A siren blared, and the staff began to run erratically. The Chief walked quickly but steadily toward the control office, shouting, "What is happening?"
An officer, sitting in front of her computer, turned to face him. "Sir, we have a problem on 18th street. Indecipherable phenomena were noted in a couple and their child. The young man disappeared; the woman stood upright, silent, with black blood flowing from where her eyes should have been. The child… the child simply reported it was speaking oddly, screaming… until both of them collapsed, unconscious. Do you want to see the video?"
The Chief nodded and took a few steps toward the officer's screen. As he watched the footage, he realized with a jolt that things were not as simple as he had thought.
He grumbled, almost to himself, "Interesting." He then turned to his sergeant. "Lycanterk, look for any kidnapping or pranks in the area. If not, work together and find out what's going on." Without another word, he left the room.
The sergeant looked at the officer with a puzzled expression. "Amelia, do you think it’s a prank or a kidnapping?"
Her silence said it all. The sergeant sighed. "Alright, fine, you don't believe it. I just asked a question, alright? Now tell me how the mother and child are."
Amelia turned to her computer and pulled up their file. "They're not in danger. They’re just in a deep sleep. All their vital functions are perfect. All the tests are fine. The doctors say it’s just a prank to get attention."
The sergeant walked to their area map, pointing to 18th street. "But… this street is quite busy. It’s a little crazy to think it needs attention. It’s always full of people, morning and night. Maybe there's construction, and the young man fell in? But we would have found him." He looked at the officer. "Don't look at me like that, geez!" he said, full of disappointment. "Okay, I know this sounds silly, but in the wider area, do we have any other incidents with strange phenomena?"
The officer leaned back loosely in her chair, her head tilted toward the ceiling. "We need to look at our archives," she said, raising a hand to motion to an assistant. "Marcisia, go to the warehouse and find any files you can for 18th street. Bring me the tapes that seem significant." She got up and left the room immediately.
The sergeant looked at two people from his team and gave them strict orders. "Go to 18th street and check one more time for anything you can think of that we haven’t checked. Look in front of and inside the building where the disappearance happened." They got up and exclaimed, "Yes, sir. We will keep you informed."
Meanwhile, Marcisia located something in the archive that might be the key to the sergeant's curiosity and contacted Amelia via her comms. "Ms. Amelia, I have a plaque with changes to 18th street… but it says 'redevelopment.' Everything else has to do with traffic incidents, violence, and demonstrations. Nothing more. I will bring you the tape right away."
As she listened to Marcisia's voice, Amelia looked at the sergeant. She opened her desk drawer and took out a device—a loop—and placed it around her neck. When the sergeant saw what she was doing, he exclaimed in surprise, "Don't tell me it's what I think it is? We're going to use a plaque?"
She simply looked at him. "Yes, we are," she said, her confusion evident. "You know, Sergeant, Marcisia mentioned something about the place having undergone redevelopment. Do you remember anything like that?
"
He pushed his chair back and forth. "To tell you the truth, I only remember a modification of the buildings and the streets being renewed with enhanced energy asphalt… that’s all… why?"
Marcisia came in with the coin-sized tape and handed it to Amelia. Amelia placed it on the loop around her neck, saying, "I have no idea what I'm going to see, so it's time to walk those places again."
The sergeant looked at Marcisia and commanded, "Open the channel so we can see what she's doing."
As the channel opened, they saw in real-time what Amelia was seeing. They noticed that as she walked, the device gave her the ability to be transported to the location on the date the works were happening, functioning as a separate entity. It even allowed her to fast-forward time.
That's when they noticed that a building on 18th street, specifically the one in front of where the incident happened, had not changed throughout the redevelopment. Amelia asked them to investigate it. As she tried to go inside, a middle-aged man with a very troubled face stopped her.
"Where are you going, miss? Can I help you?"
