In the first room of the bunker, Luke and Atlan found themselves dwarfed by an atmosphere of forlorn neglect and darkness.

The bleak light of their lamp cast a hesitant halo into the room, struggling to pierce the aged shadows lurking in the corners.

The beam flickered over cracked concrete walls, strips of peeling paint, and rusty metal fixtures, each a grim testament to the bunker's years of disuse.

Far behind them, the day's final sunlight tried to fight its way into the bunker's entryway, but it only served to emphasize the stark contrast between the outside world and this place of bygone purpose.

Its distant glow offered little comfort, only casting long, wavering shadows throughout the room that seemed to breathe in time with the bunker's eerie silence.

Releasing his grip on his partner's shoulder, Luke took a few moments to survey their surroundings.

His attention was drawn to a corner where a flicker of reflected light danced on the ceiling, a curious anomaly in the surrounding gloom.

Proceeding cautiously, he gestured to Atlan with a quiet whisper and a nod, indicating the anomaly above them.

Moving closer, Atlan raised his weapon, his lamp illuminating a small square object. His gaze was filled with apprehension, the corners of his mouth downturned.

"Yeah, he knows we're here," Atlan muttered. His voice resonated hollowly, stripped of any traces of optimism. "We keep going," he then chose to ignore the infrared camera.

In single file, they cautiously transitioned from the dusty room into the adjoining corridor.

That's when Luke noticed the luminous bracelet Atlan was wearing.

On his wrist, a screen displayed a series of numbers.

This bracelet was connected by a wire to the barrel of his gun, or more precisely, to a small square sight taped to the side of the barrel.

"What's that?" Luke inquired, gesturing towards the device.

"This? It's a metal detector," Atlan replied, still focused on what lay before them.

"Never seen one like it," Luke added.

"That's because it's a prototype from the lab. It provides the rate of various metals over several yards," Atlan explained.

"It's handy for finding potential traps, but why wasn't I given one?" Luke asked.

Atlan half-turned and looked Luke up and down.

"I'd like to say it's one detector per team, but no. You were supposed to have one too. Damn," Atlan gritted his teeth.

The idea that he'd been sent to die in this bunker began to solidify within Luke. This was more than a risky mission; everything had been designed to minimize his chances of survival.

"What if I went to get one now?" Luke questioned.

"Definitely not, you'd get yourself killed. Anyone who leaves here is treated as a deserter. Unless you bring the target with you," Atlan explained, with the same hollow voice he'd adopted since entering the bunker.

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"Cool," Luke muttered.

Stress? He hardly felt it anymore. He'd accepted that he was being sabotaged and that they wanted him dead. Strangely, it brought him a sense of calm. As if all his uncertainties had been swept away.

"Hannah was right... If I make it out of here alive, we'll have to do everything we can to get rid of the Lab," he thought.

The pair continued to advance down the corridor and soon approached a junction. One corridor led left, the other right.

There, in the left corridor, Luke spotted a small tube emitting a green light on the ground. The team that preceded them had left a luminous signal.

"A green light?" Luke wondered.

"Green shows the path they took, red indicates a trap. We use blue tubes to mark our path," Atlan whispered in explanation.

"I never heard about this, we have light tubes?" an increasingly irritated Luke questioned.

Atlan turned around again. He sighed, leaned his gun against the wall, and sat on the floor just before the junction.

"Come sit down," he said to Luke.

Luke joined him, curious about his partner's sudden change in behavior.

"One mistake, fine, but this is throwing you to the wolves. You're not equipped for this mission and you've hardly been briefed. What the hell? We won't survive this," Atlan lamented, his legs bent and arms resting on his knees, head downcast.

Luke contemplated for a moment, then cleared his throat and asked: "Why not just run? We find an explosive with the metal detector and blow a hole in the wall," he suggested, uncertainty in his voice.

Atlan laughed nervously. "You really don't get who you're dealing with... Let me explain. Let's say you find an explosive, blow a hole in the wall, and miraculously, our unit doesn't realize for a long time. Then what? The organization is everywhere, we have men infiltrated in all airports, ports, customs, trains. We have access to the country's camera surveillance service. And that's not even the worst part... I participated in hunts against deserters with my old unit... Trust me, it's better to die in the field," Atlan said ominously.

Luke remained silent, unsure of how to respond. He hadn't fully grasped the extent of the Lab's influence.

"Oh, and let's not forget that all the agents are chipped," Atlan added.

"Chipped?" asked Luke.

"Right here, under the skin. A chip that provides our location in real time," Atlan pointed to a spot on his neck.

"It shouldn't be too hard to remove, right?" Luke asked.

"Maybe, but that's not the point. What I'm trying to tell you is that this organization has us hostage. Most other agents don't want to hear it. And it's better to keep quiet anyway. The Lab is conducting a real witch hunt. Any suspicion of betrayal and it's over," Atlan stated.

"Or they send you on a suicide mission," Luke added.

"Or they send you on a suicide mission," Atlan echoed, as if to confirm Luke's words. They both leaned their heads against the wall and sighed.

After a minute of silence, Atlan got up. "We have to go," he said.

"Can't we just wait here for 12 hours? Is it because of the chip in your neck?" Luke asked.

"I don't think the chip sends signals underground," Atlan replied.

"Then let's wait here for 11 hours and move a bit in the last hour," suggested Luke.

"If they think we haven't made any progress, they'll kill us for sabotage. The light tubes are less for our assistance, and more to prove our work," Atlan explained, picking up his weapon.

Likewise, Luke got up, adjusting his belt and bulletproof vest. As he did so, he asked Atlan another question. "Do you have a dream?"

Atlan raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Um... How do you mean?" he asked, slightly confused.

"I don't know, a dream. Like... starting a family, seeing the ocean..." Luke proposed.

"Starting a family... You know the mutation makes us strong, but it destroys us in the long run. Even if I stopped the missions, I'd die before I turned 40," Atlan stated.

Luke frowned. "Damn..." he muttered bitterly.

"But seeing the ocean? That does sound nice," Atlan admitted. For the first time, his voice brightened.

"Then let's make sure you get to see the ocean, okay?" Luke said, patting Atlan's shoulder.

With that said, Atlan pulled out a blue light tube, lit it, and placed it on the right side of the corridor, indicating the path they were about to tread.

As they started to move forward, a chilling scream echoed from the left corridor.

Not a human scream, but a powerful, guttural voice.

A beast's voice, a monster's.