Chapter 27:
The Strangers
Part 1
Day Five
Date: 05/01/01
Location: In the City
Mission Duration: Four Days
Remaining Time: 7 Hours
Objective: Reach the City Gate
Subject Names: Thomas, Samira Ali, Amanda Jefferson
Native: Khorcha (Guide)
Previous Success Rate: 85%
Expected Success Rate: 70%
Failed Subjects: 250
Successful Subjects: 10
Success Percentage: 4%
Experiment Results: 96% Failure
Experiment Outcome: Termination
Next Stage: Initiated
Objective: Monitoring
Stage Duration: 30 Days
Days Count-Down: 30
Thomas's point of view
The ruins stretched out endlessly before us — twisted towers of metal and crystal that looked as if they had melted and then frozen in place mid-collapse. Some structures curved upward unnaturally, like bones reaching toward the greenish-gray sky. Others seemed to grow out of the ground like coral, their surfaces pulsing faintly with dull light.
If this was once a city, then it looked like it had died a long time ago, although until now I didn't know how long it had been since the invasion started. And whatever had replaced it wasn't built by human hands.
The ground wasn't asphalt to begin with but a strange substance whose composition I couldn't tell — it was something else entirely. Smooth, dark, and slightly translucent, like black glass covered in fine cracks. When I stepped on it, faint ripples of light spread beneath my boots before fading away. It reminded me of walking on living skin.
Khorcha led the way in silence, moving through the alien streets like a shadow. His height made him easy to follow, but even then, he made almost no sound as he walked. The wind tugged lightly at his torn gray cloak, revealing glimpses of the pale-blue veins that ran along his arms — glowing faintly under his skin like threads of light.
Samira walked beside me, her scanner flickering with interference again. "I swear, this thing hates me," she muttered.
I was impressed by how easily she built the small machine and bent it to her will. Trying to ease her frustration with a smile, I said, "Maybe it's the air," glancing at the display that was visible even to me. "Or maybe there's something else we don't know about that's preventing the scanner, but I'm sure you'll figure it out."
She gave a short laugh that didn't reach her eyes. "You're probably right about that."
We moved through a narrow street that opened into what must have once been an industrial zone to my eyes. Strange machines stood frozen in place — tall, thin structures with multiple arms, like mechanical trees whose purpose I couldn't tell. Some still emitted faint sparks, as if refusing to die.
The silence here was heavier than before, broken only by the occasional crackle of energy or the soft hum that came from the ground beneath our feet.
After about an hour of walking, we stopped to rest near what looked like a dried-out canal. The water — if it ever was water — had long since turned into a black, tar-like residue that reflected no light. The smell was sharp and chemical, stinging my nose.
Khorcha crouched near the edge, dipping two fingers into the dark residue and rubbing them together before smelling it.
Although there weren't any smells emitting from there, still Samira wrinkled her nose like she was disgusted by a bad smell and said, "You can't be serious."
He didn't look up and couldn't see her reaction but still thought she was wondering what he was doing and answered her, "It is not water. It is residue from the old veins."
"Old veins?" I asked.
He nodded once. "The world used to breathe through these. Life flowed through them. Energy. Blood of the city, we called it. When the system that was maintaining it fell, the veins went dark."
I didn't know what to say to that. The idea that a city could have veins, could breathe, made my skin crawl. But sure, everything is possible since I was in an alien world where I didn't know the rules of how it operated yet.
Samira was more accepting than me apparently, and after she crossed her arms, she said, "So basically, this world had a heartbeat once."
Khorcha turned to her and said, "Still does."
We both stared at him, waiting for an explanation. He didn't offer one.
Instead, he reached into his pack and pulled out the nutrient binds we'd found earlier. He handed one to each of us.
"Eat," he said.
Samira grimaced. "Again with the bricks?"
I tried to laugh, but the sound came out weak. "Hey, better than starving, and luckily we can eat something that isn't harmful to us humans."
I took a bite. The taste hadn't improved — dry, bitter, almost metallic. But this time, I noticed something strange. As I swallowed, a faint warmth spread through my chest, like energy flowing directly into my bloodstream.
"Do you feel that?" I asked.
Samira paused mid-bite. "Feel what?"
"The warmth. Like it's… doing something."
Khorcha nodded slightly. "It feeds the cells directly. No digestion. The system made it so. Efficient."
I looked at him. "You mean… your kind eats the same thing we do?"
His golden eyes flicked toward me. "Yes, we do. We're organic creatures like you. Maybe we eat different things in our world than yours, but I don't think we're that much different except in the way we look. When the system arrived, it began to change the bind. It adjusted to your needs — and to ours. We share more than you think."
