“Move! Move!” shouts a man wearing a red dress shirt under a black vest. Armed with a rifle, he dashes forward followed by two other men dressed the same as him. Within a few minutes, the three of them stand before the designated door.

  When one of the guards begins unlocking the lock, Sarah hears it and quickly hides beside the door near the latch. However, the guards already know of her movement. They are being informed by the blond man as he watches one of the small screens, while the other men in the room begin gathering around him.

  When the first guard opens the door, he throws himself into a roll inside. Immediately, he turns, pointing the rifle toward the wall where they were told the intruder would be. To his astonishment, when he fixes his position, she is already floating above him, one knee bent, moving toward his face. A fraction of a second later, and the guard falls unconscious to the floor. Sarah lands in a roll as she grabs the rifle.

  The guards can barely process what is happening. The fact is that they now stand face to face with a being whose gaze is cold and unmoving. Her contracted pupils focus precisely on them.

  The rifle does not tremble for even a second in her hands.

  A wave of fear emanates from her and strikes the hearts of the guards who stare into that predatory gaze that seems ready to devour them at any moment.

  For a few seconds, she thinks of nothing. Only a heightened perception of everything passes through her mind. The size of the door, the faint breathing of the unconscious guard before her, the trembling hands of the two armed guards at the doorway as they aim their rifles uncertainly at her. The size of the room and possible movements, as well as ways to evade gunfire and counterattack.

  Then, a fifth breath emerges.

  Her hands, once steady, now tremble. Her gaze drops to the floor along with the rifle. She raises her arms high after realizing that if she pushes this situation further, a girl who has already suffered greatly may be hurt even more because of her actions.

  She refuses to decide another person’s fate in such a way.

  Sophie, who has just witnessed the entire scene, stands with wide eyes and a racing heart. Before her lies the possibility that her cruel fate might change. Watching the guards handcuff Sarah, she gathers courage.

  “Miss!” She holds her voice for a moment before continuing. “Miss, I want to see the moonlight once again!”

  Those hoarse words, yet spoken with such conviction, reach their destination.

  After a brief moment, Sarah turns her face while being escorted out of the room. A gentle smile with closed eyes directed at Sophie clearly delivers its message.

  As they descend the staircase toward the pillar, Sarah observes that her theory is indeed correct. With each flight of stairs comes a different letter accompanied by numbers. This repeats until reaching the final step marked with the letter A. There the staircase ends and a small courtyard surrounding the pillar begins.

  What troubles her most is the thought that within each of those rooms there may be a child like Sophie. It eats at her from within, though not more than the sight she now witnesses. Behind her, two men enter room A 1 with smiles on their faces.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  The vision makes her grind her teeth as she inhales shakily.

  Her hands are cuffed behind her back, and the three guards around her form an obstacle to any attempt.

  Two walk attentively at her sides, and the third follows behind like her own shadow.

  Upon reaching the base of the pillar, a dark glass door opens automatically. Inside, Sarah sees a large circular white counter at the center of a circular white hall. There are also two other identical doors evenly spaced along the wall. At the counter stand three women wearing red formal dresses, each facing a different door. The one facing them is tall and blond, like a noble model seen in newspapers.

  “We have captured the intruder. I request access to level five A to take her to a cell,” says the guard who was at her right and now steps forward, addressing the attendant.

  She picks up a white desk phone with red numbers and presses the zero key.

  “This is reception. The intruder has been captured and they are requesting access to level five A,” the attendant says into the phone, then remains silent for a few seconds. “Understood!”

  She hangs up and speaks softly to the guard.

  “Access granted. And you, the chief wants to see you.”

  “Understood,” the guard replies, somewhat uneasy.

  Moments later, three round openings appear in the ceiling, aligned with three that open in the floor. All are evenly arranged around the hall.

  Red staircases descend in spirals from the ceiling, extending slowly. After two minutes, they connect to the floor openings. Soon after, they move toward one of the staircases marked with the letter A in red along its side.

  At the opening, Sarah notices the stairs continue downward. One of the guards ascends while the other two escort her below.

  As they descend, she reasons that if they are going down to hall five A while the guard goes up to level 0, the building is likely numbered in reverse. She also notices two hidden cameras behind the other staircases.

  After nearly a minute of descent, they arrive at a large dark hall with a black floor. A large red pentagram glows subtly at the center, faintly illuminating the space. Along the sides, the walls are in fact black bars, though what lies behind them cannot be seen.

  The guards lead her toward a section of the bars. As she approaches, she realizes they are cells. Casting her gaze around, a small area in one corner where the bars are white stands out subtly from the darkness.

  “Go get the ladder!” orders the guard holding Sarah, his voice rough and deep.

  Following the command, the other guard removes a key from his pocket resembling a large screw and heads to the white bars. He inserts the key into a corner and pushes it inward, causing part of it to glow reddish. He then pulls a section of the bars, which opens like a door. Inside, he taps a core embedded in the ceiling, which lights up.

  The white light spreads slightly into the surrounding area. The sight that emerges from the adjacent bars unsettles Sarah for a moment. On both sides of the white bars, wrinkled hands and small hands grip the bars from the darkness.

  Above, pairs of eyes reflect the faint light between the bars. Two pairs of eyes stare directly at her, one above the other, separated by several meters.

  The light goes out, and darkness once again engulfs the space. The guard approaches carrying a folded white ladder.

  “Man… that core is new and already failing!” he grumbles while passing them.

  “Do not forget to tell reception later.”

  “Sure, chief,” he replies unenthusiastically.

  The other guard pushes Sarah forward. The ladder is unfolded and leaned against the bars, reaching more than half their height.

  Using the same key, the guard climbs and opens a hatch above. A faint light emerges from within, and he descends.

  The guard with Sarah removes one cuff and fastens her hands in front.

  “Move. Climb.”

  As she ascends, Sarah notices three levels of cells. The ladder leads to the highest. At the top, she glances inside the open cell, seeing two iron rings fixed midway up a cement wall, with chains attached to open iron restraints.

  The guard climbs behind her. Once inside, he instructs her to stand against the wall, removes her cuffs, and secures each arm in the restraints. After touching a core above, the light disappears. He locks the cell and descends.

  “Five,” Sarah whispers to herself upon hearing the faint echo of boots against marble.

  The remaining guards remove the ladder.

  “Ten,” she whispers again as their silhouettes vanish.

  “Hey, hurry up!”

  “I am going, I am going.”

  They leave the dark hall. Above, the staircase retracts.

  All Sarah sees before her is darkness and part of the pentagram. She closes her eyes for a few seconds, inhaling deeply.

  “This is not a dream,” she whispers to herself.