She answered while looking at the building from top to bottom, "Won't this building be redeveloped? It's beautiful, but it is-"
He took a step back, cutting her off. "Mind your own business. It is my family’s residence, and I don't report to anyone. Get away, or I will call the guard." He was visibly worried and annoyed, pointing to a group of guards with their dragons flying. Special devices checked the ground for any problems.
Amelia took two steps back and apologized for her rudeness. She had gotten more than enough to check for further evidence. As Marcisia looked at the other evidence, she noticed that there were points of violence—protests where blood was spilled, always in front of the building during that period. When Amelia returned to the here and now, she looked at them.
"Something tells me the gentleman we saw is hiding more from us, don't you think?" she said.
But before she could say anything else, Marcisia showed her the evidence. "The place often has violent clashes or gatherings that end in bloodshed," she said. "It's as if something there drives them crazy."
They looked at each other until the sergeant heard an incoming call. "Sir…" the voice sounded broken. "Termek is in a comatose state. He was losing blood from his eyes… we have him at the hospital…"
He looked at Amelia, troubled, almost terrified. "Did you enter the building where the incident happened?" Taking a deep breath, he continued, "Gorik, tell me, did someone appear and stop you?"
Gorik simply froze, his eyes wide. As the nurses spoke to him, he couldn't hear them; he had no contact with his surroundings. "Y-yes, sir. And to force him to get out of the way, we showed him the relevant document for checking the area… and he fell on me to immobilize me, while Termek went inside. After two steps, everything started."
Nurses interrupted him. "Termek is almost clinically dead. The doctor will come as soon as he fully examines their bodies." They saluted him and left.
Gorik began to sweat and no longer listened to the sergeant.
The sergeant shouted at him, "Gorik, do you hear me? Do you hear me!" but he got no response other than Gorik’s short, heavy breaths. Then he heard, "Sergeant, sir. What should I do? Give me an order. It’s easier for my mind in this state to obey an order…"
The sergeant was filled with despair. "Oh, Gorik, I understand. Listen, for starters, stay there and keep us informed. Termek has a family; we have to secure everything and then take care of ourselves. Don't let anyone come into contact with Termek besides the doctors… That’s my order, and Gorik… thank you for your service. Be careful."
Gorik simply said a plain "Yes, sir," and the sergeant's comms announced that the call had ended. The sergeant lay back in his chair, his hand on his head, losing his mind from the pressure. He transferred the call to Amelia's comms so she could hear what they said. She immediately felt dizzy.
Marcisia ran close to Amelia. "Hey, guys, maybe it’s time to call the shields? Because this is beyond our limits. Huh? What do you say?"
Then Gorik sent pictures of what Termek looked like now. The sergeant's mouth remained open as he looked at the pictures. "This whole thing isn't normal!" he exclaimed, utterly shaken. He showed Termek's body to Amelia and Marcisia. It had shriveled and dried up from every fluid. The doctors were fighting to keep him alive.
Amelia raised her hand, activating the alarm on her comms. "To the shields, I want your presence at the building I sent you on 18th street. We have an incident of black magic or an intervention from something higher… do what you deem necessary, as long as you carry out the mission."
Then a large vehicle arrived on 18th street, asking everyone to evacuate.
The five-member operations team got out of the vehicle, slowly and steadily. Four people stood in front of the building, all smiling. The fifth one, their leader, stood at the door of the vehicle, holding its roof, taking a deep breath. "Mmm… what a beautiful day, what a beautiful location," he said in a calm voice full of enthusiasm. He got out of the vehicle. "But what destructive energy this place gives off… How did no one realize it until now… that’s why everyone avoided it." The team looked at him and began to warm up with small jumps and stretches. They laid out their equipment.
They got ready, took their positions, and just before they entered, they heard from their leader, "By the grace of the energy of all things." They all walked with determination towards the entrance of the building as the spell that one of the team's priestesses cast showed them the way, and how the aura overflowed from the building.
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