The creatures did not attack. They remained petrified, their empty sockets fixed on us, as if awaiting an order that never came. Then the obelisk’s light swept across the façade and struck them head-on.
They vanished without screams or ashes.
The light touched the supermarket. The impact was one of absolute silence, suppressing any hint of fire or roar. Everything vanished at once. The hum of the lights. The distant traffic. Evelyn’s breathing. Even the beating of my own heart fell silent for a fraction of a second.
I opened my mouth.
"Evelyn..." I whispered.
My vocal cords vibrated in the total void. She was in front of me, moving her lips in sepulchral silence. The column of light pierced the ceiling and filled the supermarket with a blinding white glow.
Then the System appeared.
[CRITICAL WARNING.]
[LEAVE THE DETECTION AREA IMMEDIATELY.]
"I had already figured that out," I murmured.
My voice came back all at once, dragging with it the sudden burst of every sound in the world. A shelf collapsed a few meters from us.
CLANG!
Evelyn ducked by instinct.
"What’s happening?!" she shouted.
"I don’t know the details!" I replied.
The light began to move, advancing slowly through the aisles. Where it touched objects, matter was altered. A water bottle acquired an absolute transparency, crystalline to the point of unreality. A cereal box began to disintegrate into fine dust.
The wall behind us vibrated violently.
Evelyn scanned the surroundings.
"We have to get out," she said.
"Yes," I agreed.
"Which way?" she asked.
Good question.
I assessed the entrance. The light was devouring the distance rapidly, completely illuminating the main door and blocking any frontal escape route.
"Wait," I said.
I activated the newly acquired command.
[BASIC ANALYSIS.]
The interface shifted immediately as it focused on the glow.
[UNKNOWN ENERGY PHENOMENON.]
[THREAT LEVEL: EXTREME.]
[RECOMMENDED INTERACTION: ABSOLUTE EVASION.]
"Very useful," I muttered.
I tried to analyze the projecting tower through the broken roof. The interface flickered.
[ANALYSIS IN PROGRESS.]
I waited. One second. Two.
Then:
[ACCESS DENIED.]
I frowned.
"What?" I exclaimed.
I forced the command again.
[ACCESS DENIED.]
"Who is blocking you?" I asked aloud.
The System’s silence was deafening. Its supposed omniscience had just crashed against an impenetrable wall, and that revelation terrified me more than any street beast.
The light advanced, sweeping over a nearby shelf. The wood blackened in a blink before being completely consumed in the air.
Evelyn watched the annihilation of matter.
"Gabriel," she said.
"I know," I replied.
"It’s time to move," she insisted.
"I know that too," I answered.
"Then stop staring."
I fixed my eyes on her.
"I’m calculating a route," I said.
"Then calculate it fast," she replied.
"You’re so motivating."
Evelyn pointed toward the back of the establishment.
"Cold storage rooms," she said.
I assessed the option. The thick metal doors awaited behind several intact shelves.
We ran. The light was nipping at our heels. I preferred to keep the effects of that glow on human flesh unresolved.
Then a stabbing pain drilled into my skull. I raised a hand to my forehead, suppressing a groan.
"Ah..." I moaned.
Evelyn stopped short.
"What’s wrong?" she asked.
"A mild dizzy spell," I lied.
The migraine intensified instantly, accompanied by the glow of the interface.
[ENERGY EXPOSURE DETECTED.]
[User exposure: 8%.]
[Exposure of accompanying subject: Not registered — Protocol only evaluates the compatible user.]
The percentage climbed before my eyes.
[12%.]
"Shit," I muttered.
Evelyn grabbed my shoulder firmly.
"What’s wrong with you? You’re pale," she said.
"Keep going," I ordered.
"Gabriel..." she insisted.
I stared at her.
"Keep moving," I repeated.
She hesitated for a fraction of a second before nodding.
We resumed running. The light was closing the distance dangerously.
[17%.]
I felt burning needles piercing behind my eyeballs. We reached the cold storage rooms and I pulled the handle. The latch resisted my pull with absolute solidity.
"It’s locked," I announced.
Evelyn looked back. The glow was already devouring half of the supermarket.
"Then force it," she said.
"With what?" I asked.
She pointed to a red fire extinguisher hanging on the adjacent wall.
"With that," she replied.
I took down the metal cylinder, weighing it in my hands.
"I hope the steel gives way quickly," I muttered.
"Let’s find out on the fly," she said.
I struck the lock with all my strength.
CLANG!
The metal rang out, unyielding. I struck again, venting my frustration.
CLANG!
The lock began to deform. Third strike.
CRACK!
The mechanism gave way and the heavy door swung wide open.
We jumped inside, leaving behind the relentless advance of the light. The cold storage room welcomed us with intense cold and dozens of stacked boxes. At the back, a solid wall blocked any escape route.
