1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:05,360 Speaker 1: I've seen people torn apart in alleys with their mouths 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:09,160 still open in prayer. I've pulled children from buildings where 3 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:11,839 the ceiling came down before the rest of the world 4 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:16,760 could blink. I've been shot at, bombed, hunted through mountains, 5 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:19,519 and dragged through the mud and corners of the world 6 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:24,160 where diplomacy meant nothing. I've seen what men do when 7 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:28,719 they're starving and have nothing left to lose. I've watched 8 00:00:28,719 --> 00:00:32,479 my team get picked off by camouflaged enemies. I've helt 9 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:36,840 friends as they bled out and made promises I couldn't keep. 10 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:43,399 War doesn't change you. That's a lie people tell themselves 11 00:00:43,439 --> 00:00:47,880 to explain what they've become. War shows you what you 12 00:00:48,079 --> 00:00:52,880 already were. If there was fear inside you, it pulls 13 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,280 it out. If there was rage, it makes it louder. 14 00:00:58,119 --> 00:01:02,240 I stop being surprised a long time go, and that's 15 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:08,000 exactly why they picked me. They called us phantom echo 16 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:14,000 on paper, it doesn't exist. We weren't navy or rangers. 17 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:18,079 We weren't reconno delta. We were the ones who got 18 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:22,319 sent when all the regular tools broke, When whatever needed 19 00:01:22,359 --> 00:01:25,400 to be handled wasn't the sort of thing anyone could 20 00:01:25,439 --> 00:01:33,079 know about. I didn't ask too many questions. I'd been 21 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:36,599 in Phantom Echo for three years when it happened. We'd 22 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:41,519 seen some strange operations before, chemical labs buried under desert 23 00:01:42,079 --> 00:01:45,560 tunnels that weren't on any maps, places soaked in blood 24 00:01:45,719 --> 00:01:50,560 but scrubbed clean of names. But nothing came close to 25 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:56,159 what we walked into that night. Regard the briefing and 26 00:01:56,239 --> 00:01:59,799 a hanger outside Quantico, there had been a string of 27 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:05,719 care the past two months. Isolated rural stretch in the northeast, 28 00:02:06,239 --> 00:02:11,280 dense forestry, minimal cell coverage, maybe three thousand residents spread 29 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:14,080 across the county. They used to rely on timber and 30 00:02:14,199 --> 00:02:19,439 animal testing grants. The facility in question hadn't operated in 31 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,400 over a decade. It had been tagged for demolition twice, 32 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:27,879 but nothing ever came of it. Locals referred to it 33 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:32,400 as the Doghouse, which told us enough about what went 34 00:02:32,439 --> 00:02:37,039 on in there. Two deputies were sent in after someone 35 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:43,599 called about movement inside. Neither one reported back when dispatch 36 00:02:43,719 --> 00:02:48,520 tried to reach them, radios were dead. That would have 37 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:52,120 been enough to raise concerns anywhere else, but in a 38 00:02:52,159 --> 00:02:57,599 town like that, things fall apart without anyone noticing, so 39 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:03,000 they sent back up. Ten more went in same facility. 40 00:03:05,159 --> 00:03:09,680 No one heard from them either. That's when we found 41 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,560 out it had hit the desk of our handler. She 42 00:03:13,759 --> 00:03:18,280 didn't say much, she never did, just told us. The 43 00:03:18,319 --> 00:03:21,639 official story was that it was a missing person's case, 44 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,560 local law enforcement still handling it, and there was no 45 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:30,360 federal involvement unless a body turned up. But some of 46 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:34,840 those missing officers weren't strangers. One had served with Ruth 47 00:03:35,039 --> 00:03:39,080 before retiring into a small town police work. Another had 48 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:41,240 trained with Nolan when they were still in the core. 49 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:46,120 We pushed back hard, told command we had enough ties 50 00:03:46,159 --> 00:03:50,520 to justify insertion, told them we didn't trust local resources 51 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:56,199 to manage whatever was happening inside that building. There was hesitation. 52 00:03:57,639 --> 00:04:01,520 They gave us the usual boiler plate about overstepping jurisdiction, 53 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:09,199 about optics, about resource allocation, but we kept pressing. Eventually 54 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:16,079 they gave us a single directive, going quiet, observe report, 55 00:04:17,199 --> 00:04:22,000 and get out. We came in under a thick canopy 56 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:25,720 of early fog. The dirt road up to the warehouse 57 00:04:25,959 --> 00:04:30,319 had been overtaken by weeds, gravel kicked into furrows from 58 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:34,399 where cruisers had pulled off in a rush. We rolled 59 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:38,879 up in two Matte black suburbans, the most technologically advanced 60 00:04:38,879 --> 00:04:43,920 phantom echo transport. The vehicles coasted to a stop in silence, 61 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:48,959 engines off the second wheels touched the outer perimeter. We 62 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:53,279 ran cold. That meant we weren't using lights to start with. 63 00:04:54,399 --> 00:04:57,839 If something was watching from inside, we weren't going to 64 00:04:57,879 --> 00:05:03,720 give it a head start. There were three cruisers parked 65 00:05:03,759 --> 00:05:08,560 haphazard across the lot. One was angled sideways halfway across 66 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:13,240 a patch of overgrown moss concrete, driver door hung open. 67 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:17,040 Another had its rear light still pulsing red through the mist, 68 00:05:17,639 --> 00:05:24,519 casting slow, bleeding strobes against the trunks. Specter one, dismount 69 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:29,639 I said into COM's voice, Low but steady. Specter two 70 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,800 on me. Three and four take rear approach five six, 71 00:05:34,079 --> 00:05:41,879 hold perimeter until breach confirmation. Acknowledgments clicked back Immediately, We 72 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:50,279 moved clean. Specter two came up on my left, ruth quiet, focused, 73 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:55,079 always squared away. Spector three and four joined us, and 74 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:59,439 we peeled off behind the building, boots crunching lightly against frost. 75 00:05:59,519 --> 00:06:04,839 US five and six stayed near the vehicles, rifles shouldered 76 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:09,319 scanning the tree line. Nobody said a word beyond call out. 77 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:16,120 That was how we operated. The warehouse stood three stories tall, 78 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:21,319 though the upper floor looked partially collapsed. Gray cement siding 79 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:26,279 stained in vertical streets from rain and time. A rusted 80 00:06:26,319 --> 00:06:29,480 loading dock door was sealed shut by a chain that 81 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:34,959 had already been cut. Bolt cutters still sat nearby, blades 82 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:38,879 rusted at the hinge. The main entry was a double 83 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,800 wide security door with one panel cracked open, about two 84 00:06:42,879 --> 00:06:47,560 inches long enough to get a boot in. I raised 85 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:51,560 my fist, held it for two seconds, then dropped it 86 00:06:51,639 --> 00:07:00,519 forward breach signal. We flowed in smooth formation, tight, rifle up, 87 00:07:00,639 --> 00:07:06,920 muzzles low but ready. Interior was cold, stale. The scent 88 00:07:06,959 --> 00:07:12,000 of mold hit first, then dust. We swept left and 89 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:18,879 right corners, ceiling, undershelving, light beams moved in unison, cutting 90 00:07:18,879 --> 00:07:24,839 through darkness with surgical rhythm. Specter one first floor clear 91 00:07:24,879 --> 00:07:28,680 and entry, I said, pressing the mic clip to my shoulder, 92 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:35,040 marking doorways, holding for deeper push. Copy came back from 93 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:41,160 three rearsides negative, one broken window, second level, nothing else clear. 94 00:07:43,839 --> 00:07:47,839 We moved room by room. First man slices the corner. 95 00:07:48,279 --> 00:07:52,680 Second watch is high. Third moves through the threshold. The 96 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:56,360 fourth holds the rear two keep watch, and all four 97 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:02,120 doors are intact. No forced entry. PaperWorks still sat in 98 00:08:02,199 --> 00:08:05,399 trays as if abandoned during a lunch break. No one 99 00:08:05,519 --> 00:08:11,720 ever returned from whatever happened here hadn't started in a panic. 100 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:18,319 It had sunk in low. Specter one to all units, 101 00:08:18,879 --> 00:08:24,120 I said, advancing north corridor, staging at interior junction. Maintained 102 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:30,240 sweep until next ping. We cleared the northern section and 103 00:08:30,319 --> 00:08:37,799 regrouped to the main junction. One person was missing Specter three. 104 00:08:39,879 --> 00:08:45,720 Then his voice came in overcom's contact possible access point 105 00:08:46,039 --> 00:08:51,960 south Wing utility corridor, moving to investigate. Specter one copies 106 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:56,799 echo actual regroup on Specter three's position, Keep visuals tight, 107 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:03,159 weapons heart. We formed up and moved quickly, clearing the 108 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:08,559 stretch with practiced discipline. Specter three inspect four was standing 109 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,720 in a narrow service hallway. The lights aimed at a 110 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:15,080 collapsed shelving unit that had partially buried a stack of 111 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:19,960 old maintenance crates. Behind the debris, flushed with the floor 112 00:09:20,519 --> 00:09:25,320 was a square hatch metal aged to a reddish brown 113 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:29,879 edges warked with rust. A short length of chain hung 114 00:09:29,919 --> 00:09:34,080 from the side snapped clean through at the center. It 115 00:09:34,159 --> 00:09:40,120 had been locked once. Specter six adjusted his grip on 116 00:09:40,159 --> 00:09:45,960 the rifle and knelt to inspect the latch. Blood, he said, 117 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:50,039 old but not dried. Looks fresh compared to the rest 118 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:55,559 of this place. I stepped closer, pulling the flashlight from 119 00:09:55,600 --> 00:10:00,279 my vest to get a better angle. The hatch was 120 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:04,120 scored along the edges, as if something had clawed it 121 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:08,559 open from underneath. The flooring around it had scratch marks 122 00:10:08,639 --> 00:10:14,279 leading inward. Stack up. I ordered two and three on breach, 123 00:10:14,639 --> 00:10:18,320 four and six secure the perimeter, five stays on overwatch. 124 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:25,759 Specter three braced the hatch, counted down from three and pulled. 125 00:10:28,399 --> 00:10:32,480 The metal groaned against the frame before lifting with a crack. 