Present Day
"Cameras, lighting, sound, are we all set?"
"Yes, ma'am, everything's ready."
"Perfect."
"We go live in 3, 2, 1…"
"We're rolling!"
"Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the 8 a.m. news. In today's headlines, a terrorist attack carried out by the group known as Monster Corporation struck the California-based weapons manufacturer AT Production around 2 a.m. last night.
Joining me this morning is monster expert and author of Zombie Anatomy and Ratman: Vermin or Fellow Citizen?, Dr. Bauer. Good morning, Doctor, and thank you for being here."
"The pleasure's all mine."
"Well then, Dr. Bauer, let's start with—"
The TV murmured quietly in a small, cramped two-room apartment.
In the living area there was a small dresser pushed up against the wall, a TV sitting directly on the floor, and a mattress. Empty instant ramen cups and trash covered the floor. The second room was nothing more than a dingy bathroom.
"Hey, Kamu."
"Kamu."
"Kamu, it's already 8 a.m."
"You're supposed to start work at eight, remember."
"Huh? What're you talking' about…" the boy mumbled, half-asleep, sprawled across his mattress like a slug.
"YOU'RE LATE, YOU IDIOT!"
His eyes shot open. He jumped to his feet in an instant, forgetting every ounce of comfort he'd had seconds before.
"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!"
"First day on the job and you're already late. Impressive, Kamu. Really impressive."
"I got it, okay? I don't need a lecture right now."
Kamu rushed around his apartment like a maniac, every move was frantic and uncoordinated as he tried to get ready as fast as humanly possible.
"I just went to bed late last night, that's all."
"If you hadn't spent the whole night binge-watching your weird shows…"
"Not the time! CRAP, MY KEYS!"
His movements grew more frantic, bordering on full-on panic.
"Check your pockets."
"Oh….right. Yeah."
"…"
"Alright, I'm good, let's go."
Kamu flung the door open, still catching his breath. But just as he was about to shut it behind him, a slimy tentacle slammed against the frame, stopping it cold.
"Mr. Kamu. About the rent."
The figure standing in the hallway wore plain city clothes and was only slightly taller than Kamu. But what truly set him apart was his face and his body. It was a shifting mess of glistening, twitching tentacles. His arms? Also tentacles.
FUCK, FUCK, FUCK. Not this old freak. Not now.
"The rent…"
"You know, Kamu, I've been patient with you. I even treated you like a son."
A son? Man, I'm starting to envy those kids in the orphanage.
"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING, YOU LITTLE MORON?!"
The two eyebrows printed across the landlord's octopod face furrowed with rage.
"Y-Yeah, I'm listening."
Chill out old man. Yell any harder and you're gonna give yourself a heart attack. Not that I'd mind, honestly.
"THE RENT. NOW!"
"I got a job! A real one. Well-paid, too. I'll pay you once my first paycheck comes in."
"You? A job? What idiot's willing to go bankrupt for that?"
Wow. Father of the Year over here.
"If you must know… it's with the SDA."
The rage on the landlord's face vanished instantly. His furrowed brows relaxed, and he burst out laughing, loudly.
"You? The SDA?"
The slimy tentacles on his face twitched and bounced with each laugh.
"AHAHAHA! Get outta here, but you've got one week!"
Still chuckling, he turned around and disappeared into the maze-like hallways of his apartment complex.
"That was close."
"Yeah, way too close."
"8:10…"
"FUCK!"
Panic hit him all over again, and without another word, he sprinted toward the exit.
Outside, even with his stress mounting again, something caught his eye.
A man, someone who looked completely out of place in this part of town.
He looked to be in his fifties, with short, neatly styled hair and a perfectly tailored three-piece suit.
"Kamu… right?" the man asked.
"Do I… know you?"
The man didn't answer. Instead, he reached into one of his inner jacket pockets and pulled something out. Calmly, he raised it to eye level.
"RANK A? YOU'RE A RANK A SDA AGENT?!"
