“Hello! Is someone here?” The young boy’s voice echoed through the hallway, his words tumbling out in a frantic rush. His breathing was rapid, and his eyes darted wildly around the room.
Adira emerged from her office, a look of surprise on her face. “Who are you, kid?” she asked, her voice gentle.
The boy’s eyes locked onto hers, desperation burning in their depths. “I am the brother of the girl you found in the morning. Where is my sister?” he demanded, his words spilling out in a hurried torrent.
Adira’s expression faltered, and she felt a pang of sympathy for the child standing before her. She looked helpless, and guilt gnawed at her heart. She didn’t know how to answer the boy’s question, didn’t know how to tell him that his sister was…gone.
She motioned for the boy to sit down, but he refused, his eyes pleading for answers. “Please, you have to tell me! What happened to my sister?” he begged, his voice cracking with emotion.
The commotion attracted the attention of the others, and soon, a small crowd had gathered around Adira and the boy. Alaric pushed his way to the front, a look of concern etched on his face. “What’s happening here?” he asked, his voice firm but gentle.
Adira hesitated, unsure of how to respond. “This is the brother of…the girl,” she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper.
The room fell silent, as if the very air had been sucked out of it. Everyone seemed frozen, unsure of how to react to the boy’s presence. The only sound was the boy’s ragged breathing, and the soft whisper of his pleas for answers.
Jasper’s voice was gentle, but firm, as he asked the boy, “Where were you, and what happened to your sister? Wasn’t she with you?”
The boy took a deep breath, and began to recount his story. “My uncle and aunt threw us out. We went to the terminal, and I fell asleep. When I woke up, my sister was gone.”
As the boy spoke, the room fell silent, with all eyes fixed on him. The team exchanged pitiful glances, their faces reflecting their sorrow and compassion.
The boy’s voice trembled as he asked, “Please, can you call my sister? She must be hungry.”
Adam’s face contorted in anguish, as he struggled to find the words to tell the boy the devastating truth. Finally, he managed to stammer out the words, “Look, kid… we… we… She… your… your sister is already dead.”
The boy’s eyes widened in horror, as he stared at Adam, then at the others in the room. “What?…” he whispered, his voice trembling.
“No! It can’t be! No, it can’t be!” he exclaimed, his words becoming more frantic and disjointed. “He said… he said… he promised me she would be okay!” The boy’s face crumpled, and he burst into tears, his small body shaking with sobs.
Seojun’s eyes locked onto the boy’s, his voice gentle but inquiring. “Who said what?” he asked, his hand on the boy’s shoulder, trying to offer some comfort.
But the boy didn’t respond, his words still jumbled and incoherent. Alaric joined in, placing a hand on the boy’s knee, his tone sweet but firm. “Tell us, kid. What happened? Whom are you talking about?”
Just as it seemed like the boy was about to break down, Adira intervened, her voice soft but authoritative. “Stop it! You’re all overwhelming him. Let him rest for a few minutes.”
The team murmured in agreement, backing off to give the boy some space. Adira gently took the boy’s arm, trying to lead him away from the intense questioning.
But in a sudden, unexpected move, the boy pushed Adira away, his eyes flashing with a mix of fear and anger. Adira stumbled backward, losing her balance, and fell to the ground with a soft thud.
The team gasped in shock, their eyes wide with surprise. The boy stood frozen, his chest heaving, his eyes darting wildly around the room. For a moment, no one moved, unsure of how to react to the boy’s sudden outburst.
The boy’s fist connected with Alaric’s jaw, sending him crashing to the ground. The force of the blow was so powerful that Alaric was thrown a few feet away, his head spinning.
But what happened next left everyone in the room stunned. Instead of stopping, the boy pounced on Alaric, pinning him to the ground. His eyes blazed with a fierce intensity, and his small fists pounded against Alaric’s chest.
The team watched in horror as the boy’s attack became more and more vicious. Seojun and Jasper rushed to intervene, trying to pry the boy off Alaric. But the boy’s strength was surprising, and he fought them off with a ferocity that belied his age.
Adira, still shaken from her fall, stumbled to her feet, her eyes wide with concern. “What’s wrong with him?” she cried, trying to make sense of the boy’s sudden and violent outburst.
As the team struggled to restrain the boy, they couldn’t help but wonder what had triggered this sudden explosion of rage. Suddenly, a look of alarm crossed Adira’s face, and she quickly darted into her office cabin. The others continued to grapple with the boy, trying to pin him down.
Adira returned swiftly, a syringe clutched in her hand. With a swift motion, she injected the contents into the boy’s neck, just as the others managed to grab hold of him. The boy’s struggles began to subside, his body relaxing as the sedative took effect.
“Seems like he’s one of those kids who underwent the scientist’s experiments,” Adam exclaimed, his eyes wide with concern. “His strength is unbelievable!”
Alaric nodded in agreement, clutching his body where the boy’s punches had landed. “Each punch proved it,” he added wryly.
Adira intervened, her voice firm but gentle. “Let’s restrain him first and then see what we can get from him. We need to be careful; we don’t know what kind of trauma he’s been through.”
The team nodded in agreement, carefully locking the boy in one of the rooms. As they stepped back, they couldn’t help but wonder what secrets the boy held, and what they would uncover as they delved deeper into the mystery.
“Alright, let’s move!” Jasper’s voice rang out, his tone firm and commanding. “Adira, I need you to run some tests and figure out what’s going on with this kid. Seojun, you’re with me – we’ll review the security footage from the bus terminal and see if we can track down any leads. Alaric, Adam, I need you to dig into the agent’s journal and start tracking down the names of the missing kids. We need to know if there are any other children out there who might be in danger.”
