In a small, dark room, beams of light filtered through a heavy curtain, swaying gently with the breeze.
Scattered papers littered the room, which was in complete disarray.
On a table, piles of food packets and jars took up most of the space, while, to one side, slightly more organized, a laptop and some papers were faintly illuminated by a metallic desk lamp.
Additionally, across the floor, several heaps of clothes were strewn about, some containing underwear, though there seemed to be a strange sense of organization among the piles.
Resounding in that environment, on a nightstand next to the bed, a small alarm clock rang incessantly. It was an irritating sound, akin to a distorted alarm with a high-pitched, dragging tone, laced with faint metallic scraping noises.
Yet, despite being a symphony of torment that would wake anyone in seconds, it had been ringing for hours.
As if adding to this noise, harsh knocks began to pound on the door.
"Doctor! It's almost noon! How long do you plan to keep sleeping!?"
It was a slightly hoarse male voice, carrying a hint of severity.
On the bed, under a large pile of clothes, something stirred in response to the voice, knocking items to the floor.
"Kitten…"
Outside the room, in the living room of a thoroughly disorganized apartment, a visibly irritated man continued banging on the door.
"Come on, Doctor! You're late again! You know even for you this could be a problem!"
He had dark brown hair, with a few white strands, and wore a medical lab coat with a badge.
Hearing the shrill alarm from inside the room, annoyed, he complained:
"Even after I gave you that alarm, it's done nothing!"
Why does she have to be so difficult!
Irritated, he began recalling all the trouble she had caused him, but stopped when he felt a pang in his stomach. Placing a hand on his belly, he realized his ulcer was acting up.
Pausing for a moment, the man sighed.
He wasn't in good shape, with a gaunt face and a thin frame, as if he hadn't been eating properly for some time. Beneath his eyes, dark circles had become a permanent part of his appearance.
"…"
As he tried to calm himself, he heard some muttering from inside the room.
"What the hell did you say?!"
While still speaking, the door suddenly opened, leaving the man relieved.
"Finally, you—"
But that quickly turned to anger and embarrassment.
"Why the hell are you dressed like that?!"
The woman, still in pajamas, wore a light camisole and tiny shorts, with one strap slipping off her shoulder. She looked young, with a pretty face and long, completely disheveled black hair.
Looking away, the man blushed slightly.
The woman, rubbing her half-closed eyes, still waking up, was processing what was happening.
"Good morning…"
She said with a smile.
"Good morning, my ass! Go put on some proper clothes!"
Outside the apartment, passersby, hearing the shout, wore awkward smiles.
…
A few minutes later, outside the apartment, the man leaned against a wall beside the door.
Holding a folder, he waited as the door opened.
Emerging, the woman, now with combed hair and wearing a pristine white lab coat with a badge, exuded a completely different air.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go."
Hearing this, the man gave a forced smile, holding back his anger.
"Yes…"
Stepping away from the wall, the pair began walking through the corridors, passing others who, for the most part, wore similar lab coats and badges.
Everyone who approached them greeted her.
"Good morning, Doctor."
In this case, only the woman, who responded with a gentle smile and a nod.
Seeing this, the man sighed, annoyed—not because he was ignored, as that was commonplace and he was used to it.
In truth, his irritation stemmed from something else. Looking at her walking slightly ahead, unlike before, she carried a respectful posture, her white lab coat impeccable.
I wonder how she found a clean one in that mess…
This dual behavior was no surprise, though he was still annoyed that she didn't act this way consistently.
When he met her, she seemed like a flawless professional, the top name in her field in the country and one of the greatest in the world, which had driven him to work hard to collaborate with her.
But I ended up becoming her babysitter…
Stopping near an elevator, the two entered alone, standing side by side.
"So, what do you have to tell me about this morning?"
"Nothing much. The genetics research is progressing as planned, though it's been tough to identify the genomes of long-extinct animals, especially the saber-toothed tiger."
Taking a paper from the folder, he handed it to the woman, who studied it with a serious expression for a while.
"…It looks like there's a new specimen? But why is there so little information?"
With a slightly surprised tone, he checked the data in the folder.
"I was told they wanted to keep it secret. Only level eight personnel and above can access full details, so I don't know much. You'll have to get those files yourself."
With a thoughtful look, she closed the folder and handed it back, letting out a tired sigh.
