The city hall no longer looked like a government building. It felt like a fortress. Soldiers lined the marble staircase as Ana wheeled Jorge up its steps, each guard's weapon angled downward but their eyes sharp, tracking every movement she made. The cold morning light bled through the cracked windows, turning the dust into drifting silver shards.
Jorge's breathing was slow, controlled, but Ana could see the pain each bump caused. His fingers tightened against the metal frame of the makeshift wheelchair, his knuckles whitening, and every time he winced she felt it in her chest like a blade.
They stepped into the main chamber where General Suárez waited. His silhouette cut a rigid shape against the large map of Spain behind him, various territories circled in red ink. He did not turn at first. He let them feel the weight of his silence, let it settle on their shoulders before speaking.
When he finally faced them, his eyes widened not with surprise, but with a strange, thoughtful recognition.
"Jorge Marino," Suárez said quietly. "I expected you would be dead by now."
Ana stiffened. Jorge only raised an eyebrow.
Suárez approached him with the slow, deliberate grace of a man who weighed every step. "Back in the eastern front… you took three enemy posts with nothing but twelve men and a broken radio, I even heard your team were stranded in defence of many Spanish territories. You were a hero then. And you survived this." He looked at Jorge's healing torso with genuine astonishment. "Remarkable. Truly."
Jorge forced a faint smile. "Being too stubborn to die is the only trait I've mastered."
But Ana wasn't here for nostalgia. "General," she cut in, "we need clarity. The town is on edge. Panic is growing, soon a rebellion would start and you know how much A'coruna is necessary for Spain so we came to understand your plan. It is imperative we keep peace, for everyone, we know the last meeting with Manuel didn't go over so well, but you said you trusted my son I was hoping that trust could be extended to us."
Suárez gave her a slow smile that did not reach his eyes.
"The Marino family is… respected.
Your husband saved mine and our fellow comrades lives in the Sierra Offensive." His voice softened.
"And your son helped us retake the northern stronghold. But respect," he said, stepping closer so the air between them grew tense, "is not trust. Not now."
Ana felt her pulse quicken. She saw the calculation in his gaze. He wasn't simply responding to them he was studying them. Measuring. Testing.
"And my husband?" Ana pressed, unable to stop the question. "You talk about him now and he saved lives but there's nothing in the files. No explanation. What happened to him?"
Jorge glanced at her sharply this wasn't part of the distraction plan. But Ana needed more than time; she needed answers. She needed truth. She needed closure for the night terror she still woke to.
Suárez paused. A thin crack of something memory, regret, suspicion shadowed his expression.
He stepped closer to Ana.
"I know exactly what happened to your husband. Because I was there, no need for files but no need to reminisce on old wounds, that chapter is better left close Ana Marino ."
He changed his expression as he eyes lingered across the room but ultimately landing on Jorge. "Do you really think this is the best course of action, do all of you believe that this would save A'coruna."
Ana's heart stopped, could he know what we were up to ….. no, if he did then we would be in handcuffs for going against the will of a general abd he wouldn't have wasted hus time humoring us.
Jorge's breath hitched as he saw his mother face cracking under the intense pressure of the room.
"But there are more pressing matters," Suárez finished, cutting their thoughts short, dismissing the topic as easily as swatting ash off his sleeve.
He walked past them, signaling two soldiers to open the doors.
"I am trying to save Spain, should anyone stand in my way they would be guilty of crimes punishable by death" he said simply.
Then he left.
The air he abandoned behind him seemed to collapse inward.
Jorge let out a slow breath. "He knew, Ana. He knew something was off the moment you asked."
"I know," she whispered. "But… did we buy enough time?"
They both prayed the answer was yes.
Because far beneath the city hall floors, the real mission had already begun.
Manuel moved through the underground corridor like a man sprinting through the last seconds of an hourglass. His hands trembled slightly not with fear, but with urgency that tasted like metal in his throat. Every step felt louder than the last. Every soldier he passed felt like a trap ready to spring.
Lieutenant Mark Alvarez waited at the far corner, arms folded, eyes clouded with conflict.