126 00:10:33,879 --> 00:10:40,879 The smell hit instantly, chemical rot. Beneath that, something else, 127 00:10:41,759 --> 00:10:45,440 sharp and oily, biting at the back of the throat. 128 00:10:47,639 --> 00:10:51,080 We dropped chem lights into the dark below and waited 129 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:55,960 for them to settle. They clinked against concrete, revealing a 130 00:10:56,080 --> 00:11:00,720 vertical shaft with three bar studded rungs bolted into the wall. 131 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:09,960 Specter Io went first, then me, then the rest. The 132 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:14,000 air grew colder the further we dropped. My boots hid 133 00:11:14,039 --> 00:11:18,200 the basement floor with a sharp slap. The walls were 134 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:21,960 a mix of bare concrete and panels of old surgical tile, 135 00:11:22,799 --> 00:11:28,039 greenish gray, cracked in places. There were drains spaced every 136 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:32,559 few meters. The whole place had been designed for runoff. 137 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:38,559 One main hallway stretched forward, framed by doorways on either side. 138 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:43,960 Heavy industrial fixtures hung from exposed beams above us, most 139 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:49,039 of them flickering, some dead. The hum of the electrical 140 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:53,399 grid echoed through the walls with an uneven pulse. Some 141 00:11:53,519 --> 00:11:57,279 of the lights buzzed, as if struggling against resistance. They 142 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:03,639 couldn't overcome. Specter one to all units, I said, interior 143 00:12:03,639 --> 00:12:10,679 secured basement layout seems consistent commenced sweep pears gold blue, red, 144 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:20,200 maintain radio discipline. Teams acknowledged. We broke off that corridor, 145 00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:26,320 long curved, windowless disappeared around a bend that none of 146 00:12:26,399 --> 00:12:30,559 us could see past. It had a feeling to it. 147 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:36,919 We had no idea what we were walking into. Gold 148 00:12:36,919 --> 00:12:40,879 Advancing ahead, I said, into the colms. As Specter two 149 00:12:40,879 --> 00:12:45,080 and I pushed deeper into the corridor, the curve of 150 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:49,279 the hallway gradually straightened, stretching toward a heavy door at 151 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:53,360 the far end. The other teams peeled off ahead of us, 152 00:12:53,879 --> 00:12:58,799 each taking one flank. Our boots echoed across the concrete. 153 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:04,279 The sounds followed by the close, lifeless air. Blue team 154 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:09,240 clearing room ten, negative on contact, Red team entering storage, 155 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:15,399 blood and walls, no bodies. I glanced toward Ruith Specter two. 156 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:20,000 He gave a sharp knot and kept low. His rifle 157 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:23,080 moved in tight arcs across the hallway. As we advanced, 158 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:28,759 my own breath started to slow. Training madeor body control 159 00:13:28,879 --> 00:13:35,960 fear without even noticing muscle steady, steps measured, but something 160 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:42,240 about this place started pulsing against that discipline. We reached 161 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:47,639 the final door. It was sealed heavy with a forced 162 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:52,759 viewing panel, fogged from inside, no visible locks, just the 163 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:56,519 steel handle slick with something red that had dried in 164 00:13:56,639 --> 00:14:01,679 sharp edged streaks. I raised the closed fist, signaling the 165 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:07,200 breech sequence once more. Ruth stacked beside me, checking his six, 166 00:14:07,639 --> 00:14:19,159 and then looking forward. I gave the countdown with my fingers, three, two, one. 167 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:26,000 We breached. The smell was worse than rot, worse than 168 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:30,919 dead decomposing bodies. It was the stench of blood broken 169 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:35,559 down in heat, metallic and wet but turned thick by time, 170 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:41,000 a meat stench soaked in aeumonia and something sour like digestion. 171 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:46,120 The room beyond was wide, its walls tiled in the 172 00:14:46,159 --> 00:14:50,080 same crack surgical green, and the lights buzzed with a low, 173 00:14:50,519 --> 00:15:00,440 uneven hum. They were all there, the missing officers. Twelve bodies, 174 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:04,679 maybe thirteen. It was hard to tell if it was 175 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:08,480 even a body, strung up from the ceiling by their 176 00:15:08,559 --> 00:15:13,279 own veins. The tissue had been pulled from wrists, ankles, 177 00:15:13,519 --> 00:15:17,919 even faces. Some a cords of vascular tissue looped through 178 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:22,519 eye sockets and threaded into the rafters. Others had their 179 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:26,519 arms opened at the elbow, the tendons splayed and pinned apart, 180 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:30,600 as if someone had tried to peel them into patterns. 181 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:34,799 One man's legs were bent backward and suspended by ropes 182 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:38,919 of ligature carved from his back, tethered to iron scaffolding 183 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:44,320 like a grotesque poppet. One officer's face had been sliced 184 00:15:44,399 --> 00:15:48,480 vertically down the middle, split open to reveal muscle and teeth, 185 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:53,879 the two halves hanging open draped across his shoulders. His 186 00:15:54,000 --> 00:16:00,200 eyes were still wet, ruth dry, heaved beside me owed 187 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:04,960 his rifle for a second, bracing against the wall. What 188 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:10,240 the hell, what is this, he muttered, voice clipped, trying 189 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:14,960 to stay on Commons protocol but failing. I stepped forward, 190 00:16:15,279 --> 00:16:19,919 barely managing to steady my grip. Specter one to all teams, 191 00:16:20,399 --> 00:16:26,360 I said, loud, now we've located the officers. They're deceased. 