Let Go

Raon went down an elevator with Chae Gun and Hee-hong, arriving at a first-floor overpass, only this time in the opposite direction from where he came with Mari earlier; this hallway looked more damaged on its walls, the pipes and regulator boxes had rust, and it lacked proper illumination. They continued until they reaching some wide, descending steps, getting lost in the darkness; the actress began to have a bad feeling due to the icy darkness surrounding her and the views of a labyrinth with rusty doors on either side, making clear no one did maintenance or came there often. They soon turned down a particularly old hallway, with the block walls half exposed, walking until they were in front of a much newer cell door.

Unlike the others, it was larger and thicker, having round edges similar to that of a bank safe; behind it, a jingling, yet heavy noise was heard while the director, using only her mind, deactivated the cross safety bars, opening it lightly. On the other side was Soo Young, suspended in the high isolation den, her arms and legs stretched by chains, to the maximum limit her body was capable of supporting while a thick neutralizing collar increased weight on the neck, forcing her to remain genuflected. With some effort, she managed to see the director there with her escort, but she didn't fully recognize the young woman who was with them; no, it wasn't S-1, but some double probably:

- Ma'am...ma'am... - she pleaded - please...forgive me, I won't do it again, I swear, please...

- Close your mouth. - Raon responded - Look, I brought you someone else.

- No, no please, I don't want to...! You'll punish me again!

- You do it, or I get rid of you.

- If you do that it will all be the same... she will come for me anyways... I cannot escape...

- I don't mind.

- And how will I do it...if I'm like this?

The director released a shackle imprisoning one of her wrists, and obliged her arm to extend at the same time she pushed the actress who, surprised, found herself touched by a cold hand; Raon also put a hand on the actress's head to see what they would find. They soon saw Hee-hong's internal projection clearly, a bright and white space, but freezing, with withered grass and blue clouds flying low, bearing disconforting grins; one of them floated near the ground, soon opening with a horrible scream. It is through there the two Awoken Ones were able to see the unremarkable and very ordinary memories of childhood and current youth, a life the easiest it could've been, as of material is concerned at least, but soon becoming more and more somber, financial problems the consequences of which exploded a few years ago.

Memories began to look confusing, since the same scenes events displayed blurrily, in two contradicting ways simultaneously; she'd either just started her career in an agency or was trying, on one hand she seemed happy when her manager gave her the contract, or she could see the man's malice and got coerced into signing. He forged her character or insulted her, her tutors supported her or they endorsed her mistreatment, she suffered resenting her fate or was just indifferent, she meditated to de-stress or used less conventional methods; the months passed in a row, even so, with she preparing to finally get a good role, either already broken or unbreakable.

- I think there's an alteration in her perception of reality – Soo Young said – It may not be useful.

- If her memories of that day appear like this... then I will agree...

Time passed in the actress's memories, and, as everything worsened, progressing to starring in her first film, a landscape appeared where the self-conviction of the impossible was omnipresent and painfully obvious; she "threw flowers" ​​at herself, but at the same time she hated herself, she scolded herself for being weak.

- Pathetic – Raon muttered.

The day soon came when she and Mari met on set; everything started with cordiality, but it soon became grayer and grayer, until, by the time filming ended, the animosity, the envious delusions, had already caused an unbearable situation, which between hints and sabotage soon erupted. Just as quickly Raon passed the images until getting into Hee-hong's last role, and there she was, bickering and making it difficult for her co-star in every scene she could by trying to stand out above her up until the afternoon just before the attack. Soo Young watched her angrily going back to her dressing room, clutching the script firmly in her hand; the girl tried to practice her lines, the intonations, every gesture, every step of the choreography, until she stopped suddenly, threw the booklet with ire and screamed in frustration, feeling not even a 5-year old would believe such performance.

- This is sad – Soo Young said.

Hee-hong looked at a fashion magazine over the table, and there it was, the person who, she believed, would represent her biggest obstacle to shining because, on the one hand, she needed her, but on the other, that would always make her the second, the least; she couldn't take it anymore, and overwhelmed by frustration, she also took the magazine and tore it to pieces. She was so in need of proving herself superior that she, after putting her hands to her tired eyes, forced herself to remain standing, rushing out to the gym in the central room, picking up the script once again; the actress took a deep breath, stopped and tried to remove all the accumulated load in one breath without success. Hee-hong was about to pick up a pair of dumbbells when the air started tremblin like a mirage in the middle of summer, to which she wave her hand, unsure if such was a hallucination due to fatigue, and then walking slowly around the room, sniffing the air briefly.