With their assignments clear, the team sprang into action, each member moving swiftly to their designated task. Adira hurried off to the medical lab, her mind already racing with possibilities. Seojun and Jasper made their way to the surveillance room, their eyes scanning the screens as they began to sift through the footage. Alaric and Adam settled in at the conference table, pouring over the agent’s journal and starting to make calls to track down the missing children.
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Adira’s voice was laced with concern as she handed out the reports to the others seated around the conference table. “It’s sinister. The child has an unbelievable level of adrenaline. Even if he was shaken by his sister’s death, it shouldn’t have been at such a high level, and the impact was really powerful. Plus, there was marijuana in his blood.”
Adam’s eyes widened as he took the report from Adira. “Marijuana, like the drug?” he asked, his voice incredulous.
Adira nodded gravely. “Yes.”
Jasper’s eyes scanned the report, his brow furrowed in concentration. “Doesn’t adrenaline be a hormone released when the brain feels danger?” he asked, looking up at Adira.
Adira nodded again. “Yes. That’s why the main question here is how the kid got such a high level of adrenaline. Like, it isn’t possible he felt threatened by us? Or does he?” Adira’s eyes narrowed, her mind racing with possibilities.
Suddenly, something clicked in Adira’s mind, and she quickly got up from her seat. “I need to check on the boy,” she said, her voice urgent.
But as she rushed to the room where the boy was being held, she was met with a horrific sight. The boy lay motionless on the floor, his eyes frozen in a permanent stare. Adira’s heart sank, and she felt a chill run down her spine. The boy was dead.
“He is dead,” Adira declared, her voice firm but laced with a hint of shock, after taking a glance at the boy’s lifeless body.
The team gathered around her, their faces etched with concern and confusion. “How?” Jasper asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Adira took a deep breath before explaining, “High levels of adrenaline can be dangerous too, and now he’s experiencing the aftermath. The marijuana in his system triggered something inside him, making his thoughts hazy. This is what happens when you tamper with a child’s mind and body.”
Adam’s eyes widened in horror as he grasped the full extent of the scientist’s experiments. “You mean, the scientist did this to him? He intentionally gave him marijuana and manipulated his adrenaline levels?” he asked, his voice trembling with outrage.
Adira nodded grimly, her expression a mask of concern and revulsion. “It’s likely. The boy’s body had gone through numerous tumors in that small amount of time, and we didn’t even realize it. The scientist’s experiments have turned these children into ticking time bombs, a human army that could kill on his order and then die too.”
The team stood in stunned silence, the weight of Adira’s words sinking in like a cold, dark reality. They knew they had to act fast to prevent more tragedies like this from occurring. But as they stood there, frozen in shock, they couldn’t shake off the feeling that they were already too late.
Adira’s eyes met with the others, her gaze piercing and intense. “Is this his plan? Or is he planning something more sinister?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
The room fell silent, the only sound the heavy breathing of the team members. They knew they had to consider the worst-case scenario, that the scientist’s plan was far more complex and deadly than they could have ever imagined.
As they stood there, paralyzed by the sheer horror of it all, Jasper’s voice broke the silence. “We need to get to the bottom of this. We need to find out what the scientist’s endgame is and stop him before it’s too late.”
The team nodded in agreement, their faces set with determination.
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“Look, I’ve found something!” Seojun exclaimed, his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him. “Doesn’t this look like the boy who’s been missing too?”
Alaric leaned in, his eyes scanning the image on the screen. “Yes! This is Eric. His name was on the list too!” Alaric’s expression turned to one of alarm as he looked at the face of the kid.
“Is this one of the old recordings?” he asked, his voice laced with concern.
Seojun shook his head. “No, it’s live.”
Alaric’s eyes met Seojun’s, and they exchanged a knowing glance. Without a word, they sprang into action, gathering the rest of the team and racing to the location where they had last seen Eric.
As they arrived at the scene, Jasper’s frustration boiled over. “Where the hell is that kid?” he slammed his fist on the car’s hood, his eyes scanning the surrounding area frantically.
The team fanned out, searching the streets and alleys, but there was no sign of Eric. Adira’s voice was laced with concern as she spoke into her comms device. “We need to find him, now. God knows what this kid is upto.”
“Found you!” Adam exclaimed, his voice triumphant as he grabbed the collar of the boy. He quickly called out to his teammates through his Bluetooth earpiece, and within seconds, the rest of the team had gathered around him.
But their victory was short-lived. The boy, who had been silent until now, suddenly burst out laughing. His eyes gleamed with a manic intensity as he punched Adam with a strength that was disproportionate to his age.
Adam lost his balance and tripped over, stumbling to the ground. The boy’s laughter grew louder, more hysterical, and the team exchanged worried glances.
“Seems like you didn’t learn your lesson from the last boy!” a voice erupted from afar, echoing through the streets.
The team turned to see a group of people emerging from the shadows, their faces twisted with malicious intent. It was an ambush, and the team realized they were surrounded.
Without hesitation, the two groups clashed, fists flying as a fierce battle erupted. The team fought hard, but they were outnumbered, and their opponents seemed to have the upper hand.
Jasper took down two men with swift kicks, but a third one landed a solid punch to his jaw. Adira expertly disarmed a woman who was wielding a knife, but another attacker grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms.
Seojun and Alaric fought back-to-back, taking down several attackers, but they were starting to get overwhelmed. Adam struggled to get back to his feet, his eyes scanning the chaos for any sign of the boy.
