I must be hallucinating or is that a gunshot I heard.
Then more followed and soon, I could see it ringing in my ear.
I forced my eyes to open slightly, watching as the monster staggered, roaring. More shots followed, driving it back.
Hands dragged me from the ground and I groaned in pain.
"Target secured! Move!"
Authoritative voices surrounded me. I'm lifted onto a stretcher and loaded into another armored vehicle.
As consciousness faded again, I glimpsed the creature retreating into the toxic mist.
At least I was still alive.
I woke to gentle fingers cleaning my forehead. Blinking against the sterile lights, I gazed into striking brown eyes.
"Easy now," a warm voice said. "You're safe."
The woman appeared late thirties but timeless. Dark hair swept back, rebellious white strands framing her face. Even amid the chaos, she possessed an undeniable beauty.
"I'm Kambi," she said, dabbing antiseptic with practiced precision. "You took quite a hit. Luckily, our specialist is top-notch, your leg will heal in a few hours."
I winced as I stared at my patched leg that was wrapped in bandages. "The monster... what was that thing?"
Kambi's hands paused. "It's unusual. This kind of breach has never happened before." She quickly added, "But you're in perfect hands now."
A bulkier soldier approached. "Kambi, we've got a situation. Command's sending replacements for the lost units."
"Lost units?" I snapped, struggling to sit up. "Those were people! They had families."
Xavier, judging by his name patch, shrugged. "Kid, you're gonna meet a similar fate, anyway. Why get worked up?"
His words hit like ice. 'Similar fate? What's he talking about?'
Kambi's elbow met his rib. "Xavier!" And turned to me apologetically. "Sorry, he doesn't know what he's talking about."
She led him away, and I glimpsed Xavier pulling her into a tight hug before the door shut closed, reminding me of Tobi and Mila yesterday, clinging like it might be the last time.
'How much I miss them.'
Through the craft's windows, the Belt Ark Region came into view with gleaming towers and pristine streets that dwarfed our humble clusters. Their structures soared like monuments, unlike ours, which were weathered.
The military base sat at the edge of the region, a fortress of black stone and polished metal surrounded by energy barriers. Landing platforms dotted its surface like metallic flowers.
We touched down silently.
Kambi walked beside me as we disembarked, escorting me through sterile corridors to a private room.
"You stay here until your team arrives," Kambi said, gently squeezing my shoulder before leaving.
After an hour, the door opened, and someone guided me toward the front of a building where the nine replacements were waiting.
Then, my heart stopped.
I recognized those auburn curls and sky blue eyes anywhere. She wore an emerald dress with silver threading, probably worth more than my monthly wages. Her polished features spoke of someone who'd never missed a meal.
Nira Rellington. My teenage crush.
She was the reason I could handle grief during our brief interactions. I had recently lost my mom and was on the verge of losing myself when she walked up to me to deliver her entitlements at the governor's ark house. That was our first and only meeting.
The second time was when she talked to me about picking myself up. That was when I was queuing up for social fare food ration with little Cent and Vivi.
She sounded someone more matured than her age which gave me a rude awaking. All these happened few weeks before Sera showed up. How I picked up in that dark moment of my life remains a mystery?
I'd dreamed of marrying her someday until maturity made me realize our social classes were worlds apart. An impossible dream.
Then another shock hit me.
Tobi was among them too.
I grabbed his shoulders. "What are you doing here?"
Tobi's strained grin flickered. "I volunteered in Mila's place."
Relief hit me. "And my siblings?"
"Safe in her care," he said. "She leveraged Sera's debt to make her case." Relief flooded through me. "What about your group?" he asked.
"I'm the only one left." I told him what went down.
Tobi went pale. "Impossible. Those things don't exist anymore. The war ended decades ago."
Enforcers herded us toward the exit, separating boys from girls with military precision. Steel doors slammed shut.
"Strip!" Rifles swung toward us when we hesitated. Our clothes, our last connection to home, went into metal bins.
Guards positioned themselves while male technicians wheeled in equipment.
The decontamination spray hit like ice water. Chemicals burned our eyes as we coughed and tried to shield ourselves.
"What are they spraying on us?" someone choked.
"Insecticide," another replied bitterly. "Of course they'd treat us like pests."
"Pest is a good word for trash," a third voice added, drawing bitter chuckles.
The chemical burned like a thousand needles, making every nerve scream. I scratched at my arms, trying to relieve the maddening itch spreading from shoulders to fingertips.
Pain spread upward from my injuries, setting everything ablaze.
Water began falling, but it was slippery and oily.
"Soap!" someone shouted. Orderly lines dissolved into chaos.
Boys pushed and shoved, desperate for the streams. I positioned myself beneath a nozzle, rubbing the slick liquid everywhere I could reach. It stung against chemical burns but felt like salvation.
My feet remained out of reach, the itching driving me nearly mad as I balanced on one leg to scrub the other.
The soap stopped suddenly. Then actual water came, hard, icy streams beating our raw skin like punishment. Thirty seconds, nowhere near enough to wash away the burning or humiliation.
"Out! Now!" Guards forced us from the chamber while we scratched frantically, fingernails leaving red welts.
Grey surgical scrubs replaced our clothes, and they were rough against our chemically burned skin, offering no insulation against the seeping cold.
A guard pressed a metal tag into my palm. "One hundred and ninety-seven."
Tobi got one ninety-nine.
It seems odd for boys, even for girls. Another way to transform us from people into inventory.
We walked in based on our number in a pair until it was only Tobi and I left.
"Hey." Tobi nudged my shoulder. "It's going to be alright. Mila got it. Let's just focus on the trial."
I wanted to believe him, but the knot in my stomach tightened. Cent was smart, but only twelve. He had to care for Vivi, who still woke screaming from nightmares about Mom's death. The weight I'd carried would fall on his narrow shoulders.
Our numbers were called, and we parted in opposite directions.
The research facility stretched endlessly, white corridors buzzing with machinery, antiseptic smell, examination tables with leather restraints. Monitors displayed other subjects' vital signs.
They strapped me to cold metal. A doctor approached with a tablet to ask me questions.
"Age?"
"Seventeen. I'm here against my will—"
He turned away to continue as if I said nothing.
I tried protesting but the security lingering around subdued me. I felt a sharp pinch, then paralysis slowly spread through my veins.
I could see and hear everything but couldn't move or speak. They drew vials of blood, each labeled with my number. The scanner analyzed my DNA while the doctor studied readouts.
"Unusual muscle density for someone from a low ark-region," he murmured. Then, surprised: "Anomalous energy readings."
A second doctor reviewed my file. "This one might survive the Enhancement Phase."
'Enhancement Phase?' The words chilled me.
By the time sensation returned, Tobi had to support me out, my legs unsteady from the paralytic.
"What did they do?" Tobi whispered urgently as we stumbled down the corridor. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
I tried to answer, but my tongue felt thick. Only groans emerged.
The corridor stretched endlessly under flickering fluorescent lights until we arrived at our assigned dormitory.
Inside was a long room lined with metal bunks, thin mattresses, and gray blankets.
Tobi laid me down and left to get dinner.
Alone for the first time, tears came.
This was my first night away from Cent and Vivi.
Exhaustion dragged me toward sleep, my last thought a desperate prayer, to keep my siblings safe until I could find my way back.
As sleep claimed me, one terrifying question echoed: Will I actually be going through something like this at the experiment trial?