Silence filled the room. The colonel's words were hard to process, even though Telos remained calm. After all, he had experienced that himself.
Telos let those words fly onto the air, and after a few moments, he asked:
"I know that strange creatures invaded this world. But how is that going to finish the world? I mean… You just killed a bunch of them…"
Those words were not empty. The fight he probably had listened to in the forest was between the creatures and the humans, and the victory was on the humans' side, so… They can just kill the other ones, no?
Colonel Jack knew about that, and of course, he knew something that Telos did not. The muscular colonel let a sigh out and responded with a tired voice:
"Yes… We can defend ourselves right now, but… In a near future that is going to change."
Telos frowned, but he did not ask; he let Jack continue:
"...At this moment, only low-ranking creatures have invaded our world. That is going to change if we can not reach the source of the abyss. The seal that is preventing high-ranking creatures from entering this world is going to break, and in that moment, we can not do anything…"
The colonel's words sounded full of sadness, as if this situation was inevitable… Impossible to prevent. Telos lowered his gaze, trying to think what to ask. After a few seconds, he looked again at Jack.
"We just have to find the source, right?"
Telos asked, his words showing great determination, and his eyes shining with an intense crimson color.
Jack opened his eyes widely, surprised by that response, and then he chuckled, shaking his head.
"We are trying to find it, but first we have to save all the people that has become involved in this cruel situation."
He sighed.
"There is not only the problem of the creatures… With them, madness had also invaded this world, making people crazy at an incredible speed. If this continues, in a couple of months… no, in only one month, all the normal people are going to die of madness."
Telos looked at the colonel, missing what he had said. After thinking and not being able to come up with an answer, he asked curiously:
"Aren't you a normal human, too?"
The question echoed lightly through the walls, fading into the sounds of birdsong. An awkward silence fell between the two people. Breaking the silence, the colonel asked:
"You do not know anything?"
Telos stayed in silence, but that was a response sufficient to make the colonel cover his face with his hand.
"Two months ago, we already advised that this was going to happen one day; we did not know when, but we knew that it was inevitable. The first reason was the appearance of Anchors."
The young man frowned.
"Anchors?"
"Yes… We gave that name to the people who got supernatural abilities somehow. But this name is because we are not affected by the madness provoked by the abyss."
Jack looked out the window, seeing how a bird was slowly collapsing on the branches. The feathers started to fall out of the skin, and the veins became grotesquely enlarged. After a few seconds of suffering, the bird died. Jack closed his eyes.
"...We are not too much and, like that bird, all humanity is going to die. If it is not by madness, it will be by lack of food…"
Once more, silence invaded the room.
The birdsongs silenced, the rays of sunlight vanished, replaced by a gray haze suspended in the air. A cold breeze entered the room, pushing the wooden window slightly.
"We've seen you…"
Colonel Jack's voice sounded for the first time serious. Telos' gaze pierced the muscular man.
"What are you talking about?"
Telos' hands under the black quilt tensed, ready for any action. Of course, he knew that he was not available to win that supposed fight… but he was not going to let it be easy, at least…
Jack returned his gaze, looking directly into Telos' eyes, as if this were a looks competition. Seconds passed by, and no one removed his gaze. Then, the muscular colonel smiled.
"What more? That you are capable of controlling creatures. I mean, how could you outrun that perverse things?"
Telos' hands relaxed. He wanted to let out a sigh, but that was going to be suspicious. He did not want to get into unnecessary trouble. What would they do to him if they knew he had ordered the killing of all the people in the suburbs?
But then, he slightly looked at the man.
'So he knew that I faked my getaway? Damn… I've been hit for nothing…'
Telos gulped.
"But… It seems that I have a limit of a couple of creatures. However, they still almost killed me."
The young man laughed lightly, scratching the back of his neck.
