From Lina's Perspective – One of the Ten
My name is Lina. One of the ten chosen by the organization—or perhaps by fate itself. Today, I read a small book a teacher had left on one of the back seats in the library. It was about love. A simple question echoed in my mind: What is love?
The author claimed that love is when your heart races upon meeting your soulmate, when you see in someone else what you never knew was missing in yourself.
But… can a heartbeat really testify to something so grand?
I closed the book and walked toward the school courtyard, which was buzzing with noise today. The principal had announced that we—the Ten—would be officially introduced to the student body.
Standing there, on a raised platform before the crowd, felt like a pathetic stage play.
The principal, with his hollow voice, launched into his usual lecture about order, our purpose, and maintaining balance within the school. I wasn't listening. My eyes wandered, searching for something I couldn't name.
When the speech ended and the students dispersed, I headed straight to the principal's office. There were questions haunting me for days.
As I walked down the quiet hallway, I felt a gaze pierce through me. I stopped. I looked up—and there he was.
A boy stood still, staring at me with eyes that held all four seasons in a single moment.
Suddenly, something inside me shifted. The ground seemed to tilt beneath my feet. My heartbeat quickened, then stumbled, then exploded.
A reverence penetrated my soul—a crushing weight, as if every drop of blood in my veins was kneeling before him.
Was this love?
Or was my heart trembling in fear?
I placed my hand on my chest, begging it to calm. I whispered shakily:
"Who… are you?"
He replied, eyes filled with quiet surprise, as if my question belonged to another world:
"I'm a new student."
I opened my mouth to respond, but the words betrayed me. I swallowed them and continued toward the principal's office without turning back.
I knocked, entered, and found him sorting through files with military precision.
"What do you want from us? Why did you bring us here?"
He looked up, a mysterious smile curling on his lips.
"You'll find out soon. Tell the others—I want all of you in my office after classes."
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From Arin's Perspective
The assembly finally ended. I stepped into the inner halls of the school—a long corridor that smelled of old books and cheap disinfectant.
In my classroom, as always, a few rowdy students filled the space with noise.
I sat by the window, gazing at the gray sky, when a boy I'd never seen before approached.
He stretched out his hand and said with an innocent smile:
"Wanna be friends?"
But he didn't know… That word, friend, carved open a wound in me that had never truly healed.
In his eyes, I saw a face I remembered too well.
No… It can't be…
A scene from the past flashed before me—screams, fire, blood.
I grabbed my head and glared at him, my voice sharp as I hissed:
"Stay away."
He stepped back slightly, then said, determined:
"You must be new here. You need friends."
I said nothing.
He grinned and declared in that same cheerful tone:
"I won't give up! I will be your friend!"
He said it loudly enough that some students turned in surprise.
Then the teacher entered, and the moment dissolved.
After class, I decided—enough waiting. I had to talk to the principal.
There was something being kept from me.
I left during the lunch break and walked down the hallway leading to the admin offices.
That's when I locked eyes with her.
The girl from the Ten—the same look, the same feeling.
A trembling heart.
Something inside me screamed: I've known her... long before this moment.
She looked at me, surprised, and asked:
"Wait... Who are you?"
I hesitated, then answered quietly:
"I'm a new student."
And I walked away, not looking back—though I wanted to.
But… I didn't know where the principal's office was.
I wandered the halls until I saw her again—leaving his office.
I seized the moment, slipped inside before the door closed.
It was a small room, walls lined with dusty file shelves, the smell of aged paper filling the air.
I approached the desk and began searching.
Suddenly, I found a dark red folder labeled:
"Mission: Capture Subject #0"
My breath caught.
I opened it and began to read.
Each page was a blow to the gut.
Personal data on the Ten.
Beside each name:
"Negative Energy Blood Transfer – Success."
And a number: 1, 2, 3… up to 10.
Chills ran down my spine.
They were them—the children we thought had died during the experiment years ago.
Some had survived.
And now… I was among them.
I stood there, silent, unsure if I should feel joy for their survival—or sorrow, for being one of them.
Something in me shifted.
This school, this mission, these Ten…
They were only the beginning of something deeper.
More violent.
More dangerous.
I closed the folder, returned it to its place, and left the room quietly.
My heartbeat was no longer the same.
A new chapter of my life had just begun.