De Ja Vu

The boxes were stacked in such a way that there were little spaces at the corners of each stacked container. After covering his mouth, he took a peek through on of the holes to see who he was up against.

Four men had entered the room, three of them dressed in Ryka Suppression Bureau uniform, much like the one he had stolen and was currently wearing. And the last guy was dressed in a pristine white attire, with an insignia that Atlas was not familiar with... and he was familiar with most organizations down here, after all he had worked for most in one way or another.

~From the looks of it, he's in the combat side of business,~ Atlas thought to himself, noting that the man's uniform, although fancy looking, was designed with combat in mind. It had multiple tactical pockets at the pants, with five knives on one side and what looked like a officer's ion blaster in the other.

The man's white coat seemed simple on the outside, but from its metallic gleam, Atlas could tell that it was reinforced to withstand at least ion based attacks. And from the slight bulge around the waist area, it probably housed a few concealed weapon as well.

"Are these all the samples your division has collected?" the man dressed in high end tactical gear asked.

"Yes these are all the samples we've collected. I'm telling you, we aren't the only organization that deals with Ryka blood down here. This is a different place from the surface. So long as it can make money, people down here are willing to do anything," one of the Ryka Suppression Bureau men replied in a bored manner.

"My teammates are already looking into the other possible sources. However, we have high reason to suspect that the leak was from this specific warehouse. Most of the infected we've subdued have been found in close vicinity to this place," the men dressed in tactical gear replied, surveying the boxes as he said this.

~Shit,~ Atlas thought to himself, before moving away from his peep-hole. ~Did he see me?~

"You said that only level 5 personnel have access to this room, right?" the man dressed in tactical gear asked, as he slowly walked towards the boxes that Atlas was hiding behind.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Atlas whispered under his breath, his hands slippery from sweat as he gripped at his blade.

"Yes, perhaps three times we've told you that already," the man from the Ryka Suppression Bureau responded.

"Then do you mind telling me who-" the man said right as he reached the box Atlas was hiding behind. "-broke that vial and didn't even bother to clean up?" he finished, making a complete 180 to stare at the vial that Atlas had broken earleir.

"You guys are aware of the danger that Ryka blood poses right? Just one via-"

"Commander, Ashik wants a word," someone from outside interrupted. The mann who had been talking audibly sighed and said: "I want a list of all the men that were on duty. One of them may be infected if they came into contact with this. And close of this warehouse, as of now its under investigation" before marching out the door.

There was silence for a moment, and then Atlas heard the mechanical whirr of the automatic doors closing.

"These fucking princesses think they can just come down here and tell us how shit works. I swear, fucking surface dwellers," a voice said, as footsteps receded into the distance.

Once Atlas was sure he was alone, he let out a deep sigh. He was almost certain if that 'commander' had found him, he would've been hanged for trespassing. Besides that, he wondered what the title 'commander' meant here.

From what he knew, the Ryka Suppression Bureau was an intelligence agency, and ranks like commander didn't exist here, apart from special forces. But from what Atlas's contact's had informed him, those were just rumors.

"Anyway, did I really rewind time?" he whispered to himself, before trying to will his Constellation Index into view. Though after a few attempts nothing happened.

This should've been enough to sway him from believing what he had gone through, but everything had felt too real for it to have been a dream. After trying a few more times, he decided to give it a rest, and began sneaking his way out of the warehouse.

Sneaking out wasn't so much of a task as he had access cards, and a uniform, so unless someone realized that he was acting suspicious, there was low chance of him being caught.

Once he was out, he began making his way home. It was odd running through the crowded streets again after seeing it deserted. And even more odd to see people walking around calmly after witnessing the demon attack.

When he finally reached home, he went straight to his grandfather's room and began packing his belongings into a sack.

"Atty, you're home early," a hoarse voice called out from the bed.

"Gramps, we're moving today. Get ready," Atlas replied, before quickly moving to the bed to retrieve the money.

"What's this I hear about us moving?" This time it was his brother. A young man with black hair, and a face near identical to Atlas's. The only difference being the glare in their eyes, where Atlas's seemed dangerous and aware, his brother's seemed a little warmer... innocent.

"You pack up too. We're moving to the 11th district."

"Why? What's going on?" his brother asked, already packing along side him.

"A demon attack, they've already infiltrated the district. It's only a matter of time," Atlas replied, before tossing a bag towards his brother. "Pack all your books as well. You never know when a spot at the academy will open up," he added.

"Wait, how do you know all this?" he brother asked, catching the bag, before placing a few books from his grandfather's closet into it.

"I saw- I mean, I over heard it while I was... working," Atlas replied, before moving to his room to begin packing his belongings. All the while his grandfather sat up in bed just staring out the window.

"At work? You mean the food court? Don't you think those are just rumors?" his brother asked before walking into his room as well.

Silence.