The sound of the car's door slamming shut, drew my consciousness to the surface for a brief moment before the heavy chains start pulling me down forcing me to sink in. Yet another door opened and then closed with much more force than the first, like a jolt or punch that send me to the surface once more, this time I resisted the chains' pulling. I tried to open my eyes but with no success, they are not budging, someone must have sealed them, the same one putting chains around me, perhaps.

"We need to pull back, sir."

After one or two eternities of failed attempts at moving the heavy eyelids, a gruff voice was heard giving me another jolt. I know this voice, I heard it before, but it is too distant and too near.

"Did this little fight jittered you up, Sergeant?" A chuckle comes from another familiar voice. This one I knew it, this voice who is it again, the HR? No, no the HR got fired after the dog come in.

"Three Shredders in the same place is not normal, not here." The first voice echoed again. Stop talking, I need to find out who is the HR first... wait a moment, three Shredders? Isn't that like bad news for the talking old rat? I hope he and his kids stocked some pizza because if not, with three Shredders, they won't see any cheese or tomato sauce for a long time.

"So, what you are saying is..."

...but it won't be a piece of bad news as discovering Hawaiian pizza, that shit is... wait not now. The chains started pulling me harder as my thought begin scattering.

***

"... underprepared and in the dark, we need to go back, organized ourselves, and return with an improved plan, better and heavier equipment, and maybe more men."

The sounds yes, yes talk, talk. The voices are keeping me afloat, pushing me out, pushing me up.

"In the dark..." The HR guy trailed "you right, but isn't this our mission, Sergeant?"

But is he really the HR? I thought he got fired. Did they hire another HR guy? And who hired another HR if there is no HR that will hire another HR? That doesn't make any sense, doesn't it?

"Going against a horde is not, sir" The sound of shuffle was heard, a clock of a box opening the closing.

"Mmh" The suspected HR mused "The man that once was ready to blow himself up less than a year ago, is now pissing himself after some little warm-up."

"I am not afraid, sir" The guff voice stopped for a moment as a click was heard following a puffing I easily recognized as cigarettes "just concerned about the mission as a whole and the team mem--

Everything became blurry and distant again, once more the chains are pulling me down wanting to drown me. I tried to focus on the sounds, on the voices, my only thread up, to no avail. My consciousness is slipping, and my thought hard to gather. No, no, no I want to be up, I want to... I am tired, maybe... just for... a little... bit.

***

"... all luck! Just luck!"

A thread hauled me up, a voice, the voice.

"How many more explosions do we have in stock, huh sir?! Five! That's it Five, an--"

"Lower your voice, Bart, you will wake up the kid."

Kid? Whose kid? Did Carla get her son into the company again? In working days? And then they wonder why they got fired... seriously, aren't they learning... any... thing... from...t... HR.

***

"... missions are for us to carry, not to discuss, these are your damn words Bart, and now, what? You want to change it?! because for once the mission isn't to your liking?!"

That is not the fucking HR. I tried to open my eyes, they did open for a brief moment. But as if gravity focused all its might on my eyelids, keeping them open is a losing challenge.

"The mission isn't the issue, Al" I heard someone puffing a cigarette, not just the sound, but the smell too, this place stinks of smoke "the issue is the filth behind the mission, politics. Haven't you thought about it? Why now? Why here? In this isolated place, and why us?... Why you?"

Where the heck am I?

I succeeded in opening my eyes for a second only to close them for three seconds, then open them for half a second. The place is dark with a slight orange glow coming from above to my left, yet I can't see the source of it, perhaps If I turn my head I could, but that would be no different than asking me to climb Mount Everest. I am physically apt but I do not have the resolve.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"We are the only mobile available, everyone else who is in condition to, has been deployed, Tuva confirmed it," A firm tone of voice echoed, from above? "but you already know that and you also know that the communications were cut almost two months ago, at the start of winter, but the base couldn't send fault of transportation, the roa--"

It is a green box, I recognized the thing in front of me. I think I know where I am but every thought is so... heavy. I tried to focus on the voices and the content of their conversation, but it felt useless. I understand the words or the language, but the meaning is... slipping. As if my head only had an ear, I can hear but not listen.

"humph, excuses after excuses," The guff voice interjected "everyone got deployed? Yes everyone who has is under the Count-"

"Bart!"

"This is all a political move against the Count, Al" The owner of the guff voice I now recognized as Bart's, however, didn't stop or heed the warning of his leader "they want us away, she wants us away from him, with only her men around... we should be there Al, not here, we should be at his side."

"It is not necessary," Alec sighed "he has more people at his side mor--"

***

Toc Toc.