- But there's no gas line here, what...

From one moment to the next her vision became more and more blurry until something unexpected happened; a small blue dot appeared before her, immediately turning into a circle, which in an instant exploded before her face in an arc of light that enveloped the entire place, causing her to instinctively cover and fall to the floor. As she looked back, only a zone in the center was still vibrating, a spheroid space with irregular edges illuminated in blue, which would soon give her a tremendous scare when, from within, a thin young man with sportive clothing and a revolver emerged, greeting her almost casually:

- Hey you…

- Oh - she replied, baffled - are you talking to me?

- Yes, I am. Now clear this area if you value your life at all.

- Huh?

- Are you dumb? Get outta here!

Hee-hong passed from bafflement to outrage:

- What's wrong with you?! Think you can talk to me like that?

To her shock, a flat voice emerged from nowhere:

- EVENT 4051-C-004: OPEN. WAITING FOR STABILIZATION…

By the time the echoes stopped reverberating off the walls, some members of the staff and some extras had begun to gather around the incredible phenomenon, taking out their cell phones and broadcasting it live on social media for the world to behold. She was still stunned, looking behind her in a delayed reaction, not understanding what was happening, looking ahead and back to the place where the strange guy was standing, ready to take the gun from his holster; the questions of several people were thrown at them like knives, questioning what was happening, if she had had anything to do with it. The actress only evaded them, and the armed individual retreated quite nervously while the voice reappeared:

- EVENT STABILIZATION COMPLETE.

The guy smiled, satisfied and relieved while everyone tried to find where the voice had come from:

– EINHERJAR 1-10 AUTHORIZATION ACCEPTED. PROCEED.

Four more people appeared from the sphere of distorted air, dressed in strange uniforms, the same attackers whose remains were now under the Division's custody; the guy with the revolver smirked manically while getting himself behind them. With no warning, no other sign, the subsequent horror just began, making everything confused very quickly; the four raised their weapons and did not hesitate to mow down all the civilians in front of them, without flinching at any time. Hee-hong got behind several of those hit, finally hiding behind a metal box while the strange guy tried to backtrack through the sphere, colliding instead with an invisible barrier that generated static with the impact of his body.

 For some reason, this scared him alot:

- Damn, something went wrong! Control, does anyone receive me...?!

He tried to call up the squad quitting the area amidst the conmotion: 

- Hey, wait! Don't go away, you bunch of idiots...!

The attackers had finished their terrible work, and left towards the corridors, still on high alert; in a matter of seconds, new bursts, new screams, weights falling to the floor...Hee-hong remained crouched, full of adrenaline, panting with palpable fear, as the guy kicked the barrier desperately:

- Shit! What do I do now?

Hee-hong remained hidden, now blinded by her tears, listening to how the bursts and screams multiplied, and yet they grew farther and farther away; her body felt froze while the man's uneasy steps went erratically around until stopping:

- Maybe I can reopen the portal. I'll try it from here...hopefully it works this time.

That was, according to the actress's instinct, a signal to look over the top of the box again, finding the guy stretching, just as if the horrifying trail around him was irrelevant. Seeing it all for herself, she put her hands over her mouth to stop herself from screaming, closing her eyes and leaning against the adjacent wall, close to the exit, after almost falling over from the shock:

- I just hope this is the right place - said the other - Huh, damn, it's been a long week.

An intense light suddenly burst through her eyelids, causing her to slowly open them again; she saw the guy extending his arms in the direction of the phenomenon and emitted lightbeams from his palms flowing like a river, which wrapped in the edge of bluish light. Seconds passed, but nothing seemed to be happening in that wholly surreal scene as a couple of minutes passed and the subject began to step quickly with one of his feet on the concrete, expressing great impatience:

- Ah, great! nothing happens. Everything had to go wrong, right?!

Shouting that, something would begin to happen that made the man react, the air trembled more intensely and with that he moved his arm closer, realizing there was a barrier no longer:

- Yes! It worked! Hahaha, good, so fricking good! Fiufff…imagine what would happen to me if not…

Without warning their joy stopped; the actress saw how in the anomaly there were now red dots beginning to grow in patches, and how the guy was as surprised as she was, shaking his head foolishly as the patches expanded, merging until they covered all the space occupied by the barrier. Immediately the edge contracted to a singular red point, and then burst into a new vermilion flash; the red barrier was still there, but as a place itself it had changed radically, since now there were no longer the machines, carpets, implements, or the large mirror, but rather a lab with steel tables. The actress didn't recognize such a room despite having the same shape, much less the strange instruments and furniture now surrounding her; the guy scratched his head as he walked around, swearing under his breath and swallowing.

