Chapter five

Mira Pov 

By the time I opened my eyes they had already taken me inside, I wasn’t thinking clearly anymore.

Not because I had accepted anything, but because everything was happening too fast for my brain to properly hold onto one thought. The corridor, the doors, the silence between footsteps, it all blended together until I stopped trying to understand it moment by moment.

Then the room opened.And everything changed at once.

It wasn’t quiet.That was the first thing I noticed.

There were people everywhere. Girls sitting on the floor, on benches, pressed against walls like the space wasn’t big enough for how many of them were inside. Some were crying openly, not even trying to hide it anymore. One girl kept calling someone’s name over and over again, her voice breaking every time she said it. Another sat completely still, staring at nothing like she had already checked out of everything happening around her.

A girl near the corner was shaking while whispering to herself, trying to calm down but failing.

“Please, please, please…”

It kept repeating under her breath.

That sound alone made my chest tighten.

This wasn’t controlled. This wasn't a quiet order.

These were people who had been taken and left somewhere they didn’t choose.

I slowed down without meaning to when I stepped fully into the room.

No one told me where to go.No one explained anything.

A few people looked at me when I entered, but not in any meaningful way. More like they were checking if I was new to the same situation they were already inside.

I ended up sitting near the edge because standing felt worse

My hands stayed folded in my lap so they wouldn’t shake too obviously.

That’s when I heard her voice beside me.

“You got taken today?”

I turned slightly.

A girl maybe my age, maybe older, hugging her knees tightly like she was trying to make herself smaller.

I nodded.

She let out a short breath that sounded more like exhaustion than sympathy.

“Just wait,” she said quietly. “They’ll start calling people soon.”

“Calling people for what?” I asked.

She didn’t answer immediately.

Instead she looked toward the front of the room.

“You’ll see,” she said.

I didn’t like that answer.

Because it didn’t explain anything.

And in this place, nothing being explained felt intentional.

Then the door at the far end opened.The entire room reacted instantly.Not in panic at first.In awareness.

Like everyone already knew what that sound meant.

Two men walked in.

One of them had a piece of paper in his hand. The other didn’t speak at all.

The man with the paper didn’t waste time.

“Stand up.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried across the entire room.

People started standing immediately.

Even the ones crying.

Even the ones who looked like they didn’t want to move.

Because nobody waited for hesitation here.

“Form a line,” the second man added.

That’s when the movement started properly.

Girls began shifting into place across the center of the room. Some were shaking while standing. One girl wiped her face quickly but her hands were still trembling. Another kept looking at the door like she expected someone to come rescue her at any second.

No one did.

I stood too.

Not because I understood, but because not standing felt like a mistake I didn’t want to make.

We formed a rough line.

Uneven. Forced. Real.

From where I stood, I could hear everything clearly now because the room had gone quieter again, like everyone was holding their breath without realizing it.

The men started walking along the line.

Slow.Intentional.And this time they spoke out loud.Very clearly.So everyone could hear.

The first stop was a girl near the front.The man looked at her for a few seconds.

“She’s too nervous,” he said plainly.The girl flinched immediately.

“Next.”

She was moved out of line.

No argument.No explanation.

Just gone.A low sob came from somewhere behind me.

The second stop was another girl.

The man tilted his head slightly.

“She’s usable.”

That word hit the room differently,she didn’t resist,she just lowered her head and stepped out.

The third girl.

The man didn’t even pause long.

“Too small.”

She broke immediately into quiet crying as she was guided away.

The fourth

.

He studied her longer.

“She’ll do.”

She was taken.

Each comment echoed clearly across the room. No one was whispering. No one was hiding it. It was all out in the open like this was normal procedure.

And the worst part was how the room reacted.

People weren’t surprised anymore.

They were waiting.

My heart kept beating faster the closer they moved down the line.The girl beside me earlier was taken next. She didn’t even speak this time. Just stood up slowly like she already knew.

Now there were fewer of us left.

The sound in the room felt heavier.

A girl behind me was crying quietly now, trying to keep it silent but failing.

Then the man stopped again.

“This one,” he said.

She didn’t even get a chance to react before she was moved.

Five girls now.

All selected.

All guided toward the side door,the rest of us stayed on line,the man moved again.

One step,then another.

My chest tightened without me meaning to.He stopped in front of the girl ahead of me.

Looked at her.

Then spoke.

“Stable enough.”

She was taken.

And then there was only me left between him and the end of the line.

I didn’t move,I didn’t breathe properly.

He stepped closer.The room felt quieter than before, but not empty. Just focused.He looked at me for a longer time than the others.

Not curious.

Just steady.

Then he finally spoke.

And his voice carried clearly across the room.

“Not this round.”

No one reacted,no one questioned it.

He moved on.

And I stayed standing there, realizing something I didn’t want to fully understand yet.

Being skipped didn’t mean I was safe.

It just meant I wasn’t chosen yet.