Somewhere above an industrial-grade complex, two aerial vehicles were invisible to all sensors except visual ones. There were no emissions or smog and no roar of the motor.
Two groups could be seen laughing, cheering, and saying *ooh* and *ahhh*. They were pointing at landmarks, taking pictures, and hugging one another. They looked like tourists from a foreign country. The hybrid casual-formal look suggested they were here on professional matters but didn’t give up on having fun.
As an aerial vehicle slipped out of view, a battle-suit appeared out of nowhere, jumping and diving toward the ground. The group of people shrunk, becoming one less. Four more battle-suits appeared, jumping out and diving as well. The group of people became one, the co-pilot doing his job of transporting his clients and collecting a generous tip.
The aerial vehicle descended, avoiding certain windows. It disappeared among the buildings. Not long after, a whining sound could be heard.
——|——|—|—|——|——
-Krrk Corporal. This is Sophia. Team A is ready to go-
-Krrk Roger that. I’m preoccupied with an unknown threat. I have to find a way to disengage. Go with protocol-
-Stay careful, Sir-
-Of course-
-The corporal is engaged with an unknown threat. Told us to proceed with protocol. It’s safe, so I don’t think it should be dangerous. No matter what, stick close by and stay vigilant-
-Roger that-
-Roger-
-Yes, Sir-
-Yes-
As the group of five navigated the floor, they scanned the environment and uploaded it into their systems. They examined the data for oddities but shook their heads as they headed toward the stairwell.
-2 people take the front, and 3 people take the rear. Alternate the numbers as we ascend and descend-
-Floor is clean. Makes no sense-
-Right, a cold site just means the enemy is gone, not that we suspect anything-
-I can’t explain how there’s no trace at all. Hey Rose, any ideas?-
-No. There’s not even a trace of attempting to hide anything. It’s like, nothing happened at all. The advanced unit told us they saw something, though. We can eliminate that-
-Feel free to speak. You sound worried-
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
-It’s almost like… they didn’t encounter anything at all. They’re just walking in a straight line. They perform the procedure and reconnaissance, but if they reacted to something, it doesn’t show it-
-That doesn’t sound strange. Pranks? But the Military doesn’t do that stuff-
-Right, even if the enemy tried to confuse them, there should be signs of them breaking out of it, even if the illusion was to keep them walking forward. They’re smart. They should’ve noticed something was wrong-
-There’s nothing, however-
-That’s precisely what I can’t wrap my head around-
-There’s something else?-
-I have a crazy theory, but I don’t want to share it yet. It’s too uncomfortable to share. I have to confirm some of it before I share-
-I understand. Let’s sweep the second floor-
-Everyone, keep your eye out. It seems the cold site may have become much more dangerous-
The group began sweeping the second floor. The same equipment and layout as the first.
-Sophia-
-Tommy-
-Got something strange-
-Go-
-On the first floor, I saw a line of computers. Five names on them. Five names on these-
-What’s strange-
-The names are in a different order, but the login I.D. is in the same order-
-Pardon?-
-The order of names down the line is different, but the order of the I.D. attached down the line is still the same-
-The… I.D. is associated with the name; they can’t be different-
-Strange. Rose. This part of your theory?-
-It messes up my theory and also adds evidence to it-
-What the hell?-
-More evidence first-
-Right. Roger-
-Wait. Can’t you just change… wait nevermind-
-Only HQ can do that, and there have been no requests in the past few months-
-That’s why I said strange. I checked that up and confirmed it with Rose-
-Damn. What the hell is going on?-
-Ok. Focus. Nothing’s going to get accomplished if we don’t focus. Focus that swearing on identifying the enemy-
-Roger-
-Dammit-
-Focus. No swearing. What the hell’s going on with you?-
-I’m swearing because this seems increasingly like a hot site. I just saw a damn shadow flicking across the end of the corridor, and for a brief moment, I was looking into two glowing red circles-
-So?-
-It felt like a hundred knives pierced my heart-
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-Damn-
-What corridor?-
-The one at the end-
-Which end?-
-The one that has three separate hallways-
-What the hell? Why did you leave us? We’re on the second floor-
-No, we’re supposed to be on the fourth floor-
-What the actual f**k?-
-I thought this was the tenth floor-
-No. We’re…. Supposed to be on the second floor. I just gave that order a few minutes ago. S**t. I don’t see any of you near me-
-What? You were just next to, F**k-
-Uh. Anyone there? I’m on the 80th floor-
-That’s way too exaggerated. Who the hell is that?-
-Uh. I’m Tony-
-Who the hell is Tony?- We only had five people in our group-
-Five? Who are you guys? There’s ten of us-
-Damn it. What the hell is going on?-
-Is there cross-contamination?-
-No, there is a secure channel. You need the password for it-
-So why are there other people on it?-
-Sophia-
-What, Rose? Thank f**king god that’s your voice. This place is creeping me out. So, what floor are you on, and what have you figured out?-
-That’s the problem. Tony doesn’t exist. We only have five people on our channel. All these things are adding up, but I’m afraid of the answer-
-Ok, who are you guys? This is a secure line for team Alpha Bravo. I can pardon you guys, but you have to cooperate-
-Ignore that. What’s going on, Rose?
