2. The new team

"Huh?! You let him go to the Center alone?!" Hope yelled loud enough for the entire Sector 7 to hear.

"I didn't have a choice; my men were exhausted, and for a job well done, I had to bring them to have a drink." Nick replied.

"Rex is a grown man; he'll be fine. Besides, I was also contacted by the Center, and I'm certain that he'll be safe." Dr. Romanov interjected.

"See? Everything is fine, sis. Now, I'll head to the boys to quench my demons with a bottle." Nick said, with a devilish grin on his face, as he walked away from Hope and the doctor.

"So, Dr. Romanov, I haven't heard the screams from the special room lately; did something happen to the boy?" Hope inquired.

"Nothing happened; it's better than ever. He finally finished the process of adjusting to his powers. I'm very pleased with the result. You'll see him in action shortly." Dr. Romanov replied.

"That's great! I was a little worried about him; he seemed to have more pain than the rest of us." Hope said, looking concerned.

"Probably because he managed to assimilate more demonic power than you. How's Sofia's training going?" Dr. Romanov asked.

"She's doing better and better; it seems like she has a talent for weapons. However, she still accesses very little demonic power." Hope explained.

"That's not a problem; I'm sure she'll still contribute to everyone's destiny." Dr. Romanov assured.

"Can I go see the boy?" Hope asks.

"Of course, if you can find him." Dr. Romanov replies.

"What do you mean? Isn't he in his room?" Hope inquires.

"I'm done with him; there's no point in keeping him locked up. I've allowed him to wander around the west are, and tomorrow, he'll come to the surface to hunt something." Dr. Romanov explains.

"Ah, the west stea, that's where Sofia likes to stay." Hope says slowly, then suddenly bursts out: "What?? You're taking him out tomorrow? Just like that? Without any preparation? I trained Sofia for 2 years to take her first breath on the surface, and after another 2 years, she still hasn't seen a demon. Don't you think you're rushing things?"

"No, I'm very confident. It seems that it's time for Sofia to see her first demon." Dr. Romanov says.

The western area, an underground place that aimed to recreate the charm of the past, inside the bunker of Sector 7, was an area with grass on the floor, water flowing gently between patches of earth, wooden benches on either side, a brightly lit space. The only shadow was that of the leafy trees. It was a place Dr. Romanov had named P.A.R.K. (Past Autumns Reclaim Kindness).

Max, a boy of only 13, with eyes and hair of absolute blackness, had just emerged from the dark room. He made his way through P.A.R.K., amazed by the differences in colors and shades, blinded by the light and animated by the flow of water. When he reached a small bridge over the water, Max saw his reflection in the water. With pure innocence, the child tried to touch the person inside the water, stretching as far as he could. He fell into the water, not knowing how to swim. Max slowly submerged in the waters of his inner river as he gazed at the light through the crystal-clear water and then fainted.

After a while, quite dazed, Max opened his eyes. He saw the undiminished light, but this time he didn't make contact with it; the shadow covered him. He felt something soft and pleasant under his head, and an unfamiliar scent reached his nose. His heart began to beat faster. He raised his head and saw a delicate, pale face framed by hair as black as his own. It was Sofia, smelling a flower. His face turned instantly red, his body stopped responding to commands and His heart had almost left his body.

"You should be more careful; I was beginning to think I'd lost you." Sofia said, still smelling the flower, with a warm and slow voice.

Max remained mute.

"But what happened? Don't you know how to swim?" Sofia asked.

"N-no, it's the first time I've seen so much water in one place." Max replied shyly.

"I see, you're probably the boy who has just completed the transition. What's your name?"

"M-Max, and who are you?" - Max

"My name is Sofia, and I'm a future gunner. I'm about to make my debut above." Sofia replied.

"The old man told me something similar." Max said.

"Hmm, I see." Sofia replied.

After a moment of pause, Sofia said: "Listen, could you get up? You know, it took you quite a while to wake up, and my legs fell asleep." Max had been sitting in Sofia's lap the whole time.

"Ahh, y-yes!" Max said, getting up embarrassed.

"Heyy! So, you've already met, and you spared me the headache of introducing you." Hope said from a distance, running toward them.

