The silence inside the room was heavy.
Almost suffocating.
Davincci entered, out of breath, his eyes jumping from Elloysa to Francielly, trying to assemble a puzzle that simply didn't make sense.
— What happened here?! — his voice came out louder than he expected.
Elloysa was still trembling.
The piece of metal slipped from her hand and hit the floor with a dry clank.
She didn't look at Francielly.
She couldn't.
— She… — her voice failed. She swallowed hard. — She's one of them.
The world seemed to micro-freeze.
Francielly went still.
— No… — she murmured, bringing a hand to her face, still feeling the blood from her broken nose. — Don't say that…
She took a step forward.
— I'm not that. I… I didn't know what I was doing.
Davincci looked at her.
Confusion.
Fear.
But still… doubt.
— Fran, what—
— I DIDN'T CONTROL IT! — she cut him off, her voice breaking. — I swear, I don't control this!
Elloysa finally looked.
And her gaze… wasn't the same.
Not pure fear.
Something sharper.
Anger.
Betrayal.
— So you just… lose control and go around killing everyone? — she said, flat.
Francielly stepped back as if struck.
— I didn't mean to…
— Didn't mean to? — Elloysa let out a humorless laugh. — People are dead because of you.
Silence.
Heavy.
Cutting.
Davincci tried to step in.
— Elloysa, calm—
— No. — she raised a hand, cutting him off. — Don't give me "calm."
She stepped forward.
Eyes locked on Francielly.
— Leave.
Francielly didn't move.
— I can't—
— LEAVE! — the shout echoed through the ruined room. — Or I'll finish what I started.
The air seemed to vibrate.
Francielly looked at both of them.
One last second.
As if waiting for someone to say something.
Davincci didn't.
He just… stood there.
And that was answer enough.
Francielly's eyes filled with tears, but she held them back.
She gave a small nod.
— Okay…
She turned.
Ran.
Through the wrecked hallway, past the trails of chaos she herself had created.
Without looking back.
When she reached a side window, she didn't slow down.
She threw herself through the glass.
The impact exploded into shards.
And she vanished on the other side.
⸻
Silence again.
Elloysa breathed heavily.
Like she had just survived something far bigger than a fight.
Davincci stared at the shattered window.
— We need to get out of here.
Elloysa didn't answer.
— They're going to shut the school down… police, investigation… — he continued, trying to pull her back to reality. — We can't stay.
She nodded slowly.
No energy.
No expression.
⸻
Outside, chaos still echoed.
Ambulances.
Patrol cars.
People crying.
Valhalla came running toward them.
— You guys okay?!
Davincci nodded.
— We'll explain later. Let's go.
The three of them moved away from the school.
The building stayed behind, surrounded by flashing red and blue lights, like a heart in panic.
⸻
The walk to Elloysa's house was… strange.
Too quiet.
Valhalla tried to break the ice.
— Elloysa… what happened in there?
She didn't answer right away.
Just kept walking.
— Are you okay?
— I am. — she said, flat.
A weak lie.
He pushed a little more.
— That thing was… like… an actual demon?
She pressed her lips together.
— I don't know what it was. — pause. — But it wasn't her anymore.
Davincci glanced sideways.
But said nothing.
The weight of it sat on all of them.
⸻
Cut.
⸻
The school was now sealed off.
Containment tape.
Bright lights.
Radio chatter filling the air.
A black car stopped near the entrance.
Hamilton stepped out.
His eyes were already scanning the scene before he even closed the door.
Two SWAT agents followed him.
— Area secure, sir. — one of them said.
Hamilton didn't respond.
He just walked in.
The hallway inside was a map of violence.
Marks on the walls.
Cracks.
Dried blood in patterns that didn't look… human.
He crouched.
Examined the floor.
— Footprints… — he murmured.
Irregular.
Too deep.
As if something heavier than a human body had passed through.
He touched a scratch mark on the wall.
Long.
Deep.
— This isn't Y119… — he said quietly.
One of the agents approached.
— Sir?
Hamilton stood up slowly.
— I want access to the cameras. All of them.
The agent nodded.
— We're pulling the footage now.
Hamilton gave the corridor one more look.
Eyes narrowing.
As if assembling something in his mind.
— And bring me everything you have on thermal readings, electromagnetic data… anything.
He took a few steps forward.
— Because this… — he murmured, almost to himself — wasn't a normal attack.
The improvised mobile lab inside the school was far too quiet for what that place represented.
One of the SWAT agents opened a laptop on a makeshift table.
— We managed to pull part of the internal cameras, sir.
Hamilton approached without haste… but his gaze was already sharp.
