TSMD

The crowd grew increasingly tense as they waited to hear the sounds emanating from inside the mall. Those horrific sounds, and that wicked creature's roar...it gives you shivers just hearing it, although the audience seemed to quiet down at one point.

   "Luis...do you think that...?" Amber asked, her voice shaking.

   "Maybe...or perhaps, they are safe...?"

   Everyone in the crowd could hear a loud sound in the background among all the chaos at the time.

   "Huh? What is this sound" both Luis and Amber asked.

   "Finally...they've come," answered a relieved cop.

   "'They'? Do you mean...?" asked Luis.

   "Yes, now we don't have to worry anymore, creature or not, it doesn't have a chance against them"

   In the background, sirens, similar to police sirens but with a higher frequency, could be heard.

   The sounds became more loud, and before they knew it, the streets surrounding the mall were surrounded by black veins with police-style insignia.

   People dressed in black, wearing hats that covered their whole faces, and holding assault guns emerged from these vehicles.

   Along with these people, a slew of ambulances came, from which medics dressed in white and carrying first-aid kits emerged, ready to treat the injured.

   "Please take us to all those who have been hurt! We're here to assist you!" One of the medics yelled, while two of the other doctors blended into the group, aiding and treating individuals hurt in the incident.

   "Are these the special forces,'" Luis asked.

   "Yes, they are," said the officer.

   "It took them some time to get there."

   A man in black approached Luis and the cop and introduced himself.

   "Sergeant John, on duty, please accept our apologies for the delay; we had some issues on the way. What is the current situation?"

   "Sergeant John...we're glad you've arrived; the situation is as follows: we don't have a confirmed number of victims inside because we didn't manage to enter the building; all we did was secure the perimeter and ensure that no one entered; we also have two potential survivors trapped inside; and finally, we have a person who escaped safely from inside but claims that the inside of the building is not safe enough and could collapse at any time."

   "I understand... nice work; you are free to leave; we will take over this investigation from here on out," he said, placing his hand on the cop's shoulder.

  "Sergeant!" From behind, another man dressed in black yelled. "There's something coming out of the building!"

   When they received the news, three special forces troops reacted defensively, aiming their rifles at the mall's exit.

   "If you see something that looks to be dangerous, don't be hesitant to shoot!" said the sergeant.

   As these operatives had their firearms pointing towards the exit, the speckled silhouette began to gain shape and reveal its true identity.

   When the thing that had been hiding behind the cloud of dust emerged, it revealed itself to be two people: a girl and a boy, the boy appearing to be unconscious and injured, and the girl carrying him on her back, his hand behind her neck.

   "We've got survivors!" that sergeant yelled "Doctors, please! Send someone right once to assist them and the others in securing the perimeter and ensuring the area's safety."

   A doctor came to take up Zeke and treat his injuries, but as he approached them, Yuki gave him an unexpected answer.

   "I'll take care of him, go and help someone else"

   "Miss, we have to treat everyone here; please let me handle..."

   "I said...I'LL TAKE CARE OF HIM," she shouted and interrupted him.

   Yuki proceeded to walk past this medic before being halted by one agent.

   "We're sorry, Miss, but we couldn't let you get anyplace from here."

   "Do I appear to be caring about what you can and cannot do? Now get out of my way; I need to take care of him" She continued to proceed, but was interrupted once again.

   "I'm sorry, Miss, but we can't allow you go, an event occurred today that should not be shared"

   "He's correct, young lady, but don't worry, everything will be OK," a familiar voice said to Yuki.

   "Wait a minute, I recognize you, you're..."

   "Herrler?" said Luis, shocked.

   "You know, I wouldn't mind if you referred to me as 'Dad.'"

   "Dad?" Yuki and Amber both shouted.

   "In any case...What are you doing here, Luis?"

   "I suppose I could ask you the same question."

   "Well, it appears that we have a lot to talk about...but first..." Herrler turned his attention to Zeke, his eyes tiny and his face devoid of a grin, analyzing the noticeable wounds on Zeke's body.

   "He doesn't seem well at all, Yuki, if I recall correctly..." he muttered as he approached Yuki.

   "Yes..."

   "Please Yuki, I know you are worried, that's why you should let the experts take care of his wounds"

   Yuki looked deep into Herrler's eyes, and realized that nothing he said had been said with any malicious intent, so she sighed and left Zeke in the care of the doctors.