"Perfect," Evelyn said ironically.
She glanced at me sidelong.
"What?" I asked.
"Wait a moment," she replied.
I activated the analysis and focused on the concrete wall.
[STRUCTURE ANALYZED.]
[INTEGRITY: 31%.]
[PROBABILITY OF BREACH: 64%.]
A tense smile crept onto my lips.
"I have an idea," I said.
"A bad one?" Evelyn asked.
"Terrible," I admitted.
"Then it’s probably our only option."
I raised the fire extinguisher again and charged at the wall. Once. Twice. Three times. The headache climbed to unbearable levels.
[EXPOSURE: 23%.]
"Come on..." I muttered.
I struck again, using the full weight of my body.
CRACK!
A deep fissure fractured the cement.
"Again," Evelyn said.
Evelyn positioned herself beside me, nudging me aside with her shoulder.
"Step aside," she ordered.
"What are you going to do?" I asked.
"The same as you, but with the correct technique," she replied.
I accepted the correction in silence. We both threw our strength against the weakened wall. The concrete finally gave way, opening an irregular hole that led directly to an outside alley.
"Let’s go!" I shouted.
Evelyn went through the breach first. I slipped through right behind. The light completely flooded the supermarket behind us. The entire building was buried beneath that searing glow.
For a few fleeting seconds, I believed we had cheated fate.
Then a red window interposed itself in my line of sight.
[SURVIVAL OBJECTIVE UPDATED.]
[The entity has locked onto the user’s coordinates.]
I stood petrified in the alley.
"What?" I exclaimed.
Evelyn scrutinized my face.
"What’s happening?" she asked.
I remained silent, connecting the pieces at a dizzying speed. The tower. The light. The System. All the pieces were part of the same murderous game board. And, apparently, the player had just found me.
Evelyn closed the distance between us.
"Gabriel," she said.
"We need to get away from here immediately," I replied.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because staying on this street is equivalent to guaranteed suicide."
She shifted her gaze between the ruins of the supermarket and the fractured sky.
"So where do we go?" she inquired.
The System deployed a topographic map of the area on my retina. A nearby building blinked in emerald green.
[POTENTIAL SHELTER DETECTED.]
[Distance: 1.8 km.]
It was a conventional office building. A stark structure, but it offered more cover than the exposed asphalt.
"There," I said.
Evelyn frowned, searching for the target invisible to her.
"Where?" she asked.
I pointed firmly along the route.
"A kilometer and a half east," I replied.
"What guarantees do you have that it’s clear?" she questioned.
"I have none."
"You’re taking the risk blindly?"
"Completely."
Evelyn let out a sigh of resignation.
"I’m starting to notice a pattern in your decision-making," she said.
"We share that observation," I replied.
I peered around the corner of the alley. Several abominations were patrolling among the abandoned vehicles. Some were actively rooting through the rubble, while others wandered in chaotic patterns.
"We have to cross that avenue," I announced.
"Then let’s cross," Evelyn said.
As I took the first step out of the alley, the System interrupted with a triumphant tone.
[SPECIAL CONDITION COMPLETED.]
[Survival under critical energy exposure.]
[Reward: +1 Sensory Adaptation.]
I stopped, expecting an impactful physical manifestation: the materialization of a divine weapon or a wave of superhuman muscular strength.
My senses sharpened to the point of pain.
I took a deep breath and the world opened before my ears with terrifying clarity. I heard the friction of car tires nearly two streets away. The metallic click of a window closing. The subtle scrape of claws on asphalt. The rhythmic pumping of Evelyn’s heart beating centimeters from me.
I stood completely rigid, processing the information overload.
She noticed the change immediately.
"What’s wrong?" she asked.
"My ears just amplified their range," I replied.
"What?" she said.
"I can perceive everything."
She frowned.
"You say far too many cryptic phrases per minute," she murmured.
"Consequences of a newly acquired enhancement."
"What enhancement?" she asked.
I looked into her eyes, calculating the best way to translate a state progression mechanic to an incredulous surgery resident.
"It’s a biological process I’m still deciphering," I replied.
Evelyn accepted the evasion with a slight nod, a concession that took me by surprise.
"You’re lying," she said.
I froze.
"What?"
"You’re lying. Or at least, you’re not telling me the whole truth." She crossed her arms, her gaze clinical. "I’ve been watching you since the minimarket. You react to things I can’t see. You talk to yourself. You pause mid-sentence like you’re reading something in front of your face."
"Evelyn—"
"I’m not stupid, Gabriel. I’m a surgeon. I’ve spent ten years learning to read people’s bodies. And yours is screaming that something is happening inside your head that you’re not sharing."