"Shut the hell up, kid, and get in the car."
The man's polished appearance had completely distracted Kamu from what really stood out:
Parked right there on the street was a sleek, brand-new black BME.
"Get in."
The man entered first, followed by Kamu, who had completely traded in his stress for something much more exciting.
Whoa. Leather seats. Private driver. Built-in screens. This thing's luxury on wheels.
Trying not to let his excitement show too much, Kamu spoke up. "Heyyy… sorry about being late this morning."
"…"
"I'm guessing… that's why you're here?"
"…"
"You know, I really feel honored to be chosen as an SDA agent."
"....."
"So… do you have any hobbies in life?"
.....
"Because me, personally, I really like—"
"Do you want me to cut your dick off and choke you with it?" Finally, the man let go of his silence and replied.
"N-no."
"Perfect. Then shut the hell up."
What the hell's this guy's problem? I was just trying to be nice, not asking to get threatened.
The rest of the drive was dead silent.
After about thirty minutes, the man finally spoke again. "We're here."
In front of them stood a massive skyscraper.
Both men stepped out of the car and made their way toward the entrance. The silence came right back, Kamu didn't dare say another word, afraid of getting snapped at again.
The lobby was huge, lit by dozens of lights hanging from the high ceiling. Two elevators stood at the far end of the room, and in the center, a small desk sat like it had been forgotten in the middle of it all.
Behind the desk sat a woman in her twenties. She wore a simple white blouse tucked into tailored pants, and her long black hair was tied neatly into a bun on top of her head.
The soft clacking of her keyboard was the only sound in the room, when it stopped, the silence was almost suffocating.
"Good morning, Agent Wafford. I see you've brought a new recruit with you," she said, without even looking up from her screen.
"Him? He's cannon fodder. Nothing more."
Cannon fodder? Okay, this old psycho's seriously got issues.
"Still as warm and welcoming as ever with the rookies, huh?" she said, finally lifting her eyes from the screen.
"I've notified them you've arrived. You can go in."
Agent Wafford turned and headed toward the nearest elevator. Kamu followed quietly behind, a bit tense.
Alright, come on. Chill out. You passed all the tests. You're an SDA agent now. Time to stop freaking out.
Once inside the elevator, Agent Wafford waited for the doors to close. Then, turning slowly, he began tapping gently on the wall across from him.
Kamu, now a little more relaxed and no longer feeling the weight of earlier stress, finally spoke, curiosity in his voice. "What are you doing?"
Wafford kept tapping. Eventually, he stopped, then carefully removed a small section of the wall, a disguised metal panel. Without a word, and still ignoring the increasingly confused boy behind him, he pulled out a gas mask.
"Wait, what is that thing?"
The moment Wafford put the mask on, a gas began to hiss out into the confined space.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"
The more the gas filled the elevator, the harder it became for Kamu to breathe, or even stay standing.
His vision blurred fast.
Grasping at the wall, trying desperately not to collapse, he croaked out, "HELP M—"
Before he could finish, his body gave out and he dropped to the floor.
Wafford didn't even spare a glance at the body lying at his feet.
⸻
Time had no meaning when Kamu woke up.
Blinded by the blinding white glow of industrial ceiling lights, he slowly opened his eyes.
The room was completely white, and empty.
Empty except for one operating chair, a small metal table, and a briefcase resting on it.
"Ugh… my head…"
"Ah, Agent Kamu. What a pleasure to finally meet you."
Someone had just entered the room.
Medium height, dark curly hair, dressed in a pristine white lab coat, the man now stood before a still-dizzy Kamu, who was trying to piece together what the hell had just happened.
"Yeah, uh… pleasure's mine, I guess. Who are you, and what the hell am I doing here?"
"Forgive the lack of manners. I'm Doctor V. And all of this, well…..it's just protocol. At the SDA, we don't take risks. I'm sure you understand."