"Looks like we'll have a lot of work this month…"
As the elevator reached the ground floor, they walked through the lobby toward the exit, only to be stopped by a large man blocking their path.
With a rough appearance and holding a large rifle, he was fully equipped with a vest, helmet, and combat boots.
Looking at him, the woman teased:
"Where are you headed? Did a war break out and no one told me?"
The guard, with a stern and stoic face, gave a creepy smile upon hearing this.
It was unsettling, but both knew it was a friendly gesture.
"Doctor, waking up late again?! Aren't you afraid of getting fired like this?"
Shrugging, the woman replied:
"They haven't fired me yet, so I think I can keep this up."
"Hahaha, if only we could all act like that! But you should be careful not to oversleep, even if he's there to wake you."
With a loud laugh, he slapped the assistant's back, pushing him forward.
Feeling the impact's pain, the assistant grumbled.
"Seems like you're already in good health…"
"Ha, that was nothing! The truck only grazed me!"
The doctor and assistant, exchanging a glance, turned to the guard.
"I'm pretty sure that hit sent you to another world…"
"Even for you, that was too much. Five months of recovery, right?"
"Six!"
"Don't talk about it with a smile…"
"Hahaha!"
"And all that to save a cat…"
As she spoke, the woman, remembering something, asked with a hopeful look:
"Did you find someone to adopt it?"
"Yeah, it's at my house. I decided to keep it."
"Oh…"
Disappointed, the woman looked down.
Noticing this, the assistant turned to her.
"You weren't thinking of adopting it, were you?"
"Well…"
Looking away, she avoided eye contact.
"I had a dream today and remembered my old pet from when I was a kid, but it died a long time ago…"
"…"
A bit awkwardly, the assistant rubbed his head.
"Well… a pet is complicated to care for. It needs attention, which you couldn't give, plus feeding and the litter box…"
"But that's simple! I can just bring it to work to give it attention, and you can clean the litter box!"
"What?! I'm not your babysitter! I'm just your lab assistant!"
"Then why do you come wake me up?!"
"Because the supervisor gets on my case when they can't find you!"
Watching the scene, the guard gave a slight, still creepy smile.
"You two get along so well… Take good care of the Doctor."
Hearing this, the woman blushed slightly, while the assistant, confused, turned to the guard.
"What?"
Before he could continue, the guard dropped his smile and, with a more serious tone, looked at them both.
"Joking aside, avoid staying out late at your apartments."
Noticing the shift in tone, both stopped.
"Why?"
"…It seems the terrorist group is getting more active in the city, already killing some people, even within the lab's area. So avoid staying out late, especially in empty places."
With a stern look, he directed his attention to the woman, who shrank back.
"Especially you, Doctor. I heard you got back after midnight yesterday, even after being warned."
"Yes… I'll be more careful…"
Concerned about something, the assistant interrupted.
"How did they get in?"
The place they were in was an important research base, even if located within the city, it was heavily guarded.
"It's not clear yet. Maybe an infiltrator, but it's hard to say, since we don't even know their motives for causing all this chaos. They just keep shouting from one side to the other that they're 'the predators of humans!'"
"And that's why you're geared up like this?"
The guard was fully armed, with complete armor, a military rifle, and even some grenades.
"To prevent them from getting in again, they've increased security with more guards and better weapons, since it seems they killed a police officer this week."
While the two talked, the doctor noticed something through the building's exit door.
"I belie—"
"Just a moment, Doctor."
But she was interrupted by the assistant.
"What are the police doing? Have they increased patrols?"
Rubbing his head, the guard shook his head.
"…All they've done is warn people not to stay out late."
"What?! But why?"
"I'm not sure, but they're not paying much attention to it. It seems the attacks haven't been in important places or involved important people, except for the one inside this base."
"That's not possible…"
"They also seem to be suppressing information about the attacks. Nothing's appearing in the newspapers."
"…"
Finally, seizing the silence, the doctor tried speaking again, looking outside.
"…Our bus is leaving."
Snapping to attention, the assistant looked at the exit and saw the bus closing its doors.
"Damn it!"
Grabbing the doctor's hand, they started running, leaving the guard behind, but the man suddenly stopped and shouted.
"Thanks for the info!"
"You're welcome…"