I held her gaze for a long moment. The alley was silent. The city was burning. And Evelyn Cross was looking at me like I was a patient she couldn’t diagnose.
"You’re right," I admitted. "But I don’t have the words to explain it. Not yet."
She studied me for another long second. Then she nodded.
"Then find them. Before whatever’s in your head gets us killed."
She turned and started walking.
We resumed walking. The firmament pulsed beneath the glow of that dimensional wound. The city exhaled the dense breath of a corpse resisting final death.
We reached a corner blocked by an overturned bus.
Then a scream tore through the stillness.
"HELP!" shrieked a female voice.
Evelyn dug her heels into the asphalt. I did the same. The plea came from a residential complex to our right.
"PLEASE!" insisted the voice.
Evelyn turned toward me, determination hardening her features.
"We have to go," she said.
"That scream has all the characteristics of an ambush," I replied.
"Possibly," she admitted.
"The building could be infested with those things."
"Highly likely."
I observed her with genuine curiosity.
"You have an admirable suicidal vocation," I commented.
"And you display suffocating paranoia," she shot back.
The System intervened to settle the debate.
[HUMAN SIGNAL DETECTED.]
[Survival probability of the emitting subject: 41%.]
[Correction: The signal is a recording. The System does not distinguish between live and recorded voices. This is a limitation.]
I frowned at the correction.
"What?" Evelyn asked.
"The System just told me it can’t tell the difference between a live voice and a recording," I said.
Evelyn stared at me.
"The System."
"Yes."
"The invisible thing in your head."
"Yes."
She pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Okay. We’ll deal with that later. Right now, there’s a woman screaming for help."
"Or a recording of a woman screaming for help."
"Either way, we check."
I shifted my gaze between the building walls and the doctor’s resolute face.
"What if we decide to ignore it and continue our route?" I asked.
[User survival probability: 78%.]
I pointed at the empty space in front of my eyes, conveying the message with a gesture of frustration that Evelyn seemed to understand perfectly.
"Then we let them die," she said.
Her sudden pragmatism surprised me.
"What?" I asked.
Evelyn kept her gaze fixed on the dark windows of the complex.
"Whoever is in there, statistically, is doomed," she replied.
"Exactly. Logic dictates we keep moving."
"And yet..." she said, clenching her fists.
"What?" I insisted.
"And yet, my Hippocratic oath prevents me from walking away," she concluded.
I held her gaze for a couple of heavy seconds, assessing the level of stubbornness she radiated. Finally, I let out a sigh of defeat.
"I knew the conclusion of this debate before it started," I said.
I gripped my metal bar with both hands, ready to deal out head trauma.
"Lead the way," Evelyn murmured.
We entered the complex lobby. Darkness reigned in the space, interrupted only by the intermittent flashing of a red emergency light at the end of the hallway.
THUD.
A dull impact shook the ceiling, coming from the upper levels.
Evelyn raised her chin, tense.
"Did you register that?" she asked.
"Confirmed," I replied.
We began the ascent up the service stairs. First floor. Clear. Second. Clear. Third floor. The female voice rang out again, bouncing through the stairwell.
"HELP!" it shouted.
This time, the source sounded terrifyingly close.
"We’re on our way!" Evelyn shouted.
A cutting silence followed her words.
I stepped into her path, blocking her with my arm.
"Cancel that initiative," I ordered.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because you just gave away our coordinates to whatever is lurking up there."
Evelyn looked at me severely.
"Gabriel..." she said.
"Yes?"
"Are you confirming your trap theory?"
"One hundred percent guaranteed," I replied.
"Then secure that grip on your bar."
We resumed the climb, redoubling our caution. Fourth floor. Fifth. Upon reaching the sixth-floor landing, we found a door ajar. The voice came from inside the apartment, sounding metallic and distorted.
"Please!" it pleaded.
Evelyn stepped forward. I raised the steel bar above my shoulder, ready to deliver the blow. We burst into the living room.
The apartment had no living occupants. The space was completely deserted, except for a mobile phone resting on the coffee table, playing a voice memo on a continuous loop.
The audio restarted.
"HELP!" the recording repeated.
A pre-recorded lure.
My stomach dropped like an anvil.
"Evelyn..." I whispered.
She spun on her heels just as the air stirred behind us. The interface exploded in blood red.
[WARNING.]
[HUMAN SIGNAL DETECTED.]
[THE HUMAN SIGNAL COEXISTS WITH AN ADDITIONAL PRESENCE.]
I turned my head slowly toward the shadow-drenched hallway. Two luminous orbs ignited in the gloom.
The System delivered its final verdict.
[AMBUSH CONFIRMED.]
The creature emerged from the darkness, blocking the only exit and closing the door behind us with a smooth, calculated push.