   "Thank you," Herrler answered. "Now, before you tell me what happened here, I'd like to know the state of the creature."

   "That thing had escaped, and the structure isn't in the best of shape, so I wouldn't send anyone inside, as it may collapse at any..." Yuki was interrupted by a really loud sound coming from behind her.

   The mall began to crumble as the walls and pillars collapsed one by one, leaving only a massive mound of rubble in their wake.

   "Secure the area! and keep an eye out for potential survivors! "yelled the sergeant.

   "Oh my God," Herrler said. "What on earth happened here?"

   "It's a long story," Luis said. "But I don't think you're interested enough to listen..."

   "How can you say such a thing, Luis..."

   "Don't try to look good in front of me! You already know what I think of you!" He yelled as he moved away from the three and toward Zeke.

   Herrler was deafeningly quiet. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't.

   "Hello," Amber said, seeking to calm things down. "I'm not sure if this is the best moment, but I'm Amber, Luis's girlfriend, and it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Herrler. However, it is unfortunate that we must do it at this time; I would have chosen to do so in a less exceptional circumstance."

   "'Girlfriend?" He responded, "I see...I'm not surprised he doesn't tell me basic stuff like this..." "Oh, I'm sorry, such things don't matter now; I'm Herrler, and I'm glad to meet you as Luis's father," he said, bowing his head and putting one hand on his abdominal area.

   "The pleasure is mine, really," she said, shaking his hand.

   "Amber, I'd like to ask you to assist me with something; could you please tell me in detail what happened here today?"

   "Y...y....yeah, su...sure, no problem" she replied, stuttering.

   "It's okay, Amber, you don't have to be nervous," he replied quietly, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I don't want this to be an interrogation, I just want to know what happened, and whether you're all four okay."

   "Four?"

   "Wasn't it all four of you?" He said this while looking at Yuki, who was staring intently at Zeke's body, which the medics had covered in bandages.

   He then approached Yuki and said calmly, "You don't have to worry, they are the greatest medics we have right now, he's in excellent hands."

   "I'm not worried...I'm just..."

   "Scared?"

   "How did you know what I wanted to say?"

   "Fear is visible on your face, as seen by your expression. Do you want to tell me why you're afraid if it doesn't bother you?"

   "It bothers me to say this, but I'd prefer if you could simply leave Zeke in my hand and let us go."

   "Unfortunately, we are unable to do so at this time; you  will have to wait a bit longer before you and Zeke can be alone again."

   "This is a terrible waste of time," she said, visibly irritated...but at the same moment, someone arrived and tried to calm her down.

   "Hello!" she said with a big smile, "I'm not sure if we know each other; I've heard a lot about you, but this is the first time we've met in person. My name is Amber, and I'm Luis's girlfriend as well as a close friend of Zeke's. I'm delighted to finally meet you, Yuki." Following her introduction, she continued by shaking her hand.

   But Yuki's reply was unusual, as if she was either thrilled or irritated. "Y...yeah...sure," she said, her face strangely expressionless and her cheeks reddened.

   "My name is Yuki...but I suppose you already knew who I am"

   "I regret interfering in your talk, but based on your reaction, am I correct in assuming that all four of you were not present at the mall when the beast attacked?" Herrler asked.

   "That's correct, there were just three of us: myself, Luis, and Zeke. Yuki emerged at the end of all this commotion and created something extremely cool."

   "'Something extremely cool, you say?" Yuki and Herrler both asked at the same moment.

   "Yes, Yuki, you were incredible here; even if Luis and I had the courage to go inside, we wouldn't have been able to get past the barrier policemen; instead, you just strolled right through them.

   And when that officer attempted to hit on you at the end and you just stomped his face and knocked him out, it was the nicest thing I'd seen all day, I swear."

   "T...thanks...I guess" she replied with her face changing color.

   "Oh my God, you're all red in the face; did I say something that upset you?" Amber asked, concerned.

   "What? No no no no, it's nothing like that, it's just that..."

   "Hmm, what I'm seeing here is weird; even if I was courteous to her and spoke calmly, I couldn't get near to her; yet Amber has just come and spoken a few words, and she's already blushing... After all, it appears that ladies their own age should have friends of their own age "Herrler reflected in his head.