-Sophia, right? We need to have a talk after this. Talking out of line is not allowed. You have your superiors. Listen to em-
-Cross-contamination doesn’t exist either-
-Ok. This is Betsy, leader of team 2. Why are my Tier 1 Special Soldiers disobeying command?-
-This isn’t a voice in the head either-
-Enough!!!! We need to re-examine your mental psychology when we get back to base. Breaking down is a huge violation of military conduct. I’m getting sick of your shit. We don’t need you to analyze us every damn time. We’re perfectly normal. You’re the one that’s delusional Rose-
-Run. Run for your lives-
-Alright, that’s it. Crossed the mark, soldier. I’m coming to get you-
-Don’t look back. Don’t be fooled by any sounds. Don’t be fooled by what you see. Don’t be fooled by the tricks either. I’m afraid this isn’t a cold site. It’s much worse than a cold site. It’s even worse than a hot site-
-I don’t see anything. Rose. Please. Explain-
-If you’re weak, you fall victim to it even faster. If you have a huge ego, it makes you complacent-
-Rose. Please, just trust me. Explain-
-If you’re stubborn, it breaks down your resistance-
-Rose, let’s group back up. Share with us what you have. We’ll analyze it further-
-It’s basically invincible. At least, we can’t stop it. We need the entire Military-
——|——|—|—|——|——
Rose ran mindlessly at Sam as he held her back with a palm against her forehead. She threw a few swings, but they lacked form, lacked power. Sophia, Tommy, and Timothy looked at her with grim expressions.
Sophia was giggling like an idiot, drool creeping down the side of her lips. She swayed left and right, looked around like a happy child, and screamed in delight but always, without fail, mindlessly ran at Sam.
“Damn, what the hell is this? It’s like she had a mental breakdown,” Sophia asked.
“I’m not too sure either. It’s like her brain’s malfunctioning or broken down,” Sam commented.
“Her eyes look like she’s been drugged,” Tommy commented.
“We were right next to her. Why didn’t we get drugged?” Timothy said in a rebuttal.
“This place is just weird. Kept saying something about floors,” Sophia said with a frown.
“Place only has four floors. Impossible for there to be a tenth or even an 80th floor,” Timothy explained.
“Where was she when she said that?” Sophia asked.
“Right over there,” Timothy said, pointing to a corner desk.
“Careful. Don’t get infected,” Sam reminded.
Sophia only nodded as she approached the desk. It was plain, sanded down. Four legs attached to a flat foot base. USB sticks, documents, pens, and other office supplies were lined up neatly. No computer though. A monitoring desk? Some type of observer? That was too simple, though. Everybody had a computer. Something just wasn’t right with the profile. Even if the primary role was to observe, there would be additional responsibilities. Those practically demanded a computer.
She stopped short of the desk because it didn’t make sense. As she backed up, the world began to break and reform as something reached toward her. Her arms went to her weapon, a shotgun. As they wrapped around the trigger, she resisted.
(Boom)
The noise startled the team. Rose screamed, yelling at everyone to run. It wasn’t safe. They had to get out. Sam tried to go for Sophia, but Rose screamed again, saying Sophia was mentally strong enough to battle back, that she experienced enough to discover what had happened.
The team lacked options, wishing Sophia good luck as they ran.
“Good…. They’ve run. I don’t… have…. To… worry about… any collateral… damage,” Sophia mumbled as she gritted her teeth.
——|——|—|—|——|——
Sophia pushed Rose out the window as the rest of the team waited below to catch her. She suddenly dodged a shot as she dove behind the corner desk.
The opponent had a 6-round revolver. The first shot missed, warning them. The next three shots landed nearby as the team struggled to escape. She got off a counter-shot in response, causing the fifth shot to veer off course. She dodged the last one on pure instinct.
“Recovery was too quick. The sixth shot came a few seconds after the fifth, and it was a critical hit,” Sophia whispered aloud.
She looked around, finding a mirror on the desk above her. She grabbed it, using it to peek around the desk. The enemy was part pitch-black battle-suit, part barely discernible shadow. Was this an illusion, or was it real?