192 00:16:27,039 --> 00:16:32,399 Multiple units, heavy mutilation, intentional positioning. This is a kill 193 00:16:32,519 --> 00:16:38,039 sight Repeat, this is a A burst of screaming cut 194 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:46,480 across the radio. Sharp violent gun fire immediately followed rapid bursts, 195 00:16:46,519 --> 00:16:52,960 some automatic, some staggered and wild. Contact contact Red teamers, movement, 196 00:16:53,879 --> 00:16:59,840 Blue team. We're hearing the fire, red report, then more gunfire, 197 00:17:00,559 --> 00:17:06,000 no return call. I looked at Ruith. His face had 198 00:17:06,039 --> 00:17:10,440 gone pale beneath the tactical helmet. He adjusted his rifle 199 00:17:10,599 --> 00:17:16,920 and nodded. Once neither of us spoke, he turned back 200 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:21,559 to the hallway. Specter one to all units, I said 201 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:24,440 into the radio. As we backed out of the flesh room. 202 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:28,519 My voice was steady, but I could feel the tremor 203 00:17:28,559 --> 00:17:33,240 at the edges. We need a regroup. Repeat, we are regrouping. 204 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:37,359 Meet at center corridor, intersection of sectors. We seemed to 205 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:43,960 be compromised. Copy that came from Blue Team. No response 206 00:17:44,039 --> 00:17:49,759 from Red. Still, Ruth was at my side again, rifle raised, 207 00:17:50,039 --> 00:17:55,240 scanning every shadow that shifted across the tile. The hallway 208 00:17:55,359 --> 00:17:58,079 swallowed sound in a way that made it difficult to 209 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:05,000 tell where gunfire had originated somewhere ahead, but muffled smothered 210 00:18:05,079 --> 00:18:09,039 by the bend in the corridor. My boots struck the 211 00:18:09,079 --> 00:18:12,519 concrete with a hard rhythm, and I could hear Ruth's 212 00:18:12,599 --> 00:18:18,599 breath catching beside me in short, sharp pulls. We cleared 213 00:18:18,599 --> 00:18:22,319 the first curve and spotted Blue Team moving fast toward us. 214 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:28,759 Two silhouettes framed by flashlight spill, their beams cutting through haze. 215 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:33,279 Then I hadn't been there before. There was condensation gathering 216 00:18:33,319 --> 00:18:38,440 along the walls, smeared in wide, greasy arcs. The air 217 00:18:38,519 --> 00:18:43,039 had grown denser, thicker, as if something had shifted in 218 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:48,960 the pressure around us. Blue Team status. I called out 219 00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:56,000 negative contact. Visual came the response hasty and clipped. Something 220 00:18:56,039 --> 00:18:59,319 moved across the hall no silhouette, but the lights went 221 00:18:59,359 --> 00:19:03,880 out for two seconds, full blackout. Red Team hasn't responded. 222 00:19:04,319 --> 00:19:08,599 We passed their last known location. No visuals, no bodies, 223 00:19:11,559 --> 00:19:14,359 we fell into step. Blue Team at the front, now 224 00:19:14,839 --> 00:19:20,640 Team Gold trailing behind. Formation was loose. Tension had crept 225 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:26,519 in without anyone admitting it. Every rifle was up, safeties off. 226 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:31,680 We didn't wait for full regroup. The priority had shifted. 227 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:40,240 We needed eyes on red and fast the hallways. Second 228 00:19:40,279 --> 00:19:43,359 curve was just ahead, cutting off our view past the 229 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:47,200 column of load bearing wall and a row of sealed doorways. 230 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:56,240 The overhead lights grew more unstable. Then Blue team stopped. 231 00:19:57,119 --> 00:20:01,200 They just froze. One of them raised their hand, flat 232 00:20:01,279 --> 00:20:07,559 and trembling contact front. He said, low and tight through 233 00:20:07,599 --> 00:20:13,400 the colms. We held our breath. The other, barely above. 234 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:17,680 A whisper followed with what the hell is that thing? 235 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:24,599 He didn't finish his sentence. The gunfire started without another word. 236 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,359 Flashlight beams danced across the wall as one of them 237 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:33,319 staggered back, shouting orders. We couldn't make out. Rounds ripped 238 00:20:33,319 --> 00:20:37,920 through the darker head Muzzle flashes lit something massive, tall 239 00:20:38,039 --> 00:20:43,359 enough to nearly reach the ceiling. Hunched but fluid. For 240 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:47,640 a second, I saw something move, a ripple across flesh 241 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:52,519 where flesh shouldn't have been. Tendons stretched over a bone structure, 242 00:20:52,799 --> 00:20:57,960 that bent in directions I didn't understand. Then it vanished 243 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:04,039 from view. Raised his rifle finger to trigger, but couldn't fire. 244 00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:07,960 With Blue Team directly in the path, neither could I. 245 00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:15,480 We just watched, and in front of us the corridor 246 00:21:17,119 --> 00:21:23,039 became a slaughterhouse. The lights above us dimmed all at once. 247 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:27,319 The hum of electricity dropped into a low register, as 248 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:30,079 if the voltage itself had been pulled for a filter. 249 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:35,480 Ruth stepped beside me, frozen mid aim, his rifles still 250 00:21:35,519 --> 00:21:40,400 trained ahead. Blue Team stood just ahead of us, still firing. 