   "Well, girls, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to talk later," he replied, interrupting the two. "But I need to know what happened here, on the one hand from a professional standpoint...and on the other..." he made a brief pause before turning to face Luis, who was still standing beside Zeke's body, "...from a father viewpoint..." he said, his smile slowly disappearing.

   "Right, Sir Herrler, I'm sorry, I got preoccupied and forgot I was supposed to tell you about what happened today, do you also want to know what happened Yuki?"

    "I course I do"

    "I figured you'd be curious, especially considering you're involved in all of this"

    "What do you mean?"

    "Well, it all began with you"

    "With me?!"

    "I'll explain everything, just have patience"

    Amber began to explain everything to the two, including how and why they came to the mall, how Zeke felt and why she and Luis felt they needed to do something, what they'd done, where they'd gone, and, finally, how the creature appeared out of nowhere and how Zeke distracted it so that everyone else could escape.

   "And that's how we ended up here..."

   "I see...so that's what happened...thank you, Amber, for informing us...now we should..." Herrler attempted to speak but was cut off by what looked to be a snivel.

   "I...I can't believe this is all because of my actions... Amber, I don't know anything about you...but please accept my heartfelt apologies...and thank you, thank you, thank you for taking care of Zeke..."

   "Shhh, you don't have to say anything else; everything is OK right now. I haven't delved too deeply into Zeke's personal life, but I'm sure you have your reasons for leaving. You don't have to feel awful about it; everything is OK now." Amber cut her off, tightly holding her and attempting to calm her down.

   Yuki fell into tears and began sobbing even more, holding Amber and repeating "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything."

   An officer arrived to speak with Herrler while the two were having an emotional moment.

   "Sir, we must keep them in custody and take them to the ward."

   "Don't worry, I'll take care of the four of them personally."

   "As you wish, Sir."

   "However, I am extremely interested to watch how this situation develops"

   In Zeke's mind, everything is dark. Nothing is visible or audible; Zeke is alone in the darkness, looking for anything.

   "I can't believe I'm back in this location... I pushed myself a lot more this time than I did the last...but I'm hoping there won't be too many consequences."

As Zeke traveled farther into the darkness, he heard a voice yell from somewhere "You're going to die!"

  "Why are you still following me?! Not you, not you, not you, not you, not you..." Zeke continued to repeat, covering his ears "Just leave me alone! I got rid of you five years ago!" he screamed before opening his eyes.

   He awakened in an unfamiliar setting. It looked to be a hospital room, but it lacked windows from which to view the city and had restricted eyesight.

When Zeke took a closer look around, he noticed Yuki seated in a chair and sleeping with her head on his bed.

   "So, in the end, I wasn't dreaming...you really did come back," he murmured, smiling, in a low voice so as not to wake her sleeping, but it was pointless since Yuki woke up immediately when she heard his voice.

   "Zeke!" she shouted

   "Yeah, Yuki, long time no see, it appears to have become a habit for us to meet when I wake up in the hospi..." he said, but was interrupted by Yuki's hug "...tal" he said, finishing his sentence with a small smile on his face.

   "I'm sorry Zeke, I'm so sorry" she screamed with tears in her eyes.

   "It's all right now, Yuki, what was difficult has passed," he replied, hugging her back.

   "No Zeke, you don't understand, I'm truly sorry for everything"

   "No Yuki, I am the one that should apologies"

   "What exactly are you on about, Zeke? I left you alone, and look what happened as a result"

   "No, you left because I didn't take you seriously or listen to you; in the end, you were correct; I'm weak, and I couldn't help you fight the Hals; I was merely in your way, and I didn't comprehend how essential this mission was to you. So I wanted to apologize  for not paying enough attention to you... If I had listened to you and trained more, this scenario would not have occurred, and you would not have had to lea..."He stated this while being interrupted by Yuki, who covered his mouth.

   "Please...just shut up...don't speak another word...everything you say is wrong," she said softly. "Zeke...I'm so sorry that I made you think you were the reason I had to leave..." she said, her eyes welling up with tears.

   "Yuki..."

   "I'm sorry, Zeke... I said some things I shouldn't have...and you...you...you've made it Zeke...you've made it...you've worked so hard to learn how to summon your signature weapon...just to assist me fight the Hals...Zeke...thank you...thank you for thinking of me..."

   "Yuki... It's okay, I'm sure you had your reasons for leaving, and I understand if you still don't trust me or can't tell me, it's alright now it doesn't matter."