"Y-yes, we've met." Max replied.

"Is something wrong?" Sofia asked.

"Dr. Romanov informed me that Rex will arrive in 30 minutes and has an important announcement for which you two need to be present, but before that, we have to pick someone up." Hope explained, her face filled with disappointment at the end of the sentence.

On their way to the stop on the road to the doctor's office, Max couldn't take his eyes off Sofia, something that couldn't escape Hope's gaze, the romantic witch.

With a wicked look, Hope glanced at Sofia and said: "Sofi, take Max's hand and don't let go; we don't want to lose him. He's not familiar with the places yet."

"I understand!" Sofia, who didn't doubt Hope's reasoning, always followed her guidance.

The moment their hands touched, Max lost all sense of reality, and his eyes became vacant, moving as if controlled.

Arriving at the Slippery Pig, a local spot for all the alcohol enthusiasts in Sector 7, Hope left the kids outside and forcefully swung the door open, shouting:

"Heyy! Filthy drunk, move your ass out!"

The people in the bar began to look at her with disdain and whisper: "Who's this?", "Whom is she looking for?", "What does she want?"

Observing her, Dean glanced to the left, where three rough-looking men were talking, and said:

"Boss, it's for you."

"Huh?" - Nick

"Get out faster, you scoundrel! The doctor has requested your presence." Hope said, pulling her brother out of the tavern.

Looking at the two young ones, Nick grinned and said, "Hmm? Did you call me here to officiate these two?" At that moment, the two of them blushed simultaneously, looked at each other, and froze.

"And your mouth keeps running, you idiot." Hope said after smacking Nick on the top of his head.

"Hey, you two, don't mind him; let's continue our way." Hope said, looking at the two of them holding hands.

"Just so you know, you can let go of my hand if it bothers you." Max said, avoiding eyes contact.

"If we lose you, Hope will be mad at me. Also, I can't say that it bothers me." Sofia replied.

They continued on their way to the doctor's office, still holding hands.

Seeing the two of them holding hands when they arrive, the doctor thinks: "All the pieces are slowly falling into place."

"Hey, doc. Can you hurry up? The boys are waiting for me. I think I deserve a good hangover after a job well done today." Nick says.

"Don't worry; you'll be back very soon. We're waiting for Rex, and we'll start. Until then, I think I can satisfy your ambition." Dr. Romanov says and pours him a glass from a crystal bottle.

"Huh? Y-your special drink? The one you call bourbon?" Nick says, grimacing a bit, and continues, "Yuhu! Well, I think I can stay around here for a while."

"You're hopeless." Hope says, looking at Nick with disdain as he sips from the glass as if it held the elixir of youth or the love of his life.

After a short period of waiting in silence, the office door opens.

"Did you wait long for me?" - Rex

"Not long enough." Nick replies.

Hope nervously glances at Nick, then changes her expression when she looks at Rex and says: "A-are you okay? Did something happen?"

"I think the doctor has more to tell us. Apparently, I was called to the Center for nothing." Rex says.

Everyone in the room, Rex, Hope, Nick, Sofia, and Max, turn their heads toward the doctor and notice him smiling.

"Start packing; we leave tomorrow." Dr. Romanov says.

All in unison: "What?!"

"What do you mean? Are we leaving? The whole Red Platoon?" - Rex

"Of course not, just us. Xavier will take care of everything related to Sector 7 from now on." Dr. Romanov explains.

"But this is our home; we can't leave all of a sudden like this." Hope protests.

"Please, make me understand, old man. Where do you want us to go?" - Rex

"Sector 13." Dr. Romanov answers.

"I thought you wanted to do something there, with the acceptance of the administration, but not so suddenly and not in the current situations." Rex says.

"We are the only ones who can keep Sector 13 for humanity, and such an open area gives us the opportunity to expand our territory, both in terms of perimeter and our knowledge. We leave at first light tomorrow." Dr. Romanov explains.

"Do I get more of this?" Nick asks, raising his glass.

"Of course." Dr. Romanov replies.

"Okay!" Nick says, grinning.

