Chapter 100: Expedition [4]

The main building in question wasn’t far from where we were.

A small crowd had already gathered as we arrived. I spotted Kyle almost immediately. He was speaking with a few Guild members. They all surrounded him, speaking to him animatedly.

I thought about reaching out to him, but then decided against it.

There were simply too many people, and...

"Let’s go. We should be headed this way."

There was also the fact that Rosanne and the others were ushering me towards a different area. In the end, I let out a breath and followed, keeping close as we were led into a room.

The room was relatively small, with a gray carpet beneath and a large metallic desk in the middle with several seats around.

Waiting in the room were a couple of people.

Two appeared to be agents from the Bureau, while the other was the Team Leader from before.

"You guys are here."

He greeted us in his low husky tone.

"Find yourself a comfortable spot. We’re going to be here for a while."

His attention shifted to a monitor in front of him, one of many mounted to the wall opposite to the desk. Each displayed a nearly identical room. The only difference was the person inside.

I recognized a few.

"The Anomaly tends to act around nighttime. Keep watch of all the cameras and see if you can spot anything. We’ll immediately send a team to the rescue if something goes wrong."

The room fell silent shortly after his words.

Even the usually chatty support unit had grown grim. A quiet unease settled over the room.

I checked the time.

[21:34]

Tik Tik—

The clock echoed louder than it should have.

...And so did my heart.

*

Time began to pass.

The entire time, nobody made a noise as they all focused their attention on the monitors ahead.

The inmates remained in their rooms. Some slept, others flipped through books, and a few bounced elastic balls against the walls in a steady, mindless rhythm. A handful stood by their windows, watching nervously as the darkness swallowed everything outside, only the faintest trace of moonlight slipping in to brush the wooden floor.

A strange sense of suffocation took over the room as we quietly waited for something to happen.

Anything.

Tik Tik—

The ticking of the clock appeared to be even more pronounced as I quietly focused on a certain monitor.

There, I could see an all too familiar inmate.

He was the one who had made the largest impression.

How could he not have when he was the first inmate to attack?

He was curled beneath his blanket, eyes wandering blankly, body pulled tight into itself.

At first, nothing seemed wrong.

But...

’Doesn’t he look a little pale?’

Looking closer, his entire face was pale. He was also tucking himself into the sheets... almost as though he was trying to hide from something.

I wasn’t the only one to notice the abnormalities.

Soon, the Team Leader and the others noticed it as the room started to tense.

The Team Leader brought a certain device to his mouth. Some sort of walkie talkie.

"Inmate 701, is everything okay? Is something happening?"

—.....

No response.

It was almost as though the inmate couldn’t hear the voice at all.

’No, he probably didn’t hear it.’

Looking closely, his pupils appeared completely dilated, as though he was staring at something extremely scary.

"What is he staring at?"

"....He doesn’t seem to be staring at anything."

There was no one else in the room. It was just the inmate. And yet, from his body language, it was clear that he was staring at something.

"There!"

Right then...

The moonlight shifted.

And for a fraction of a second... something flickered into view.

It was tall, lanky, and elongated.

It was only brief, but it appeared, and in that moment, the tensions within the room rose to an all-time high.

"Team Leader?"

All eyes fell on the Team Leader, waiting for his next words.

"What should we do?"

"Should we report this to the main squads? Should we—"

"No, not yet."

The Team Leader raised his hand and stopped the others, his eyes narrowing.

"Team Leader...?"

"Wait, Team Leader... If we don’t act now, then I’m afraid that—"

"It doesn’t matter. This is a scum who killed several people already. What does it matter if they die? Just keep watching. Take in everything that you’re about to see."

The Team Leader’s words were cold and merciless, plunging the room into a certain coldness that almost felt too real.

But at the same time, the others didn’t complain any further.

They all just stared at the monitors with solemn expressions.

They were waiting.

Waiting for something.

And then—

—Stay back! Stay back...!

The inmate shot upright, his whole body shaking.

—I said move back! Move back!!

His voice cracked, almost screeching as he hurriedly reached out for a device similar to that of the Team Leaders.

—Help! Someone help me!! It’s here! Help me!

The sense of despair and helplessness was clear in his voice.

He kept shouting, begging for help.

But...

The Team Leader continued to watch on in silence, staring at the recording without any trace of emotion.

—Help!!! Someone help me!!

Even as the inmate’s screams pierced the room, he looked unfazed.

In fact, he even began to lower the volume. As though he found the screams annoying.

His eyes remained fixed on the video.

Waiting for the inevitable to occur.

And it soon did.

—Ahhhhhhh!

Another scream pierced the room. This time, the scream was more heartwrenching.

Within the video, the inmate stopped moving, his entire eyes dilating as he tried to struggle.

However, as though an invisible force trapped him, he couldn’t move, as if something had sealed him in place.

—Ahhh! Please help! Ahhh!

His screams continued, his gaze turning more and more pale as he stared ahead of him. Staring towards the entity that we couldn’t see, but he could see.

It was right before him.

Staring at him.

And then—

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, the inmate’s body began to wither. His cheeks sank in, and his eyes grew dark and hollow.

—Ahhh! Ahh!

Even his screams turned huskier as the very blood in his body started to get sucked away from him.

I held my breath while staring at the scene, my body secretly shuddering, and my legs tensed around the chair beneath me.

The room was quiet, with all eyes focused on the gruesome scene ahead.

I wanted to make it stop.

I wanted to tear my eyes away from the scene.

But instead...

I slowly retrieved a pair of sunglasses and put them on.

That was when I saw it.

My entire body shuddered.

Especially when I saw it turn its body to look at me.

Our eyes met, and I pulled the glasses away.

’Shit.’