Twelve rooms, similar to transparent glass boxes, were suspended about 16 feet from the ground. It was said that the ground below was covered in a liquid acid that set anything that came into contact with it on fire. Nobody had seen it since access to that area was completely impossible. When one stared below, it was too dark to see anything, so most people went with the acid narrative. Massive chains attached to the wide roof firmly held the rooms together. As the walls were made of transparent glass, everything that happened inside was visible to an outsider, and the same was true for those inside the rooms.
In 11 of the classes, instructors stood at the front, dressed in suits that were a dull grey. Young men and women, mostly teenagers, sat before them all with the exact posture. They all had both hands on the desk in front of them and sat up straight, staring at the instructor. There was barely any movement. It was the same all through the 11 classes.
The twelfth class was different. An "X" was always a symbol for trouble, and the symbol was plastered in red at the door to the entrance. It was the only class that had it. Next, the inhabitants of that class were the only ones who didn't wear a uniform. The rest of the students had white suits on. Class 12 members, on the other hand, had all kinds of colours and clothes. It was quite vibrant. Thirdly, it was the only class that had no instructors. In their stead were two soldiers with firearms who stood as still as a pole on both sides of the entrance. Even in their presence, the members of class 12 were still chaotic as usual. Some were walking around, others sat in groups talking and laughing in loud voices, while others had long fallen asleep with their heads on top of their desks. The soldiers didn't seem to mind the chaos. Their presence was hardly felt by the members of the class, like they weren't there.
Class X held all kinds of characters, not a single positive one. Their reputation was terrible and the rest of the students kept their distance to avoid trouble. All the instructors greatly disliked them. They loved children they could control and class X had no such child so every time they encountered a member, an ugly frown would appear on their faces, it always made me gag. Just now, I could see it on the face of the fat instructor from the neighboring class. When our eyes met very briefly, she immediately turned away in disgust but I didn't. I starred even more intently, hoping our eyes would meet once again so I could make a face. After some minutes, she still didn't turn to look, so I gave up.
Afternoon sessions were my worst enemy. Time did not move, and it was awfully hot. I took a moment to pity those in uniforms. How did they survive the heat? I didn't like sleeping in class, so all I could do was stare at blank spaces or go over the evening events plans again. I had exhausted all my energy in talking in the morning classes, so I stayed away from the groups to recover.
Suddenly, the corner of my eye caught some weird movement from outside. I turned my whole attention towards that direction. I was not the only one. The whole class immediately went silent; all the heads that were awake turned to look. A group of men and women in medical lab coats appeared along the corridor, walking in a single file. They all looked quite stern and in a hurry to get somewhere. They barely glanced in our direction. In no time, other classes had caught on as well. They all turned their necks and stared.
What was engraved in the black briefcases each of them carried was probably what caught everyone's attention the most. The characters N EYE6' were written in a bold white colour. We all knew what they represented: The Neutral Eye 6. Every organisation that existed in the world was under them. From what we learnt in history, around eighty years ago, the world was divided into continents, which were further divided into countries. Each country was ruled by organisations known as governments. During that time, the largest war to ever exist in the history of mankind erupted. Powerful countries completely trampled on the weak, the governments of the world fell, and the whole world was thrown into chaos. To maintain order, N EYE6 was put together. It was said that they had the most powerful technology, weapons that could bury an entire country under the ground, and influence like no other. They brought in new systems and reorganized everything. They have existed up to now, growing even stronger over the years. I was not good at studying, but that narrative was something even one-year-olds would know. It was told everywhere we went.
With all that said, they should have been viewed as heroes and welcomed with cheers and great admiration. However, their actions were not as heroic as their history stated. There was a rumor that nobody who lived today had encountered N EYE6 or its members. That was because those who had encountered them were not given a chance to live and tell the tale. They were very confidential, and apart from the members, nobody had any data on them. So, news of their cruelty was simply just tales, but they still stuck in everyone's head. Their appearance in the Malta Zone was big since it had never happened before. Something big was happening.
