Forest of Shadows, Omega Squad, Eastern Sector
The mist swallowed everything.
Asmara moved first, lamp lowered, breathing shallowly. Each step stirred up a little damp earth, and the echo of the others' boots mingled with the slow rhythm of her heart.
She no longer knew how many hours they had been walking.
Time here seemed to be swallowed up by the forest.
And the fog prevented them from connecting to reality.
Behind her, Sadness followed, focused on the motion detector. Two other members brought up the rear, one carrying a portable radar, the other the intermittently flashing holographic map.
- Boss... we should stop for a while. Sadness murmured
- No. We're almost at the next point. The goal is to establish a new reference point before leaving.
Her voice cracked, harsher than she intended. She could feel it: something was beginning to creep into the group.
The fog seemed alive. Every time they stopped, it tightened its grip.
A shadow passed between the trunks.
Asmara lifts the weapons of a virtuous gesture.
- Move left! Ouch! Shit!
The others froze. The detector crackled, a pulsing green line on the screen... then nothing.
- What was that?
- A rope, murmured Sadness. It's a rope still in good condition.
"There are no animals here," Asmara said. "Why a rope?"
She continued.
His boots sank into the mud. Further away, the forest seemed to be clearing itself, forming a clear space in the center with the ground covered entirely in roots.
A musty smell filled the air.
She knew what that meant: not staying here.
An hour later, they reached a clearing.
Large standing stones formed a circle, similar to that of the observation areas.
Asmara stopped dead in her tracks.
Something was wrong.
Silhouettes grouped together, a cut rope, a stake planted in the ground.
And there, on a stone: a symbol engraved with a blade.
An Omega.
Sadness knelt down.
- This is our sign…
- Yes. But we've never been here and what's this thing in the center?
Asmara felt a chill creep up the back of her neck.
She took a step forward.
The roots were covered with mud.
Human footsteps.
Several, maybe four.
She raised her fist.
- Defensive positions. Someone or something is here.
A crack, on the right.
Then voices.
Weak, hesitant, through the mist.
- …Joy? Wait…
- We're almost at the beacon...it must be him
Asmara is cool.
Ces silhouettes .
She knew them.
She gave a quick sign, and the lamps were extinguished.
The silence returned, heavy, sticky.
The Bodies drew closer.
Figures emerged from the mist: five people connected by a rope, their torsos covered in dust, their faces tense.
Asmara felt a cold shiver run through her.
The "leader" group.
Her gaze caught that of Roum, the same boy she had despised for days and whom she continued to despise.
He seemed… different. How did they get here? She had taken the map though.
But something immediately crossed his mind.
What if it wasn't him? An illusion? A resident? A trap?
- Asmara…? breathed sadly, his voice low. He's the "boss"
"Don't move," Asmara replied, weapon raised.
A murmur went through his team.
- It's them, Asmara... What are you doing... we should...
- Silence! she whispered. Look at them.
She stepped forward, a flashlight shining on them.
The light made the sleeping group wince.
Asmara's face distorted for a moment, a smirk appearing.
And behind her, her team was still hesitating.
Asmara sensed the opportunity.
- It's not them.
Roum frowned and jumped out of his sleep, waking the other four at the same time. What's going on? What's this light that's preventing him from seeing?
-Turn off your light, who are you? Joy?
Joy raised her hands to cover her eyes
- Asmara, it's us. What are you doing here? How did you find us? We left with the rope but it got cut, we got lost! And-
- Shut up!
Sadness approached, whispering:
- Asmara and if it's really them, we risk losing them for good...you should put away your weapon.
Asmara signaled. Two members of her team stepped around the circle.
The fakes? The real ones? remained motionless, visibly exhausted and troubled.
"Give me the mission code," she ordered.
Roum blinked.
- The… what?
- The code, the one from the last transmission before we parted ways.
A heavy silence.
Joy searched her memory.
- It was… ".... ", I don't know anymore, we're not going to memorize everything we say and why are you even asking us this question, what are you thinking about.
Asmara didn't move.
She stared at his lips, searching for any suspicious movement.
Nothing.
And yet…
- No, she whispered. The code first
She gripped her weapon.
- You are not my team.
Joy took a step forward. No, we assure you, Asmara, listen! We're exhausted, we forgot, it's normal, you just have to look at our cards.
A gunshot cracked through the air.
He crashed into a tree trunk right next to them.
Asmara had just fired.
- Not another step. You are not my recruits.
Joy began to back away. Fear backed away.
Roum raised both hands.
- Asmara, stop. Look at me. Do you really think we're not your recruits? We even know your name, and the others-
"They learn quickly," she replied coldly.
Then, in an almost trembling tone: You were always on my left during training. But in your group... you walk in the center.
A silence.
Roum slowly lowered his eyes.
- Because I'm the one in charge now.
- Lie.
Sadness placed her hand on Asmara's shoulder. Captain... I don't feel anything unusual. I think it's really them.
- No, you don't feel anything because the forest blurs everything.
Around them, the mist moved.
A breath passed between the stones.
Something, or someone, started laughing, a high-pitched, distorted sound coming from nowhere.
The sensors went wild, their screens flashing red.
Asmara turned around. Defensive formation!
But already the forest was reacting.
Silhouettes stood out between the trunks, identical to us.
Identical to them.
Perfect, translucent copies, moving slowly and silently.
Asmara gritted her teeth.
- Immediate withdrawal!
Roum approached her, grabbing her arm.
- This is not the time to fight among ourselves, we have to get out of here!
The touch brought her back to reality but she put it down roughly.
She inhaled, her throat tight. All right. Let's move. Together.
The two groups merged into one. The rope, still tied to Roum's waist, served to connect the two squads.
They started to run.
Behind them, the Shadows howled in the mist.
No one knew how long the escape lasted.
Maybe a few minutes. Maybe hours.
When they finally stopped, silence returned.
Asmara looked up.
Roum, panting, stared at her without hatred.
- You see, he said simply, we are not copies.
Asmara looked away, wiping the sweat from her forehead. We'll see about that later.
She turned back to the forest, still shrouded in fog.
And, in an almost inaudible breath:
- If it's really you... then why are your shadows still there?
-our name?
And began to melt