Velikan

The long, dimly lit corridor of the administrative block stretched off into infinity, disappearing into darkness. Somewhere in the very heart of the building, an old generator hummed shrilly—its low vibration reverberating through the metal floor panels and up my legs to my spine. The air lingered, reeking of machine oil used to lubricate the hinges of the sealed doors and the bitter dust from the server racks—a scent that had ingrained the walls over the years.

It was well past midnight. My own foolish heroism—or, frankly, the banal desire to finish this damn report and avoid listening to the hysterical screams of my superiors tomorrow—had brought me here. Another scheduled system reboot, which had died at the most inopportune moment. The server room had been flashing red for an hour, sorting through error logs, while the core IT staff were fast asleep somewhere in the living quarters. As the most junior employee, I was always assigned night shifts and "small assignments."

The hallways were truly eerie. The emergency lighting worked intermittently, leaving long stretches of the path in absolute, pitch-black darkness. Footsteps echoed loudly under the ceiling, and I tried to walk quietly, almost on tiptoe, clutching the electronic key card in my pocket like a talisman. It was stupid, of course: plastic wouldn't protect me if something serious happened. But it offered the illusion of security, a pass into a world where I belonged.

All the civilians knew: "shadows" roamed here at night. They were members of the private military company Shadow Company, stationed in the adjacent wing. They had no regard for base regulations or curfews. They obeyed only their command and their contracts. They said it was best not to be seen, especially at night, when normal people are asleep and they were on combat duty or patrolling the perimeter. "Butchers," our civilian staff dubbed them, whispering in the mess hall.

I turned the corner and froze.

The air stuck in my lungs like an icy lump.

Giant - What are you doing here?