Dashing feet. Panting breath. Smoky gun's muzzles.

"Stop, right there. There's no way out" shouted the squad's chief.

He moved to his left and found a inlet in the wall. He quickly hid himself there. The chief's shouting still in his head. They went beyond his hiding spot, like they were unaware of its existence. When the sounds of their thumping feet felt far, he moved his head sideways to check if there was any threat left.

"Sisyphus, are you clear?" said a voice in his head.

"Not the best code name but I'm here. I've lost the guards who were guarding the control room. Are you in?" replied him swiftly.

"Yeah. You have 10 minutes. Use them well. We can't lose this opportunity"

He detached from the rugged wall and re-entered the hallway. He moved fast, with light steps, till he reached a marble staircase. He went up the stairs, while looking carefully around. Gold and bronze busts were located on each side, looking at him with their hallow eyeholes.

"Get to the third floor, quick. The Resistance is keeping all the army busy and we're losing enough men. Be sure to have your gun ready when its needed?"

"What was the possibility of having a Mauser jammed?" asked him jokingly.

"For the HSc is usually...27 percent"

"Well, then I hope that this relic won't betray me. Right now I miss the blaster so much" said him with a bit of sadness in his voice.

He got it out of his holder and pointed it in all directions to get the grip of it. He reached the third floor, which was different. It seemed out of place. No busts and no marble, just concrete and plexiglass. He walked in. Artificial lights turned on and a corridor appeared in front of him. There were no walls, just a long series of glasses interspersed with thin pillars which lit up with different shades of red. Behind the glass there was a huge biodome.

"What is it?" asked him.

"We don't know. The pleasures of a megalomaniac tyrant aren't our concern" replied the other voice.

"It could be his hunting ground for what I know. All the rebels who were captured during the last raid could have been used as prey here in Cairi" intervened another.

A huge amount of flowers, placed to form what seemed like a painting, graced his view. Trumpet Vine, Salvia, Rhododendron, Columbine and Lupine, with their sparking colours and soft petals. It seemed like a paradise.

"The Leader has a notable green thumb, which makes him creepier. At least he believes in the planet's preservation" joked another voice, which was more masculine than the others.

He proceeded along the glass while trying to find a form of life among all that nature. The corridor ended in a big hall made of two intertwining ovals, shaped like an hourglass.

"Something feels off" said him.

"I feel it too. It has been too simple. Look out"

"Whatever happens, conclude the mission" shouted the masculine voice.

He approached the door on the other side of the hole. The gun beside him. He removed the safety and went to the right side of the door. Back to the curved wall.

Without a notice the door opened. He moved to the site, while keeping the gun at head's height.

"What's happening?" asked the voice worried.

A young man came out of the door. Well groomed and smartly clothed. He didn't notice him.

"Is it time?" asked the man.

He was ahead of him.

The gun fired.

The body fell down, like a centenary tree. Blood started spreading on the pavement.

"And now. Fall back"

He found himself in a dark room full of cocoons with a bird's logo depicted on the top. He felt the heat. Korb's consume a lot of energy and heat up easily. There were at least fifty of them in what looked like an underground base.

"How was it?" asked a little guy clothed with a colorful suit.

He was shiny and felt out of place. A raimbow in the darkness.

"I did it Hachidori" answered. He found strange to remember the name of his dealer. Usually it's hard to remember anything after experiencing a leap.

"Didn't see it coming. A lot of Leapers get lost in the timeline, especially during a past leap. If you want I can help you regenerate your strength with a Loop?"

"Not this time Hachi. I've to get back and I've wasted a lot of money on this leap" replied him, tired.

"Sure, man. No biggie. We'll meet again next week to send your to-do-list for next year. Just remember that there will be always a Korb for you."

"Alright. Be sure to send it to my future. I don't want to meet one of my variants again. And fix the Korb's air conditioning. I don't want it to become my coffin" said him and walked away, with increasing confidence, toward an elevator. After reaching the ground floor, he got into the moving crowd, a massive snake made of a countless number of people and variants.

A girl with a body which was phasing through time rapidly and randomly approached him. Her face was a grotesque blend of old and young, decay and growth.

"Do you want to have a ride loop on my pussy, baby? It won't cost you much money" shouted her with a mottled voice.

