Klaus waited until the last of their footsteps faded down the corridor before letting his shoulders sag.
The air felt heavier now, like it was pressing down on the back of his skull.
Then the feeling hit him, a sharp, splitting pain knifed through his temples so violently it nearly drove him to his knees. His hand shot out and slammed against the wall, knuckles scraping the rough concrete.
"damn it…" he hissed through clenched teeth.
His vision blurred at the edges, darkness bleeding into the corners like spilled ink. The ground tilted beneath him. He staggered forward, half dragging his feet as the pulse in his skull roared louder.
Every few steps, his body jerked, forcing him to grab onto the walls just to stay upright. The hallway stretched too long, spinning and contracting in waves. His breath came shallow and uneven.
By the time he reached his room, his hands were trembling. He fumbled with the door, slamming his shoulder against it before it finally gave way.
The dim light inside barely helped. His head was pounding too hard to focus on anything.
Klaus stumbled straight to the bathroom, his boots dragging over the floor. He braced both hands on the sink, leaning in close to the mirror. His reflection swam before him double, then triple. His own eyes looked back at him like a ghost.
He turned the faucet on, splashing cold water over his face. For a brief second, the shock forced his mind into focus but it wasn't enough. The headache flared again, white-hot, tearing through the back of his skull.
"Shit...what is it now" he groaned.
His knees buckled and crashed down onto the cold tile, breath hitching, body curling instinctively against the wave of pain. His ears rang. Every sound felt distant muted like he was being pulled underwater.
With the last bit of strength he had, Klaus reached up, gripping the shower knob and twisting it on. Water poured down, drenching his hair and uniform in seconds, soaking through to his skin.
The icy torrent bit at his neck and shoulders, but he didn't move. Couldn't.
His back slid against the wall until he was sitting on the soaked tiles, his head tipped back, water streaming down his face and clothes like a shroud.
His breathing slowed but still not steady, just… tired. The sound of water hitting tile drowned out everything else.
His blurred gaze fixed on the ceiling, lashes fluttering with every blink. He looked at his hands which seemed like it had become rubber begin to harden, then break shedding off its previous skin and new ones breathe to life.
Moulting
That was all he could think of. On his shoulder near go his neck was a cut which seemed to be healing up but Klaus with great difficulty inserted what seemed like a small chip back into the spot as it covered up along with healing.
Earlier when he had dragged Mr Bingley into his room, he had allowed h to grab onto his neck which pulled out the chip to which he with accuracy snatched it away.
Only that he didn't expect that in the process of snatching it,the contact he made, made Mr Bingley's body to start rotting at an unimaginable speed.
As such, he didn't have time to be caught by this surprise as he bolted out with the terrified Mr Bingley.
Klaus took not of the path he was taking ensuring it was the camera blindspots and with great strength flung the body across to the nearest place he could find to be less crowded or occupied with people.
The body while in motion turned into dust leaving just human skeleton and a few sand crashing into the ground.
Klaus let out a shuddering breath as he muttered with his fingers twitched, " from dust we are made to dust we would return".
It was at this moment he realized how deadly his ability was after barely using since the past years.
Just when he was starting to calm doing, an automatic voice along with a ping came from within the scattered room.The sound was sharp enough to make him open his eyes from where he lay bare.
Ping… Ping… Ping…
It echoed through the halls likewise in every dorm, every room, even the bathrooms more or less the entire block.
Klaus jerked awake, gasping against the pounding in his skull. The water was still running, cold, but the summons had already snapped him out of the haze. His fingers twitched against the wet tile.
"Damn…timing," he muttered under his breath, dragging himself up. His soaked clothes clung to his skin was slowly taken off and hung by the shower and with great efforts, he made his way to the wardrobe naked.
Sigh
His heavy breathing accompanied his now hasty heartbeat. He grabbed the extra training uniform and got himself into it.
Klaus seeing as the time seemed to have been far spent dressing walked towards his drawer and brought out a bottle of pills to which he swallowed four at once then dashed out of the room to meet up with the others.
Along the way within the hall of the facility, others were doing the same. Doors creaked open. Boots hit the ground in rhythmic thuds. The air was tense not the usual kind but it wasn't like this was a first.
Every time they were all summoned to the grounds for a mission, it was no news that some don't make it back from whichever place they were dispatched to. No one could accurately say most died, at least not directly.
Within minutes, they gathered in the wide, sterile hall that had always served as a "briefing" space. It wasn't much white walls, smooth floor, high ceiling, no chairs, no tables. Just a single raised podium at the far end, where the man was already standing.
He had the kind of posture that made lesser men stand straighter without realizing it broad shoulders, clean-cut hair, cold eyes that missed nothing. His gloved hands rested lightly on the podium's edge, this was Mr Benedict in his usual pose.
When he spoke, his voice carried an unchallenged authority .
"Attention. We have a job."
Silence answered him. Every operative, male and female alike, focused on his words.
"This operation involves a * merchandise essential to our advancement. Details are restricted to need to know. But what you must understand..." His gaze swept across the room like a blade, pausing on no one in particular, yet making each person feel seen. "...is that its safe retrieval is not optional. It is crucial."
No one dared to whisper, though the tension was palpable. The man continued,
"Your movements must be fast. Your precision, exact. You will have no room for error. All you need to know and do is to follow command and if in south situations, act with the interest if safe guarding the merchandise with no damage to it "
The wall behind him flickered briefly with a projected outline no map, no coordinates, just vague lines and marks. Enough to hint at a mission, but nothing clear enough to grasp.
"Selected units will be deployed in two teams," he finally said. "Female Black Ops under Scarlet's lead. Male Ops under Command Section Three. And a raid team would the joining from the branch."
A low, collective inhale moved through the room.
Scarlet stepped forward, head held high, her usual calm expression hiding the spark in her eyes. Beside her, Lucy, Anne, and Issa exchanged a glance that was equal parts adjusting their mood.
Klaus remained in the male line, his jaw tight. The earlier dizziness still clung to him like a fog, but he forced his shoulders straight. His vision pulsed faintly at the edges, and his right hand flexed against an invisible ache.
The commander's eyes passed over him for a heartbeat just enough for Klaus to know he'd been noticed.
"You leave at dawn," the man concluded. "Report to staging in two hours. Dismissed."
The sound of boots shuffling against the smooth floor filled the empty space. Scarlet's team clustered together near the left wall. Klaus caught her eyes for a second as hers was sharp, his heavy lidded with exhaustion but neither said a word.
Somewhere beneath the sharp lights and the cold orders, the pulse in Klaus's head throbbed again. Faint.