76°00'08.2"S 53°43'31.2"E - Nuevo Trujillo, Spanish Antarctic Colonies

  26.05.2024 15:30, UTC+03:00

  He knew. He must have known, that was why he came.

  He said my soothing phrase, directly looking at me. There is nothing to fear. That was intended.

  I remained perfectly still in the lift, while my mind raced. Ricardo and his T-4s, Palmira and Zhong, were in there, as were Sagrado Padre and his two maidens. One T-Agent, I assumed a T2 or T3 from Santiago, was also with us. We were all silent, as per protocol.

  “I might need a quick dinner in my chambers before I meet T2 Azura,” Sagrado Padre said, and one of the maidens noted. “T3 Ricardo, if you could show Maria around to the kitchen.”

  Ricardo nodded.

  He said my soothing phrase. There is nothing to fear. That was the only thing on my mind. Did he mean that I had nothing to fear – or was I the only one that had to really fear?

  The lift descended to the seventh floor, with the guest suite. Sagrado Padre, the Agent from Santiago, and one of the maidens exited, while the other one, presumably Maria, stayed behind with us. Once the lift’s doors closed and continued its descent, it felt like all of us collectively exhaled.

  “T4 Zhang, perhaps you can escort…”

  “Se?ora Maria del Padre,” the woman said in a steady but weak voice, almost like a whisper.

  “Se?ora Maria del Padre to the dining room. There are some options prepared for His Holiness.”

  Zhang nodded and after half a minute of descent, he exited with the maiden on the first floor, where the cafeteria was.

  And then it was Palmira, Ricardo and me. Palmira was a tall woman like me, perhaps more conventionally beautiful with a thinner waist and less broad shoulders. She seemed fit, but nowhere near my league of fitness. Her short hair was dyed blonde, and her uniform did not reveal much of her personality besides her rank.

  “What is going to happen, Sir?” She asked directly.

  “I assume Sagrado Padre will have a formal dinner with T2 Azura, before requesting her to surrender command,” Ricardo said in a steady but clearly disapproving tone. Palmira shook her head in utter shock.

  I somehow expected that, so I was not as surprised. The Sagrados outranked everyone, but the sole command of a district HQ landed on the T2s. Before anyone could intervene, they had to ask permission, although that was a formality. No one could deny Sagrado’s request.

  “Are they really trying to blame us for the Breach? Surely, they should be inquiring at the one responsible for holding the domain standing.” Palmira protested. My eyes darted between her and Ricardo.

  “If I were you, I would hold my mind and tongue disciplined ahead of any future proceedings, T4 Palmira,” Ricardo said eventually.

  “I… yes, Sir.”

  Disciplined mind. Great. My mind was broken into a thousand pieces, and only an hour ago, I had found out I was randomly scribbling numbers. I had no idea what had happened during the Blackout.

  “When will the proceedings begin?” I asked eventually.

  Ricardo mumbled his words.

  “T3 Ricardo?” I insisted.

  “They have not filled me in on the details. T-Agents from Santiago will lead the proceedings.”

  As I suspected. Even Ricardo was in the dark.

  There was only one guess that made sense. Sagrado Padre was here to cut loose ends, and find people to blame for the Breach, perhaps both in one go. And while I was myself such a loose end, I had no idea where my thread led.

  I knew what my loose ends were though.

  The moment we reached the operational level, and we all split, I ran to room sixty-six. I turned the handle and walked in. It was not even locked or guarded.

  Miguel and the captive, Oriol, looked like they were sleeping in peace. I did not turn the lights on, and due to the lack of any windows and natural lighting, it was dark. The machines monitoring their heart rate and oxygen levels indicated they were on with a faint light.

  I took a stool and sat next to Miguel. I leaned forward as if I was talking to him.

  There was a camera in the corner of the room, but that was fine. As far as anyone watching the tape was concerned, I was a T3 worried about their T4's fate. Feeling guilty even, sad or mad at the Cursed fate that made him comatose.

  I was feeling a bit guilty, that was true.

  “Miguel, things are strange here,” I found myself slipping words out of my mouth before I could even think about it. “I was hoping we would have been back to Santiago already. But this assignment seems endless. We started as a trip to that hole, London. Then a search for the Survivor. Now there is a whole terrorist group. Sagrado Padre is here. I… don’t know if you will make it back to Santiago buddy.”

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  Was this my attempt to an apology? He was lying there, hair ruffled and oily and a mask on his face. Could he even hear me – and if he could, would he even accept it?

  “I guess what I am trying to say is…”

  You should not wake up, I thought, but before I said the words, black scribbles floated in front of my eyes.

  I rubbed them, perplexed. They were still there, floating in front of my vision like someone was projecting a drawing. Squiggly ink, taking shape. Drawing. No, it was not a drawing. They were letters.

  DON’T

  PLEASE

  I stood up scared, almost falling off my stool. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. The words were fading but were there.

  I thought about the camera and directed my reaction to something consistent. Arms shaking and posing almost in a praying fashion, I had to look desperate enough to explain how I fell off my seat.

