PROJECT Z – A WITCH’S VENGEANCE

The front door of the abandoned Red Lion Pub burst inward under Eric Vaughn's boot.

Rotting wood exploded into splinters as the reinforced door slammed against the far wall. Dust rolled through the dim building while the smell hit him like a physical blow—a nauseating mix of blood, decay, mold, and burnt chemicals.

His visor immediately highlighted movement.

Six heat signatures.

"Contacts confirmed," Rafe's voice crackled through the squad comms. "Three upstairs. Three below."

Eric swept his plasma rifle across the room.

"Tessa, Martinez, Chen, secure the ground floor. Eric, you're with me. I'll take the basement."

A grin tugged at Eric's lips.

"Trying to beat my score again, Tank?"

Rafe laughed.

"You're the one who owes me from last week."

"That was luck."

"No," Rafe replied. "It was skill. Loser buys drinks for a month."

Eric chambered a fresh energy cell into his rifle.

"Deal."

They split without another word.

---

The first mutant never saw him.

It dropped from a broken ceiling beam, its elongated arms reaching for his throat.

Eric reacted on instinct.

Two plasma rounds.

The creature's head exploded into glowing blue mist before it even touched the floor.

"One," Eric muttered.

Static buzzed through the comm.

"Already at two," Rafe announced proudly.

"Show-off."

Eric climbed the stairs two at a time.

His enhanced muscles barely registered the effort. Three years of Vanguard's enhancement serum had transformed his body into something stronger, faster...something no longer entirely human.

He tried not to think about that.

Another heat signature darted behind a doorway.

A mutant lunged.

This one still wore shredded clothes, almost as if it had once cared about how it looked.

Eric ducked beneath its claws, drove the stock of his rifle into its jaw, and fired point-blank.

Its chest burst apart.

A third creature rushed him from behind.

He spun, kicked its knee backward, then emptied three rounds into its skull.

The hallway fell silent.

"Three," Eric reported.

"Five."

Rafe sounded winded.

"You slowing down, Vaughn?"

"I've still got one left."

"So do I."

A deafening crash echoed somewhere behind the building.

Rafe's voice sharpened.

"One escaped the basement. Rear alley!"

Eric was already moving.

---

He burst through the back door with his rifle raised.

Moonlight spilled into the narrow alley.

The mutant stood trapped between a brick wall and a rusted chain-link fence.

It wasn't charging.

It wasn't snarling.

It simply stared.

Unlike the others, this one looked...almost human.

Its mutations were subtle.

Its eyes were clear.

Aware.

Eric steadied his rifle.

"End of the road."

The creature slowly lowered itself to its knees.

Then its jaw began moving.

Click.

Click-click.

Click...

Eric frowned.

Not random.

Rhythmic.

Deliberate.

The mutant repeated the sequence.

Dots.

Dashes.

Pauses.

Like someone tapping on a table.

"Eric?"

Rafe's voice echoed through the comm.

"You there?"

The mutant clicked again.

A different pattern this time.

Long.

Short.

Short.

Then another pause.

It wasn't begging.

It wasn't growling.

It was...

Talking.

His finger rested on the trigger.

Every lesson drilled into him screamed the same command.

Mutants lie.

Mutants kill.

Mutants do not communicate.

The creature looked directly into his eyes and repeated the pattern one last time.

Eric pulled the trigger.

The plasma bolt punched through its forehead.

The mutant collapsed without making another sound.

Silence settled over the alley.

Only the ringing in Eric's ears remained.

"Target eliminated," he finally said.

No one answered for several seconds.

Then Rafe sighed with relief.

"Nice work. Mission complete."

Eric looked down at the corpse.

For some reason...

It didn't feel like a victory.

---

The Vanguard recreation room was louder than usual.

Someone had found decent beer.

Music blasted from battered speakers while soldiers laughed, celebrated, and pretended another successful mission meant tomorrow was guaranteed.

Rafe had won the bet.

Seven kills.

Eric had six.

Naturally, Rafe insisted on buying the first round.

"Because," he declared proudly, raising his bottle, "a true champion is also generous."

The room erupted in groans.

Eric forced a smile but barely touched his drink.

Across the table, Tessa noticed immediately.

"You've been staring at that beer for five minutes."

"I'm thinking."

"About the alley?"

He looked up.

"You saw?"

"I had a clear view from outside."

She leaned closer.

"That mutant wasn't attacking."

Eric hesitated.

"It was clicking."

"I know."

"The rhythm..."

"It sounded intentional."

Before either of them could continue, Rafe dropped into the empty chair.

"What'd I miss?"

Eric glanced around before speaking quietly.

"The last mutant."

"What about it?"

"It wasn't making random noises."

Rafe frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"It kept clicking its jaw."

Eric tapped two fingers against the table.

"Like this."

Tap.

Tap-tap.

Pause.

Tap.

Long pause.

Then another sequence.

Rafe's expression changed.

"Do that again."

Eric repeated the rhythm.

Without saying another word, Rafe reached into his jacket and produced a small notebook.

His pen began moving almost immediately.

Dots.

Dashes.

Dots.

Tessa watched over his shoulder.

Then her eyes widened.

"No way."

Rafe didn't look up.

"This..."

His pen continued scratching across the paper.

"...is Morse code."

The table suddenly felt much quieter.

Eric repeated the sequence once more.

Rafe translated each rhythm carefully.

Letters appeared one after another.

K...7...E...2...L...M...A...P...5...S...T...R...

He stopped.

The three of them stared at the page.

"What does it mean?" Eric asked.

Rafe slowly shook his head.

"I don't know."

Martinez wandered over carrying another bottle.

"You all look like someone died."

He glanced at the notebook.

"Gibberish?"

"Looks like it," Rafe admitted.

Martinez shrugged.

"Probably coincidence."

He wandered back toward the celebration.

Rafe eventually followed.

Then Tessa.

Within moments, laughter filled the room again as if nothing had happened.

Eric remained alone.

His untouched beer had gone warm.

He stared at the meaningless string of letters.

K7E2LMAP5STR.

It shouldn't bother him.

It meant nothing.

Just random sounds from a dying monster.

Yet somewhere deep inside him, a single thought refused to disappear.

What if the mutant had been trying to warn him?