— Play it.
The video started.
Empty hallways.
Students running.
Doors slamming open and shut.
He watched without blinking.
Analyzing patterns.
Movement.
Response time.
Until—
— Back. — he said, dry.
The agent rewound a few seconds.
Camera 16.
The footage was slightly shaky.
And then she appeared.
Francielly.
But it wasn't "her" anymore.
The movements were erratic.
Misaligned.
The body seemed heavier… faster… as if it ignored natural limits.
The eyes.
Even in low quality…
Completely black.
With a pale point in the center.
Hamilton stepped closer to the screen.
His face hardened.
— No…
He recognized her.
The same girl.
The survivor.
The only one who had direct contact with a confirmed case.
— That doesn't make sense… — he murmured.
But it did.
And that was the problem.
He clenched his fist.
— Field teams. Now.
Agents around him moved immediately.
— I want a full profile on that girl. Name, history, contacts, routine, everything.
He pointed at the screen.
— And prepare units for active search. She's top priority.
The agent nodded.
— Yes, sir.
Hamilton kept watching.
Without blinking.
— And be careful… — he added. — This is no longer a normal civilian.
⸻
The footage advanced.
Interior classroom camera.
Door closed.
A few seconds of silence.
Then—
Impact.
The door being destroyed.
Hamilton's jaw tightened.
The next scene made the room even heavier.
Francielly advancing.
Elloysa on the ground.
Movements too fast.
The camera didn't catch everything.
But it caught enough.
— My God… — one of the agents murmured.
Hamilton said nothing.
He just watched.
The moment Elloysa reacts.
The kick.
The nose breaking.
The escape through the window.
The video ended.
Silence.
Hamilton ran a hand slowly over his face.
Thinking fast.
Too fast.
— Identify the other girl. — he said, pointing at Elloysa frozen on the screen.
— Sir?
— The one who survived direct contact. — he looked firm. — I want her alive.
The agent hesitated.
— And the other one?
Hamilton didn't take long.
— Capture. — short pause. — If possible.
The tone made it clear "possible" was flexible.
— And bring both to me.
⸻
Outside the city…
The forest was beginning to swallow the light.
Francielly ran.
No direction.
Branches scratching her skin.
Roots nearly tripping her at every step.
Breathing heavy.
Irregular.
— Stop… stop… stop… — she repeated, more to her own mind than her body.
She stumbled.
Fell to her knees.
Her hands sank into damp soil.
— I didn't mean to… — she murmured, her voice shaking. — I didn't mean to…
Images came.
Fragmented.
Screams.
Blood.
Eyes staring at her.
Fear.
She grabbed her head.
— Shut up… shut up…
But there was no voice.
Only memory.
She took a deep breath.
Forced herself to stand.
Kept moving.
Slower now.
Until she found a rock formation.
A dark opening.
A shallow cave.
Enough to hide.
Not enough to feel safe.
She stepped inside.
Sat on the cold ground.
Wrapped her arms around her legs.
— I'm not this… — she whispered. — I'm not this…
The echo answered back.
Empty.
⸻
At Elloysa's house…
The door closed with a dry click.
The silence inside was different.
Heavier.
Closer.
Valhalla dropped his backpack on the floor.
— I'm gonna make something for us to eat… — he said, trying to sound normal.
But his voice gave him away.
He went into the kitchen.
Opened cabinets without really seeing what he was grabbing.
Just… something to keep his mind busy.
⸻
In the living room…
Elloysa sat on the edge of the couch.
Arms resting on her knees.
Eyes lost somewhere far away.
Davincci sat beside her.
Didn't say anything for a few seconds.
— Hey… — he said quietly.
She didn't answer.
— You're alive. — he continued. — That's already a lot for today.
She let out a weak laugh.
No humor in it.
— I kicked her in the face…
Her voice came out broken.
— I almost killed my best friend.
Davincci took a deep breath.
— That wasn't her.
Elloysa slowly turned her head.
— But it was her body.
Silence.
Heavy.
— What if she never comes back? — she asked, almost in a whisper.
Davincci didn't have a ready answer.
So he chose the only honest one.
— Then we figure it out.
She looked forward again.
Eyes glassy.
— And if "figuring it out" means… — she stopped.
Didn't finish.
But he understood.
Completely.
Davincci rested his elbows on his knees.
— Then we decide when we get there.
In the kitchen, a plate fell to the floor.
— MY BAD! — Valhalla shouted, clearly on edge.
The sound cracked the tension for a second.
Just one.
Because outside…
The sirens hadn't stopped.
And now…
They were officially in the middle of it all.