People had different reactions to The Cascade and its aftermath. A world changed to include the mutated, the powerful, and the unexpected. It was a surprise that many kept their sanity even three years after the event. A testament to humanity and how it could overcome any odds that would be thrown towards them. Though at the same time, the world was getting used to its new form of madness.

  Yet not everyone was truly convinced it was an accident, nor were some accepting of the explanation provided to them by their leaders about how and why people mutated. It was inevitable for a conspiracy theory to form around the events of The Cascade; the Order had prepared for that possibility. Discrediting legitimate theories that were close to the truth was simple; the internet made it easy to poison any well with bad-faith arguments cleverly designed to make people turn a blind eye to obvious truths. Because if reality can be tainted, who was to say that what they saw was what really happened?

  However, one person would see through the smoke and mirrors. They may not know the whole truth, but they knew that there was something out there. A reality that needed to be uncovered, and a dark secret that needed to be exposed for the world to know. Those individuals were rare, and often they would be killed to prevent the spread of dangerous information. Yet, one got away, and they spoke to anyone who would listen.

  16 April 2019, at the dead of night. The Order got a tip that their target was hiding out in a warehouse outside of Quebec City with a few of their followers, calling themselves the Locust. The group was international, though they mostly occupied online spaces and certain chat groups. Nothing major on its own, as they could be isolated and destroyed without needing to resort to killing them. But for that to be possible, they would need to remove the head of the serpent. To kill the leader and to destroy the group from the inside. It should be easy, in theory, that is.

  Disposal Unit 812 was sent in to deal with the individuals who flew too close to the sun. Their mission was simple: kill them, destroy the evidence, and dispose of the bodies. They only needed to do the killing part of the job; the secrecy, cover-ups, and slow dismantling of the Locust’s entire operation would be done by someone else. If only they were well-informed and prepared.

  Lining up near the door, the leader of the raid signalled her team of five to get ready. Though they had information that no one else should be in the area, they still had to play it safe. Wearing the uniforms of the ERT and using their weapons. Even with the loudest operations, the Order likes to be discreet to some level and cover their basis. Though in the end, any gun could take down any human without fuss. They even enchanted their bullets to pack an extra punch to go through even the best nano-fibre vests.

  ‘Alpha in position, ready to go in.’ The leader whispered into her earpiece.

  At the other end of the warehouse, the second team responded. ‘Bravo in position, ready when you are.’

  Taking a deep breath, the leader gripped her C7 tightly before giving the dreaded command that signed their death warrants.

  It was her first mission leading her team. Williams was her name. 24 years-old, determined, ambitious, and undyingly loyal to the cause. Her mentor told her that there was nothing to worry about, that she would do okay, and that everyone under her command would come out alive. Unarmed civilians were easy to kill, and they could never effectively fight back when taken by surprise. Williams could only pray that it was the case. Deep down, she understood that things could easily go wrong. Regardless of how simple or routine the mission was supposed to be. Someone might die. It was something she feared, and it was that fear that kept her vigilant and on high alert.

  ‘Breaking Dawn!’ Williams said the codename over the earpiece before kicking down the door. Signalling the raid to start. Rushing in with her men, she kept her rifle held high and at the ready. Weaving through tight corners and storage containers, the sound of her boots slamming against the ground echoed throughout the warehouse. Taking the lead and eventually separating from her group to cover more ground. A dangerous strategy in practice, but a method her unit perfected after years of training. That was what she and everyone believed at that moment, even if that was never true to begin with.

  After taking the corner, she saw one member of the conspiracy group holding a rifle. Without hesitation, she fired first and killed them. The bullet tore through their chest, knocking them to the ground with a loud thud. ‘Enemy is armed and ready! I say again, the enemy is armed and ready!’

  As soon as she spoke into the earpiece. Another member came out of the corner to her left. Thinking quickly, she smacked the member over the head with the butt of her rifle and finished them off with a few shots to the head. Bone and blood splattered all over her feet as the rounds exploded in the person’s temple.

  Then, more shots started ringing all around the warehouse. Her team shouted as they engaged the enemy on every front. Williams tried to speak into her earpiece, seeing who was still alive and where the enemy was located, but no one responded. They were too busy dealing with the immediate threat before them. Taking the initiative, she charged into the closest firefight. To her luck, she found the nearest enemy and executed them with a round to the head. Soon, another person stood up, aiming their rifle at her.

  Yet she was too slow to react, as she was knocked to the ground with a loud bang. Gasping for air as her ribs cracked upon impact. The conspiracy theorist rushed towards her, weapon at the ready to finish her off. Without thinking and ignoring her pain, Williams reached for her sidearm and retaliated by shooting them in the face, which caused the dead combatant to slump over and land on top of her.

  ‘Fucking dammit!’ Williams grunted as she pushed the body off her and leaned against a wall. Examining her wounds to see what sort of wounds she had. Sighing in relief, the bullets were not able to puncture her vest. Though her chest was bruised, she wished her ribs felt better. The mission needed to be completed first, and there were still people to kill.

  Without delay and with fiery determination, Williams got up and continued searching through the building. Trying to look for any of her teammates and any of the conspiracy theorists.

  ‘Team, team. Radio check!’ She said over the earpiece. Hoping for someone to respond to her call to see who was or wasn’t alive. The only thing that gave her hope was that she could only find the corpses of the people she was sent to kill. Things should be going well if only the dead of her foes lay before her feet.