He walked past her without looking at her. He didn't have time for beggars and whores.

On a giant screen located on the side of a glassy building a newscast was being broadcasted: "The Leader of the Resistance and all his variants have been erased from all the timelines. Since his capture and consequent killing the Republic has thrived. Today we celebrate the first century since the Republic's birth. Long Live the Republic"

He listened to this words but he didn't give so much weight to what was being said. Political propaganda never interested him. Even though it wasn't looped, politcs felt like it to him.

After buying his dinner in a time bubble restaurant, he went to the subway. On the way down, a guy who's walking on the curb was run over by a moving car. Nothing happened and no one cared because his dying body was immediately replaced by a living variant.

He bought the ticket and waited for the subway.

"Sir, where are you going?" asked an aid worker.

"I'm already where I need to be"

He went out of the subway station and find himself in a place which was 60 miles from the downtown. A bearded guy, ungroomed and poorly clothed, was shouting while waving a giant cardboard: "This is not real. Time is not real. I'm not crazy. Beware the Treeswifts".

He considered this kind of people delusional. The government didn't care about them. They were considered like leeches.

Once he was stopped by one of them. A lot of time was lost and, unfortunately, the government didn't refund you if you got in touch with them. The people used to call them Weevils, like the extinct insect which used to roam this valley.

He kept his head on the right side and walked past him. He then reached a tall building made of concrete, glass and stone. He put his thumb on the door's handle and scanned his code, by tilting his wrist to the right side.

An elevator took him to his floor. He moved to a wooden door, which was made of fake wood, and rehashed the same process which got him inside the building. After his entrance a mechanical voice greeted him and reported all about his e-mail and social networks messages, physical stats, daily expenses and goals tracking.

A tasty smell catched his nose and he followed it to its source. It brought him in the kitchen.

"Hey gorgeous, how was your day?" said the cook.

"Weary but...I did it"

"Are you talking about The Leader's Leap?"

"Exactly"

"No way. I knew that you would've nailed it, in time. Come here!" and gave him a strong hug.

"Do you think that this will help you get your promotion?"

"Don't know. The chief has made too many promises. Sometimes I think that he's looping my career just to profit out of my talent"

"Well, you'll be able to do it anyway. Just think about what you've achieved so far"

"Thanks love. I've already received congratulations for my promotion from my future colleagues. It's great but sometimes I just prefer to leave the future uncertain as it once was" said him, a bit melancholic.

A gentle humming interrupted their conversation.

"Wait, do you hear that?" asked him.

"Yes, there's a little surprise for you" said his partner who left the pans and, after taking his hand, brought him in a small room decorated with Crocuses and Lilacs. A small bird came near them, buzzing around with his small wings.

"A Sabrewings. Odd" replied him with a large smile on his face.

"It's the same kind of Crested Swift you used to have when you were a kid. Your mother told me that. I thought that it would be fitting for your recent success"

"Alright, alright. I like it. This really was kinda unexpected. I love you" and kissed her. They looked each other in the eyes and they both felt it. The desire to share love. They moved to the bedroom, a medium size room which had a wonderful view. The downtown and its skyscrapers stood up like a redwood.

"Wait, wait. I think that we should use a loop. I want this moment to last forever" said her. She took a touch pad which was on a bedside table, positioned near a German-made gun. She touched the pad and a little shockwave was emitted by it.

They immediately got to it. It started slowly but after a while it became lively. A beautiful dance of love and sex, the perfect whole.

She was on him, screaming and moaning when a sudden crack blasted the atmosphere. He didn't have time to react that a blaster shot passed through her body.

He was shocked. His hands were trembling. His eyes teary.

A masked individual in a tactical suit appeared at his door and pointed a gun at him. He reached for her partner's gun quickly.

He heard another gunshot. He thought that it was his time to die. The soldier collapsed on the floor. He moved his fiancee's body to the side and got up. The gun was still pointing to the door entrance.

A long blaster appeared at the door. Slowly it went down and the person who was carrying it followed up.

"Who are you?" asked him, with a voice streaked by grief.

The elmet which was hiding the face of his interlocutor subsided and revealed a gentle face.

"I'm Light. Time to move" said the stranger and threw a suit at him.

