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A boy ran his fingers across the keys of his keyboard, and from the reflection on his glasses, it seemed that he was reading a journalistic article. His eyes moved smoothly. He spoke quietly to his friend, who was playing video games on the bed:
"Hmm? The Playrooms... what are the chances of us dying or stumbling upon one? What do you think about it, Amin?"
Amin replied: "Our school is already supernatural enough; we don't need Playrooms to be shocked by what happens here. The school is probably the most active place we are in anyway, right?"
Adam asked: "What's so supernatural about our school, for example?"
Amin: "The students, for instance."
Adam laughed: "I agree! Hahaha."
After several hours...
The two friends finished playing games and watching movies and series. Amin left with a smile after they had spent an unforgettable day together.
Adam entered his room silently and closed the door behind him, staring at the ceiling where a picture of his deceased father hung.
The next morning, Adam woke up to his mother shouting because he was unable to get up and go to school. Being naturally lazy but intelligent and talented, he got out of bed as if his body were moving as one unit, quickly ate his breakfast, and waited for the school bus, which never came on time. But today, it seemed to arrive early, so Adam had to walk. The whole way, he grumbled: "It's a miserable day… I can tell from the start to the end, and today will be so, so bad!"
When Adam arrived at school, he was surprised to find it empty, abandoned. Yet he could still hear the sounds of students as if they were present. He pushed the school door open, and it closed automatically behind him. He scanned the place with his eyes but saw no one. He tried turning back outside, but he couldn't open the door—it was as if it were locked. "Damn it! Some stupid Playroom!?"
He climbed over the school wall, but some force threw him back inside, so he decided to enter his classroom. From looking through the window, it seemed empty, but the moment he opened the classroom door, everything turned black, and Adam lost consciousness as everything twisted and reshaped with multiple distortions.
Adam opened his eyes to find his friends around him in the classroom, but his classmate Omnia was examining him suspiciously, as if making sure of something. Adam tried to act normal, though he felt an inexplicable fatigue. He looked around at everyone, and Amin, his friend, asked: "You also found the school empty and came to the classroom?"
Adam: "Yes. We must be in some cursed Playroom!"
Omnia: "The same thing happened to everyone. Fortunately, you didn't transform..."
Malah: "Whaaaat? Stop!!!! What do you mean by Playrooms? And what transformation are you talking about?"
Adam: "Few people know about Playrooms. The government covers it up because it's a scandal—they failed to save many people. Playrooms are simply spatiotemporal distortions of cosmic laws, places where all randomness and bad human thoughts accumulate. Here, we will encounter supernatural and unusual things, so we must be careful. Also, no one has ever returned from these rooms."
Omnia: "By transformation, I mean that moving from the normal world here is like passing through a black hole. You can die on the journey, and the chaotic entities can take over your body. Sometimes, it's hard to know if the body is controlled or not..."
Malah: "Damn it! I didn't finish the 'Slasher Creed' game, and now I might die young. Damn this world and everything in it!"
Suddenly, while the group waited, another person appeared—the angel of the angry girl from the whole class and a close friend of Omnia. Omnia examined her cautiously, and everyone waited until she fully woke up and they explained the situation to her.
Everyone remained seated, waiting for another person to arrive. Adam noticed a paper and pencil, took them, and sat alone at the teacher's desk. Amin came up to him and said:
"Adam, I don't think this scares you. You're a paranormal researcher and the only one who knows a lot about Playrooms. I believe you'll find a way to escape."
Adam: "I don't think I'm the only one. Omnia also mentioned information I didn't know myself. Even if I'm a paranormal researcher, I wouldn't understand what's happening without my father, the only one who returned from Playrooms. But Playrooms are mutable; maybe everything has changed." (He sighed sadly.)
Blazdi: "Sorry… I reminded you of your father."
Adam: "It's okay. Don't think too much about it."
Adam rested his head on the table, covering his face with his hands, remembering his miserable past with his father.
"Don't worry, my wife. Even though this mission is difficult, I'll make sure to return home," said Adam's father before heading to the Playroom inspection company to close it using nanotechnology.
His wife: "Please, don't let this meeting be our last. This room is insanely difficult! Are you sure you'll return?"
Adam's father only smiled and left. Adam, a four-year-old child, watched without understanding, as silence fell over the house after his father left.
We see his father placing nanotech sensors around the designated Playroom area, one meter from the invisible barrier. Suddenly, everyone around him vanished. He discovered a calculation error that caused Adam to lose his father for ten years, which planted a deep resentment in Adam toward the government, which didn't compensate them even after his father returned two days later. They claimed he died under mysterious circumstances and prevented Adam and his mother from attending the funeral, giving no financial support. Adam's mother had to work as a maid day after day.
"Adam! Adam!!!! Wake up!!"
Ziad called, waking Adam from a deep sleep.
Adam woke up, wondering why Ziad had called him. Ziad explained that Amin wanted to say something to the class. Adam got up from his chair and sat next to his reckless friend, Malah, focusing with Amin, who began speaking to the students. Meanwhile, Hossam leaned against the wall, looking indifferent, as if asserting that he was the leader.
Amin: "Okay, friends. I looked out the window but could only see darkness. The school seems to have changed and distorted. So we'll split into four groups. Each group will stick together. In the classroom, take care of the simplest tasks. This is the weaker group. Amin and I distributed the groups as follows:"
Group A
Adam, Malah, Omnia, Salma
Group B
Ziad, Amin, Malak, Maryam
Group C
Hossam, Yahya, Nada, Kawthar
Amin continued: "These are the strong main groups responsible for scouting, mapping, and studying chaotic entities and supernatural variations. The last group will craft weapons, prepare food if materials are found, and compile maps into a single map. They are:"
Group D
Ryan, Manal, Walid, Fudoul
Adam stood up, holding his paper filled with notes, and took Amin's place:
"I have a lot of information about Playrooms, so I'll share the most important regarding chaotic entities, which are the real danger we face. I will give you five rules you must not break:"
Rule 1: No running. Even if you feel scared, only run if an attack is imminent. Most monsters don't attack without excessive movement from the victim.
Rule 2: Observe, analyze, understand. Each monster has clear weaknesses, either by appearance, speech, or story. When entering Playrooms, anything fictional, even children's comics, can become real and monstrous.
Rule 3: If you can't or don't know how to save someone, run and survive. One survivor is better than ten helpless ones.
Rule 4: Sounds are crucial. Speak softly and listen carefully for any other useful sounds, but beware of being followed.
Rule 5: Monsters may take the form of our likenesses. We will set a unified password to verify each other. When returning from scouting, Group D must never open the door for anyone without saying the word "Sooka."
Adam added: "If anyone has information or opinions, speak now."
Some were hesitant, but Omnia and Salma spoke up:
Omnia: "We need weapons. Shall we start exploring now to find supplies or anything useful? Keep in mind, we may not need food for a whole month. The only thing we might need is sleep."
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