- But what happened? Why? Why the hell is this happening to me?!

The actress then realized something and that was neither the bodies nor the boxes where she hid were there, so, thinking quickly, she took the initiative to move as stealthily as she could towards the exit. But the stranger noticed the noise of her steps, and turning quickly towards where she was he drew the revolver:

- Hey you, stop there!

Hee-hong was terrified, and raising her hands, she fell to her knees and answered, voice-broken:

- Please don't shoot. I saw nothing I swear, I don't...

- Aye? Well, you better ask me to end it now – he said – it would be more merciful.

- Please let me go.

- Even if I do, the others...well, you saw what they do. Wouldn't be any use.

- But why did all this? Where you came from?

- Won't risk leaking mission intel to the aberrant. She's using illusions, I know, none of you are real.

- That we aren't real? What the heck?! Nothing you say makes sense!

The guy was thoughtful for a moment, looking at the labo that now lay around him, bodies nowhere to be seen, and machines lined up, limpid, waiting for use; there was a large glass dividing part of the room from the rest, labeled with broken lines and stickers, different warnings on them.

He soon seemed tired, and lowered his weapon:

- You know what? Run away all you want, I don't care.

Hee-hong nodded, but then she was surprised by a new visitor, who had apparently fallen from the ceiling ten meters high; He fell bending his knees, completely unharmed, which surprised the actress, while the guy did not have time to react to that tall young man who she now had right next to him. He did not seem surprised to see them both, although he surely did not understand why they were there; suddenly, a second, weaker red wave suprised them all, making them cover.

The guy tried to attack his new guest immediatly, but the latter hit him to the floor while the actress stood again; the new stranger pulled out a gun from his coat, and the woman started running out of the room as terror took hold of her, barely seeing, out the corner of her eye, how this tall, coated man striked the guy at point-blank before the first fell stiff to the floor.

"So it was you, idiot. You're going to pay for this Seo Jin" – Raon thought

Hee-hong escaped through the hallways trying to avoid the strangers in black suits she could see, men and women walking quickly everywhere, checking the place; as she went, she saw that some things had changed; pipes, fuse boxes and lab equipment existed where there had been nothing. What confused her most was not finding any trace of bodies anywhere, despite what she heard; the actress got to a hallway in front, evading one who entered a nearby office, and saw a door half open to which she rushed in, unexpectedly finding herself face to face with that one Young-ho. The actor hyperventilated with a mop clutched as a weapon to defend himself; they both almost screamed with shock, but he made a gesture with his index finger to make her shut up, to which she put her hand to her mouth, huddled in the corner behind the door, which she left ajar to try not to make more noise.

- Jin Hee-hong, are you okay? – he asked

- Oh?... Of course, of course... well... well... everything is fine – she responded, distant.

Her hiding place would not last long, because soon the first guy in black approached and entered, slamming the door, hitting the actress with it and splitting her lip, which made her moan in pain while her sight became blurry and she crawled out. She watched as the actor began to struggle with a second young man while the first one grabbed her arm, soon the attacker throwing the mop aside and shaking Young-ho against the opposite wall and squeezing his neck with a single forearm, while another hand put a gun to his chest.

-Hey, don't stay there and tell the Director! Tell him we found...wait, you? Onyx, is it really...?

The other looked at the captive's face in disbelief while the other laughed quietly, but soon replied:

- Yeah, whatever... - he said, nodding, still with surprise on his face.

It was when Raon came out the mental space back to reality, and so did Soo Young, who had the shackle on her wrist closed again through telekinesis; with Hee-hong's memories fresh in her mind, the director turned the collar's regulator one last time, completely overriding her subordinate. The actress opened her eyes scared, coming back to herself while Chae Gun took her by the wrist with contempt, getting her out while she stood crestfallen and distressed, offering no resistance;

Raon closed the door behind them while the prisoner was left in darkness again:

- No! Don't go, have mercy...no, don't leave me here...!

The door was closed tightly, and the director returned the way she'd come, heading towards the prison again, S-1 already waiting for them outside the cell along with Mari; the twin looked at Hee-hong, who kept her gaze down, ashamed, and immediately addresed the director herself:

- Are you done with this, sister?

- That's all. Take them to their "new room".

- They shouldn't stay here.

- Have another idea?

S-1 remained silent, knowing well what the alternative was, now that they already had what they needed from the captives.

