Copyright Notice: This story is an original work by Muntasib_Ihshan789. All rights reserved. Do not copy or redistribute without permission.
Three long days passed in the facility, but unlike the usual suffocating silence of study halls and endless lectures, whispers filled the air. Curiosity, anxiety, and some odd excitement spread through the ranks of students. Everyone gossiped during break sessions, each making their own theories about the mysterious upcoming "test."
What was it going to be? Some thought it was a written test, others expected a physical assessment, but none of them could predict what was truly coming.
On the third day, something happened which was out of their thinking. The students were ordered to board a transport truck. The inside was no different than what they'd known for years — navy blue walls, metal benches, a single dull bulb hanging from the center, swinging with every movement. The rule was simple. To be silence. So they obeyed, sitting quietly, heads down, some eyes nervously scanning the floor.
After nearly half an hour of bumpy travel, mentors came into the truck and blindfolded them with thick black cloths. The place was top secret, they were told. No peeking.
After walking in straight lines, guided only by the mentors' hands on their shoulders, the students were finally allowed to remove their blindfolds. They blinked hard as the sudden brightness hit their eyes. What stood in front of them was shocking — they were already aboard a small white cruise, sailing through the endless blue sea.
This was the first time in years they had seen anything other than navy blue. The cruise interior had white walls with patterns of gold and brown with polished wooden floors which was reflecting the bright sunlight. The cold navy blue of the facility seemed like a distant nightmare for a brief moment.
None of them brought any personal belongings. They weren't allowed to bring any. They were told everything they needed for the upcoming test would be provided on site. It felt strange being outside, breathing fresh salty sea air. Even stranger was the atmosphere: too quiet for a cruise, too controlled to be relaxing.
Then came the mentor, standing tall on the higher stage inside the grand hall room of the cruise. He was someone they hadn't seen often — blond hair falling lazily over his right eye, a rare color in the sea of black-haired instructors.
He wore the same navy blue uniform. He tapped the mic and cleared his throat, his eyes scanning all over the students.
"Hello everyone," his voice boomed out from mike, echoing in the large chamber. "As you know, you are being taken to a different place for the ultimate test. It will take approximately ten hours to reach our destination."
"Ten… ten hours? That's forever…" one muttered.
"Ahh, I can't sit for that long," another whined, slumping forward.
"Silence!" the mentor snapped with a crooked grin. "You won't be bored. We've arranged some entertainment."
That word — entertainment — made Delta's stomach twist. In this facility, fun always came with strings attached.
"We will be playing a game," the blond mentor continued. "Not the actual test… just something to pass the time."
A game? That was enough to stir interest. Some students brightened up, while others stiffened in their seats. Delta's sharp eyes narrowed, her brain kicking into gear immediately.
"There are no such thing as 'just a game' here," Delta thought bitterly.
"They'll make us turn on each other. Exploit weaknesses, push buttons. This is another psychological trick… How many of these idiots have figured it out?" Delta thought, looking at everybody.
Meanwhile, Omega was sitting across the hall, his arms crossed, one thumb touching his lips in his usual thinking pose. His golden-brown eyes flickered in Delta's direction, noting her expression. "Hah… figured it out already, haven't you… Little girl," Omega mused. "This'll be fun."
Soon, students were divided into five groups of four, each seated around round tables. Supposedly random, but when Delta sat down, her eyes darted around and noticed something strange.
Her group had Pi, Zeta, Omega, and Alpha — Except Alpha, four of the sharpest minds in the facility alongside herself. Her suspicion deepened not knowing it but thinking it that these are the closest friends she had made in the past years.
"All of us together? Isn't grouping random? What's going on?" She thought.
Zeta was already calculating in his head, eyes darting around nervously. His mind raced with calculations, theories forming in seconds.
"All of us together? Is it fate? No. How many ways to choose 5 from 20… 20 choose 5… that's 20! by 5! into (20-5)! which makes 15,504 possibilities… and we, of all people end up together? That's… 0.0064% probability. This must be hand-picked. They want to see us clash."
Mentors came to each table, placing down two card decks — a red deck of 30 cards (15 Truth, 15 Dare) and a smaller black deck of 10 special cards. The mentor at their table began explaining the rules calmly, with a tone far too sweet to be trusted.
"Red cards are basic: truth or dare," he explained. "Black cards… ah, these add flavor. Three Reverse cards to send your punishment back, three Swap cards to force someone else to take your challenge, two Silence cards to shut someone up, one Freedom card to skip, and a Wild card… you can write your own rule in it."
"The point system is simple. Each successful turn gives you 2 points. Failing a dare will cut 3 points and Lying in truth will reduce 5 points."
"Any questions?" the mentor asked lazily.
They all shook their heads with a no.
"Good… then game on."
Delta drew first. A dare card. Her sharp mind ticked like a clock.
"Play smart… no, too early for tactics. If I show strategy now, they'll copy me. I need to ease in, make them lower their guard."
She wrote her dare and passed it to Pi.
"So, this is your best course of action? Fine, let me draw first then decide."
Pi drew a card from the black deck. She got one silence card.
"Looks like I have no other choice" She thought, giving a tick sign in the card. She got 2 points.
Omega's turn came. He noticed Pi's facial expressions and pen movements. Enough to figure out it was something Pi was comfortable with and game a tick sign. He smiled with a quiet intensity.
"Time to stir the pot…"
He drew a red card. It was a Truth.
His smile grew wider as his eyes flicked from Zeta to Alpha.
"Let's break a bond early," he thought, scribbling down the question. He calmly handed it to Zeta.
Zeta hesitated, his throat going dry. His fingers trembled as he stood up, swallowing his fear. "Name one person here who cheats in tests and you've seen it with your own eyes."
"…Alpha," Zeta blurted out, looking at Alpha, "I… I saw Alpha cheat. Two weeks ago… in history test… he took help from Pi's paper works… twice."
Gasps spread like wildfire. Alpha's face turned red as he stood up from his seat.
"L-Lies! I didn't… I didn't cheat!" he shouted, clenching his fist with a shaky voice.
Pi blinked, acting confused like she had no idea. "Eh? Alpha… I don't remember… you… you took help from me?
Omega leaned back, hands behind his head, pleased. "Game on," he muttered under his breath.
Delta smiled faintly. "Divide and conquer… Omega's strategy. Predictable, but effective."
Then came Zeta's turn. The number genius looked stressed, muttering under his breath. "Okay… probabilities… 14 truths, 14 dares… 50-50 chance… black cards got unknown variables… low data… I can't calculate. So safest choice is red card… Let's be aggressive."
He drew a Truth card. He wrote down something and gave it to Alpha.
The grin on his face returned once again.
"Alpha… tell the truth. Did you cheat or not?"
Alpha's mouth opened, no words came out.
A heavy silence hung over the group as the storm began to build. This was only the first round… and already, chaos had cracked the surface.
Dead Logic © 2025 by Muntasib_Ihshan789 is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International