251 00:21:41,119 --> 00:21:46,160 Their muzzles lit brief fragments of something. Then I saw 252 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:51,599 them from the ceiling above the nearest support beam. Something 253 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:57,799 began to emerge. Thin tensils slid down, first, translucent and 254 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:01,839 shimmering in the flickering light. They pulsed with a thick 255 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:09,119 fluid movement, undulating in short jerks. Then more followed. I 256 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:12,559 tried raising my gun, but they dropped too quickly to react. 257 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:17,920 They hit the floor like ropes soaked in blood. One 258 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:21,440 of the Blue Team operators, Santos, saw them a second 259 00:22:21,519 --> 00:22:26,599 too late. A long, fleshy appendage coiled down behind him. 260 00:22:27,039 --> 00:22:31,279 They reached the cross's shoulder, fingers made of living surgical tools, 261 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:36,359 scissors of folded cartilage, syringes filled with amber colored fluid, 262 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:42,279 barbed hooks embedded directly into pink muscle. The limb moved 263 00:22:42,279 --> 00:22:46,039 with no sound but a twitch of wet tissue stretching 264 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:51,960 under strain. Before Santos could turn, a needle rammed into 265 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:56,960 his shoulder, plunging deep with no resistance. His scream cut 266 00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:59,599 through my head. Set with such rawness, I dropped my 267 00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:03,279 fingers from the trigger. It wasn't a shout of pain. 268 00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:09,880 It was shocked, terror, betrayal by his own body. His 269 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:14,599 limbs convulsed, the veins and his neck swelled black against 270 00:23:14,599 --> 00:23:22,279 the skin. Then they began to move. The needle dragged upward, 271 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:27,279 lifting him by his own circulatory system. His body went rigid, 272 00:23:27,799 --> 00:23:32,079 arms flailing once before they locked. Blood vessels stretched from 273 00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:35,720 his skin, pulling free with a sickening pop. As the 274 00:23:35,799 --> 00:23:40,960 flesh tore, he rose into the air, his body unraveling, 275 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:45,720 veins peeling from his limbs like pulled wires, muscles splitting 276 00:23:45,799 --> 00:23:50,480 apart in ribbons. His scream collapsed into a gargling moan, 277 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:57,039 then nothing but air, moving through torn lungs. I growed 278 00:23:57,160 --> 00:23:59,279 earth by the back of his vest and pulled him, 279 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:04,440 forced us both into motion. Our boots pounded against the concrete, 280 00:24:04,799 --> 00:24:09,759 water and blood slick beneath our souls. I didn't look back. 281 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:13,240 I didn't want to see if that thing was behind us. 282 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:20,160 I only wanted walls between it and us. We ran 283 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:24,240 deeper into the corridor, past the junction, past the doorways 284 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:27,720 we hadn't cleared yet. One of them stood half open, 285 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:33,480 the overhead light inside flickering in dull pulses. An exam room, 286 00:24:33,559 --> 00:24:38,440 by the looks of it. I swung through first, rifle up, eyes, 287 00:24:38,519 --> 00:24:46,400 cutting across every shadow, empty lenonium floors, an overturned gurney, 288 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:50,640 a sink still stained with something that had dried into thick, 289 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:56,720 crusty lines. No movement, no sound except the thudding in 290 00:24:56,759 --> 00:25:02,720 my chest. Clear, I shouted. Ruth slammed the door shut 291 00:25:02,759 --> 00:25:06,680 behind us, and braced his back against it. I grabbed 292 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:09,680 a metal tray cart, flipped it and wedged the corner 293 00:25:09,839 --> 00:25:13,960 into the handle. Then we both shoved an old filing 294 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,319 cabinet against it, scraping it across the floor with a 295 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:24,200 grind that felt bone shatteringly loud. But we didn't have options. 296 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:29,559 The lights above us blinked again, slower now. The ceiling 297 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:35,279 fixture pulsed once, then went dim. We were left in 298 00:25:35,319 --> 00:25:39,359 the dull wash of emergency lights lining the floor, casting 299 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:42,839 everything in weak red that made our skin looked bruised. 300 00:25:44,519 --> 00:25:48,279 Ruth's mouth was open. He was trying to catch his breath, 301 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:54,160 but nothing came steady. I wasn't doing any better. My 302 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:57,960 own lungs felt dry, hollow, as if the air had 303 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:03,279 thickened around us and refused to be taken in. We 304 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:07,880 scanned the room again, this time looking for cover. The 305 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:12,440 cabinets wouldn't do. Neither were the table. I spotted a 306 00:26:12,519 --> 00:26:16,400 storage closet on the far wall, the handle slightly rusted 307 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:23,039 but still intact. I yanked it open, shelving lying the inside. 308 00:26:23,319 --> 00:26:27,319 We climbed in and shut the door behind us. There 309 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:32,240 wasn't enough space to sit. We crouched shoulders to shoulder, 310 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:36,799 back against the steel wall. I could feel Ruth trembling 311 00:26:36,799 --> 00:26:42,160 beside me. I didn't blame him. My hands was shaking. 