Two Hunters, from different worlds.

Chapter 22

It was a mission like any other, we didn't know the details of what we were supposed to find or where to look, we just knew that weeks ago, a secret facility, unknown to the world, had been attacked by an unidentified group. In that facility, they were keeping an alien spacecraft and conducting experiments. What we didn't expect was to find an underground structure, maybe we weren't supposed to find it, but my comrade had discovered it and we all agreed to enter and descend into the lab."

Before continuing to speak, he grabbed his hair with his hands, looked down, and sighed.

"The men I had chosen for that mission were my fellow comrades in war, with whom I had formed strong bonds of friendship. They were like family and supported each other in every difficult moment. They were skilled, determined, and young, with a great sense of humor and justice, and they were ready for anything.

My friend Aaron was one of them, he had saved me from a terrorist ambush, and we took down our enemies together; no soldier leaves another soldier exposed."

He lifted his gaze, tears now streaming down his face. All of us listened attentively, both me and his wife were deeply moved by his words.

The surface structure was gone, there was nothing to look at or search for, as if it had been vaporized into thin air. But as we went around the perimeter of the land, almost a kilometer away, we found these hidden doors covered by dense forest. We managed to enter and went down with the elevator. Once we arrived there, well, I remember that we split into teams to search for documents, survivors, and maybe some trace of this alleged alien. The place inside was quite dark, papers scattered everywhere, computers flashing, and others..."

He paused for a few seconds, then added, "Everything was smeared with blood, the walls, the floor, and everything there was destroyed, but not by external people. It seemed that the people who worked there, to escape and save themselves, would have pushed each other to get to the elevator." Now Roy started to tic on his leg and rubbed his hands together.

"What we didn't find, and what struck me odd, were the bodies of the scientists. All I saw was darkness and death. As soon as we arrived, I felt strange, as if being watched; I repeat, we were there for reconnaissance, and by sheer chance, there was this underground structure.

The moment we descended, I still remember the smell in those corridors, the stench of decaying bodies was so putrid it burned the lungs, the blood had now turned dark and dried on the walls. But I know for sure that as the minutes passed, the more they stayed there, the more I heard voices, they were agonizing and constantly complaining.
At first, I heard them as whispers, and then I felt them behind my back, and from that moment on, I can't say if what I saw and heard is real..." He paused again, looking out the window and covering his mouth, he sighed and said, "My companions stopped responding, but we were still 4, and with Aaron 5, but he got caught by... by... the undead. I remember that as he was being torn apart, he activated the grenade, and everything exploded. Once we made it outside the structure, we retraced our steps, and I was sure that we were 4 and of what we had witnessed. But once we arrived at the base, my superior pointed out that it was only me there, and my weapon was empty, but I don't remember shooting or killing my comrades. Then there was a breakout of the undead from the structure, a battle between a woman in black and the one with silver hair. I know for sure, my eyes remember the woman with black eyes and her wicked smile, just as I remember the other woman fighting alongside an alien. It was enormous, with little armor, a mask hiding its face, tube-like hair, and the weapons it had were a lance and plasma cannon.

If I were truly crazy, I would know, but the more I now recount what I lived through, the more I convince myself that it was all real. And I am having the proof of it now with you," he said, turning his gaze towards Vor.

" I know that a soldier, a man like me, shouldn't cry for the death of comrades, shouldn't be afraid of death or darkness, but believe me when I say that being down there was not the bravest and most heroic thing to do. I just wanted to escape and run as far away as possible, but the voices were so ingrained in my mind, the corpses of the scientists standing and slowly approaching me were so supernatural, and the silver-haired woman erased my memory after winning the battle, but unfortunately it wasn't enough, and I fell back into depression and schizophrenia; I wanted to be helped, and instead I was locked up in a prison... maybe I was the one who truly killed those people in the city, maybe even my comrades."

"I'm sorry, but it wasn't you. I know for sure that the structure wasn't there by chance, if there was darkness, then everything that happened was planned, I don't know by whom, but I could guess." I said loudly as I got up from the couch and went towards Roy, then I added: "I'm sorry for everything you've been through, no one can blame you, but now you're here with your family and I'm certain that you'll be able to live peacefully and strong again, it will take time and patience, but from now on, the darkness will have to deal with me so that the city and all of you can live in peace as you deserve."

I said proudly, looking in Vor's direction, it was time to put an end to the past and move forward.