After her conversation with the angelic anomaly, Emily returned to the control room. Laura and the scientists were still working tirelessly, immersed in screens, unstable graphs, and fragmented readings, trying to extract any useful data from the site, anything that might help them understand what that place actually was.
For the time being, they chose to ignore the fact that communication had been impossible for quite some time now, as well as the unsettling reality that they were only able to see thanks to some unknown trick of the angelic anomaly itself.
Even so, every recorded number and every reading could prove crucial in the future, should another anomalous event with similar characteristics emerge. It was then that Emily also found herself face to face with the apparition.
The problem was that she had no idea how to interact with it. Ignoring, or at least trying to ignore, the entity’s sloppy, bored demeanor, Emily stood still for a moment, unsure how to react. Should she act as if nothing had happened? Pretend everything was normal?
Obviously, Emily wouldn’t mention having overheard the conversation the apparition had with the angelic anomaly. She could already anticipate the predictable outcome that choice would bring.
In silence, arms crossed, she remained motionless, her gaze drifting toward some undefined point in the room as ideas piled up one after another... all of them just as bad as the last, each seeming to find an even more creative way to go wrong.
Emily sighed inwardly, feeling that old, familiar discomfort. Sometimes, she truly hated being the kind of person who overthought everything, even when the world around her clearly wasn’t asking for it.
She smoothed her hair back with a slow gesture, letting out an almost imperceptible sigh. Her eyes closed for a few seconds, and the tension that had been etched on her face gradually gave way to her usual expression.
I’ll just leave this headache for later, Emily decided, feeling the weight pressing down on her fade away, as if it had been left behind in a single instant.
***
(POV – Protagonist)
The final decision was clear: we were to wait for the reaction team to return. Obviously, there was no intention of waiting indefinitely. While we chose to give them some time, we also left open the grim possibility that they might not be able to come back at all.
Faced with that uncertainty, Victor, Rupert, and Arthur brought up Tenebrya. The way we had found her in the garden, far too serene for such a strange place, suggested that she might know something about the area’s unusual properties, or at least more than she let on.
However, Tenebrya, on the contrary, had no idea where she actually was. According to her, she had been asleep and only woke up a short while ago. Chronologically, everything suggests that this happened when we made our way between the ravines, or at least that’s what we were able to deduce from the conversation I had with her.
There is no doubt that Tenebrya is the one who created this place and everything within it, every fragment shaped by her essence. Even so, she shows no confidence or clarity about how she did it, as if the very act of creation were foreign to her.
After all, she had remained asleep until recently, and it is highly likely that this deep slumber triggered the unconscious release of her powers, allowing them to act on their own.
Among us, Rupert was the one who most clearly showed his impatience with the situation. He kept one hand pressed against the back of his neck, fingers digging into the skin in a nervous gesture, while letting out sighs heavy with exasperation.
His eyes constantly narrowed, sweeping over random directions of the garden, especially the paths the reaction team members had taken moments earlier, likely in search of their missing companions.
That said, it wasn’t as if I was simply standing around, waiting for something mysterious to happen. My “Eyes” were still scanning the garden, alert for any possible sign of the reaction team. Up to that point, however, there was no indication of their presence.
That alone was strange. The garden wasn’t an enclosed space, nor did it have dense vegetation capable of obstructing the view. On the contrary, the neatly trimmed flowerbeds and open pathways made it hard to believe that someone could simply vanish within it.
It was a wide area, yes, but covered in short, meticulously maintained grass. Most of the flowers, like Ruby’s tulips, barely reached my knees, all carefully arranged. The only conclusion I could reach was that this place simply didn’t follow any clear logic.
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At the very least, that was the conclusion one could draw from the fact that I couldn’t see any of the reaction team members from miles away, even while standing in a completely open garden, with no obstructions of any kind.
That said, I was visibly surprised when, completely out of nowhere, several members of the reaction team suddenly appeared in my field of view. In fact, I am absolutely certain that I had carefully observed the exact spot they came from just seconds earlier, and there had been absolutely nothing there.
My first thought was, naturally, to warn the others that some of the teams sent into the Garden were coming back. It was true that many were still missing within the Garden, but even so, that small confirmation of survival would already be enough to ease the growing tension and calm everyone down a little.
However, before I could make a sound, my “Eyes” picked up new movements coming from several edges of the Garden.
Almost at the same time, I noticed expressions of surprise and disbelief spreading across the faces of some members of the response team as they suddenly ran into one another.
