- Salicis Davis

  When the door opened, the first thing I felt was the air change. An almost imperceptible pressure, as if the environment itself recognized that something unusual was entering.

  Then I saw him.

  A young man, tall, dark-skinned, his entire body covered in black tattoos — not the kind of ink you normally see, but markings that seemed to devour the light around them, like cracks in space itself.

  There was something about him that was… wrong, though not in a way I could immediately identify. It was a sensation, a chill that ran down my spine before my brain could even react.

  And the strangest part: he was completely naked, as if that fact meant absolutely nothing to him.

  Right behind him were two other young people, a boy and a girl.

  They immediately raised their hands; only the man remained still, motionless like an ancient statue, his gaze filled with pure indifference, as if he were looking at ants.

  That sent shivers down my spine.

  I looked at my soldiers. All of them were tense, fingers firm on their triggers. All it would take was a sudden movement, a sneeze, to turn that room into a massacre.

  “Lower your weapons!” I ordered, trying to keep my voice steady. “They’re just civilians!”

  The weapons lowered, but the tension lingered in the air like trapped electricity.

  The young ones kept their arms raised.

  “You can lower your arms.”

  “Come over here.”

  “Yes, s-sir…”

  The young ones replied.

  “And you… why are you without clothes?”

  The man looked down at me with an expression of disbelief.

  As if the very fact that I had asked him such a question was absurd.

  When he was about to open his mouth, the girl answered first:

  “We were attacked, and his clothes were badly torn.”

  I looked the man up and down again. There wasn’t a single mark on him — not even a superficial scratch. It was as if his skin had never suffered any kind of injury in his life.

  She was definitely lying, but I didn’t want to cause a scene. He looked human — and for now, that was enough. I would leave the interrogation to my superiors.

  “Fagus, get him some patient clothes. There should be some in that room.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  After the man was dressed in a hospital gown…

  I asked for their names.

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  “Erick Helen, sir!”

  “Luna… Luna Helen.”

  “Saklas.”

  His voice was imposing, heavy. The kind of voice that made the air in the room feel denser.

  I asked where they had come from. The girl answered again, saying that after the attack they had hidden in the elevator and ended up trapped there due to the power outage.

  I didn’t believe half of what she said.

  But looking at her… and her name… could it be?

  “Hey, girl, are you the survivor from the incident with Unit 7?”

  Everyone looked at her, waiting for an answer.

  “Y-yes.”

  “Wow, you really attract trouble. At least you’re lucky enough to survive it.”

  “I’ve been hearing that a lot lately.”

  She smiled, but her eyes said something else… as if she were remembering something she would rather forget.

  I stepped aside to notify the other units and check on their status. They were fine, still heading toward the cafeteria. Then I reported to Mr. Crox.

  “Sir, I’d like to report that we found survivors. Three young individuals: a 17-year-old boy, a 20-year-old girl, and… a man.Tall, dark-skinned, tattoos covering his body. Saklas is his name…”

  There was silence on the other end.

  “Understood. Return immediately. Mr. Lúcius has finished the repairs and is deploying the drones.Inform your men that the mission is over.”

  “But sir, we have no response from one of the units. We need to check if they’re alright — they might need help.”

  “Mission terminated, Lieutenant. Return immediately. Proceed to Sector 2!”

  He disconnected.

  “Sir, what happened?”

  Aline had come to speak with me and noticed my unease.

  “The mission… the mission is over. We’re heading to Sector 2.”

  “But why? And the others?”

  “I don’t know. Orders from Mr. Crox.”

  “Understood…”

  We went back to inform the others. I noticed the confusion in their eyes, but no one questioned it.

  I noticed Saklas had been observing Kharib for some time. Perhaps because he was visibly injured, he had caught his attention.

  We continued searching for an elevator that was still operational so we could go to the second floor. The one the young ones had used was malfunctioning.

  - General Edmond Crox

  When Daves informed me of what had happened and gave me the descriptions, I froze. It couldn’t be.

  The specimen… the characteristics matched, but how was that possible? Dr. Helena had done everything she could to try to awaken him, and nothing had worked. How could he now be walking around?

  I activated the transmitter and informed her. Within minutes, she arrived. I could tell from her breathing that she was out of breath; given how fast she came, she must have run the entire way.

  “The specimen… are you certain? Where is he?”

  “Calm down. He’s with the reconnaissance unit. He was found by Mr. Daves’ team.He was accompanied by the girl, Luna.”

  “Her again?”

  “Yes…”

  Her expression was a mix of curiosity, anxiety, and fear — understandable, given everything I had told her.

  She left shortly after, saying she would prepare the rooms to receive them.

  - Luna Helen

  We were now moving with the soldiers toward Sector 2.

  I noticed the confusion in their expressions when Mr. Daves informed them, so something must have happened during their original mission — and something told me this change had everything to do with Saklas.

  Just thinking about it made me nervous; soon they would find out everything, including the fact that I had been lying.

  I hope they understand why I did it…

  With every corridor we passed, chaos and destruction seemed to follow us.It was as if something could emerge from the shadows at any moment — yet, strangely, it never did.

  Erick walked just behind me, smiling as he talked with Clary — the young soldier who seemed to be about my age. Seeing that smile on his face after everything that had happened… was comforting. He needed that. He needed to remember that there were still living, normal people in the middle of the horror.

  Saklas walked beside me. His size, compared to mine — barely 1.65 m — was quite intimidating. I noticed that this man, usually indifferent to everything, had been observing one of the soldiers for quite some time.If I’m not mistaken, his name is Kharib: an older man, with a thick beard and a solid build.

  Could it be…? No, that’s impossible…?I blushed, thinking something foolish. I wasn’t judging — Kharib was a handsome man, just older…

  I shook my head, trying not to think about it anymore. It wasn’t any of my business.