After the whole thing between Kyle and the creatures had come to a conclusion, and Kyle had returned home and collapsed on the floor, a squad of four armored black SUVs pulled up in the alleyway.
A squad of medical experts marched out, rushing to check up on the girl and her partner, Jack. From the looks of it, the time since Kyle had left them wasn't that long, as he didn't take the long way back like he did when he came to the rescue. When he left and went home, he took a shortcut which, if calculated, would be close to a minute and maybe half a second — compared to the time that the girl and Jack had been lying on the ground on top of each other.
For Jack, it had been longer — maybe close to an hour — and for the girl, half an hour.
The cars were blaring with bright lights, and when the medical team checked up on them, the first thing they did was check their pulses. They realized that they were still alive, but their pulses were faint — especially Jack's.
One of the medical experts took out what looked like a heavy silver briefcase and placed it down next to the girl and Jack. The briefcase then transformed into a stretcher. They separated the two and put Jack on the stretcher first since he was in a more critical state than the girl.
Another medical expert, clearly a woman from her physique even behind the protective gear, came rushing with another stretcher. It was clear she had prepared it beforehand. She didn't waste time — the second the stretcher arrived and stopped next to the girl, two male experts lifted the girl and placed her on it before marching away.
The suits of the medical team were black hazmat suits with full-face gas masks.
After the medical team cleared out, another group of individuals marched out. These were different from the medical experts, though they wore similar suits. Theirs, however, were heavier — biohazard suits.
They surrounded the entire alleyway and began pulling out all kinds of tech — scanners, testers, motion detectors — all high-tech, limited-edition gear that wasn't even accessible to the public or the rich.
From the looks of it, they were experts and highly experienced, because despite their devices detecting something unusual, they didn't seem frightened. Others were busy examining the crumbled portals. The readings weren't too high, but not too low either — definitely something out of the ordinary.
After a few minutes, a man came out accompanied by what seemed to be his assistant, or maybe his second-in-command — whatever she was, she wore a formal black three-piece suit.
The man was known as Chief Hector Jackson, though his name tag read CPT. H. Jackson. The woman beside him was Jessica Byle.
Chief Jackson looked mature and older, though not too old. He had gray hair streaked with black, and beneath his eyes ran an X-shaped scar that cut across his face. It wasn't a terrifying face, but it commanded respect.
He stood with his arms folded, watching the experts at work. Dressed in a military-style black camouflage uniform, he looked every bit the commanding officer. Eventually, he got bored of standing around, so he pulled out a box of cigarettes, took one, and was about to light it.
Before he could even take the first puff — before he could comprehend what had happened — the cigarette was gone from his mouth, and his lighter was snapped shut.
"Who in there?" Captain Jackson barked, startled.
"Sir, you know very well that smoking isn't good for your health," Jessica said calmly, standing nearby as if nothing had happened.
"Damn it, Jessica, you know I'm not that old," Captain Jackson grumbled.
"But still, sir. Plus, you know we're in an area highly exposed to the Eaters. Who knows what kind of energy they might've left behind?" Jessica replied.
"But I'm bored, and these prestigious college graduates are so slow," Captain Jackson muttered, sounding like a child.
"Sir, please don't start," Jessica sighed.
Just then, one of the scientists called out to them.
"Captain and Jessica, ma'am — if you don't mind coming over, I think I might've found something!"
"What is it, uh... whatever your name is?" Captain Jackson and Jessica walked toward him.
"My name is Peter, sir, but that's not important right now. What we found over this pile are highly concentrated traces of the creatures, sir," Peter reported.
"So? That's supposed to be normal, Pax. After all, that pile of dust is the portal often used by those things to cross into our world," Captain Jackson said, thinking Peter was wasting his time.
"I know that, Captain, but the frequency the detectors are giving us isn't normal. It's not something we usually see after checking out portals. These readings are different — there's another energy detection, and it doesn't seem to be from the creatures, sir."
"Stop beating around the bush and speak English," Captain Jackson said, confused.
"What I'm trying to say is — there's another energy that's not from the creatures or the portals. It's different. And since it's being detected in all five portals, we fear it might be a new kind of threat," Peter explained.
Captain Jackson scratched his head. "Polly, you're really blowing my old man brain into mush right now."
Just then, another scientist rushed over. "Sir, I think you should come and see this."
Peter turned to him. "What have you found?"
"Why don't you all come see it yourselves — maybe you'll understand better," the scientist suggested.
They all followed him to a group of three scientists crouched down, studying something on a screen.
"What have you found?" Peter asked.
"Sir, it's hard to explain — even to us — so I'd rather show you," the scientist replied seriously.
He handed a laptop to Peter, who frowned as he examined it, then showed it to the Captain and Jessica. The screen displayed lines in orange and blue, fluctuating up and down.
"What are we looking at, Peter?" Jessica asked.
Peter looked at the scientist who had brought him there.
"Well," the scientist said, "we checked this area more thoroughly than any other site contaminated by Eater energy. The results show traces of both Eaters and one of our own. But, as you can see from the orange spikes, there was another energy reading — one that didn't come from the Eaters or from us."
"What do you mean it's not from either? Are you saying there was a third party?" Captain Jackson asked, incredulous.
"Yes," the scientist said quietly. "And whatever or whoever this energy came from... that person or thing is more dangerous and powerful than both us and the Eaters combined."
"Speak English, damn it!" Captain Jackson barked.
"In other words, sir," Jessica said, trying to make it clear, "there's a possibility we might have a new threat."
"Great. Just great. Especially if one of our strongest is out there doing only God knows what," Captain Jackson groaned, rubbing his temples.
Meanwhile, in the back of one of the SUVs, the medical experts were checking up on both Jack and the girl.
"Their vitals seem strong — especially hers," one of them reported.
"But with vitals like these, they should've been dead long before we got here. How are they still alive?" another asked, staring at the monitor showing impossible readings.
Outside, where Captain Jackson, Jessica, Peter, and the others stood near the alley, the medical expert inside the vehicle stepped out.
"Captain Jackson, sir! I think you might want to hear this!" she called.
"Come on, Jessica," Captain Jackson said, rushing over.
They both got in, and saw the girl had removed her oxygen mask.
"There... there was another person who came to our rescue," she said weakly. "And from what I could tell... he looked like he was the C– C– Cal—"
Then she lost consciousness.