That caught me off guard. "Wait. You mean this system… it even interfered with your food?"
He tilted his head, the faintest smile touching his lips. "You still think the system is a machine, Thomas?"
That question lingered in the air long after he turned away.
We rested for another few minutes before setting off again, this time following the white path on our map that pulsed faintly like a trail of light. The way ahead was narrow, winding between collapsed buildings and fragments of broken statues that looked vaguely humanoid — but their faces were smooth, featureless.
I tried not to stare, but it was impossible not to. Everything here felt wrong in a way that words couldn't capture.
At one point, we passed what looked like a park — or something like it. The trees weren't trees anymore, though. They were metallic, with branches that split into thin strands like wire. Some still glowed from within, faintly red, like dying embers.
I caught my reflection in one of them — tired eyes, dirt on my face, my jacket torn at the shoulder. I barely recognized myself anymore.
{Mission Update: Progress 73%. Remaining Time Before Gate Objective: 1 Day and 17 Hours 51 Minutes.}
The message flickered across my vision. I sighed.
Khorcha looked back over his shoulder. "You worry too much about time."
"It's kind of hard not to," I said. "That timer in my head doesn't exactly help."
He stopped walking, his expression unreadable. "You are afraid of failure."
I hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Yeah. You could say that." Who couldn't, when you don't know what to expect in an alien world controlled by a system that's giving us missions to survive? But I didn't say the rest aloud.
He regarded me for a long moment (like he was reading my mind) before speaking again. "You think the system punishes failure because it hates you. But maybe it does so because it wants you to change."
Samira rolled her eyes. "Change how? By nearly getting us killed every day? Or to what — like the ones you called the Consumed?"
Khorcha didn't answer her. Instead, he began walking again. His voice was quieter this time, almost thoughtful. "The system gives no task that does not serve its purpose. Even pain is a kind of teaching."
I didn't know what to make of that, but the words stuck with me. Strangely, I got the feeling of an old man passing his wisdom to a younger one. Not that I knew how old Khorcha was, but as much as I didn't like the philosophical way of his speech, I didn't dislike what he said.
He thought that he would have helped these alien survivors even without the mission in the system, although he knew very well the consequences of failing the primary mission and he didn't even want to imagine it. According to Khorcha, the city gate was not far, and they could reach it within hours — that is, if he guided them, of course. Even though they had a map provided by the system, nothing was better than a local guide.
And yet, even as I told myself that, a part of me wondered — what happens when we finally reach that gate?
Was there even a world beyond it?
As the day wore on, the light in the sky began to shift again — the green tint deepening, the air growing colder. We were moving through a section of the city that looked even more unstable. The ground occasionally shimmered, like liquid trapped beneath glass.
Samira pointed to a structure up ahead — a tall spire leaning at an impossible angle. "We can rest there for a bit. It looks clear."
But before I could answer, a faint sound echoed through the streets.
It was… a sharp shrieking sound and a distant metallic clang, followed by a faint cry that I couldn't make out what it was, but we all froze in our place.
Khorcha froze, his head snapping toward the sound. His nostrils flared slightly as if he could smell something we couldn't.
Samira looked around nervously. "What was that?"
He didn't reply immediately. Then, in a low voice, he said, "Someone fights."
The air around us felt heavier all of a sudden.
It was obvious by now that someone or something was fighting something else. I didn't see a need for Samira's question or Khorcha's answer, but still, I had to confirm from Khorcha, due to him having more experience than us, and asked him, "You mean another survivor?"
Khorcha tilted his head. "Perhaps. Or perhaps the system tests another soul."
I exchanged a glance with Samira. The sound came again — louder this time. The unmistakable crash of metal striking against bone, followed by a high-pitched shriek that made the air vibrate.
Samira's grip tightened on her weapon. "We should help."
Khorcha raised a hand sharply. "No. The system watches. It will not allow interference unless the paths are meant to cross."
"What the hell does that even mean?" I snapped.
He didn't answer.
The third sound was louder — closer — and this time I swore I heard a voice in the distance, faint but human. A scream, desperate and raw.
I didn't think. I just started moving. I wasn't one to care about restrictions, and I couldn't ignore someone who needed help if I could provide it. I had to do something — anything I could — and I would do it without hesitation. As for what Khorcha said about the system, at that moment, I didn't care much.
"Thomas!" Samira called after me, but I didn't stop.
Somewhere ahead, through the maze of alien streets and the green haze of the dying light, someone was fighting for their life.
And I had a feeling our paths were about to cross.