312 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:52,960 Two then we heard it. Footsteps was something similar, at 313 00:26:53,079 --> 00:26:57,640 least the floor grown beneath the weight of each one. 314 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:04,039 Whatever it was, it wasn't rushing one step, then another, 315 00:27:04,759 --> 00:27:10,279 then a pause, then more, back and forth, again and again. 316 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:18,559 It wasn't searching. It already knew where we were. We 317 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:22,119 didn't move, Our eyes stayed locked on the sliver of 318 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:26,519 red light under the closet door. There was no mistaking 319 00:27:26,599 --> 00:27:35,880 what we were hearing. It was waiting. Twice something dragged 320 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:42,039 across the door frame, metal scraping on metal, then something softer, 321 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:46,720 a sound that reminded me of wet skin sliding against tile. 322 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:52,920 The handle never turned, the door never budged, but it 323 00:27:53,039 --> 00:28:00,839 stayed there. Breathing. Ruith leaning close, his mouth almost against 324 00:28:00,839 --> 00:28:06,799 my ear. His voice was cracked and dry. We need 325 00:28:06,839 --> 00:28:12,200 to go. If we sit here, we're done. You hear it. 326 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:18,559 It's out there waiting. It's gonna get in. Eventually, I 327 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:22,559 turned my head just enough to meet his eyes in 328 00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:26,559 the dim red light. He looked pale and soaked with sweat. 329 00:28:27,519 --> 00:28:34,440 His hands trembled around his rifle, not from fear, from helplessness. 330 00:28:35,359 --> 00:28:42,119 If we move, I whispered, we die faster. Ruth shook 331 00:28:42,119 --> 00:28:48,160 his head just once. We can't stay here. I leaned forward, 332 00:28:48,519 --> 00:28:53,359 voice even lower. Now you saw what happened, I was 333 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:56,000 Santo's stumped an entire drum of seven six y two 334 00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:01,160 into it, full auto, chest arms center. Man, it didn't 335 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:05,079 even seem like whatever they were shooting had slowed down. 336 00:29:06,079 --> 00:29:11,160 I paused. The footsteps started again. I don't know if 337 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:13,799 it feels pain. I don't know if it sees in 338 00:29:13,839 --> 00:29:17,720 the way we do. But I know bullets don't stop it. 339 00:29:18,519 --> 00:29:21,839 We tried to run it. Hears us. You go out there, Ruth, 340 00:29:22,799 --> 00:29:28,960 you know what happens. Ruth looked away, jaw clenched tight. 341 00:29:30,279 --> 00:29:35,960 Ruth tapped my leg once, then again. I locked at him. 342 00:29:36,319 --> 00:29:41,000 His eyes were no longer panicked. Something in him had hardened. 343 00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:45,720 The sweat was still there, and his chest still moved fast, 344 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,359 but his face had gone quiet in a way that 345 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:57,240 I had seen before a decision had been made. I've 346 00:29:57,279 --> 00:30:00,960 got a flash, he whispered. I throw it far enough 347 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:04,359 down the hall, draw it forward. I can loop back around, 348 00:30:04,799 --> 00:30:09,079 pull it away from this side. No, I said immediately. 349 00:30:10,079 --> 00:30:13,920 My voice was sharp, louder than I meant. I pulled 350 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:18,599 it back in time. You won't make it, I might, 351 00:30:19,359 --> 00:30:23,279 he said, if I wait for the exact moment between steps, 352 00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:26,839 I can time the throw, make the move before it resets, 353 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:31,240 get fire enough before it hears the echo off the tiles. 354 00:30:31,799 --> 00:30:35,599 You won't make it, I repeated. We're gonna die in 355 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:39,000 here if we don't try something, he said, pulling the 356 00:30:39,039 --> 00:30:43,720 flashbang from his vest, he checked the fuse thumb running 357 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:47,440 across the pin. If I make it out, I call 358 00:30:47,519 --> 00:30:53,559 for evac. If I don't, wait sixty seconds, then move. 359 00:30:55,640 --> 00:31:01,000 I grabbed his arm hard, look, he said, breaking eye 360 00:31:01,079 --> 00:31:05,240 contacts with me. I'm not trying to kill it. I'm 361 00:31:05,319 --> 00:31:09,519 just giving us a chance. I didn't let go of 362 00:31:09,559 --> 00:31:14,559 his arm for a second. We both sat there frozen. 363 00:31:16,039 --> 00:31:19,359 Then he pried my fingers off one ahead of time 364 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:23,440 and pushed the door open, just wide enough to slide through. 365 00:31:25,279 --> 00:31:29,680 He paused once in the gap, rifle slung flashbang in hand. 366 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:37,640 Sixty seconds, he said, wait for the pop. The door 367 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:43,039 clicked shut behind him. I counted the seconds in my head, 368 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:49,039 but I never made it to ten. The flashbang went 369 00:31:49,079 --> 00:31:52,799 off close enough that my ears filled with a solid ring. 370 00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:58,599 For a moment, I thought he'd done it. For a 371 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:04,720 moment I thought his plan would work. Then came the scream, 372 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:11,400 but not human. The air behind the wall shuddered with it. 373 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:16,119 Something massive struck the ground hard, A wet slam that 374 00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:21,680 shook dust from the overhead duct. Then another scream, this 375 00:32:21,839 --> 00:32:27,599 one human. I dropped my head, clenched my fists, and 376 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:31,440 pressed my back against the wall. The screaming became an 377 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:37,680 animal thing, sharp gasps between gurgling brakes. I heard bones crack, 378 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:44,799 multiple at once, then a long, dragging scrape. Ruith screamed again, 379 00:32:45,599 --> 00:32:54,920 short at this time, then nothing. I stayed in that closet, 380 00:32:55,519 --> 00:32:59,359 curled tight against the steel frame, hands covering my ears. 381 00:33:00,519 --> 00:33:04,119 The silence that followed was worse than the noise. It 382 00:33:04,279 --> 00:33:09,200 was filled with a slow dripping of something thick. Hours 383 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:15,759 passed that way, maybe more. I don't remember falling asleep. 