RAGNAR
Sun doesn’t show up at the gazebo that day. Or the next. Then two more days pass. And now it’s getting weird.
Even from afar, I haven’t seen him on the patio. Haven’t seen him at his window.
Each day, the tension builds in my gut. That irrational need to see him grows stronger. What happened? Where the hell did he go? Did Anzo kill him? Send him away?
I think about it so much I start to lose focus. I should be working on finding a way to pass Summer the crucial details, but instead my mind keeps spiraling back to that boy.
It’s not like I care about him in any special way, right? It’s just… basic human decency. I feel sorry for him. Really, truly sorry. That’s all it is. I’m sure of it.
After my workday, when I leave The Sun, I get on my bike and ride around the city until late at night, because it’s the only way that helps me forget about the tension.
Then I’m back at my tiny apartment, and the unease returns.
But when the fifth day comes and I still haven’t seen Sun, something inside me starts to churn.
My restlessness grows into a sharp and rough sensation.
I can’t sit still. Out of nowhere, I start getting hit with waves of fear, something that’s never really been a part of me before.
I throw myself into work, staying hours past what I’m paid for, sometimes twelve hours a day, just hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
No luck.
By the morning of the sixth day, I feel like I’m going to lose my mind if I don’t see him soon. The pressure building in my chest is unbearable, and I can’t even explain it. Why the hell do I care so much? Why does this bother me so damn deeply?
That day, while I’m in the garden, I spot Mauro walking from the main hall toward the kitchen.
I wait for the right moment, when he’s on his way back, and approach him quickly.
He stops when he sees me, but his face barely changes. He just stares at me, blank as ever.
I already know the only way to communicate with him is by text. He won’t respond otherwise. So I pull out my phone and type:
"Do you know what happened to Sun? I haven’t seen him anywhere."
He stares at the screen for a moment, then reluctantly reaches out and types back:
"Sun is in the black room. In the basement."
I swallow hard.
"Why?"
"Rocco claims Sun tried to seduce him."
My knees go weak. I’ve never felt a sensation like this in my life, a cold wave rushing through every inch of me. I know it’s a lie.
"I really doubt that. At the last party, Rocco was all over him, and Sun ran away. I saw it with my own eyes."
"That’s why I said ‘claims’."
I just stand there, staring at Mauro, and once again that feeling of helplessness starts closing in on me like a noose.
"There’s nothing you can do to help him?"
Mauro shakes his head. Then he turns and walks away.
Poor Sun.
What could I do to help him? If I try anything, the entire mission to save Summer could fall apart. We’d all be dead: Sun, Summer, me. Even if I transformed into my imago , I might not be able to protect them both. And I’m sure as hell couldn’t protect Sun’s family.
But the same question is ripping me apart again, only now it’s a hundred times louder: Do I blindly stick to the mission… or do I try to be a decent human being?
Something stirs within me.
I’ve lost my goddamn mind. That’s official.
As Mauro walks up to the door leading inside the building, the madness takes hold of me. I shut my eyes and focus like hell.
I hear those beeps, high-pitched, playing that familiar little melody I’ve heard a dozen times before, tapped into the keypad. My ears know it by now. I’ve got a pretty good musical memory. So when he steps inside, I follow, eyes twitching, watching everything.
I creep up to the panel.
Beep… beeeep… beep… beeeeep.
The simple tune plays in my head obsessively.
I stare at the softly glowing keypad. Some of the buttons are more worn than others. I try pressing the ones that look like they’ve been used the most. Some make off-key sounds, others feel like they fit.
Now I’ve got to figure out the right sequence. Beep-beep. No, not that. Beeep-beeep —
Wait. Got it. I think I’ve got the whole thing, just need to hit ‘em in the right order.
One more try. I’m fully aware that if someone’s watching the cameras, I’m fucked. I mean, what kind of gardener messes around with security keypads?
Beep, beeeep, beep, beeeeep.
BZZZZT.
Holy shit, it worked. The door clicks, I shove the door open and slip inside.
Now I’m in a large, empty lounge. I’ve seen people from the Ferro family come through here, so there's a good chance the staff stays away from this section.
The problem is, even though I’ve studied the blueprints of this building, there’s a hell of a difference between looking at a 2D drawing and navigating a goddamn three-dimensional maze. Takes me a second to get my bearings and figure out which way leads to the basement.
My heart’s racing, worse than it ever has, on any mission. I feel like my veins are about to explode, because this isn’t soldier work anymore, this is just pure insanity. No logic, no backup plan. Just reckless, suicidal instinct.
Me. The outstanding soldier. Always playing it by the book, now charging into the mouth of hell like a complete lunatic.
I finally find the door to the basement. Luckily it’s not locked, wide stairs lead down.
The layout reminds me of the first floor, long hallway, rooms branching off. My heart’s pounding harder. No idea why, but I know exactly where to go. It’s like something’s pulling me, like my whole body feels where Sun is. Freaky as hell.
The hallway curves slightly; I simply know that the fourth door on the left after this turn is the one. The black room.
But as I round the corner and step into the view, I hear a sharp sound.
SLAM.
A huge shadow steps out of that exact door!
Luca.
I freeze. What the hell was Luca doing in there? What the fuck is going on?
