In the place that used to be the most acknowledged lab in all of Raar, a scene of utter panic could now be seeacility's front was surrounded by fire trucks, rescue vehicles, and media crews—people who were the first to arrive, ready to reap the benefit of chaos.
Though some came to help, none returned.
Most of the people inside were already dead when they found them. And breathing? That was too much to hope for. Forget breathing—finding someone with both limbs still attached was nearly impossible. The best condition anyone was found in was a person whose whole body was burned… but they were still breathing.
It was one of the creatures that couldn't escape. But it was a Type-2, so it looked like a human. Because of that, nothing happened for a while.
In the distance, blue vehicles started to appear. The people already at the scene didn't pay much attention to them. It wasn't strange for more help to arrive—they just thought they were backup.
One of the media people noticed first. Those vehicles weren't normal. They belonged to the government's special units.
One by one, others noticed too. But then something else happened. The telecast stopped. The live footage went dark. Everyone was shocked and confused. Their jobs—and their lives—depended on this coverage.
A man from the media tried to contact higher-ups using his communication device. But it didn't work either.
A strange, uncomfortable feeling crept into his heart. Something felt off. The arrival of government vehicles, the sudden silence of all devices… Something was definitely wrong.
He looked at those blue vehicles again. Then he turned and ran toward his jeep. One of his colleagues saw him and looked confused.
The man who was running—his name was Aulsan. And his colleague's name was Noah.
Aulsan grabbed Noah's hand and said in a panicked voice, "We need to get out of here. I'll explain later, so just lend me your bike, okay?"
His voice trembled, and sweat ran down his face.
Noah, who saw Aulsan as a close friend, replied, "Okay. But this better not be a joke."
He knew Aulsan wouldn't act like this for no reason. His quick thinking was one of the things Noah trusted most.
He got on the bike and started it. Aulsan called out from behind, "Go from the back routes, and as fast as poss—"
"Hey, you two! Get back here and fix the problem! Why are you on the bike, huh? Want to lose your jobs, fools?!"
A woman's voice shouted at them. Noah hesitated, but Aulsan told him to ignore her and start moving. Noah listened and drove off through the back.
Once they were far enough, Aulsan let out a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, the government vehicles reached the scene. A man stepped down and shouted, "Surround the front area! Halt all movement!"
The people already at the scene looked confused. One of them asked, "Why are you stopping us? Let us do our job."
Others began to complain too. The government man looked at the special van that stood out the most. Then he spoke again.
"Have any of you found something strange? Something suspicious?"
Silence.
No one answered. So he repeated the question. This time, a boy from the rescue team responded with a shaky voice.
"Y-yes. There's this w-weird looking a-animal. Th–"
"Where?" the man shouted.
The boy showed him a creature—ugly and strange. It looked like an owl but had thick, burned skin.
The man's face turned grim. He gave a hand signal to the van. A hand reached out from it and flashed a code.
The man then took out his gun. Without saying a word, he aimed at the boy and pulled the trigger.
BANG
Before anyone could react, a wave of gunfire followed.
Chatter chatter chatter
In an instant, before anyone could even scream, they were silenced. The ground was soaked in crimson blood. Every single person who wasn't with the government met their end.
MEANWHILE—
Noah and Aulsan were not that far from the scene. They heard the gunfire clearly. Both were sweating. Noah silently thanked Aulsan in his heart. He knew he had made the right choice by trusting him.
Or so he thought.
Suddenly, Aulsan fell from the bike. He lost balance, and Noah fell too.
"Aghh!" Noah cried out in pain. He looked behind and shouted, "What's wrong, dude?!"
But then his face went pale.
Aulsan was dead. Blood spilled from his head. Terrified, Noah opened his mouth to scream—but before he could make a sound, he trembled and collapsed.
THUD
A woman, crouched in the distance, stood up and started to pack her weapons. She spoke into her comms device.
"Targets down."
A voice came through. "Good. Check if any others escaped. Then report back."
"Understood," she replied.
The government, as always, wasn't the type to leave anything that posed a threat. That's how they were able to hide secrets darker than any war.
Buried deep under a grave no one would ever reach.
For how long?
---