"J-just us six?" - Hope

"You are free to call 2-3 more people, but no one who will slow us down or can't handle the high level of danger."

"Hmm, I already have someone in mind." Nick says.

"I have someone in mind too, but I need to discuss it with Xavier first, his people, after all." Rex says with a thoughtful expression, and then a bit of panic returns as he adds: "But do you want to take the kids with us? You said you only want people who can handle the high level of danger."

Dr. Romanov glares at Rex and says: "These kids will handle it. Why do you question my decisions, Rex?"

Rex's elusive face appears, and a small memory of the words of The 5 Wise Ones appears before him: "be vigilant, and if anything seems suspicious, prevent a disaster" - The Voice; "he is also unstable." - the chorus.

"I think we're done here. See you tomorrow, and don't forget anything." Dr. Romanov says.

After leaving the doctor's office, everyone walked with their heads down, lost in thought.

"You should go rest; tomorrow is likely to be a long day." Rex suggests.

"And you need to rest too, Rex." Hope says, with a worried expression.

"First of all, I need to go talk to Xavier." Rex replies.

"E-excluse me… I-i don't have a room." Max says shyly.

"Perhaps the old man thought he didn't need to prepare a room for you for just one day." Rex answers.

"Nahhh! No problem, kid; you'll sleep in my room. I won't make it to the room; I need to use wisely the time left." Nick says, throwing his room card to Max and heading toward the tavern.

"Thank you!" - Max.

Nick waves his hand up and down to convey the idea to Max that "You're welcome, kid."

The two young people head to Nick's room, holding hands.

"Hey, you two! What do you think you're doing?" - Hope, furious.

"We're going to the room." Max says.

"Sofi, what do you think you're doing?" - Hope asks.

"I'm going with him so he doesn't get lost." - Sofia

With an irritated expression, Hope thinks: "I think she's a bit too dedicated to her own good."

"Alright, we'll go with you, leave him in Nick's room, and then the two of us will head to our dorms, okay?" Hope asks.

Both teenagers nod in agreement, and from the corner of her eye, Hope notices that Rex is still lost in thought.

The next day, Hope, Sofia, and Max meet at the bunker's exit.

"Good morning!" - Max

"Did you sleep we—?" Hope can't finish her question as she sees Sofia holding Max's hand. At that moment, mostly due to fatigue and her groggy awakening, Hope decides not to say anything more.

At the far end of the hall, Nick is seen holding a tall, massive man around the neck and singing with a bottle in hand. The man next to him is Guardiol, a member of the Crimson Squad.

"Le! Le! Le!" - Nick

"Loe! Loe! Loe!" - Guardiol

( Guardiol, a massive 24-year-old man, stands at 2 meters tall, wearing shiny armor with a massive sword and shield on his back )

"You didn't sleep at all, did you, you drunkard?" - Hope

"Allow me to correct you, sister, drunkards, for we are two." Nick says, laughing.

"We are two, but we drink for ten." Guardiol adds, still humming.

"I'm glad to see everyone is okay." Rex chimes in from behind them.

At that moment, Hope wakes up a bit more and wants to say something to Rex, but...

"I'd like to introduce you to Rozalia. She'll be joining us in Sector 13. I suppose that's why Guardiol is here, right, Nick?"

( Rozalia, a 21-year-old girl with fiery red hair and green eyes, very short but with a fierce attitude, and holding a big sniper rifle )

"Exactly, I thought we were missing a tank, and Guardiol is the most reliable." Nick explains.

"It seems we had a similar line of thought. Rozalia is probably the most talented sniper in the Red Platoon." Rex adds.

"Sniper? You can't say you have courage if you're always staying in the back, can you, bro?" Guardiol comments to Nick, but Rozalia overhears and says:

"How did an idiot like him end up on a team like this? I can only imagine the only reason is that he's a drunk, and Nickolas doesn't want to be alone at sunrise. A total waste."

At that moment, the two exchange nervous glances but remain silent.

"It's time to leave. Grab your stuff and let's head to the car. Rex, you're driving." - Dr. Romanov appears.

The bunker doors open, and the faces of the two teenagers light up, their eyes trembling with excitement for what is coming.