The sound of tapping the window's glass woke me up from my... trance? because I am pretty sure I wasn't sleeping, my eyes not fully open but not closed either. Why am I feeling so heavy? What the fuck did they give me?

"Chief, Ms. Mira sighted Eric, in his way, he should be here less than five."

"When he arrives, get Roney and him, we should start moving asap."

After a moment and what appears to be a glass window closing, the outside noise shielded, and silence descended inside the car, I couldn't hear anything other than my breathing. It is when I started to think I got unknowingly into another trance that Alec's voice echoed firmer than ever before.

"I understand your concern, but this is not acceptable. If you want to go back early then you better focus on the mission... I do NOT want to hear about this again, did I make myself clear?"

Did he? maybe, I don't know. He certainly isn't talking to me. And why no one is answering him?

Ah fuck.

The Shredder. What happened? I did blind him, it was easier than expected, I remember the probability of blinding the monster's fine eye should by almost thirty percent once I noticed it not finding my location. Which ended up ruining my preparation of luring it with blood. That was frankly hard to believe; a predatory monster made solely to kill can't smell blood. What a fucking ridiculous flaw is that.

And it is not just their sense of smell that is poor, their hearing likewise is, if not more, lacking. I almost want to laugh at myself for fearing such a creature, but then I remembered; had Bell not shot at it the moment it hurled at me, slowing it greatly in the process, I would be three pieces of meat right now, if not minced like the hunter's corpse, that is.

Regardless, the Shredder is dead, all three of them, not just the one I faced. And how did they die? Who killed them? Was it me?

Those cheap fucking bastards.

The bastards had a grenade fucking launcher, and instead of using it, they thought it is a better idea to warm them up with some fire while playing 'try to dodge the darts'. I perfectly understand they are somewhat on the low side on the resources side, they haven't shown any sign of hiding it after all, but there should be some situations where such acts shouldn't be allowed, situations where bargaining with one's life is unacceptable.

But what the hell was their thought process to come to the conclusion, two nearly immune to fire monsters are not enough to call the big guns?

Frankly, I am more curious than angry at this point. I won't say I have a great understanding of this military team, hell even saying I know them would be an exaggeration. However, I am fairly certain they are not incompetent, rather they know their craft. If they haven't used explosion from the start chances are they could have won against the two Shredders, or at least that is what they believe. That is of course excluding the fact they might just be overconfident tightwads.

But that is highly unlikely considering they haven't spared, nor hesitated to, any antidote or medication. Even though, it put me in a drugged state.

Fuck.

I should be grateful, I am grateful but... fuck.

Still, fortunately, I didn't say anything in my drugged state about transmigration or the complete use of my ability, which are dangerous secrets, but I did blurt out a secret no less dangerous.

That bitch.

It is all her fault, she and her damn curiosity. Why didn't she just talk about summer and monkeys like the hat guy? Going straight to the secret. and who is in their right mind to go directly for the secret. Doesn't she know people have more than one secret...

No matter. Crying over spilled milk is useless or something. Bell did save my life, after all, I owe her a life debt, so it is wiser to just forget... both the offense and the debt.

It is better this way, I don't like owing anything to anyone.

Yet, I am starting to think I am forcing it a bit too much. I mean no one would have ever believed anyone claiming they come from a different world, rather some would call them crazy, and others would look at them with pity.

Nonetheless, to me, keeping secrets is more of an instinct than a need, it always has been like that. Growing up with paranoia around you, you will end up being its seed. Not that I am complaining or anything, rather, I am fairly satisfied with this trait, now more than ever before.

You will never believe the power secrets held. It is no coincidence the saying 'everyone has a body in their closet' is on the black side of the law. The saying explain and demonstrate a secret essence masterfully. In other words, secrets are meant to be known. It doesn't matter if it is a small secret or a big secret it can always be used against you. Yet the word secret can be ambiguous, so if you have difficulties differentiating what should be a secret and what shouldn't, you can just rearrange the previous sentence.

Anything that can be used against you is a secret.

Not a comfortable way of life, but at least you are living it.

"Hadn't you had enough sleep already, you fucker," I felt an abrupt push to my left shoulder causing me to open my eyes in confusion as I felt some discomfort and a relatively bearable pain on my back's left side.

Ah?

Did get into a trance again?

"Go ahead, I will make sure he follows in two."

"All he is done is sleeping, we are on a mission for fuck sack, why the fuck did the captain agree to this? He is clearly a burden."

"I said go ahead."

I tried to sit up. Another pain made itself known as I pushed with my right arm, yet it didn't disturb me, it felt as if it is not my pain, hell all my body felt detached and distant. Like I was controlling some giant automaton.

"...where are we?" I said, looking at Bell as she opened the trunk door.

"Time for a walk Dumdum," She smiled "and bring your jar of luck with you."