- Just obey – Raon ordered - I'll call you later.

The director didn't say more, and proceeded down the hallway towards another room, where both escorts were already waiting for her and her next order. The director met them and placed her hand on one's shoulder:

- You can go rest, Chae Gun.

He obeyed without question, and disappeared from the area as quickly as he could:

- Director…

- I know what you did Seo Jin. Let's not waste time.

- But…

Without warning, Raon lifted Seo Jin into the air while cracking each of his joints using raw psychic strength, causing her victim to shriek in pain; after a few minutes of torment, she released pressure, and the escort took the opportunity to take a breath of air through his bleeding mouth and cough:

- Make it stop... make it stop I beg you...

- You have no right to talk, you piece of trash. You're a poor devil, just like the rest.

- I just followed protocol, I swear...

Raon squeezed him again, making him continue shouting:

- You tried to trick me... killed a key target! Protocol says you had to incapacitate him, stupid ape!

- Enough, enough…!

- You see someone capable of transcending realities, and what you do is put a bullet in his brain.

- Sorry...sorry...no... - Seo Jin moaned like a child, blinded by pain.

- Now tell me, how are we going to bring him back to life, ah?!

The unfortunate man, despite having a tall stature and a body hardened by a horrible life marked on his skin, did nothing but scream in pain as he felt his nerves and cruciate ligaments break, regenerate, and break again in a cycle of endless suffering separating him from reality amidst his own gurgled screams.

- What should I do? – he moaned, drooling.

- That bastard Do destroyed the cloning lab before dying; years have passed, but we haven't been able to replicate his results.

- Ghggg...

- I'll give you a choice. Either I make you a test subject, or you get the procedures elsewhere for me.

- I will steal...the information...Raon...I will do what you ask. Just make…it stop.

Upon hearing this, the director burst out laughing, mocking him, and suddenly dropped him on the floor. He took a while, but eventually he stood up, terrified, but hiding immense resentment in his eyes. Her superior put hands behind her back and slowly walked around, looking at him derisively:

- Infiltrate the LifeChem genelabs hidden beneath Minnewaska National Park. Retrieve the data from their servers, and return to Korea immediatly. If you fail, well, you know what's next.

Seo Jin had the idea to ask:

- Bae Rin is an infiltration expert, if she at least went with me...?

The director's next eye contact and her sadistic smile gave him all the answers he needed to his requests, so he decided not to press his miserable luck any further. Bowing, she bid her farewell:

- It will be done.

- You have 96 hours left. Now go to Hoo's office; she'll give you more details about the mission.

As soon as Raon left, S-1 and the two actresses remained for a moment in an awkward silence, until the vice-director ordered them, in a dull voice:

- Follow me.

Mari nodded, and together with Hee-hong they walked the length of the prison for several minutes in the most absolute silence; the latter tried to complain to her counterpart about how she had been pushed around, but the latter ignored her and continued until reaching the elevator, descending to the first floor. Hee-hong hadn't been able to get used to the hospital gown, as she often had to adjust the back laces so her back side would not freeze by the constant air conditioner; S-1 always remained behind, trying at all times to maintain a short distance to avoid their escape.

They crossed the overpass on the first floor, whose walls and ceiling were covered by opaque plastic-looking windows; suddenly, the white lights suddenly changed to yellow, catching the attention of the three as they stopped and the polymers began to shine through.

- Raon, what did you do? – the twin whispered, seriously.

The view through the now transparent window was the culmination of that unpleasant experience; it was so terrible that Hee-hong couldn't last five seconds without crouching down and vomiting, while Mari stood paralyzed by the horror of observing what seemed like an infernal circle, an annular gallery that resembled an old, stain-tiled clinic.

There were stretchers there, only metal frames arranged in four rows, all of them occupied by people surrounded of what seemed as doctors in gray overalls, a few wore white coats, dedicated to supervising the procedures and instruments. Each subject was different from the last, but they were all naked, wailing, screaming, cursing, undergoing monstrous procedures such as reconfiguring nerves, adding organs, augmentation with machinery or replacing limbs, muscles, tendons, injecting substances, all, apparently, without anesthesia.

- Oh, heavens... - Mari whispered

- Hell; This place is hell... - Hee-hong muttered, trembling.

Mari was devastated, overwhelmed by the horror she was witnessing in person, while Hee-hong's stomach was churning violently and her legs shaked with fear, struggling to keep her upright; S-1 did not even flinch, making the first actress confirm she'd already known, but willing to explain all of it nonetheless:

- Don't feel sorry for them.

