Inside, there was only white fabric.
Slightly crumpled.
As though someone had been lying there.
But now, there was nothing…
Air rushed out of his lungs in a short, painful gasp,like the final breath of a dying man.
His lips parted slightly.
One man in an open grave.
The gray dawn sky overhead, heavy and low, like the lid of a coffin.
Graves around him,silent witnesses, rows of slabs disappearing into the fog.
The wind stirred the wilted flowers on neighboring graves.
Then closer.
His lips barely moved, almost soundless:
"So… you're in there."
He stared into the emptiness of the coffin for several more seconds,long, endless,as though trying to make out traces of her presence in that white fabric.
Ethan sat on the cold slab, back against the headstone. The phone in his fingers trembled once; the signal went through.
Apparently he had called the others again.
"Gideon," he said, barely parting his lips.
"Gather everyone. Head to some bar…"
A pause.
Breathing on the other end.
"How urgent?"
"Now."
The bar was almost empty.
Dim amber lamps, old rock from the speakers,barely audible, like someone else's memory. It smelled of spilled whiskey, coffee, and burnt oil.
Ethan took a corner booth, back to the wall. Hands clasped on the table.
He hadn't even touched the drink.
Gideon arrived first.
Sat across from him.
Looked at him for a long time in silence.
"You look like you got hit by a truck and then it backed up."
Ethan raised his eyes.
"I saw Maria. I told you…"
Gideon didn't move.
"Alive."
Silence settled between them,heavy, like wet concrete.
The door banged again. Flash and Bruno.
Bruno immediately waved at the bartender; Flash moved quickly, almost stealthily.
They sat.
No one said hello.
Flash spoke first, quietly:
"Repeat it."
"I saw Maria. In the mansion. And there's no body in her grave."
Bruno exhaled through his teeth.
"No."
"Yes," Ethan said.
"No," Bruno repeated, quieter now, almost a whisper.
Flash leaned forward.
"You're sure?"
"I saw her face. I'm telling you,it's definitely her…"
Gideon, almost soundlessly:
"Go on."
Ethan ran a palm over his face, as though wiping something away.
"She has a belly…"
Bruno's glass froze in his hand.
"…It's only been a month, but it looks like seven."
Flash blinked.
Once.
"She died a month ago."
"I know," Flash said.
"Did you see the body?" Bruno asked.
"I saw them kill her…"
"Did you see them lower her into the coffin?" Gideon asked.
"No…"
Bruno slowly set the glass down.
"Then explain to me, Ethan…" He ran a hand over his stubble.
"How do you carry to seven months in two? And how can a dead person be alive and pregnant?"
Ethan shook his head.
"I don't know."
Gideon quietly:
"Maybe it's someone else…"
"It's her," Ethan cut in sharply.
Flash was silent for a long time.
"What else?"
Ethan swallowed.
"They're keeping her in that damn mansion!"
"Shit…" Gideon exhaled.
Flash swore quietly.
Bruno sharply:
"That container you saw. Sounds like some kind of weapon,already ready."
"Looks like it."
Silence.
Flash tapped his fingers on the table.
"Seven months, you said."
"Roughly."
"The first month is already passing."
"Yeah."
Bruno leaned closer.
"Then three possibilities."
He started counting on his fingers.
"First: it's not a child."
"Second: not your child."
"Third…" He paused.
"Say it," Ethan said.
"Third. Whatever's inside her probably isn't even human."
No one answered.
Gideon asked almost in a whisper:
"Are you sure that's her grave and you dug it up?"
Ethan nodded.
"Empty. Nothing."
Flash closed his eyes for a second.
"So they took the body."
"Yes."
Bruno exhaled:
"Fuck…"
Flash opened his eyes.
"Okay."
He sat in silence for a few more seconds, staring at the table.
Flash's fingers stopped tapping.
The music in the bar changed,someone switched tracks,but none of them even turned their heads.
Flash straightened.
"Okay," he repeated, harder this time.
"So listen carefully. Ethan saw her. Grave is empty. Container is with them."
"And they've started the next phase, apparently."
He shifted his gaze to Ethan.
"You sure they didn't spot you?"
"Gérard…" Ethan hesitated.
"He looked at the window. Like… he knew."
Bruno swore quietly.
"So they know or at least suspect."
Gideon leaned forward.
"Cameras? Guards? House layout?"
Ethan shook his head.
"Not everything. But the main entrance is controlled."
"Second floor,study."
"Container's there. She's there too."
Flash gave a short nod.
"Good. So they're keeping everything in one place. That's bad for them."
Bruno snorted.
"Or for us."
"We'll see," Flash said dryly.
He looked at Ethan more closely.
"You were planning to go in alone?"
Ethan didn't answer right away.
"Yeah."
Bruno jerked back against the seat.
"Have you completely lost your mind?"
"Possibly," Ethan said calmly.
"But if they're expecting me… that means I can get closer."
Flash sharply:
"Or die faster."
"Or learn the truth faster," Gideon cut in over Flash.
Silence fell again between them.
Gideon broke it first:
"There's one more thing."
Everyone looked at him.
"If they accelerated the pregnancy… that means it's either biotechnology or something from their…" He hesitated.
"…their ancient shit."
Bruno quietly:
"I prefer the technology option."
"Me too," Flash said.
"Because if it's not…"
He didn't finish.
Ethan asked quietly:
"If it's not?"
Flash looked him straight in the eyes.
"Then they're growing something that isn't a child at all."
Ethan swallowed.
"Then what?"
Flash answered without emotion:
"A carrier."
No one said a word.
Bruno said slowly:
"If there's something… alien… inside her…"
"Then saving her is one thing."
"And if it's already too late…?" Flash asked.