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  Eventually, she found a young man, clutching his stomach while choking on his own blood. Williams grinned, slinging her rifle to her side before pulling out her knife. ‘Vermin!’ She mumbled before she eagerly slit his throat. Ending the last member of the conspiracy. The first mission she led, and it was a major success.

  ‘Team, team. Radio check!’ She says again, trying to see who could still be alive. Her voice rang with pride and joy over a job well done. ‘Team, team. Radio check!’

  She called and called again, but no one replied. A sense of worry bellowed from her stomach to her throat while she panted back and forth. Calling into her earpiece for anyone to pick up. When she glances at the slit-throat body of the conspiracy theorist. She froze. Besides looking like some sort of bum who took internet talking points too seriously and at face value. Williams gasped as she looked at the body of her comrade.

  ‘No!’ Williams cried, glaring at her bloodied hands at the ultimate sin. Confused and shocked at how she could have possibly killed her teammate. She saw him as a conspiracy theorist; she knew it was someone she was meant to slaughter. There could be no mistake in her mind about what she saw and what she had done. Yet the evidence was there: she killed him.

  Williams tried to turn around so she could run away, but her body froze. Unresponsive to her command, locked in place by a force who planned the outcome from the beginning.

  The clang of boots rang out behind her, getting louder and louder before coming to a sudden halt. ‘A waste of human life.’ A deep masculine voice spoke, his voice raspy and obscured by some sort of mask. ‘But a pinnacle of arrogance. Sending people to kill others for knowing what should be known, putting down anyone who dared ask the right questions at the right time. Making yourselves “defenders” without earning the title, forcing the world to be ignorant of what is truly out there.’

  ‘What did you do to my team?’

  ‘Nothing.’ As soon as the man responded, Williams’ right arm and hand moved on its own to grab her pistol out of its holster and jammed it under her chin. ‘You were the one who pulled the trigger.’ The man explained. ‘You killed your team.’

  She gritted her teeth, using every ounce of will to try to break control and move on her own. ‘Liar! I know what I did. I killed your members. There is no one left in your club after this raid.’

  ‘Agent Williams. What raid? There was nothing to raid here, no one to take down, nothing.’ Williams flinched as the man came closer to her, leaning to whisper into her ear. ‘You came here because I know the Order is after me; it was only a matter of time before you came here. It wasn’t hard to prepare for your arrival when you all came here in armoured cars, especially when you sent people to follow me for weeks. Nor was it hard to get you and your team to kill each other until there is only one of you left.’

  ‘You’re full of shit!’

  ‘Am I? Maybe I should open your eyes to the truth.’

  The man grabbed the back of her head, flooding Williams’ mind with information about what truly happened in the raid. It wasn’t protocol for them to separate like they did when they got into the building. It was against what they were taught, but none of them questioned why they all went off to do their own thing and went against their better judgment. But what broke her heart was what happened. The conspiracy theorists, the people she was sent to kill, were all her actual teammates. Being gunned down by her without mercy or remorse. There was no one there but them; the warehouse was empty from the start.

  To her horror, she realised what he was. A psychic, someone who could manipulate and control another person’s mind. In his case, he did more than that, as he effectively manipulated her and her team’s senses to believe that they were in a firefight against his people. To also know that he prepared ahead of time caused Williams to have a deep sense of dread.

  Seeing that she had been tricked, Williams panted. Trying to gasp for air as she struggled to comprehend what she had done, refusing to believe that she had committed the ultimate sin. Even if she couldn’t have known.

  ‘For too long, humanity lived under the shadow of your Order. Forcing us to live in the darkness while monsters ran around, keeping us ignorant of the world when we deserve to know the truth. But no, besides guiding or assisting humanity, as it promised to do. The Order did what it always does, leeching on the world while it reaps the benefits. Because they self-proclaimed themselves as being the guardians of humanity. Yet being our “defenders”, it does one hell of a job in failing to prevent The Cascade.’

  ‘No one could’ve seen it coming,’ Williams pitifully argued.

  ‘Maybe not, but it doesn’t matter anymore. The damage is done, and we have to live with a changed, broken world. But I will not let humanity be ignorant anymore. If we are to fight monsters and build a better future. We have to be better. No more shall there be secrets or shadowy organisations that do nothing but keep us down. The Order is outdated; we don’t need it anymore.’

  The man steps in front of Williams. A tall, skinny man wearing a dark green coat and a white mask that covered his face. ‘Sooner or later, the world will know the truth. They will know of angels, demons, everything! Don’t bother trying to argue because I know exactly what you will say, so I will make this clear. It is our turn to decide what we want, not you, not the Order, us. I am aware of the consequences of revealing the true nature of the world to the general public and the potential damage it will cause. But again, it is we who will decide what to do afterwards. Perhaps it is for the best that the world knows of Heaven and Hell. Hopefully, once this madness is over, the Order will have no choice but to face the music and maybe answer for their crimes.’

  ‘Crimes!?’ Williams hissed. ‘We are keeping the world safe. We are not responsible for anything! Either way, your plan is doomed to fail. The Order will win; we will hunt you down and put a stop to what you have started. In the end, you are on borrowed time.’

  Besides arguing, the man stood there. Unmoved by the conviction in her words and the assurance that victory was guaranteed. ‘You came here with the false knowledge that I was in this warehouse. Unlike you, I can confidently leave knowing how to get to Olympus. No, Agent of the Disposal Unit. I am not on borrowed time.’