- What they've done to deserve this?

- We have been implementing the third phase of PROJECT: DREAMWALK for more than two years now; Raon wanted to create a new type of multitask operative for the grand plan, one incapable of disobedience, incapable of retreating, with a range of abilities finer and broader than we secgens, but easily controllable.

- And how does that differentiate you from your own creator?

S-1 was unfazed, replying:

- She played God, and took innocent lives. We take murderers, robbers, abusers of all types, big scammers, scum that took everything from too many people. They deserved worse than this fate.

- This is still wrong. They're human beings. Today it is them, but tomorrow who?

- People just like them; trash always keeps appearing. We won't be left without viable subjects.

- I hope... you're not lying – Hee-hong said quietly – But you took us anyway, are we scum too?

- No - S-1 stated - Your situation is unparalleled; it's unfair for you to judge us based on that.

- This is inhuman – Mari responded – someone will judge all your crimes one day.

- And we accept. I know we did the right thing; I know we protected more people than we harmed.

- There's no point keeping up with this...I can't watch it anymore.

- Well, let's continue. Your companions are waiting for you.

As if they'd seen her look away, the windows became opaque once again; Mari helped her co-star up and they continued, this time following S-1 from behind who, at this moment, as much as several others before, was beginning to feel something between chest and throat, a feeling of internal conflict. They left through the pass, this time heading towards the habitation area, arriving at a screening area and passing scanners via the vice-director's black pass; they continued left, avoiding entering the cleanest and most tidy section of cabins, assigned to permanent employees. Finally they entered a section with doors widely separated from each other, until they entered through one of the last, which automatically rose, revealing a long room with an arched ceiling, on whose sides were accommodated bunk beds three stories high.

The white bulbs were distant from each other, and their humming, to visitors, was quite uncomfortable, with sounds of fuses circuiting from time to time. S-1 took them to the back of the place, to some quite rusty bunks with mats on them, which disgusted Hee-hong; there the others were already waiting, and stood up to receive them except for Bae, who was still sleeping on his belly, snoring.

Young-ho had sat up in pain, his ribs preventing him from inhaling too deepl. S-1 said dryly to all:

- From now on everyone will stay here.

- But don't more people live here? – asked Hee-hong, based on the number of bunks.

-And where are we going to change clothes? – asked Mari.

The twin seemed not to understand that last question, and shrugged her shoulders, answering the first question with baffling innocence:

- We don't have individual spaces available, but don't worry, mats become more comfortable over time.

- You lied - Hee-hong replied - you said they would eliminate us after making us speak.

- I was only trying to scare you so that you confessed the truth.

- Is it so? - asked Young-ho

- That was the previous policy with civilian intruders. I changed that after my sister became director.

- Rules don't matter, they don't justify how you treated us – said Mari.

- No, they don't, but there is no alternative. This is not your world, we can't just let you go free.

- At least we would be free - said Hee-hong.

The vice-director didn't respond to that, because in a certain sense the statement was true, and rather, she ventured to say, in a more serious tone:

- I don't justify the way my sister has treated you all - and she bowed - I apologize on her behalf.

"She should apologize herself" the actress thought.

S-1 looked at both actresses and said:

- I cam assure your lives are safe; I will not allow them to hurt you, I give you my word.

- And how will we get back home? - Mari asked her.

- We are evaluating, but the Division will do the best to return you wherever you came from.

- I wish I could trust you? Why would you ever do that? – Hee-hong replied mockingly.

- Well, believe it; It is not convenient to have you here for a long time, especially you, Young-ho.

The actor stood up, staggering in pain, and took a couple of steps towards the twin:

- But why? Yep, I remember she hates me, or that character but...where does that come from?

- They didn't always hate each other, that's all I know. In any case, it is better you avoid attracting her attention again.

- Wait, you still haven't explained to us... what are you evaluating? – Mari intervened.

- We seek to replicate the anomaly that brought you, but will take time since the causal agent is deceased.

Everyone stared at each other, confused and hopeful, except for Hee-hong:

- It's true. I...I saw everything...how they came, and how...they...

The actress trembled and held her arms up, to which Mari caressed her to make her comfort; S-1 turned back and started leaving the barrack, but not before saying:

- Lights out at 2200, breakfast ready between 0530 and 0600. That's all for now; tomorrow I will assign your tasks.

- Hey, wait, what tasks? – Young-ho said almost in the air.

The twin did not listen to him, as she was already disappearing down the hallway on her way to other assignments, one of them at the main training field, where she had to make a series of preparations for the following weeks.