"Protocol?" What a way to welcome someone on their first day. Okay, yeah, I was late, but is that really a reason to kidnap me?
"Yeah… I guess. But what I really don't get is why I'm here. You said you're a doctor, but I already passed all the medical tes—"
"I'm going to stop you right there," the doctor cut in sharply. "I don't like people wasting their saliva unnecessarily. Yes, you passed all the tests, remarkably well, in fact. Congratulations."
"Then why am I here?"
"Mr. Kamu, allow me to ask you a question. What is the purpose of the SDA?"
"To protect people from monster attacks."
"Correct. But everyone knows that."
"Now let me ask another one, how could an ordinary human like yourself possibly stand against monsters?"
"I… don't… know…" Wait, is this my first day or an interrogation?
"You probably saw it on the news, last week, a robber tried to hit a bank in Sydney. His brilliant little plan fell apart, and the police arrived before he could escape. About a dozen officers, armed and ready to move in. They demanded he surrender, but he didn't. Well-trained and well-equipped, the cops decided to storm the place. Now, you're probably thinking: one guy versus twelve officers? No contest, right? Let me add a detail I left out. The robber… was a zombie. With his regenerative ability and enhanced speed, he slaughtered them. All of them. By the time the SDA arrived, the only thing left were corpses… and one fucking monster."
Kamu felt a chill run down his spine.
"If we went into missions with nothing but ordinary firearms, our survival rate, depending on the mission, would barely hit five percent."
"It was after realizing this grim reality that the world's greatest scientists, engineers, and thinkers came together to find a way for humans to stand against monsters. The solution they found….well it's called the Haz System."
"Haz…?" Kamu repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"The Haz System enhances the base faculties of a human being."
"Once injected into the body, it can boost a person's vision, strength, reflexes, or intelligence."
"So it makes all that stuff better just by injecting it?"
"No. Only one faculty gets enhanced."
Oh man, that's sick! I could get super strong with this thing. Girls love strong guys, right?
Right, Kamu… sure they do.
Trying hard not to show how hyped he was, he grinned. "Alright, alright, I get your Haz thing. I want strength. Make me—"
"I'll stop you right there. You don't get to choose which ability gets enhanced. It's… random."
"What do you mean, random?"
"Mr. Kamu, if you'd like, I can fetch you a lovely 3,000-page scientific document detailing the Haz System in full….would you like me to get it now?"
Three thousand pages? This guy's nuts. I could barely pass basic science when I was thirteen. I'd rather die than read that crap.
"No thanks."
Without another word, Dr. V opened the briefcase resting on the table and pulled out a syringe. Inside was a transparent liquid, nothing fancy, just clear and still.
Kamu could hardly believe that something so simple, just a clear liquid, could give him powers like that.
The doctor pointed toward an operation chair tucked away in the corner of the room and calmly motioned for him to sit.
Kamu didn't argue. He walked over, sat down, and took a deep breath, clearly trying to keep himself calm.
"Just relax, Mr. Kamu."
"Oh, and before I forget, the Haz System injection may cause some side effects in the first few seconds after administration."
"Like what?"
Get out, Kamu.
"Oh, you know. Fever. Headaches."
Get out, Kamu.
"Cold sweats. Vomiting…"
Get out, Kamu.
"And the most troublesome of all…"
GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE KAMU!!
"…Death."
Without warning, the doctor drove the syringe deep into Kamu's neck and pushed the plunger. The liquid shot into his bloodstream.
A wave of searing pain tore through his entire body.
Kamu screamed and fought against it, but it kept getting worse and worse. It was like his insides were being crushed and torn apart all at once.
It was unbearable.
And then, suddenly, the screaming, the convulsions, everything stopped.
Without saying a word, Dr. V leaned over his limp body and gently placed two fingers on his neck to check for a pulse.
Then, breaking the stillness, he whispered: "Unfortunately, Mr. Kamu…the system choose….she simply can't love everyone, i'm sorry for you."