Veyra
They briefed me while I was still bleeding.
The Hollowed breach near West quadrant was contained. Casualties. Minimal. That usually meant less than twenty corpses. Burned torsos. Half skulls. I've seen minimal.
"You were effective" said the handler. His voice was flat, face hidden behind a monitor.
"A Tier 1 response team would've taken longer."
I wiped blood from my chin. "They sent me alone."
"You were enough."
That was supposed to be praise.
I waited.
"New order. Internal incident. Sector B." He said.
I straightened. "Another breach?"
"Neutralized. But we found something else."
A pause.
"Someone accessed Sub-Layer 1. Unauthorized movements. Restricted zone. No clearance"
I shifted forward. "Intentional?"
"Possible. Systems were down. A Bound ran a thermal sweep during reboot. One of the containment tubes still held residual heat."
Another pause.
"No fingerprints." He announced.
"Gifted?" I asked.
"Can't confirm."
I nodded. "Who else knows?"
"Just Command and a few Bounds. I'll send you-"
"No need. I'll check."
I put the coordinates in the slate before transmuting straight to Sector B.
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Sector B's lights were still rebooting when I arrived. Half the corridor flickered. The other half smoked faintly from burnt panels. The lockdown had reset, but the damage was obvious. I moved fast, ignoring the guards. They didn't stop me. No one did.
The restricted lab was cold. I hate cold. I hate it here.
Metal floor. Rows of upright tubes along the walls. Each filled with weird liquid and malformed things.
Not quite Hollowed. Not quite human.
One tube had a smear. A Bound stood beside it, nervously scrolling a tablet.
"That's the one" he said, eyes avoiding mine.
I stepped closer. The glass still held residual warmth. The breach hadn't ended that long ago. Whoever was here had touched it and slipped away before the systems rebooted.
"Name" I asked the bound.
"Niall g-"
"Get me the list," I said.
He blinked. "Of…?"
"Everyone stationed in Sector B. Clearance or not."
He hesitated. "Even those from sanitation?"
"Especially them."
Elian.
I returned back to the dorm room in sector B. Cheated the logs. Felix did. Soon after, I was called to report.
Did I get caught? Maybe.
I'd been careful. He'd been more so. But maybe not enough.
They made me wait near the back corridor beneath the stairwell. Under one of the damaged towers.
Not just me. Six of us. No explanations.
Elian.
A Bound called it. Introduced himself. Aren Creed. Polite. Weird. Most of them didn't bother with names.
New one? Never seen him before.
He didn't ask questions. Just walked. I followed.
Kept my face blank. Neutral. Hoping it could help.
Inside, the room was small. White. A desk. Two chairs. A light. And her. The one from the breach. The one who went in alone.
I lowered my head. Reflex.
She didn't sit. Neither did I.
"Name" she said.
"Elian Rook. Maintenance. Cleaning duty"
Her voice was low. Sharp. "Assigned to?"
"Sector B"
"Where were you during the breach?"
I flinched. Almost. "Sector F. All waste chutes are shared. I was collecting overflow bins."
True. Partially.
Her gaze narrowed. She was reading more than words. Breath? Pulse? I don't know.
"You speak like someone used to being questioned" she said.
"I've worked in Sector E for six years."
That wasn't what she meant. I know. She walked towards me. Slow. Calm. She tilted her head. Like measuring something.
"You're calm," she murmured.
"I try to be."
"How?" She questioned.
"I don't know."
"Strange." She said, Almost inaudible.
She turned to the Bound. "Check his prints."
The same Bound from before nodded. "Already did. Print scan came through." He'd asked me earlier. Briefly. To touch his slate. Just once.
I hadn't questioned it.
"It did?" She asked. He nodded.
She stared at me. Her eyes didn't leave mine. I thought she might keep going. Accuse me. But then her posture shifted.
"Dismissed" she said. Flat. Final.
I didn't move.
"I said go."
I turned and left. Without a word.