384 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:19,720 I don't even know if I did. My body shut 385 00:33:19,759 --> 00:33:23,400 down at some point, but my mind stayed sharp enough 386 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:27,119 to keep me awake on the inside. That kind of 387 00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:31,319 exhaustion eats at you differently. It strips away the fear 388 00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:38,079 and leaves something slower behind. So when the sound finally came, 389 00:33:39,079 --> 00:33:45,640 it didn't register as real at first. Gun fire, not 390 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:50,440 the bursts we trained with, not our rifles. These were 391 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:57,359 deeper and heavier, but unmistakable gun fire. Each impact sounded 392 00:33:57,599 --> 00:34:01,039 like it had metric tons of weight behind it. I 393 00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:05,400 straightened against the closet wall. My hands moved on instinct, 394 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:10,480 clutching my rifle, though I didn't raise it. I had 395 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:14,639 boots hit the ground in tandem. Orders shouted and clipped burst, 396 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:17,760 but I couldn't make out the words through the ringing 397 00:34:18,039 --> 00:34:23,639 that still haunted my hearing. Something massive hit the ground. 398 00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:32,559 Then silence. This was the silence that comes after impact, 399 00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:39,519 the silence that follows certainty. The closet door swung open. 400 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:44,719 My body folded inward before I could stop it. My 401 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:48,280 hands shot up in front of my face. My breath hitched. 402 00:34:49,199 --> 00:34:52,480 Every muscle braced the pain that had already played out 403 00:34:52,519 --> 00:34:57,199 too many times in my head, but it didn't come. 404 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:01,599 A gloved hand grabbed my vest collar and he yanked 405 00:35:01,639 --> 00:35:05,159 me forward. My boots scraped across the tile, and I 406 00:35:05,239 --> 00:35:09,000 landed hard and the exam room floor, blinking against a 407 00:35:09,039 --> 00:35:14,400 sudden change in light. A figure stood over me, motionless. 408 00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:20,079 He wore matt black gear textured with a hexagonal weave 409 00:35:20,199 --> 00:35:25,440 I didn't recognize. The armor looked dense, layered with composite 410 00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:30,559 plates I'd never seen issued. His helmet was sealed, no 411 00:35:30,719 --> 00:35:34,360 eye lip, just a smooth black shell with a small 412 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:38,679 set of circle events over the mouth. Who the hell 413 00:35:38,719 --> 00:35:42,159 cleared you for this sight? His voice came through a 414 00:35:42,199 --> 00:35:48,920 filded modulator, deep and level. I opened my mouth, Nothing came. 415 00:35:50,039 --> 00:35:54,599 I tried again. We were responding to a call local 416 00:35:54,639 --> 00:35:59,639 PD missing personnel we had. He didn't wait for me 417 00:35:59,679 --> 00:36:03,599 to fix. He reached down, grabbed me under the arm, 418 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:08,239 and hauled me upright with one hand. His strength was effortless, 419 00:36:08,719 --> 00:36:13,840 mechanical foremost. I stumbled as he pulled me forward back 420 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:19,000 through the ruined exam room toward the hallway beyond move, 421 00:36:19,719 --> 00:36:24,719 he said, I followed. There was nothing else I could do. 422 00:36:28,119 --> 00:36:31,079 As we rounded the corner, back into the corridor where 423 00:36:31,119 --> 00:36:36,760 Blue Team had fallen, I saw the others, a full squad, 424 00:36:37,239 --> 00:36:41,800 all wearing the same armor, six of them working in 425 00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:46,400 complete silence. Two were standing beneath the scaffolding where some 426 00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:49,840 of my teammates and friends had been strung up. The 427 00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:53,920 bodies were still suspended, the veins pulled tight like wires 428 00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:57,920 in a loom. One operative stood on a portable rig, 429 00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:02,039 humming with faint blue light. Using a blade that vibrated 430 00:37:02,119 --> 00:37:06,360 faster than my eyes could track, he sliced cleanly into 431 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:11,559 the vascular cords severing each. The other caught the falling 432 00:37:11,599 --> 00:37:15,719 corpses in reinforced sheets of black mesh, wrapping them fast 433 00:37:16,039 --> 00:37:20,559 and sealing them with something that hissed when activated. I 434 00:37:20,639 --> 00:37:24,119 turned my head to the left. Another figure stood in 435 00:37:24,159 --> 00:37:27,559 the center of the hallway over the remains of what 436 00:37:27,719 --> 00:37:31,679 looked to be Blue Team. There was almost nothing left, 437 00:37:32,639 --> 00:37:36,639 blood soaked the walls, Limbs had been torn into segments. 438 00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:40,519 One of the torsos had been fused to the ceiling above, 439 00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:46,320 veins pinned through the tile. The operative aimed a compact 440 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:50,000 device at it, adjusted a dial, and pressed the trigger. 