The stairwell still had that weird tension hanging in the air when the lights flicked back on. The concrete steps were suddenly way too bright for what just went down. I was still holding the rail, Luna grabbed my sleeve, and Kaze stared at me like the world ended but I missed the memo.
Then—
"HEY! You three!"
Coach Maren's voice cut through the air. He was at the top of the stairs, face red, whistle dangling like it was too tired to keep up. He stomped down a few steps, stopping above us.
"What are you doing hiding here?" he asked. "Class started five minutes ago! PE waits for no one!"
I opened my mouth, still shaken from the warning that someone wanted me dead. But Luna jumped in. "Sorry! We got stuck behind a cleaning cart. A big one. Super… rectangular."
Coach Maren squinted. "Rectangular."
"Yep, Luna said, straight-faced. Really rectangular."
I nodded fast, hoping he wouldn't ask. Kaze just stood there, like he didn't care about the excuse. Coach Maren pointed at us.
"Gym. Now. All of you. Move it!"
Luna tugged my sleeve and whispered, "Let's go before he makes us run laps."
Kaze didn't say anything. He just stepped aside for us. He looked at me for a second, then walked down the other hallway and disappeared like he wasn't even there.
The bad feeling in my stomach stuck around. Going into a big gym with a bunch of students and no place to hide made it even worse. But the coach pushed us forward to the double doors.
"Get in there," Coach Maren said. "You're already late."
As soon as the doors opened, I heard the familiar sound of sneakers on the floor. Students were running warm-up laps, talking loud, laughing, and throwing dodgeballs before the game even started. The air smelled like sweat and floor polish, totally normal—too normal.
Luna said, "This is so strange. We just heard someone wants you dead, and now we're doing jumping jacks like nothing's wrong.
"Yeah," I said. "It feels wrong."
The system screen under my sleeve pulsed. I felt heat through the fabric. But no message yet.
We joined the class. Luna nudged me. "We need to watch out. That glitch student in the cafeteria wasn't alone."
I nodded, looking at faces. Thirty-plus students. Anyone could be an Assimilator in disguise.
Coach Maren clapped loud. "OKAY, LISTEN UP! Dodgeball today. Two teams. No headshots. No crying. If you get hit, you're out. If you hit someone, don't act like you won the Super Bowl."
He blew the whistle, and kids scattered.
I barely moved. Something about the gym felt… off. The floor vibrated, but only I noticed. A soft ripple, like the wood wasn't solid.
Luna saw my face. "You feel that, right?"
"Yeah."
The lights flickered.
Chatter continued.
Another flicker.
Still normal.
Then—
The gym floor cracked.
Just a line at first. A pixelated seam across the wood, glowing blue. I froze.
Luna whispered, "Oh no. Riko… tell me I'm making this up."
The crack got wider.
The wooden floor started turning into cubes—pixel blocks rising like the gym turned into a broken video game. Students screamed as the floor broke.
Coach Maren shouted, "EVERYONE AWAY FROM THE CENTER! MOVE!"
I grabbed Luna's wrist, pulling her as the crack went down, into a glitching hole. The sound wasn't wood breaking. It was digital—snaps, crackles, a broken soundtrack.
Then something climbed out.
No—several things.
The first figure rose from the pit like a puppet. Its limbs twitched, joints bending wrong, body stiff. Its head jerked, face flickering between student faces like a broken slideshow.
Another one followed.
And another.
Each one crawled out, pulling itself up like a glitch trying to fix a broken character.
I whispered, "Assimilators…"
Luna grabbed my arm. "There's more than three. Like—six? Seven? Eight?!"
Kids screamed and ran to the bleachers. Some tripped and fell, scrambling away. The coach shouted, but no one heard him.
I stepped forward. "Luna, stay behind me."
"I'm not hiding while you fight a Minecraft boss."
"Luna."
"Fine—behind you, but just barely."
The Assimilators twitched.
Their heads snapped toward me.
All of them.
I shivered. "They're targeting users…"
The nearest Assimilator jerked forward.
Its arm shot out.
Its legs locked.
Its chest cracked open with pixel dust.
It lunged.
I dodged, the creature's arm slicing air. Its fingers scraped the floor, and glitch marks burned into the wood.
I punched it, holding back to keep the gym from exploding. The strike hit its head, and it rolled backward.
Before I could breathe, another one jumped at me.
Then another.
Luna shouted, "RIKO! LEFT!"
I spun, kicking another Assimilator into the bleachers. Students screamed and ran, leaving their bags and shoes.
But the Assimilators didn't care about them.
Only me.
They rose again, stiff and unstoppable.
I felt the system buzzing against my arm—harder, like it wanted out.
A rumbling sound echoed through the gym.
The floor shook again.
Luna stared as the pixel blocks shifted, forming a circle around me and the creatures, like the corruption was forcing a battle.
"What is happening?" Luna shouted. "Why is the floor turning into Tetris?!"
I didn't answer.
My screen vibrated, symbols flashing.
The Assimilators closed in.
I got ready.
Then the screen on my arm burned red.
Text flashed:
"MINI-BOSS EVENT."