12.2 broken
Only twelve people survived the events of Day Zero. The rest of the wall's residents had no knowledge of what had occurred, only that these twelve had endured it. It began with Alfred Herr, an officer from the military unit assigned to protect the shelter. Alfred rescued as many comrades as he could. Of those who survived, not all returned intact.
Alfred described shadows—dark clouds—that hunted the people. One cloud approached him and emitted a violet ray of light directly at his eyes. He closed his eyes against its intensity. When he opened them, the cloud was gone.
He continued to rescue eleven others, who, as he recounted, were immobilized when he pulled them from the cloud's sight. Upon reaching the wall, all twelve required immediate medical attention. A unit, previously set up by the military, was staffed with two nurses and a few doctors.
Physically, the survivors were unharmed. Mentally, they were fractured. Only four retained awareness of their surroundings; the others suffered severe cognitive impairments and memory loss, altering their perception of the world. They were isolated in rooms chosen by the medical team, distant from the rest of the community. Food, water, and essential supplies were delivered daily by the nurses.
After a month, as the wall became more structured, the cognitively impaired survivors were released to live among the community under mandatory therapy. The four fully aware survivors consented voluntarily; the rest were incapable of refusal. Initially escorted by nurses, they gradually regained partial autonomy through training in the community's schooling system, eventually able to navigate freely on their own.