Alex walked across the dim hallway. The air was thick, heavy, almost choking. The humming of the flickering lights buzzed in his ears. The carpet was stained — dark, sticky blood seeping toward his boots. It trailed from a room like a warning.
What the… Alex thought, his voice swallowed by silence.
His boots scraped against the worn carpet as he approached Nila's door.
The air shifted. The silence grew heavier. He opened the door.
A sharp click rang out.
A gun aimed at him. Cold steel, pointed straight at his chest.
"Is this how you greet your friends?" Alex said, voice tight, trying to make it sound lighter than it felt.
Nila exhaled sharply, lowering the gun. "At least knock…" she sighed, voice sharp as broken glass.
"You didn't need to point that at me," he said, cracking a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
…
"So… how long you been holding a gun?" he asked, forcing casual. "You good?"
"I'm… okay. What about you?" Nila replied, eyes narrowing, unreadable.
"I'm… fine," he said.
"Oh… it's just me… just tell me how you really feel."
"…It's like… I'm the one fixing the puzzle… everyone else is just waiting....waiting for it to fall apart.." Alex said, dragging the words out, exhausted.
…
"Unlike others… you don't seem to talk much," he said.
"Quiet type, huh?" He smirked, but the grin felt brittle.
"I...don't know....I just..don't talk much.."
"Alright… soo…" He shifted the topic, though tension clung to him like a second skin.
"Kael has… uhm… changed a lot…" he said, eyes flicking toward Kael's room.
"Well… you've changed a lot too, Alex," she said, voice low, almost accusing.
"Yeah… I notice that," he muttered, glancing at his bruised knuckles as if they could explain it. "I've been too calm lately… like… I'm not afraid of death anymore."
"You're right about Kael… it's… because of the lab," she said softly, almost to herself.
"The serum… it turned him into this…" Nila sighed, heavy and quiet.
"It's not… such a big deal… probably…" He shrugged, but the words sounded hollow even to him.
"No… no… it's going to eat him from the inside," she said, dread leaking from every word.
"When I checked on him last night… he…" Her voice faltered.
…
"Spill it out..." Alex said, sharper now, though his hands trembled slightly.
"He was covered in blood… talking to someone… punching himself… I — I don't remember what he said…" Nila blurted, words uneven, trembling.
…
Alex paused. The silence pressed in. "What should we… do…?"
"That's the biggest problem, Alex."
"There's nothing we can do."
"He's… extremely unstable right now."
"If he's provoked… he could probably kill us too."
"No… no… no… no… you're wrong, Nila… he—he wouldn't do that…" he whispered, almost to himself.
…
"Why do you think I aimed a gun at you then… Alex…?"
"Everything's going to fall apart… sooner or later."
"Maybe… I was the biggest moron… helping you guys… could've kept my mouth shut…" Nila chuckled, but it wasn't warm.
"…Just… don't give up yet," Alex said quietly.
He paused. Couldn't say anything else.
The hallway swallowed them again. Silence hung like a blade.
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