"Oh… I thought that you could use your ability to move away all the creatures in the nearby…"
'Hell no… Why should I get more issues? Just let me relax…'
Colonel Jack's face wrinkled weakly, showing a solemn expression.
"Sorry, you should relax. All the suburban people had died because of our delay. The feeling of guilt had subsided a bit when I saw there was still one more person escaping. The state of your body must have made you suffer a lot, not to mention seeing your friends die…"
The man shook his head and turned around, walking towards the door.
"Today, you can rest. Get ready for tomorrow."
Telos frowned deeply.
"What do you mean, get ready?"
The colonel opened the door, and without looking back, responded:
"All the Anchors are training for the first expedition, which is going to be in a week. Like I said before, we can not lengthen this."
With those final words, Colonel Jack closed the door cautiously, letting the room in silence, just interrupted by the creak of the wooden window.
'Just... Why?'
***
A week had passed by. The sky was solemn and strangely calm, slowly swaying the hair of the nearly one hundred people in the place.
On a vast dirt field, all of them stared fixedly at one point, the gate of a massive military camp.
The enormous barracks were black and seemingly armored. Its metal structure was simple, hastily put together with the sole purpose of protecting them from the creatures. The thousands of windows were oppressive, as if they were witnessing a jail.
Telos was somewhere among the people, also waiting for Colonel Jack to appear and explain the plan of the expedition.
In this week, the young man had slightly enjoyed his instance. Free food. A comfortable place to stay. Without being hit continuously… Well…
The young man had hated his stay more than he appreciated it. Yes, he probably had an experience that he probably never had. But in the end, all was the same.
He understood the rigorous training, and he understood that he did not have the best physique. However, is it necessary to criticize him for his lack of strength? Is it necessary to bully him for being different?
And what if he has red eyes? And what if he has a strange tattoo on his chest? Is it necessary to call him a creature only for having those characteristics?
The only difference between now and then is that Colonel Jack stopped the fight practice when he saw that they were crossing the line.
He did not want to remember anything from those days here.
Even now, when all these people should be worried about the expedition, they are looking at him with a sense of superiority. After all, he was the only one who did not have any abilities to protect himself, or at least at this moment.
'I hate this…'
Of course, Telos was used to this. His whole life had been like this; what is different now? He just kept that inside of him, like always.
Finally, Colonel Jack appeared from the doors of the barracks.
His perfect hair was pushed back by the wind, highlighting his icy blue eyes that dimly illuminated the place he was looking at.
The air filled with a palpable tension. Telos heard people hardly gulping. Right now, all the things are irrelevant, all that mattered is the uncertain path they have to take.
After a few moments of pure silence, the breeze blew hard, breaking the silence, to which Colonel Jack would go on to say:
"The day had come. Before I say the plans of the expedition, I want to emphasize some things."
He paused briefly.
"In this expedition, we are all brothers. It does not matter how you are. Handsome or ugly. Strong or weak. Tall or small. We are all humans, and you should know that the most. One day, your life could depend on who you one day molested."
After saying that, a few people chuckled and glanced at Telos.
"The expedition is going to be very difficult, and a lot of lives are going to be lost. It is longer than we wanted to, but fate is not on our side. That is why we're going to separate ourselves into five different groups."
As he said that, five people emerged from the darkness hidden behind the metal gate. They walked calmly to the Colonel's position.
Telos, of course, did not see anything. As if it were on purpose -probably it is- all the tall guys stood in front of him. He did not care, he was going to see them later, and if he did not, he probably would one day.
But he knew one thing: by the people's reaction, they were probably truly important.
Jack, oblivious to everything, continued:
"I guess you all know who they are. For those who do not, they are Lieutenant General Marie, Robert, Fred, Alisha, and Jin."
People, after hearing this last one, were simply stunned. They could not believe that he was here.
Breaking the people's dream, Colonel Jack added.
"They're going to help us on the expedition to the Cursed Realm."
People's breath was taken away. Even Telos could not believe what he just heard.