   "Zeke...trust me...I want to tell you...I want to tell you everything...but I can't..." she said, her face filled with tears.

   "Why can't you?"

   "Because..I'm scared...of him..."

   "Him?"

   "Because if he discovers you know..." Yuki's speech was cut short by the loud sound of the door opening, and she couldn't continue it.

   "ZEKE!" a loud voice screamed "You're alive!"

   Luis could be seen through the doorway, having announced his presence with a loud yell before running between the two to hug Zeke, disrupting their moment.

   "Zeke! You're alive!" he said with tears in his eyes.

   "You know....I don't think I will be anymore, if you keep pressing on my wounds" Zeke replied half-mouthed.

   "Oh yeah right! I'm sorry!"

   At that moment, the doorway was crossed by another person, who entered the room with traces of sweat on his face and breathing very hard.

   "Zeke...!"

   "Oh Amber, how are you doing?" Zeke replied with a smile on his face.

    "You... dummy!" She responded by rushing up to him and hugging him "Zeke...there aren't enough words on this world to express my gratitude to you...for real...thank you Zeke, thank you so much for what you've done back there"

   "I think you are exaggerating"

   "Have you seen the current state of the mall?" asked Luis.

   "I haven't, why did you ask?"

   "Well, look at this"

    Luis put out his phone and showed Zeke images of the mall after the incident with the Hals, when all that was left was some rubble over what was once a location where young people gathered to relax every weekend.

    "It looks...horrible..."

    "Yes, and the bad news is that there was no evidence of the beast, and the cameras were damaged when it initially attacked, so our only way to figure out what happened inside is via you, so Zeke, what the heck happened inside?"

   "This is a question to which we would also like an answer," said an old man standing in the doorway.

    "Mr.Herrler!" Zeke shouted.

    Only Luis avoided making eye contact with Herrler, and appeared to be offended by his presence. Herrler saw this and opted to ignore it for the time being in order to do his job.

   "How do you feel, kids?"

   "I think we are all good"

   "I don't think you are in the position to say this Zeke" replied Herrler laughing.

   "Neah, I was in much worse situations" said Zeke laughing as well.

   "I'm happy to see you all looking so lively, but we can't keep making jokes endlessly; we need to talk about a few essential problems."

   "You say essential problems?"

   "Yes, while you were asleep, I informed others a little bit about what was going on and what will happen in the future, so I'll let you know as well."

   "I'd be happy to do so, but could you kindly speak a bit louder...? My ears are still awestruck."

   "No problem; after being asleep for nine days, I'm not surprised you're still disoriented and a little hurt."

   "Did you just say...nine days?" Zeke asked, astonished.

   "Nine days, yes."

   "And what exactly happened in these nine days?"

   "Not so much, But I'll let you know. First things first..." Herrler replied, stopping talking all of a sudden. He didn't seem to be in the best condition, his eyes were smaller than normal, and they appeared to be on the verge of crying heavily "You have to know a little things before i can explain what the current situation is" He eventually spoke up, having gathered the courage to do so.

   "That's perfect" said Luis "If you start explaining them what happened it means I can wait outside"

   "Don't worry, I don't need to hold your hand to be able to explain some things, besides that, I already kind of know what's happening, so what can I say...congrats for your new-old job" said Luis leaving the room. Herrler sighed and glanced down at the floor, frustrated with Luis' response.

   "I should start to explain the current situation"

   "Mr.Herrler?"

   "You can call me just Herrler, Amber"

   "I think I will stick to Mr.Herrler for now...should I go and talk to Luis...?"

   "No...leave him to be alone for now, I understand why he behaves like this...he doesn't like to hear this story..."

   "Do you mean...the story about his mother...?" asked Zeke.

   "So you already know everything Zeke..."

   "He told me about it once, but he didn't get in detail, so I don't know much about it"

   "I see, so it's good for you too, to listen the story"

   "So it seems"

   "Well, let's start with the beginning"

   Herrler began to tell the three, the story of Luis's mother, and for the most part, his story was identical to Luis's, but at some point, things began to change.

   "Her name was Christine...she was wonderful...she was my sunshine...the reason I woke up in the morning with a smile on my face...she was perfect in my eyes, that's why I asked her if she wants to be my wife, and after some years, Luis was born.

