There was a big bulletin board that had all the announcements for the day pinned on. It was rarely updated, except for today. There was a large crowd gathering in front of it. Tamaya was coming back from one of her classes when she saw it. She had a bad gut feeling and chose to remain standing by the staircase. 

The staircase was a distance away from the board, but she was still able to hear the commotion. She saw the short and skinny girl with long hair and bangs that covered her eyebrows walk past her, and almost into the large group. The girl had a shiny glint in her eyes. Tamaya grabbed her arm and pulled her back. 

The glint disappeared as the girl shot a look of confusion towards Tamaya. Tamaya shook her head. The girl’s eyes grew wide upon understanding. She stayed by Tamaya’s side. Kai was at the top of the staircase, he was watching the commotion from upstairs. He too had a bad gut feeling. 

As more and more people joined the crowd, everyone started to move away from the person in the centre. By his build and height, it was clear who was caught, Diego. Everyone looked at him. 

“I can’t believe it.” someone whispered. 

“This must be fake right?” someone asked. 

“I knew there was something up with those guys.” someone announced. 

Diego froze on the spot, unable to react. Kai whistled loudly, attracting Diego’s attention. He gave Diego a look. A look that said, run. Diego turned and fled. Tamaya saw that he was running in her direction, she grabbed onto the girl with bangs and ran upstairs. Diego followed closely behind. 

“Get them!” someone yelled as the crowd chased after the four of them. Kai led all of them, while they were running. He led them to the next building's rooftop. After everyone had safely made it, he closed the door with a loud thud. Diego didn’t need to be told twice as he grabbed the tables and chairs on the rooftop and blocked the door. 

After a couple of minutes, the doorknob rattled. Followed by banging on the door. All of them sat on the ground, tired from running but they were attentive. They stared at the door. What felt like hours, the rattling and the banging stopped. The sound behind the door grew quiet. 

Knocking came next, followed by a series of instructions. Someone instructed them to open the door. None of them moved. They knew better than to open the door. 

“Students on the rooftop. I repeat students on the rooftop. If you can hear me, give me a thumbs up.” Someone’s voice that was amplified by a loudspeaker came through. It sounded like a ladies' voice. 

Tamaya leaned over and gave a thumbs up. 

“Thank you.” the voice rang out. 

“Right now at the door is one of my colleagues. There are also some SWAT members there to ensure your safety. Please cooperate with them.” 

Tamaya looked at Kai. Kai looked at her. He narrowed his eyes. 

“I promise you. My colleague is on the other side of the door and we will guarantee your safety.” 

Tamaya looked at him. He frowned before shrugging his shoulders, as though he ‘gave up’. He tapped Diego on his shoulder and both of them removed the obstacles blocking the door. Diego was initially hesitant but after Tamaya gave him a reassuring look, he helped Kai out. 

Kai opened the door and there as promised, was a single middle-aged man dressed neatly and some SWAT members. The man didn’t say anything, he motioned for the four of them to follow him.

All of them followed him, still keeping a distance behind. They were surrounded by SWAT members, who were holding shields away from them. They were then led to an empty classroom. The man motioned all of them to get in. 

“Stay here.” he ordered before closing the door loudly behind them. The SWAT members stayed inside with them. They made each of them sit a distance away from each other and stood at attention by each member. Diego was praying silently, his hands clasped together with his elbows on the table and head down. 

The girl with bangs was lying face down on the desk, sleeping. Tamaya was looking out the window. 

Kai gave a bored look. He then put his legs on the desk in front of him, making himself comfortable. The SWAT member glanced at him but didn’t say anything. 

“I’m curious. Who’s your new captain?” he asked, leaning back. No one said anything. 

“If I remember correctly, it was exactly a year ago.” Kai said thoughtfully. 

“Or was it five years ago?” he asked. Diego stopped praying and looked at him. Tamaya was looking at him instead of outside, she shot Kai a look of warning. Kai rolled his eyes. 

“Well, one of those times, your captain was actually in charge of escorting me. Unfortunately, things didn’t end well for your captain. `` he stated matter-of-factly. 

“Either way, I suggest you be careful. Who knows what might happen to your new captain.” He added casually. 

The SWAT member standing next to Kai reacted to this. He immediately unhooked his rifle and pointed it at Kai. Kai smiled as the rifle was pointed to his forehead. 

The other SWAT members called out to the one with the rifle unhooked. They calmly told him to put the gun back in its holster. The guy didn’t move. His eyes were focused on Kai and his finger was on the trigger. 

Kai started to laugh. The rest of the room was silent. 

“Are you going to take your shot or not?” Kai taunted. Tamaya's eyes darted back and forth between Kai and the SWAT member. Diego gripped his seat, terrified. The girl with bangs was still sleeping. 

