Chapter 3 The Tests

Three days had passed since Eric's visit to 725 Maple Street.

Three days since he'd met Sarah Marcus.

Three days since he'd looked into the hopeful eyes of a little girl waiting for a father who would never come home.

Sleep had become a stranger.

Every time Eric closed his eyes, he found himself back in the alley behind the Red Lion.

The mutant wasn't snarling.

It wasn't attacking.

It was clicking.

Desperately.

Trying to say something before a plasma round silenced it forever.

By the fourth morning, Eric gave up trying to sleep.

---

Although his squad was on mandatory stand-down, he drove to Vanguard Headquarters anyway.

Routine had always helped him think.

Today, it only made everything feel worse.

As he entered the facility, security scanners swept across his ID before the reinforced doors slid open.

The familiar sounds of headquarters surrounded him—boots striking polished floors, officers exchanging reports, technicians rushing between departments.

Then the intercom crackled overhead.

"Attention Alpha Team. Report to Staging Area Three. Deployment in thirty minutes. Mutant activity confirmed in the Belltown District. Estimated six to eight hostiles."

Eric froze.

Around him, soldiers moved without hesitation.

Some laughed.

Some complained about losing their morning coffee.

Others checked their weapons.

None of them questioned where the mutants had come from.

None of them wondered whether those creatures once had names.

He watched Alpha Team disappear toward the armory.

Another hunt.

Another cleanup.

Another report that would end with words like targets eliminated.

His stomach tightened.

"Vaughn!"

Eric turned.

Martinez jogged over carrying a tray from the cafeteria.

"You look terrible."

"Thanks."

"I meant exhausted."

"I didn't sleep."

Martinez laughed.

"None of us sleep after stand-down. Too much free time."

He nodded toward the mess hall.

"Come on. Chen swears they finally got real eggs instead of powdered ones."

Eric forced a smile.

"I've got paperwork."

Martinez made a face.

"You're voluntarily doing paperwork?"

"I know."

"That's how I know something's wrong."

Eric chuckled.

"I'll catch up later."

Martinez shrugged and continued on.

Eric waited until he disappeared before changing direction.

Instead of Administration...

He headed toward Research.

---

Laboratory Seven was unusually quiet.

Most of the staff were either cataloging specimens or preparing reports from recent operations.

Dr. Rebecca Lawson stood alone at a workstation, examining tissue samples beneath a microscope.

Without looking up, she spoke.

"If you're here to complain about the serum injections again, I'm busy."

Eric smiled.

"I only complained twice."

"Four times."

She finally glanced over.

"Eric."

"What are you doing here? Your team's off duty."

"Couldn't stay home."

She studied him for a moment.

"You look awful."

"I've looked better."

She returned to her microscope.

"So what do you need?"

Eric leaned against the counter.

"I've got a question."

"Dangerous words."

"It's about the Red Lion mission."

That caught her attention.

She removed her gloves.

"What about it?"

"The last mutant."

"The alley one?"

Eric nodded.

"It behaved differently."

Rebecca folded her arms.

"Differently how?"

"It didn't attack."

"It hesitated."

"And..."

He paused.

"It tried to communicate."

She stared at him.

"...Communicate?"

"It was making rhythmic clicking sounds."

Rebecca shrugged.

"Neurological spasms aren't uncommon after severe mutation."

"It wasn't random."

"You sure?"

"It repeated the same pattern three times."

Silence lingered.

Finally, Rebecca walked over to a nearby computer.

"There have been studies on residual neural activity."

Eric's eyes narrowed.

"There have?"

"A few."

She pulled up several research files.

"Most indicate higher brain function deteriorates rapidly after mutation."

"So no intelligence?"

"Not according to official reports."

Official.

That word stuck with him.

"What if they're wrong?"

Rebecca gave him an amused smile.

"You've been watching conspiracy documentaries again?"

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

She looked at him carefully.

"Why are you asking?"

Eric hesitated.

He could lie.

Say he was simply curious.

But Sarah's face flashed through his mind.

"I think..." he said quietly.

"I think that mutant used to be a soldier."

Rebecca blinked.

"What?"

"I think it was trying to send a message."

"Eric..."

"I visited an address it gave me."

"You what?"

"It clicked in Morse code."

She laughed once.

Not because it was funny.

Because the idea sounded impossible.

"Morse code?"

"I didn't believe it either."

"So I translated it."

"It led me to a missing Army Ranger."

Rebecca's smile slowly disappeared.

"What?"

"His wife confirmed he used Morse code with his family."

Silence.

Neither of them spoke for several seconds.

Finally Rebecca asked,

"What exactly are you asking me to do?"

Eric took a slow breath.

"I need you to test the tissue sample from the alley mutant."

"What kind of test?"

"DNA sequencing."

"Then compare it against military personnel records."

Rebecca immediately shook her head.

"No."

"It isn't possible."

"It is."

"No."

She folded her arms.

"It requires Level Four authorization."

"I don't have it."

"You could request it."

"And tell them what?"

"'Excuse me, I think the monsters are actually soldiers.'"

She gave him a look.

"I'd be removed from this lab before lunch."

Eric stepped closer.

"I'm not asking because I want to be right."

"I'm asking because I desperately hope I'm wrong."

Rebecca searched his face.

For the first time, she realized he wasn't chasing some wild theory.

He was terrified.

"If that test proves nothing," Eric continued, "I'll apologize."

"I'll buy you dinner."

"I'll never mention it again."

"But if it proves I'm right..."

He couldn't finish the sentence.

Rebecca looked away.

The room felt impossibly quiet.

Finally she sighed.

"You're asking me to risk my career."

"I know."

"My security clearance."

"I know."

"My freedom."

Eric lowered his eyes.

"I know."

Another long silence.

Then Rebecca muttered,

"I hate that you're making sense."

She walked to her terminal.

"I can't access military databases directly."

"But..."

She opened another secure program.

"I know someone in Records who owes me a favor."

Eric looked up.

"You'll do it?"

"One sample."

She pointed a finger at him.

"One."

"If this turns into some grand conspiracy, I'm blaming you."

Despite everything, Eric smiled.

"I can live with that."

"I might not."

Rebecca pulled up the specimen inventory.

"Red Lion Incident."

"Subject Seven."

"Storage Bay Fifteen."

"There."

She copied several files onto an encrypted drive.

"I'll start after my shift."

"How long?"

"Forty-eight hours."

"Maybe less."

She handed him a small slip of paper.

"My private comm frequency."

"Don't contact me through official channels."

Eric accepted it.

"Thank you."

Rebecca shook her head.

"Don't thank me."

She looked him straight in the eye.

"If this DNA belongs to an ordinary mutant..."

"You owe me the most expensive dinner in the city."

Eric nodded.

"And if it belongs to Daniel Marcus?"

Rebecca's expression hardened.

"Then someone has been lying to every soldier in this building."

---

Eric left the laboratory feeling no lighter than when he'd entered.

The hallways bustled with life around him.

Officers reviewed mission reports.

Scientists discussed new weapons.

Squads prepared for another deployment.

Everything looked normal.

Yet all Eric could hear was the echo of clicking jaws in a dark alley.

One question kept repeating inside his head.

What if every monster we'd ever killed had once worn the same uniform we do?

In two days, he'd have his answer.

For the first time in his career, Eric realized he wasn't afraid of being wrong.

He was terrified of being right.