"General Suárez will have my head for this," Alvarez muttered. "You know that."
Manuel nodded. "Then let it be my fault. You don't trust him either. You know he's hiding something."
Alvarez's jaw tightened.
Silence.
Tension thick enough to suffocate. " It doesn't matter if I don't trust him, I just have to follow the orders given to me."
Manuel knew he Alvarez wouldn't betray an order, he needed a plan to make Alvarez help and luckily he had one
"Do you remember the raid attempt of 1601 in the north" Manuel said.
"I do, but what does this have to do with me going against Suarez and helping you" Alvarez replied.
"It has everything to do with that, you knew in your gut that we were walking into a trap and you knew that Suarez was using as cannon fodder, sending our squad in to die to prove a point, cause that's what he does…."
"He plays with lives like it's a game of chess, Alvarez.
Always has, always will and right now he's doing it, you couldn't sleep for months knowing our comrades blood were on your hands, do you want the people of A'coruna bloods on your hands."
"You want me to order the guards away from Theo's cell."
"Yes."
"You want me to pretend I didn't see you take him."
"Yes."
"You want me to believe a handful of civilians know better than command."
"…Yes."
Alvarez stepped closer until Manuel could smell the smoke from his earlier cigarette.
"You'd better pray you're right, oh and Manuel we are even now for saving my lives in that warehouse that day but if Suarez catches up to you, I won't be able to help you."
"I know and I don't want you, I won't see you become collateral damage in this war"
Manuel said.
Alvarez gave the signal.
Two soldiers walked away from Theo's cell. The corridor dimmed, empty but for the humming fluorescent lights. Theo sat chained, exhausted, eyes hollow half man, half ghost.
"W…why?" Theo whispered as Manuel unlocked him.
"Because no one deserves to be hunted without evidence," Manuel said. "Because Ana believes you were twisted, not born a monster. Because Francisco feels it."
"…and because you want time," Theo finished, voice cracking.
"Exactly."
Maria stood guard, rifle raised. "We have minutes, Manuel. Maybe less."
They moved swiftly through the old water tunnels beneath A'coruna. Rusted pipes rattled overhead. Cold air clung to them. The deeper they went, the more it smelled like the sea damp, metallic, ancient.
Francisco rode ahead on a battered maintenance cart, eyes unfocused as he listened to the air itself, feeling for the wrongness only he could sense.
Theo sat beside him, silent, sweating, terrified.
Manuel and Maria followed behind, weapons primed.
They were halfway through when Francisco suddenly raised a fist.
Everyone stopped.
A wall of jagged rocks lay ahead freshly collapsed, dust still drifting.
"This wasn't here, I checked the plans….. this route was supposed to be free" Manuel whispered.
Maria cursed under her breath. "Alvarez betrayed us, he must have told Suarez this was the route we were using."
"No…" Francisco whispered. "Something's wrong. This doesn't feel like him. The stones… there's something on them."
Manuel crouched close. His heart froze.
Dark, smeared streaks of something like tar ran along the cracks and the smell was something between rotting wood and burned hair.
"The creature," Francisco breathed.
The tunnels trembled faintly.
Something had been here.
Recently.
Watching.
Waiting.
"We detour," Manuel said, forcing steadiness into his voice. "Up through Maintenance Shaft C. Into the woods."
"You want to take him above ground?" Maria hissed.
"We have no choice."
"And how do we know that they won't be soldiers up there ready to ambush us" Maria added.
"I don't know but we don't have time, nightfall is upon us and we can't be stuck in this cave, if we used the same routes above ground, we can still make it to the outer checkpoint in time and get him out of A'coruna, you have to trust me, Maria."
"I do."
They climbed.
The metal ladder groaned beneath their boots.
The opening at the top spilled pale daylight as the sun was setting over them as they emerged into the woods.
And someone was already there.
"Francisco!"
Isa burst through the undergrowth, cheeks flushed with panic. She ran straight to him, grabbing his arms.
"It's a trap! It was always a trap!"
