Ash's eyes snapped open.

  His heartbeat thundered in his ears as he gasped for air, lungs tightening like he hadn’t breathed for hours. The ceiling above him was metal, scratched and stained — a dull gray broken only by a flickering tube light that buzzed like a dying insect.

  He sat up, vision swimming. The floor beneath him was cold, and hard — a slab of steel. Around him, others stirred on similar metal beds, each placed in perfect, unnatural rows. Teenagers. Maybe twenty or more. All his age. All just as lost.

  Ash tried to remember how he got here.

  Nothing.

  No memory. No escape. Just... this.

  Then came the sound. A low chime echoed through the ceiling, followed by a voice — mechanical, emotionless, almost inhuman.

  "Attention subjects: adjustment cycle complete. Orientation begins in 12 hours."

  The voice faded, replaced by silence thick enough to choke on. No footsteps. No doors opening. No guards entering.

  Ash noticed something cold around his neck. He reached up — a metal collar, smooth and warm to the touch, pulsing gently with a dim red light.

  He wasn’t dreaming.

  A girl nearby was already awake. She had dark hair tied back messily, her posture sharp, eyes more alert than anyone else here. She was watching the room like a soldier.

  “Name’s Reva,” she said flatly as Ash met her gaze. “And if you're waiting for answers... don’t. This place doesn’t explain itself.”

  Before he could reply, someone groaned from the bed next to his. A tall, lean boy sat up, rubbing his face.

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  “Where the hell are we?” he muttered, blinking.

  “Looks like a prison,” said another boy, chubby but calm-looking, who sat up across the aisle. “Or worse.”

  Ash looked around. “I’m Ash,” he said finally, steadying his breath. “Anyone remember anything?”

  Reva shook her head. “Just flashes. Woke up like this. I’ve been watching. No guards. No staff. Just those... announcements.”

  The tall guy grinned a little. “Call me Niko. I’m guessing we’re not here for summer camp.”

  The calm one gave a nod. “Zed. Not sure what’s going on, but I vote we stick together.”

  Ash nodded slowly. He didn’t trust any of them — not yet — but instincts told him something important: he would not survive this place alone.

  Reva walked to the far wall and pointed up toward a black glass dome mounted in the ceiling corner.

  “Cameras. They're watching.”

  Just then, a soft mechanical click rang through the ceiling again.

  "Orientation ends in 11 hours, 58 minutes. Comply or be extracted."

  Niko flinched. “What the hell does ‘extracted’ mean?”

  No one answered.

  Ash’s pulse quickened. The room felt smaller now. Time ticking. No way out.

  One thing was clear — whatever this place was, it was built to break them. But Ash made a silent promise, one he wouldn’t let himself forget:

  I will survive. I will find my way back. For Dad. For Mom. For Adi .

  Even if it meant fighting every second until he did.