The "Farm" seemed impossible to invade, a castle erected against the world itself, surrounded by wooden fences, cameras and armed men. A closed system, designed not to fail.But every fortress, no matter how solid it was, depended on an irremediably flawed factor — the human factor.
During the day, the guards patrolled the sheds in an almost obscene number, crossing shifts, routes and perimeters with mechanical precision. At night, the cold turned vigilance into prolonged torture.In this world, humanity had relearned to fear the darkness in the worst possible way, and that fear worked in Felix's favor.
He set up camp in the nearby hills, far enough not to raise suspicion, but close enough to study the facility's patterns. He waited patiently, like a predator buried in the snow, awaiting the fall of the sun.
When the twilight faded, the wind began to scratch his skin like invisible blades. His muscles trembled, his breathing became irregular, the cold seeped into his bones.
As expected, the external lights of the facility remained on, illuminating the complex with a clinical and artificial glow. The surveillance force had been reduced to approximately one third of the daytime contingent.
The cameras, however, remained omnipresent, mechanical eyes that never blinked, transmitting every pixel to the command center.
When Felix left his improvised shelter, it was 3:30 in the morning. The darkness was not an obstacle for his eyes.
He jumped over the wooden fence that delimited the farm and advanced in silence, moving like a distorted shadow.
Soon he spotted the first guard.
The man wore a white uniform suitable for the hostile climate, and a cloth mask covered his mouth and nose to warm his face. A ballistic vest stood out under the thermal coat. In his hands, an RPK-74 machine gun, a weapon of war, heavy, lethal, definitive.
The guard kept the weapon resting on his shoulder, bored but alert.
Felix swallowed.
He brought his hand to his chest, feeling his heart accelerate, pulsing against his ribs as if it wanted to escape.
His body hesitated.
He already knew the destructive power of that type of ammunition.
It was not like the wooden rifles he had faced before. A single shot from a weapon of that caliber could make his body collapse. The exit wound would be grotesque, and regeneration, no matter how abnormal it was, would take too long to repair such devastation.
He could die.
Even with fear infiltrating his nerves, he remained motionless in the darkness, waiting. Time seemed to coagulate around him.
When the guard turned his back, Felix advanced with predatory speed.
The moment the man noticed the presence, it was already too late. Felix's right hand wrapped around the guard's neck.
CRACK!!!
The dry sound of bone breaking echoed in the night silence. Even so, Felix kept the grip, pressing until he was absolutely sure there would be no reflexes, spasms or screams.
He could not stain the uniform with blood. He would need it to pass through the cameras.
The idea of being detected, of failing, of having even the slightest chance of returning to the laboratory made his mind vibrate in silent panic.
Felix did not consider himself human. But no matter how much he saw himself as a monster, he was still made of flesh and nerves.
He was stronger, more resistant, faster. But he was not invincible. He was not a God. He was not a superman.
— All right... It's over... He died... He died...
He repeated to himself like a pathetic mantra, trying to contain the trembling in his hands.
His breathing became heavy. The world seemed to spin slowly as he stared at the symbol on the guard's uniform — the emblem of Kholm.
His eyes fixed on that symbol as if it were a trigger.
Screams.Screams echoing through metallic corridors.Screams that never ended.
He took a deep breath, forcing the cold air into his lungs as if he could freeze his memories.
— I am not sixteen anymore... I am not that naive boy anymore... I am not... Not anymore...
The words were lost in the wind.
He put on the guard's clothes and hid the body in a hole in the snow. He picked up the machine gun from the ground and put it on his shoulder.
It was time to advance.
Felix tried to contain his impulses to look at the cameras as he headed toward the barn.
Some footsteps were heard, they seemed close. He tightened his grip on the weapon. When that figure revealed itself, it was a guard.
He seemed surprised to see him in that area. The man stared at him in an awkward silence, as if waiting for some response from Felix.
— What are you doing in this area? — Finally the guard spoke.
— Just... Looking for the bathroom.
The guard narrowed his eyes.
— There is no bathroom in that direction. — He tightened his grip on the weapon. — Your voice also sounded different.
— It's just the flu.
The guard glanced behind Felix, there were no signs of combat. Without enough proof, he had to follow his path.
— Stay alert. — He gave a warning.
Felix let out a breath in relief.
It was 04:00 in the morning, no one had discovered the body buried in the snow yet. Nor had they suspected Felix. This was his perfect chance to invade the barn, but there was still a problem.