   We were a happy family; Christine worked as a secretary for a large international company, and fate provided her with the opportunity to work from home, so even if she was always working, I knew there was always someone at home who could look after Luis while I was at work, and that made me happy; every child, especially at a young age, should have a mother to look after him/her, don't you think...? Zeke?"

   "I would like to confirm...but unfortunately, this situation is not relatable for me..."

   "I thought so...I apologize if I asked an inappropriate question"

   "No, no, no, no it's ok Mr.Herrler, that wasn't an inappropriate question"

   "I'm pleased then," he said, a little grin on his face "Then let's continue, Christine was a beautiful lady, and at the time, I wasn't a teacher, I worked as the chief for TSMD, which stands for The Secret Ministry of Defence, and I'm sure you've never heard of it, so let me explain."

   As the name implies, the Secret Ministry of Defense is a top-secret institution that deals with matters that are more or less questionable and over which the police have little to no influence.

   As a result, I gladly welcome you to the TSMD Infirmary, and as the company's director, I can guarantee your safety from now on."

   "Wait, 'director'?!" Yuki and Amber asked at the same time, both amazed.

   "Didn't you were a Chief?" Zeke asked.

   Herrler laughed heartily in response. "I see, so Luis really did tell you a lot, well, yes, I was a chief for The Investigation Department at the time, but now I've been promoted to director, but I'll get to that part of the story as well.

   Ok, getting back to our story, TSMD has a 99 percent success rate, which used to be 100 percent for a long time....but...everything changed...when I discovered that thing a few years ago...

   It all began when Luis was eight years old, so about 11 years ago. As I previously stated, our family was normal and happy at the time, Christine was at home all day caring for Luis, and I had the responsibility of a chief, so we both worked extremely hard.

   When you hear the words "head of a secret organization," a lot of things come to mind, and you have no clue what to expect, but it wasn't that unique; we, as an organization, dealt with bizarre and strange circumstances that the police couldn't solve or didn't have the manpower to deal with.

   In general, the most terrible things I can say we saw were psychopaths obsessed with murdering, kidnapping, or raping children, but even then, we were able to arrest and punish them quickly, but then...a single case altered everything...

   On a Saturday afternoon, while working additional hours in order to take time off the next week for Luis' birthday, I received a call from one of our juniors telling me that he had spotted something strange in the field and that I needed to investigate. Said and done, I was there in half an hour, and I'm glad I wasn't even a minute late... I'm not saying anything to terrify you kids, but when I arrived there...that scene...I can only describe it as ripped from Hell... All I saw when I arrived was a group of five juniors being devoured by... a beast unlike anything I'd ever seen before.

   I was struck with terror and dread, as well as rage, at that time. I took my revolver from my belt and started shooting at that beast; mercifully, I struck him in the eye, and one of the five juniors was able to escape. I quickly requested reinforcements, and the sounds of approaching sirens could be heard in the background in a matter of minutes.

   I was able to keep that thing in place until reinforcements came, following which we were able to immobilize it and transport it to the lab for an emergency dissection. And just as we thought we'd struck gold and discovered something completely new, fate hit us in the face... As the dissection began and the creature died of blood loss, her corpse began to disintegrate right before our eyes, therefore we were unable to collect any data…"

   "This…is horrible…" said Amber, frightened.

   "Yes...yes, it was, but thankfully, Junior survived, and to our surprise, he supplied far more information than we had anticipated. Andrew, the boy, appeared to have had past interactions with these 'Hals,' as he referred to them. TSMD has attempted to cover all of these cases by claiming that they were kidnappings or murders... we would not have allowed such a secret to be revealed. We had no idea what these monsters were or where they came from, so we'd just spread fear.

   As a result, the only option we had was to keep everything buried and attempt to cope with it all without anyone knowing. Anyone average, since we sought to contact the government and alert them of the situation, but they were unable to aid us without concrete evidence, such as photographs or data. So we've had to fend for ourselves for the past few years... until the government learned of the Hals' existence and provided us with the resources we needed to combat them"

    "So, I'm guessing this is all just a gigantic battle for survival between humans and these Hals creatures?" asked Amber again.

    "That's what I assumed for a long time, until... I learned of their existence…"

    "'Their'?" asked Zeke and Amber, both amazed.

    "Yes…It all felt like a survival fight... until I learned about TAMOS…"