Silence hung over the main hall. The screens cast a pale glow onto the tense faces of the recruits, all glued to the giant holographic screen. Every breath of the patrolling squad echoed through the speakers, heavy and oppressive.
-Come on, come on, move
The figure, motionless in the shadows of the pit corridor, seemed to be watching. Too human to be a beast, too strange to be ignored.
The squad hesitated as it advanced towards the “creature”, the leader advancing 10 paces behind his team
-raise your hands and come out of the shadows
-move slowly towards me, the chief whispered
Joy, arms crossed, didn't blink. Her dark eyes shone with a pleasure she refused to let show.
A very morbid pleasure
In the pit
[Squad…. to command center, advance on target, don't waste time.]
A saturated breath in the microphone accompanies the tense voice of the team leader.
[Command Center at Squad.., yes yes I'm moving forward]
Taking a few steps towards the team, which had remained there
- I move forward, armor activated r. He… he doesn't move.
A pause. All you could hear was the dripping of water, the light scraping of boots on the metal floor.
One of the soldiers whispered into the canal:
-Boss, if it's a TransEmotional, can we shoot?
The chief
- Silence. Take your positions.
The recruits collectively held their breath. The new ones, behind Joy, exchanged silent glances. Joy, impassive, even sketched a thin smile, almost amused by the tension.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
I frowned.
- It's too quiet. It smells like a trap. It's weird, why isn't he moving?
Joy barely nodded, without looking away.
- Traps are our daily life. What worries me is that they hesitate. Hesitation is death.
The leader slowly took the first step forward
- Team, defensive formation. I'm coming forward.
[Squad…, eliminate the target]
- Negative. If we don't check, we risk-
A dry voice cut the connection.
[Squad.. , this is an order. Eliminate them ]
A heavy silence. The soldiers stirred, one of them blurted out:
- With all due respect, if we….
The leader hesitated, his finger trembling slightly on the trigger of his weapon.
Joy, in the hall, whispered almost to herself:
- shot , shot shot
The appearance
A footstep suddenly echoed through the microphone. The humanoid stepped forward, slowly emerging from the shadows. The cameras captured his face: a thin man, covered in dust, his eyes glassy. His clothes were in tatters, his skin marked with ancient scars.
-I surrender…. I surrender
He raised a trembling hand... not to attack, but to shield himself from the harsh light of the headlamps.
-are you human?
A hubbub ran through the hall.
- He's just a... a local? one of the spectators blurted out.
On the screen, the man opened his mouth. His raspy, almost unrecognizable voice came through the speakers:
-Of course I'm human, I live here, I... I don't want to harm you...
A soldier let out a nervous laugh.
- Damn, it's just waste from the pit.
The leader lowered his weapon, still hesitating.
- Why don't you answer?
-who would respond to people dressed like you
-we could have killed you, are you not well or what?
-that's why I didn't want to answer you're all the same, you kill us instead of protecting us from these strange shadows
-Damn, you're stupid, I almost killed someone
[Command Center to Squad: Analysis complete. Ordinary human. Not a direct threat.]
A sigh ran through the microphones. The squad relaxed their positions slightly. But the voice from the center immediately resumed, icy:
[Never let your guard down. Even the locals can be used as camouflage for something else.]
-Received, replied the chief, clenching his jaw.
He signaled to his team.
- We'll continue the patrol. Leave him.
In the hall
The silence was broken by stifled laughter among some of the recruits. The tension, suddenly relieved, gave way to uncontrolled nervousness.
- All that for that? A poor guy who was hanging around in the shadows?
- I believed it, I thought we were going to see a TransEmotional.
Joy slowly turned her head towards them. A single glance was enough to freeze even the most talkative. She said in a cold voice:
- Laugh, enjoy it. But remember: next time, it won't be a "poor guy." It will be something that won't even give you time to laugh. And I can't wait to see you through this screen.
I nodded, without really knowing why, and even added:
- Excuse her, she's just worried, I think we'll go.
Joy, still with the same thin smile on her lips and her cold gaze, whispered in a low voice:
-Yes, I'm worried. Civilians are no less dangerous. Some have been surviving in there longer than we've been standing.
[Squad… to Command Center: Area secured. Patrol terminated.]
[Command Center to Squad…: Received. Return immediately.]
The screens showed their vital signs slowly falling, a sign that the tension was also dissipating in them.
The old man stepped onto the stage in the hall, his deep voice cutting through the din:
- Remember this: even a "yellow" mission can hide death in the shadows. You saw tonight what is called a neutral encounter. Next time, there is no guarantee that it will be. You are being trained to become the protectors of the "perfect"
His gaze swept the room.
-And if you keep shaking like they did tonight... you'll never get past this stage.
A heavy silence followed his words.
Leaving
I approached discreetly with joy
- why are you scaring them?
She barely turned her face away.
- No. But who do you take me for? I'm just worried.
He arched an eyebrow.
- You are tough.
A smirk twisted his lips in joy.
- No. I'm realistic. And you're naive.
As the crowd slowly dispersed back to their quarters, a single message echoed through the loudspeakers, chilling:
[Tomorrow. Second test. Prepare yourself.]
Joy took one last look at the newcomers, still frozen in the back, and whispered:
- they got the
She turned on her heel, disappearing down the hallway, the same way Asmara had earlier.
while the echoes of his footsteps resounded like a countdown to the next test.