Several zones existed, just like the Malta zone. I had only heard about the others by name. I was not even sure if they existed since I had never left the Malta zone before. Our zone was in the outer core, which means there was an inner core with other zones I had no idea of. Both cores were not accessible to the other, as it was impossible to even leave one zone and go to another without authorization. A technological firmament surrounded the zones and blew up anything that came close.
I also heard that the zones in the inner core were advanced by far. Their education, their food, their technology, and their systems were completely different and way better compared to the zones in the outer core. The famous doctors and scientists who invented magical cures, engineers and technology geniuses who gave birth to all the technology and infrastructure we have today, agriculturalists, economists, and all those with big names in society, only came from the inner core. It was possible for them because of the education and technology they were exposed to. The outer core, however, was believed to consist of the rebellious zones. Some scientists concluded that we had a lower capacity to grasp information than those from the inner core could. Because of that, our education was mostly simplified and structured to help us subdue rebellion, live peacefully, and not clash with the authority. I thought it was quite ridiculous.
The N, EYE6 was from the inner core. Their appearance today was questionable. Excitement, fear, and confusion were all mixed up together in the air. Others were just stuck in oblivion, not knowing what was what. A perfect example was my friend, who had been in a deep slumber since morning. I turned my neck to the side and looked at him, not surprised that he had not opened his eyes even once from the time the incident happened to long after the chaos had subsided.
"Yoh, Paris! You're usually smart when it comes to these things. Why do you think they came?!" A group of friends came to my seat.
"You could have asked them. They were right outside. Don't…!" I exclaimed sharply when one of them, an extremely thin fellow called Ming, roughly placed his elbows on my sleeping friend's desk, coming into slight contact with him in the process. The others seemed to have caught on, for they froze on the spot and held their breath as Ming retreated in horror. My friend had a terrible temper, not only the members of class X, the entire zone probably knew that. He once broke an innocent guy's hand for brushing past him when he was sleeping. Till today, that specific hand can't function. When he did not react, we all took a deep breath.
"Last night, my mom said that there was an invasion two days ago at FISH. Very important info and technology were stolen. Do you think that's what they're here for?" June, a tiny girl with an extremely pale yet pretty-looking doll face, continued with a lower tone.
"How many thefts have happened in the years? Why would they only come now?" Mecha, a plumb-looking guy with thick curly hair and large round eyes that always seemed like they would pop out of their sockets anytime, questioned with his eyebrows raised. This made his eyes appear larger than they usually were.
"Gorja told me that the instructors started changing the structure of the lessons two weeks ago. I think they are interested in what is going on here." Bus, an average, good-looking guy in round spectacles, contributed to the ongoing chatter in a casual tone. He had the second-best brain in the group, and he always made that fact obvious, even at the moment, he had this domineering, arrogant look to him. Everyone had gotten used to it by now.
I thought similarly, but I did not want to engage in the discussion. I only got involved in conversations where I had actual facts on, which was not the case with this one.
"Aaahh! So that's why! Why didn't you tell us earlier?!" June scolded, pouting as she stomped her tiny twig-like legs on the ground cutely.
"Why are you so easily convinced? He could be wrong." I chuckled at her immediate acceptance. Of-course we all knew why. It was a lovers' thing apparently. How biased.
June pouted more intensely and tagged at Bus's arm cutely. I was not a fan of couple business so I picked up my stuff and got ready to leave them. No, more like I got ready to save my eyes. As if on cue, the alarm indicating the end of a session went off. The 'Sleeping Beauty' beside me immediately got up and walked off.
"Hey, I'll see you in the evening!" I shouted behind his back. Without turning around, he waved as a response.
"He didn't see us?" Ming said as we all stared at his disappearing figure.
"Shouldn't you be grateful? You're usually shaking in your boots when he looks at you." Bus joked, knowing how much Ming feared my friend. It was as if he was walking on eggshells or even worse, landmines whenever he was around. Rightfully so, Zeki was a scary man.