Project A.E - Beginning of the apocalypse

The call

Felix had successfully transported Jewels and the others to the research facility as planned. Jewels remained unconscious in the cage, closely guarded by armed men. Bethany and Camila were handcuffed and escorted separately. At the entrance, Marco received orders from Felix to increase guard numbers and tighten security measures. Felix then led the trio to the secret lab floor.

Jewels had been sedated before being removed from the cage. Upon reaching the floor, Bethany and Camila were taken for interrogation by Felix and his men, while Jewels was handed over to a group of scientists led by someone named Esther.

Bethany and Camilla sat in separate interrogation rooms, aware that they were being monitored by Felix's men. Despite the surveillance, they remained composed after the shocking events they witnessed.

Shortly after, a man named Javed entered Bethany's room, carrying a file. He sat across from her and politely requested her cooperation. Javed asked basic questions about her identity and reasons for associating with Jewels, but Bethany refused to answer any of them. Realizing her reluctance, Javed moved to the next room where Camilla was being held.

Unlike Bethany, Camilla appeared fragile and visibly frightened during the interrogation. However, she remained silent as Javed questioned her. After his unsuccessful attempt to extract information, Javed exited the room and conferred with Felix. Felix expressed his reluctance to have his men interrogate the women, believing it was not their intended purpose. He suggested that Metalife officials, such as those who handled Dr. Alan, should conduct any further questioning.

Agreeing with Felix's assessment, Javed decided to halt the interrogation and instructed his subordinates to transfer the two women to the observation room. He then mentioned to Felix that he intended to grab a coffee, and Felix, sharing his fondness for it, decided to join him. They made their way to the espresso machine near the lift.

On the way, Javed inquired about the truth behind the girl who supposedly transforms into a monster. Astonished by the fantastical nature of the story, he had heard about it from Marco, finding it reminiscent of science fiction movies.

Upon reaching the espresso machine, Javed was the first to pour a cup. Just then, one of his subordinates called him regarding an issue with the file containing information about Bethany and Camilla. Javed excused himself to address the matter, leaving Felix to wait for his espresso.

Felix gets his cup of coffee, and he sits on a nearby chair, sipping it slowly. However, he suddenly senses the gaze of someone observing him. With a careful glance around the room, he notices a man in a white lab suit with a mask, discreetly watching him. Curiosity piqued, Felix decides to wait, even after finishing his coffee. The masked man also remains in place, leaving Felix pondering over who might be observing him and for what purpose.

As Felix stood up from his seat, a sense of urgency gripped him, spurred on by the sight of the mysterious figure retreating in the reflection of the lift doors. With a swift motion, he disposed of his coffee cup and moved with purpose towards the lift, his senses sharpened by the thrill of pursuit.

As he approached, Felix's keen eyes caught the subtle shift in the reflection, indicating that the masked man was putting distance between them. Without hesitation, Felix broke into a run, his footsteps echoing in the empty corridor as he gave chase.

The masked individual, sensing Felix's pursuit, quickened his pace, darting down the hallway with the agility of a hunted prey. Despite Felix's skilled athleticism, the weight of his gun hampered his speed, slowing him down just enough to allow the masked man to gain ground.

Determined not to let his quarry slip away, Felix pushed himself harder, his muscles burning with exertion as he raced down the corridor

But by the time he reached the lower floor, the masked man had vanished without a trace, leaving Felix to curse his luck as he surveyed the empty hallway, his quarry slipping through his fingers once again.

In the dimly illuminated hallway, Felix's senses remained sharp as he carefully navigated the empty expanse, his gun held at the ready, casting a narrow beam of light into the darkness ahead. The faint glow revealed little, but Felix pressed on.

As he moved deeper into the shadows, Felix's sharp eyes caught sight of something out of place—a discarded lab coat and mask lying haphazardly in a nearby room.

Investigating further, he found a mobile phone, a Nokia C101, tucked inside the coat pocket. Apart from a single contact labeled AE, nothing seemed suspicious about the device. Contemplating whether to make the call, Felix's decision was made for him when the phone began to ring, displaying the AE contact. Without hesitation, Felix answered the call.

"Greetings, Sergeant Felix," came the distorted voice from the other end. "This is an AI-generated call."

Felix inquired about the caller's intentions. The voice responded, stating it wished to reveal something of great importance to him. It instructed Felix to exit the room, walk 20 meters straight ahead, and then descend the stairs to his left, where he would discover the secrets for himself.

Felix, driven by his curiosity about Project AE and its connection to Martha, didn't hesitate to follow the voice's instructions. Stepping out from the room, he walked 20 meters forward until he reached a junction with three sets of stairs. Choosing the leftmost stairs, he descended until he encountered a guard stationed in front of a specific door. Despite the guard's orders to leave, Felix was determined to uncover the secrets hidden behind that door. With no other option, he incapacitated the guard with his gun and used the guard's ID to open the door.

As Felix stepped into the darkness-shrouded chamber, his heart pounded with anticipation, his grip tightening around his gun as he scanned the surroundings with his weapon's piercing beam of light. With a sense of urgency, he sought out the power switch, his fingers brushing against the cool surface of the wall until he located it.

With a flick of the switch, the chamber was bathed in a harsh fluorescent glow, illuminating the scene before him in stark detail. But what he saw there sent a chill down his spine, his eyes widening in disbelief as the truth unfolded before him.

Before him lay a chilling tableau of death and despair—a large freezer or mortuary-like chamber, its icy interior filled with rows upon rows of preserved corpses, their lifeless forms bound and chained in macabre submission. Among them lay the fallen comrades he had once fought alongside, their faces frozen in silent agony, their eyes staring blankly into the void.

The sight was enough to make Felix's blood run cold, his mind reeling with the horror of what he beheld. How could this be? How had his men ended up here, trapped in this nightmarish prison of death?

Before he could process the full extent of the horror before him, his phone rang, shattering the silence with its insistent tone. With a growl of frustration, Felix answered, his voice laced with anger and disbelief as he demanded answers from the caller.

But the response he received only deepened the mystery, sending a chill down his spine as a sinister voice echoed through the receiver, "This is just one of the mysteries that you need to know,".