Once my house arrest was over, I was allowed to go to the cafeteria again. Unlike usual, I was not escorted along with other kids. I only received a message from a facilitator that informed me I could get food again.

  I suppose since I made a scene and illustrated my rationality, they don’t see the need to escort me anymore.

  One would think this would be ample time to escape, considering I can walk freely at the moment; unfortunately, that isn’t the case. My doors remain locked for most of the day, and even when I can leave, there are facilitators stationed everywhere. I have no knowledge of the floor plans, and I still haven’t seen any exits in my time here. What’s more, I’d need appropriate food and water, along with knowledge of potential enemies besides the facilitators, before I could even think about a plan. This ‘free rein’ I have actually restricted myself even further, considering that all of them are now aware of me. However, it’s a necessary sacrifice for now.

  I opened the doors to the cafeteria, and the attention was immediately drawn to me. The cafeteria fell silent as my footsteps echoed across the metal floor. I received my food from the facilitator and walked over to the tables meant for the triple-digits. When passing by some of them, I swiped a piece of bread and took a bite out of it, before placing it a few seats down next to another kid. I sat at the very edge of the table, where the single-digits were still in view. After waiting about 30 seconds, one of the single-digits came up to me and sat down. I had known beforehand that they wouldn’t just let me be after the previous incident, but I didn’t expect them to approach me so quickly. He had short, scruffy black hair and was wearing round glasses. The boy was wearing a white button-up shirt and khakis, like he was at a business meeting.

  “Have you realized the error of your ways, triple-digit?” He said, watching me chew my food.

  “I don’t know what you could possibly mean, Mr…” I trailed off, waiting for him to tell me his number.

  “I’m under no obligation to tell you my number. Just know that I represent us over there, and none of us appreciated the way you acted a couple of days ago.” He said, pushing up his glasses.

  “Alright. Anything else?”

  “We’d like an apology. If you do so, we’ll ask the facilitators not to keep such a watchful eye on you anymore.” He explained, holding his hand forward.

  “Sorry.” I grumbled in between bites.

  “No, no. It has to be sincere, and in front of all of us. How else could we possibly forgive you?”

  “So, you want me to go over there and apologize to everyone?” I asked, wiping my mouth with my gown.

  “Yes, exactly so. You seem to be quite intellectual for a child, and even more for a triple-digit. I’m sure we can go through our time here without constantly being on edge.” He complimented, tapping his finger on the table.

  “You call me a child as if you’re not the same age as me.” I said, finishing the last bite of my plate.

  “I’m older than you. I’ve done my research on you since the incident a couple of days ago, with the permission of the head researcher.”

  “Hmm…..and what have you found?”

  “Eleven years old, birthday unknown. Height: 4’9. Weight: 113 lbs. Skin tone: Light brown, seems to be biracial. Hair pigmentation: Black with shades of purple, most likely due to your place of birth. Has been incarcerated for 14 months, has had no notable incidents. Personality traits: None.” He chattered like a robot.

  “I hope that was fruitful.” I said, twirling my fork.

  “It wasn’t. It just led to the question of why you start an incident after 14 months.”

  “Would you believe me if I said I got bored?” I sighed, placing my fork neatly on the tray.

  “No, I would not.”

  “Then there’s no point in continuing this conversation. I’ll come with you to apologize.” I said, standing up and picking up my tray along with me.

  His face brightened slightly as he stood up as well. “I was right to come talk to you first. I knew someone rational like you would understand.”

  We both walked over to the single-digits table and sat down, with the rest of them staring at me. As I took my seat, I heard yelling come from the other side of the room where the triple-digits were seated.

  “I think this triple-digit has something he would like to say to all of us.” The boy with glasses said as he gathered all of their attention.

  “Hmmm? I didn’t think this crybaby would be the type to say sorry.” A boy with blond-hair said with a smirk. He held a mirror in his hand and was brushing his hair back like a narcissist. His blue eyes were vibrant and full of emotion; it was very clear he was full of himself. He was wearing a white tank top and had a heart earring in one of his ears.

  “Yeah, after the stunt you pulled the other day, I kinda digged your bravery. Turns out ya were a wuss all along.” A dark-skinned boy with messy hair laughed. He was leaning against a girl who looked similar to him, and had braids in her hair. They were both wearing the same outfit and had multiple piercings on their face and ears.

  “Well…..? We’re waiting.” The green-haired boy from before said, holding his hand to his ear.

  I sighed and stood up from my seat. “I apologize……” I started, as the screaming from the other side of the room became unignorable. “For what you privileged ones are about to witness.”

  “Huh…..?” The blond-haired kid asked as he looked over, only to see a tray hurtling towards his face. “Wha–agh!”

  The other side of the room had broken out into a complete riot, all centered around two children fighting and clawing at each other. Food was being thrown, and blood had already been spilled as the feral children ripped each other apart.

  “My food! You took my food!” One triple-digit yelled from the other side of the room.

  “No, you took my food! Give it back!”

  “All of you are liars! You’re dead meat! You knocked over my tray!”