Manuel stepped forward, heart hammering. "Alvarez?"
"Alvarez never betrayed you," Isa said breathlessly. "It was Bruno. He told Suárez everything. He's right behind me. A whole squad. They're coming to arrest us all."
Nightfall wasn't far.
The forest canopy swallowed the sun.
Shadows stretched like claws.
Manuel looked at Theo, then at Francisco. "We keep going."
"Manuel…"
"We keep going!" Manuel barked. "We get him out or we lose everything. If they catch us, I'll take the blame."
Maria stepped beside him. "Then we move."
Behind them, the sound of distant horses rumbled through the trees.
Time was gone.
They had minutes at best.
Francisco climbed onto his horse, breath sharp and uneven.
"I'll stall them," he said.
Manuel froze. "Francisco…no."
"I'm the only one he'll talk to, and not arrest on sight. You know that."
Isa's eyes widened. "I'm going with you."
"No. Stay with them. Help them get through the checkpoint."
She shook her head violently. "Francisco…."
"Please," he whispered.
That broke her.
Isa joined Maria and Manuel as Francisco sped down the forest slope toward the rumbling hooves of the horses. The trees blurred past him. The wind cut against his face like knives. Every instinct screamed for him to turn back but he didn't.
He knew what he had to do.
He reached the dirt clearing just as Suárez and fifteen soldiers emerged from the opposite trail. Suárez lifted a hand, and the entire convoy stopped.
Francisco horse came to an abrupt halt, blocking their path.
"Stop!" Francisco shouted, breathless. "Please."
Suárez stepped down from his horse, dust swirling around his boots. He looked at Francisco not with anger but with disappointment.
"You're delaying me," Suárez said quietly.
"I'm buying Manuel time."
"You're wasting it."
Francisco swallowed. "This plan….
this escape…. it's the only way to save A'coruna."
Suárez's expression didn't change. "What about Spain?
What about the innocent lives outside your city?"
"It was contained, Francisco"
Francisco's lips trembled. He had no answer.
"You don't understand, boy." Suárez stepped closer. "I do not believe Theo is the monster."
Francisco's breath hitched. "Wh…what?"
"This is the last test," Suárez said. "Not of him. Of you."
Francisco couldn't understand, was all this a test for him, he'd let them escape from the prison for what…..
Suarez studied Francisco's trembling hands. "Tell me. What do you feel?"
Francisco closed his eyes.
He felt the forest.
He felt the cold air.
He felt something far beyond human danger.
"…someone is going to die tonight," Francisco whispered.
Suárez nodded, almost gently. "Good. Your senses are getting sharper, it seems I was correct you not only can sense the monster but you can sense when it's about to kill."
Francisco's eyes snapped open.
"Listen carefully," Suárez said. His voice dropped to a chilling calm. "Theo is not your monster, there was no doubt in my mind that he was being framed, I just needed to know how my competitors would act and I must say you all are predictable.
I'll tell you one more thing, Francisco the real one….., the real monster is here. In these woods."
The world seemed to tilt.
"The rocks blocking your tunnel?" Suárez continued. "Not my order, I was hoping our showdown would happen closer to the checkpoint where I had more guards to protect your friends but nevertheless, its going exactly as planned ."
"if the rocks weren't your orders, then who who did this …." Francisco asked.
"Oh come on, Francisco you know"
"The monster." Francisco whispered underneath his breath.
His blood turned to ice.
Suárez stepped closer, eyes suddenly dark.
"Nightfall has arrived, Francisco."
He leaned in.
"Tell me… what do you feel now?"
A cold rush slammed through Francisco's chest.
A pressure.
A presence.
A hunger.
Not human.
Not Theo.
His breath shattered.
"Manuel…..
Maria….
Isa….."
He violently turned his horse around.
"Francisco!" Suárez shouted after him. "If you go now…."
But Francisco didn't hear.
He was already racing back into the heart of the woods, heart pounding with terror.
Because the real monster wasn't chasing them.
It was waiting for them, setting a trap.
And they were riding right into its jaws.