and fell together. One elbow struck a cheek. A knee drove into ribs accidentally.
No one laughed..No one apologized. They just kept moving.
The darkness disoriented them. Turned straight lines into circles. Turned confidence into caution.
Newton's forehead throbbed with every pulse. He lowered one hand from it slowly and resumed walking.
One step, then another.
He brushed against a doorframe this time, fingers tracing the edge before moving away.
Time stretched.
Without light, minutes felt longer. The air grew hotter from movement. Sweat gathered under collars. Breath grew heavier.
Somewhere nearby, someone bumped into the same wall twice in a row.
A sharp intake of pain. Then silence again.
Finally, the lights returned.
White brightness flooded the room so suddenly that several students squinted and covered their eyes.
They blinked.
Looked around. Foreheads were swollen. Red patches bloomed across skins.
A boy sat on the floor rubbing his shin. A girl leaned against the wall with watery eyes.
The blue glow appeared once more.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
TASK ACHIEVED. THREE NINJA COINS HAVE BEEN CREDITED.
Newton exhaled sharply.
"At least it is worth the huddle," he muttered, touching the rising bump on his forehead.
Samuel let out a weak laugh.
Across the compound, Stella did not react to the reward. Three coins. They meant nothing if Maxwell meant what he said.
A day to vend, or die.
She sat on her bed, elbows on her knees, eyes fixed on the opposite wall. She was not trembling. She was calculating. "I will play this game," she told herself.
That evening, while most retreated to nurse their bruises, Stella moved from one room to another.
She did not knock loudly. She slipped in quietly, then spoke softly.
In one room, three girls sat together, whispering nervously.
"You worship him because you fear him," Stella said, standing before them. "But not anymore."
They avoided her gaze. "If we have the numbers," she continued, voice firm but low, "everyone will live equally in this place."
One girl shook her head. "He has too many boys." "He has fear," Stella replied. She moved to the next room.
And the next. Some turned away. Some listened without responding.
In one narrow room near the end of the corridor, a girl with sharp eyes and braided hair watched Stella carefully.
When Stella finished speaking, the girl nodded once.
"My name is Angel," she said quietly. "I stand with you."
The words were simple. But they shifted something. The other girls in that room exchanged glances.
One by one, heads began to nod. Not loudly..Not dramatically. But enough.
By the time Stella returned to her own bed, the air felt different.
Still tense. But moving.
The next morning, they were summoned to class again.
They filed into the same room. This time, five robots entered..Each carried something different. Metal gleamed under the bright lights.
The robots lined the equipment carefully on a long desk at the front.
"Today," one of them announced, "you will know your Ninja equipment."
The first item was lifted. A sword..Slim..Curved slightly.
Balanced perfectly in the robot's hand.
"This is the Ninja sword," it said. "Lightweight. Designed for swift and precise elimination."
The blade caught the light sharply.
The next item.
A pair of reinforced gloves. "Ninja hand. Designed to enhance grip and impact."
The robot demonstrated by striking a wooden block. The block cracked.
Another sword, longer. "Ninja long blade."
Then a small round object. "Ninja bomb. Impact triggered."
The robot placed it gently back on the desk.
They continued. Smoke pellets. Throwing knives. Compact grappling hooks..Each described with calm detachment.
Each demonstrated briefly. Newton listened carefully. His eyes followed every movement. His mind stored the details.
Weight. Reach. Speed. Applications.
Beside him, Stella was not looking at the equipment. Her gaze was across the room. Maxwell stood near the back, arms folded.
His eyes were on her. Not the weapons. Not the robots.
But her.
The space between them felt charged.
Maxwell lifted one hand slowly. He extended a finger, and dragged it across his own throat. Deliberate, and clear.
As if to say. "You are dead."
Stella did not look away. Not once. She met his gaze and smiled like one with a plan. "Why is she smiling?" Maxwell asked himself. "She truly believe she cab win against me." He chuckled slightly. "I can not wait to see the disappointment that will be on her face when I deal with her.