  The boy with glasses' expression was one of shock and confusion. “Even for the triple-digits, this is insane! How did it escalate this far?!”

  It had gotten so bad that multiple facilitators began to run over to stop the situation. They had watched with only minor annoyance in the beginning, but the moment more than 5 kids were clearly unconscious, with it showing no signs of stopping, they saw fit to run over.

  “Stop! Do you gremlins want to be gunned down?! Stop!” One of them said as he ran by our table. Among the wave of facilitators that ran by us, I silently took a step backward and reached my hand out. The moment another one ran by me, I reached for his waist and quickly pulled out his pistol from it’s socket. He felt it immediately and turned around, but it was too late. Before anyone could react, I jumped over the table right toward the green-haired boy, away from the other facilitators. The boy noticed quickly and held his palms out to parry my attack, but instead of swinging or shooting, I wrapped my arm around his elbow and wrenched it backwards. He silently lost his balance as I wrapped my arm around his neck, holding a gun to his head.

  “Nice one. You caught me by surprise. Although what you’re doing right now is pointless, you know?” He mocked, gritting his teeth slightly.

  “I take no pointless actions.” I retorted, pointing the gun up in the air.

  *BANG*

  The shot echoed across the cafeteria, commanding silence among all who resided in there.

  “Escort me out of here, or a precious single-digit will lose his life! Respond, Head Researcher!” I yelled loud enough for the cameras to hear what I was saying.

  “Calm down, kid. If you stop now, you won’t face any punishment.” A facilitator said, inching closer.

  “I concur with him.” The boy with the glasses said. “You realize this is a no-win situation, right? Before you even kill him, I’ll stop you. We have multiple abilities to handle these situations.”

  “I don’t know what abilities you people have, but you’d be wise to not underestimate me. I can tell already, you at least have a ranged attack ability, don’t you?”

  He tried to hide his expression of shock quickly, but he had already given it away.

  “For someone who wanted to negotiate earlier, you sounded far too confident. The only way you could stop this situation is by attacking me from afar before I could react, or using some type of mental attack. Since you would have already used the ladder, you must have the capability of attacking from afar. I assure you, I will be able to react faster than whatever you people throw at me.” I said, pointing the gun at the facilitator who was trying to inch closer.

  “What are you idiots doing? Just shoot him. You know I'll be fine.” The green-haired boy sighed.

  Even though he said this, no one moved to shoot. That’s when I felt something strange. I felt the gun in my hands began to move and shake, as if it was trying to escape from my grip. I didn’t even attempt to process what was happening as I closed my eyes. “It seems I’m not being taken seriously. I don’t know what ability this is, but…..I gave you your warnings.”

  Without hesitation, I fired the gun. Blood splattered all across my hand as he slumped in my arms, to the shock of everyone around me.

  “O-Open fire! What are you fools doing?!” One of the facilitators yelled, raising his rifle.

  While they were raising their weapons, I sprinted forward, holding his body in front of me as I switched targets. By the time they had the gall to fire at me, I had already dropped the now deceased boy and grabbed the white-haired girl, who chuckled the other day by her hair.

  “Agh!” She whimpered as I put the gun to her head.

  “Do you all understand now? This isn’t some kiddie game or make-believe; listen to my demands. All of you, drop your weapons. Head Researcher, you have three seconds to respond, or another unnecessary death will plague these floors. Oh, and whoever tried to rip that gun from my hand… reveal yourself. Now.”

  I waited a few seconds for a response, but none came. I sighed and pushed the gun against her head. “Do I need to prove myself again? Speak up. Now.”

  “I-It was me.” A brown-haired girl wearing a dress said with a sheepish voice to my left.

  “What’s your number?”

  “N-No.7.”

  “Ability?”

  “Telekinesis. I didn’t mean—!”

  “Sight-based?”

  “What?” She asked with a trembling voice.

  “Can you only target things you can see?”

  “Y-Yes.”

  “Then turn the hell around and shut up. If I feel another tug, you’re dead.” I spat as she quickly turned around.

  The facilitator's reaction to me grabbing the white-haired girl was completely different from when I grabbed the boy. They all immediately dropped their guns and put their hands up.

  “Hey…!” She whispered, no longer struggling. “We’re on the same side here…! Let me go, and I’ll help you!”

  I ignored her and began counting down.

  “Three…”

  As I said that, the boy with glasses held his hand out like he was about to do something. I pushed the gun deeper into her skull and glared at him.

  “Try me, glasses. And to the rest of you, if I even feel the air move differently, she’s dead. Two.” I said as I looked at the other single-digits. Most of them looked away from me, slightly trembling. The only two who seemed indifferent were the dark-skinned boy from earlier, who was fiddling with his piercings, and a green-haired girl who was scratching her head with a manic expression.

  “That is enough, Subject 963. You have won your little experiment.” A voice said from afar as the doors to the cafeteria opened.

  What emerged was a tall man with a scruffy beard and bags under his eyes. He wore a white lab coat and green sweater, and had long gray hair and technicolor goggles resting on his forehead.

  The bait….he took it!

  I immediately pointed the gun towards him and fired, securing the exit from this hellhole once and for all.