  “Miguel, if you can hear me,” I said as I sat carefully again. Were these his thoughts? And I could see them? That didn’t sit right. That was not a Curse of mine. It felt foreign as if someone else had hexed me. New scribbles appeared, completely verifying my intuition.

  NOT MIGUEL

  I nodded as if I understood. I really didn’t. But I had to look content with my visit and leave. Whose thoughts were these? Was it Oriol?

  Was I going completely mad? My head was ringing, but it was painless. It was a numbing ringing, growing stronger as the letters projected on my vision faded out.

  “Okay, Miguel. Take your time. We will be here,” I said. And stood up. I tried to force a tear, but I was not that good at acting. I nodded and left the room.

  My head was ringing. The speakers were making an announcement, but I could not hear what they said. Something about gathering in the cafeteria.

  My legs obeyed the announcement.

  I turned on my earpiece and tuned it into Marcelo’s old frequency. Static. I raised the volume as hard as I could until it overcame all; the ringing, my thoughts about Sagrado Padre, and the announcements made. It did not matter.

  I did not have the guts to execute Miguel. Maybe these letters were my conscience.

  I was walking all the way through the underground center, amidst the rest of the Agents as the words of Sagrado Padre echoed again and again. In groups, we boarded the lifts and ascended to the cafeteria.

  Someone talked to me, but I couldn’t hear them or pay attention. The ringing persisted, but the static was louder. If only the static was louder than his voice in my mind.

  There is nothing to fear. Repeat after me Elena, there is nothing to fear. There is nothing to fear. Repeat after me Elena, there is nothing to fear.

  “There is nothing to fear,” I said to myself, but I feared everything. I could feel my hands shaking, as I was now approaching a panic attack.

  I found myself in the cafeteria after an unknown amount of time. Was it three minutes? Thirty? We were all standing now orderly in files. I had taken my position where the T3s were.

  All I could hear was static from my earpiece until it was forcibly stopped. A frequency override, with all communications shut.

  “…are you alright?” T4 Zhang asked behind me. I shook my head. His question snapped me out of my mental breakdown.

  “Yes. Yes, I am,” I said.

  “You are tapping your foot,” he said, bringing my attention to my left foot. I stopped it.

  “Thank you.”

  “Agents. The Domain salutes you,” Sagrado Padre’s voice resonated in the room.

  Where was he? I looked around finally getting my senses in order. The entire HQ’s human resources were present, from secretaries to the highest ranked like us. The tables were all put to the side of the room to fit us. On the northern part of the room, Sagrado Padre was standing next to T3 Ricardo and the other Agent from Santiago.

  “You have been so faithful to the Queen. For years, Nuevo Trujillo has been a safe sector. Despite all, we would come to learn. Uncover. The truth shone too late, and lives were claimed. That is my sin to carry, but not yours.” Sagrado Padre made a long pause.

  Two agents, followed by his two maidens, led T2 Azura in front of Sagrado Padre. She was shackled.

  He raised his hand and tore down Azura’s insignia from her suit. Nobody dared gasp, as T2 Azura – well just Azura now – was being forcibly stripped of her title.

  I was close enough to see the anger in her eyes. The sadness.

  “Azura Castro, you are stripped of your title and honor.” He announced.

  This was not right. This was not a formal exchange of power. This was brutal. Humiliating. Azura stood unmoving, still restrained. A T-Agent came and removed her restraints, urging her to move forward.

  Her humiliation was completed.

  Scribbles and letters drawn with messy ink started projecting in front of me for the third time that day. Instead of panic, this time I decided to choose focus. I squinted my eyes as the words floated one by one.

  FAILSAFE

  ADIOS

  It did not make sense. Was this a warning?

  As Azura started walking to the exit, Sagrado Padre sighed.

  “You shall not perish alone,” he said, and he snapped his fingers. An ominous sound was heard by each of the doors around us: barricades.

  “What the fuck,” I heard Zhang exclaim behind me. Equally startled, Azura broke her unmoving character and turned around.

  “There is nothing to fear loyal Agents,” the Sagrado said again. “Let me demonstrate.”

  As if Azura had realized something the rest of us hadn’t, she shouted.

  “You can’t do this. This is disproportionate, I simply…”

  Her voice faded as Sagrado Padre’s voice echoed over her:

  “You are dismissed from the Domain.”

  I felt pride in her reaction. Pride and pity, immense pity. Azura first turned to us.

  “Adiós,” she said, and I could see genuine tears, for a moment. First, her light disappeared, as if the sun did not shine on her. Then her color changed from dark to crystalline blue. At the last moment, her eye sockets became vacant, and she vanished, leaving only a pile of ice in her stead.

  ADIOS

  The word persisted in ink.

  “And the rest shall be dismissed as well,” Sagrado Padre said. I turned around. A few people left and attempted to sprint. Others kneeled.

  But most, like me, looked horrified as at least ten other agents from all levels went through the same process. Their light dimmed, they changed color, and they disintegrated into ice dust, starting from their eyes.

  “Good. See?” Sagrado Padre said and waved at Ricardo, who now stepped forward. “Now these loyal Agents, can emerge stronger than before, and serve you, T2 Ricardo. There was truly nothing to fear.”