441 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:56,360 Flames burst forward in a controlled stream, blue white, hotter 442 00:37:56,519 --> 00:38:00,800 than anything I'd ever seen. The sound was low and steady, 443 00:38:01,519 --> 00:38:05,679 more pressure than raw. I watched the remains break down 444 00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:11,480 in real time. They just disappeared. I didn't even get 445 00:38:11,519 --> 00:38:16,039 to see Ruth's body. None of them looked at me. 446 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:21,280 As we moved through the carnage, another operative broke from 447 00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:24,840 the group and stepped in front of me. He carried 448 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:29,840 a device in his left hand, small black rectangular with 449 00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:34,239 a ring of senses pulsing around a central lens. He 450 00:38:34,239 --> 00:38:36,800 held it up to my face without a word. A 451 00:38:36,960 --> 00:38:42,559 sharp light flickering across his eyes. He glanced down, scrawled 452 00:38:42,599 --> 00:38:48,440 with his thumb, then muttered under his breath, minimal exposure, 453 00:38:48,840 --> 00:38:55,800 no strain with intolerance, psychic contamination below containment threshold. The 454 00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:58,119 one who had pulled me from the closet turned to 455 00:38:58,159 --> 00:39:03,800 face me directly, even through the modulated filter. His voice 456 00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:07,519 was colder than anything I'd heard in a briefing room. 457 00:39:08,639 --> 00:39:15,519 You were never here, he said. I didn't answer. He 458 00:39:15,599 --> 00:39:18,320 reached into a pouch at his side and pulled out 459 00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:23,960 a small black envelope, sealed no writing. He shoved it 460 00:39:24,039 --> 00:39:27,360 into the front pocket on my vest, then stepped back 461 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:33,800 without another word. I stood in that hallway, surrounded by 462 00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:38,800 the dying echoes of my team's final moments, and understood 463 00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:42,079 something that none of our training had prepared us for. 464 00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:46,639 I filed the report less than twenty four hours after 465 00:39:46,679 --> 00:39:57,400 they pulled me out, standard procedure, full after action debrief, name, date, coordinates, objectives, outcome. 466 00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:04,480 Except nothing I wrote down matched anything in the system. 467 00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:08,519 My clearance codes failed, my logging access had been restricted. 468 00:40:09,719 --> 00:40:12,639 When I finally made it through to our handler, she 469 00:40:12,719 --> 00:40:17,320 stared at me across the screen without blinking. There was 470 00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:22,760 no deployment at that location. She said. I told her 471 00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:27,280 about the call. She didn't respond, just tilted her head 472 00:40:27,599 --> 00:40:30,599 and clicked through something on a second monitor. I couldn't 473 00:40:30,599 --> 00:40:36,880 see her expression never changed. There's no mission filed under 474 00:40:36,880 --> 00:40:40,760 that directive. You've been on mandatory leave for fourteen days. 475 00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:44,599 Your team is listed as KA during a training exercise 476 00:40:44,639 --> 00:40:51,400 in Arizona. I told her that was impossible. She continued 477 00:40:51,679 --> 00:40:56,360 as if I hadn't spoken. Your discharge is being expedited. 478 00:40:57,039 --> 00:41:00,880 We'll have a transport arranged within the hour. Further questions 479 00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:06,960 can be submitted through the medical review board. Then the 480 00:41:07,039 --> 00:41:12,599 screen cut out. They sealed the identities of everyone on 481 00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:17,880 Phantom Echo. Official statements said equipment failure during desert training, 482 00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:25,320 no remains discovered, close caskets, military honors. I was not 483 00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:30,320 listed as present. When I returned to the safe house, 484 00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:34,599 they had temporarily assigned me. I finally opened the envelope 485 00:41:34,760 --> 00:41:42,960 I was given. Inside was a single photograph, black and white, grainy, 486 00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:48,280 A figure half shrouded behind a surgical screen, limbs spread 487 00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:53,440 across an operating table that didn't have restraints. Its body 488 00:41:53,519 --> 00:41:58,519 was twisted long, slick with something that gleamed under fluorescent light. 489 00:42:00,119 --> 00:42:03,599 The shape was human at first glance, but the proportions 490 00:42:03,639 --> 00:42:09,000 were wrong, too much stretch across the arms. The fingers 491 00:42:09,039 --> 00:42:14,440 were extended curved outward on the back of the photograph, 492 00:42:14,840 --> 00:42:17,920 written in block capitals with the pen that had bled 493 00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:25,400 through the paper. The fingers were extended curved outward on 494 00:42:25,480 --> 00:42:29,119 the back of the photograph, written in block capitals with 495 00:42:29,199 --> 00:42:33,599 a pen that had bled through the paper. Containment protocol 496 00:42:34,840 --> 00:42:44,280 Marionette and beneath it her phone number the Military center psychiatrist. 497 00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:50,199 I told him nothing. He checked boxes, scribble notes, and 498 00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:54,440 after the fourth session, submitted a recommendation for full discharge 499 00:42:54,679 --> 00:43:00,840 under psychological duress. I haven't heard from anyone since I 500 00:43:00,880 --> 00:43:06,079 haven't heard from my handler, and all agencies screen my calls. 501 00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:10,800 I call the number given and it was an arrangement 502 00:43:11,199 --> 00:43:16,239 to join a private military presumably the team who came 503 00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:23,599 in and rescued me. Deep down, I want out to 504 00:43:23,679 --> 00:43:27,719 put this life behind me, but I have a feeling 505 00:43:28,519 --> 00:43:35,039 that if I don't join, I'll disappear Kia during a 506 00:43:35,119 --> 00:43:44,480 training exercise and scrubbed from all records.