It seemed that the "farm" did not belong to Kholm, but to another institution called "New Brigade". Felix remembered a woman commenting on this a few days ago, but he had no idea it was such a powerful organization.
But he understood one thing. Kholm soldiers worked to defend the "farm", while Brigada soldiers worked to "take care" of the slaves. That is, those wearing Kholm uniforms could not enter the planting sheds or the barn.
Another point, most of the "New Brigade" soldiers were not Russian, which made dialogue easier and reduced suspicion. But it was still better to avoid long conversations, since there was an identification number on the right side of the uniform. It would be very problematic if Felix ran into someone who knew his number.
In the regions near the barn there was a larger number of cameras, he had to destroy them one by one with his own hands. For each camera he destroyed he had to dig a hole and bury them in the snow quickly.
Due to the internal protocol of the "farm", guards were sent to report why the cameras were disappearing. The response time of their system was too fast. But thanks to that his path was freer to go toward the barn.
Felix was sweating cold.
When he arrived, he noticed that there was only one guard at the barn door, but a short time ago he had seen two when he was observing from his improvised camp.
He walked around the barn looking for more cameras, but then he saw a guard coming out of a side entrance of the barn. It was a door probably used to facilitate the transport of animal waste.
The guard was accompanied by a woman with black hair. She was wearing a long blue dress, somewhat dirty. She wore a thick coat over it, boots and long socks. That was visibly inadequate for the cold outside.
The woman's expression was indifferent, there was no life in her eyes. She held her left arm, her fingers digging into the skin of her arm as if she were repulsed by what she had to do.
Her skin was bluish, she trembled from the cold but the guard did not seem bothered by that. They went to the back of the barn avoiding all the cameras, soon after that some moans were heard from that direction.
Realizing what was happening, Felix ran toward the sound and ended up seeing the scene. Without thinking twice he hit the guard on the head with the butt of the weapon, knocking him out instantly.
She fell to the ground in shock, but before she could scream Felix covered her mouth and forced her against the ground.
— Siih...
The woman was breathing fast, she was visibly frightened by the situation. She raised her hands showing that she was not holding any weapon.
— Do you speak German?
She seemed not to understand.
— Russian, you are Russian?
With no other alternatives he tried to make gestures and get some kind of minimal communication. But she shook her head.
— Извини, я... я не понимаю... (Sorry, I... I do not understand...)
But that did not matter anymore, he had already identified that she was Russian. A pity, it would be much harder to explain the situation to her.
Felix snorted. He brought his hand to his mouth and asked for silence once again. As soon as he finished the gesture he broke the guard's neck. The woman was startled by the action, but she was afraid of what could happen if she screamed.
He had to change clothes to enter the barn, but he took the opportunity to give the clothes he was wearing to the woman, he even adjusted the ballistic vest on her. He also handed her the weapon that the defeated guard was using.
— If you point this at me I swear I will kill you.
As a gesture, he pointed his index finger at the weapon and then at his own body, then ran his hand across his neck signaling death. The woman nodded, it seemed she understood the message.
To be sure he grabbed the woman's arm and walked to the side entrance of the barn, avoiding all the cameras. He put his hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment.
There could be more guards inside, and that was terrifying. A single shot, and a swarm of soldiers would start appearing from everywhere. He tightened his grip on the woman's arm ready to use her as a shield.
— Ты делаешь мне больно... (You are hurting me...)
Felix opened the door at once. Without even looking he pulled the woman in front of him and placed the machine gun at her waist.
But there were no guards, only scared slaves, frightened by the violence with which the door was opened. Felix let out air, his legs almost lost strength from the relief he felt.
— Siiih...
He asked for silence from everyone.
He was the only one with a weapon in his hands, no one would dare to disobey his request.
But everyone had their attention taken by the guard who stayed at the barn door, he was approaching with the weapon firmly in his hands. His steps were heavy, an expression of rage was frozen on his face.
— Эй!! Кто там!? (Hey!! Who is there!?)
There was no time to think, even if the slaves did not speak a word, their eyes betrayed an intruder. The guard was already coming with the weapon pointed, ready to shoot.
There was no other alternative.
Felix sprinted forward, twisting his torso as he fired at the guard. The guard did the same, but the difference in speed between them was enormous. The man's chest was pierced by a burst from the RPK-74, his ballistic vest was shredded, and the bullets passed through his body and scarred the walls.
The sound of the gunshot broke the silence of the night, the noise drew the attention of all the guards.
His death sentence had been signed.