Yeah, I know, I keep asking that question and still have zero answers.
He doesn’t give me time, just growls, and in one move he lunges and tackles me. We're right at the turn, so I slam hard into the wall.
"You fucking idiot! What the hell are you doing here?!"
He pins me against the wall. I could fight back, but I know negotiation will get me further than swinging.
"Mauro told me Sun’s locked in that room!" I blurt. "I have to help him!"
Luca snarls again, pushing harder.
"And you thought you’d just fucking waltz in here? Are you completely insane? Do you have any idea what could happen?"
I keep my mouth shut, because he’s right. This is beyond stupid. Clenching my jaw, I whisper,
"I had to do something… You don’t understand. Sun and I—"
"I don’t understand?" he growls, fingers digging into my arms. "I’m the only fucker on this planet who does . I know what it’s like to watch the one you want more than life itself and not be able to do a damn thing.
To be stuck in a fucking trap! But that doesn’t mean you get to pull this kind of reckless bullshit. "
I stare at him in the dim hallway, stunned. What is he even talking about?
Luca grits his teeth. Then reaches into his pocket, pulls out his phone, taps something, a word maybe, and shoves the phone away. Then he grabs my arm and growls,
"We’re leaving. If no one saw you yet, it’ll be a fucking miracle."
"But what about Sun—"
"Shut the fuck up. If Anzo catches you in this hallway, it’s not just Sun who’s going to lose his head. You’re dead too."
We move, half running, down the corridor, perhaps fifty yards or more.
Suddenly, Luca punches in another code at a different door. It unlocks, and he shoves me inside.
I let him, because at this point I’m kinda dazed. This whole thing is super weird.
The room light hits me like a slap to the face, and I blink. It’s glowing with thirty pale blue monitors staring me down from every direction.
But the background is dark. Only illumination comes from the screens. This is the CCTV control room. Every fucking corner of The Sun is under surveillance, every camera feeds into this place.
My eyes dart between the rows of footage. None of the monitors show the gazebo, thank fuck.
Only then do I notice the guy at the desk, almost buried behind all the tech gear. In the pale glow, I recognize him.
The one who sees everything, as I called him in my mind.
Mauro.
He looks up. The blue light flickers across his face, making him look like some kind of ghost.
"Our sweet little soldier just did a whole lot of un-soldierly shit," Luca growls. "Now we get to clean up his fucking mess. Again."
Mauro’s fingers hit the keyboard. A feed comes up: front entrance. Me standing there, clear as day, messing around with the keypad.
"If Anzo sees that…" I stammer.
"Oh, now you think about that?" Luca snaps. "You thought you’d just rescue Sun like a fucking white knight? And what, forty of Anzo’s soldati wouldn’t come down on your ass?
You’re lucky they’re all training in Sector H.
But if that alarm had gone off they’d be here in seconds.
None of us walks out of that building without Anzo knowing, and that includes Sun! "
I stare at him, speechless.
"This is the second time we’ve saved your ass," he continues. "You better get your shit together, because even going full fucking imago won’t help you when forty soldiers put a bullet in your skull."
I feel like some idiot school kid getting scolded. But still, I know I’m right. I see it as the only moral thing to do. So, I clench my fists.
"If you know who I am, and it sure as hell seems like you do, then you know where I stand. Am I supposed to watch him torture Sun, and just keep spraying fucking spider mites like nothing’s happening? Am I supposed to lose my soul, my humanity, while pretending everything’s fine?"
"Damn right you are. Spray the fucking bugs and don’t pull this suicidal bullshit again."
I’m breathing hard, pissed.
"One thing I don’t get, if you knew who I was, why the fuck did you let me inside this fortress to begin with?"
Luca ignores me and looks at Mauro. Mauro nods.
"Now listen carefully. We erased the keypad footage. You were never there. Now you walk out of this room, go back to pest control, and start thinking like a soldier with a brain, not a goddamn kamikaze."
"So I just let Sun suffer…"
Luca gives me a shove, eyes burning.
"You’ll die if you try to save him! That’s the reality. This is the last time we save your ass. If you fuck up again, you’re on your own. And once they’re done with you, Anzo hands Sun to his men. You know what that means; Rocco’s first in line. You get it?"
A chill runs down my spine, cold sweat damping my back.
"Not helping him makes you complicit—"
Luca growls and slams me into the wall again. But I’ve had enough! I shove him back, so hard that he stumbles and barely catches himself.
But then Mauro slams both fists on the desk, surprisingly loud, and both of us whip around.
He types rapidly, a sentence flashes on the screen behind him:
"Leave now if you want to live! That was your last warning. There won’t be another."
His face is hard as stone.
"Sons of bitches," I mutter. I raise my hand and point at both of them. "Watching and doing nothing is the same as participating! You’re both no less guilty than Anzo!"
Furious, I turn and storm out, my whole body shaking from anger. I feel even more alone now than I’ve ever fucking been.
I climb back upstairs to the first floor.
No one passes me. I punch in the code, step through the door, and I’m back on the fucking patio that opens onto the garden.
With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I go back to work. Spraying for mites, armored scales and other bugs. Every cell in my body feels like it’s buzzing with pain, with guilt… because I failed Sun.
I hate this helplessness. The trap we are in seems to have no end .