Just then, the door to the classroom swung open. A lady dressed in police uniform attire was seen. She was followed by other SWAT members. The one with his gun unhooked looked at the door, the member who was standing by the girl with bangs jumped onto him. He pulled the man’s hands behind his back as he restrained him. 

The guy squirmed. Kai frowned. The lady whispered something to the SWAT person next to her, he queued to the two SWAT members behind him. They ran forward and carried the restrained SWAT member out of the classroom. Just then, another boy similar to their age was dragged into the classroom, accompanied by other SWAT members. The boy looked scared as he was made to sit in the classroom as well.

The SWAT person standing next to the lady closed the door behind him. The other SWAT members that were already in the classroom saluted. Kai looked at the man who closed the door, amused. The man waved for them to be at ease. 

“We’re sorry to keep you waiting.” The lady said. Everyone instantly recognised the voice as the person with the loudspeaker. 

“I’m sure as you all know, your identities have been revealed.” she said calmly. 

“I understand that you must all be wondering if you would be returned to your respective centres.” 

Kai scoffed. Tamaya sighed. 

“Since this programme was created to give you all a second chance, and all of you went through strict tests and measures. It would be a shame to suddenly close the programme. Therefore, the programme will still continue as planned. Furthermore, only the students and professors on campus are aware, the outside world has no information as such. “ 

Everyone exchanged. 

“To guarantee your safety, you will all be placed in the same room. Your accommodations will be taken care of.” The man in SWAT attire scoffed. 

“That is all. Any questions?” She asked calmly and professionally. 

Diego raised his hand. The lady motioned to her. The SWAT person standing next to Tamaya had his hand move from by his side to his gun. He eyes the gun nervously.  

“How will we be assessed?” Diego asked nervously. 

“As how you were informed in the beginning. Give us evidence to prove why you should be a future police officer.” she said vaguely. Diego gave a look of worry and frustration. 

“Have our crimes been revealed?” Tamaya asked, without raising her hand. She was looking at her nails when she asked. 

“Not yours and definitely not his.” This time it was the man in SWAT attire who answered. He pointed at Kai. Kai gave an impressed look. He glared at Kai and Tamaya. 

“So who posted it?” the girl with bangs asked curiously. Tamaya shot her a glance that read ‘now you’re awake?’ 

“We are unaware of who did it. However, the evidence was taken down and removed completely.” the lady answered. 

“Any final questions?” the man in SWAT attire yelled. Everyone shook their heads. Tamaya wanted to ask another question but she bit her lip instead. 

“Changes to the programme will be announced to you in a couple of days.” the lady said before walking out. 

The SWAT members and the man remained. The man continued to glare at Tamaya and Kai. He ignored everyone else that was there. After sometime, he signalled to them with their hands. The SWAT members saluted before grabbing each of them. They were grabbed by their arms and pushed forward. 

Tamaya wriggled out of the grip of the person holding onto her. “I can walk by myself, thank you.” she said annoyed, before walking ahead.

Kai stared at the person holding onto him before saying “I can walk too.” The SWAT person looked at his captain before releasing him. He followed behind Kai closely. Diego cooperated willingly, although the person guarding him was definitely finding it hard to drag him because of his build. The other two were dragged easily because of their small structure. 

They were led up a couple of stairs before being thrown into a room. The door was closed loudly behind them. The room had four beds that were at the top and each bed had a table underneath. There was a mat and a blanket laid out on the floor in the middle of the room. 

All of their things were in bags that looked like they were flung into the room. 

“All right. Let’s get to know each other shall we?” Tamaya said as she leaned against the ladder of one of the beds. The three of them exchanged glances. Kai smirked, his arms crossed across his chest. 

“I’ll go first.” said the girl with bangs. 

“May-Lynn, but everyone who knows me calls me Ghost.” she said. Her voice was slightly high pitched. She looked at Diego. He cleared his throat before answering. 

“Diego, but people called me the Bulldozer.” he answered. Tamaya nodded. Everyone looked at the new kid who was shaking slightly. 

“Wyatt. Mouse.” He said quickly. Diego patted his back and gave him a reassuring look. 

“Kai.” Kai said introducing himself. He started to make a motion that he was feeling hot. He removed the black sleeves from his legs and arms. 

“I knew they would come in handy today.” he said referring to the arm and leg covers. Usually he wore a full inner but today, he just wore the sleeves. The tattoos on his body were revealed. 

Diego gapped. Wyatt quivered. May-Lynn stared. Tamaya rolled her eyes. 

“But those who know me, call me Ares.” Kai added. 

“Thanks show-off.” she said to Kai. 

“I’m Tamaya. I’m sure some of you might know me as Medusa.” she said, giving a friendly smile. 

May-Lynn’s and Diego’s eyes widened. Wyatt gasped. Tamaya smiled. This was going to be interesting, she thought.