There was a clear sense of disorientation in the air. Everyone seemed to share the same perception I did, the bizarre feeling that their companions had simply appeared right beside them out of nowhere.
“Hey, look!” Rupert exclaimed, snapping me out of my thoughts abruptly: “I can see some of them coming back”
His face was fully exposed since he wasn’t wearing his helmet, and the relief was unmistakable. His shoulders relaxed slightly, and his eyes, once tense, now carried a hopeful gleam.
To be honest, I felt the same way. Even though I hadn’t known them for long, I couldn’t say I hadn’t grown attached to them, at least a little, after everything we had been through and faced together.
During the brief moments of rest we’d had, I spent a lot of time listening to their stories, simple accounts, sometimes harsh, but filled with humanity. In return, they asked me many questions, absorbing every answer I gave.
They were clearly curious. After all, talking to an anomaly that didn’t try to kill them was something extremely rare... and, to them, almost unbelievable.
Each of them had families, mothers, wives, children, people waiting anxiously for their return. That was one of the main reasons I decided to protect them. They weren’t just soldiers or companions on a journey, they were entire lives intertwined with others.
Even I would have felt guilty if I’d let them die. Every one of them had a home to return to, embraces that hadn’t yet been given, promises still waiting to be fulfilled. Somewhere out there, people were counting the days, listening for the sound of their footsteps coming back.
Victor and Arthur forced their exhausted bodies to their feet. They knew that recovering as much energy as possible was essential for what was still to come. Rupert, on the other hand, didn’t seem too concerned with his own fatigue. His attention was clearly elsewhere, focused with worry on the group that had gone deeper into the Garden.
“Looks like everyone managed to make it back” Arthur commented, letting out a breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding.
The relief was visible not only on his face, but also on Rupert’s, who remained silent at his side. Still, Arthur soon frowned, clearly troubled by something.
“But how did they all come back at the same time?” he continued, his gaze narrowing: “Communications were down... so there’s no way they could’ve coordinated with that kind of precision” Rupert shrugged, his casual gesture clashing with the tension in the air.
“Does it really matter?” he asked, tilting his head slightly: “It’s probably just some anomalous feature of this place. If it helped us, I don’t see the problem” He paused briefly, his eyes drifting around before he finished: “Of course, it’d suck if we ended up getting separated because of it”
While Arthur and Rupert argued heatedly, the response team members sent throughout the Garden began to approach. At first glance, they didn’t look much different from when they’d left, but their restless eyes and hesitant steps betrayed their lingering confusion.
“Report” Arthur demanded, his voice firm and controlled, echoing through the Garden. His eyes swept over each of them before he continued: “You were gone for almost three hours. You know the protocol for situations like this, and you know exactly what that means”
The returning members wore clearly confused expressions at Victor’s words. Before any of them could even open their mouths, a vague realization began to take shape in my mind, something was definitely wrong.
“Sir... what exactly are you talking about?” one of the response team members asked, frowning as he exchanged uncertain glances with the others. His voice carried a clear tone of disbelief: “We barely spent three minutes exploring before coming back here”
Soon, other team members spoke up as well. Some reported that it took them around ten minutes to return; others mentioned something closer to eight. There were even teams who claimed it took less than a minute, stating that the places they’d gone to seemed completely deserted, with no signs that justified further investigation.
Victor, Rupert, and Arthur exchanged looks filled with shock and disbelief. None of it made any sense. Their times didn’t match, some had taken longer than others to return, so how, in the name of logic, had they all reappeared at exactly the same moment? The doubt spread among them.
It was Victor who broke the silence: “Let’s get the hell out of here as soon as possible” His gaze swept across the Garden, which at first glance seemed far too calm, far too peaceful. The motionless flowers, the almost nonexistent wind... everything felt artificial. Victor frowned: “I can’t explain why” he added in a low voice: “but I don’t feel comfortable here at all”
“We can follow the path I took” one of the response team members said, his voice steady despite the lingering caution: “I think I found a possible exit, but I didn’t explore it fully. I figured it was smarter to come back and report first, so you could decide the next move”
Victor nodded slowly, his expression firm and approving: “You did the right thing” Then, with a decisive gesture, he ordered everyone to organize their equipment and gather their supplies.
As for me, I stayed silent, gripping my little sister’s hand tightly. My fingers closed around hers in an instinctive, protective gesture, as if that simple act were enough to keep her safe.
The warmth of her hand was the only thing anchoring me in that moment. Even so, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it, an uneasy feeling lingered: there was something wrong with that garden.
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