"Wait, why should I trust you?" replied him irritated.

"Because if it wasn't for me you would be dead"

He wore the suit which was tight but felt good on him.

"Follow me. We don't have much time" commanded Light.

He followed him to an ordinary van and entered it. He sat down on a seat and tried to understand what was it.

Light took a seat in front of him. The van moved.

After a while the lights turned on and two people, a man and a woman, showed themselves and stared at him.

"What's going on?" asked him, trying to dissimulate the fact that he was a bit intimidated by the man's frame.

"These are Ember and Shriek" said Light and they nodded with their heads.

"We need you to help us. We need to put down Project Koliber" exclaimed Light.

"What? What is Project Koliber? Why me, I'm just an underpaid social worker?" replied him without a clue.

"The Republic wants to erase all the variants and their universes"

"Universal Genocide" underlined Shriek.

"Why?"

"Because the other variants are going to do the same" said Ember.

The light went off for a while and everyone shut up. The van moved through the city's biggest square, a dangerous place to plan a revolution. Ears were everywhere. They passed under a bunch of activists banners which were saying things like "Protect our universe. Get rid of time tampering", "No more Dark Matter for the Time's Niggard. We don't want to end in darkness" and "Our Variants are dying. We don't want to suffer the same fate".

After the last banner the van lightened up again.

"We want to bring down the Republic. We want to blow it up and stop this madness" said Shriek with confidence.

"What? Are you out of your mind?" said he to them. A lot of questions where mounting in his head. Thirty minutes ago his partner died and now a group of strangers were asking him to destroy the Republic.

"I know that you consider us strangers and that this things seem out of this world but you chose us to do this job" said Light, who was trying to reassure him.

"What? Wait, it wasn't supposed to happen today. I wasn't supposed to meet you"

"This is right. We were supposed to meet your Variant, the one you encountered a while ago. You told us that things would've been hard with you. We didn't imagine that they would've been this hard" said Light.

"When did I send you the specifics for this mission?" asked him, confused.

"The future. We received them during a training in a leap you completed years ago. The one which got you promoted" said a voice which came from the driver seat.

"I'm Ikarus by the way" continued the one at the wheel.

"How can I be sure that you're telling the truth? How can I trust a Variant? How can you trust my future?" asked him.

The group didn't answer as quick as before and for a while they looked each other trying to figure something out.

"I guess that you can't. For what I know you could be the same people who killed my husband. Stop the van Ikarus" ordered him upset.

He was opening the vehicle's door when he suddenly stopped. Light was holding him back.

"If you think that we're lying, why is your face all over the grid?" asked Light while showing him a screen with his picture.

"The Government want you dead for a reason. You have no options left" concluded him.

He was speechless.

"We have to tear it apart. You have to do it" added Ember.

The van halted. He looked through the glass and saw it.

"The Nest is marvellous, isn't it?" said Shriek.

He didn't say a word.

"Groom yourself and adjust your tie. You're the one who will get us through. You're..." but he interrupted Ember suddenly.

"I know who I'm now. I know what I have to do" said him.

"Do you have a weapon?" asked Ikarus.

He showed him his partner's Mauser.

"A bit old but will do. Don't get killed boss" remembered him Ember.

He walked up the stairs while mantaining a certain sense of royalty. His leather shoes were swishing over the marble with elegance. Shriek, Ember and Light were beside him. They were wearing soldier suits which were hiding their faces.

When the guards saw him, moved their rifles and budged to the side while saying "Ave, Magna Liberator. Ave, Princeps Noster"

He didn't flinch and passed through the main entrance. There was a big courtyard guarded by many snipers with rifles and foot soldiers with blasters. It was a fortress.

"How many do you count Ember?" asked Light.

"Fifty snipers on the bulwark and twenty guards on the court surface" answered Ember.

"That's odd boss, why is no one considering us suspicious?" asked confused.

To him the situation seemed too azy to be true.

"They went through another door and he received the same greeting.

After the third checkpoint, when there was no guard left and they were hidden from cameras, he spoke up.

"Now we split up. Ember and Shriek take the east block. Me and Light will take the western one. Ikarus keep us posted about unforeseen events. He will be our compass. Set the detonation's time on 10 minutes. Loop yourself if things get ugly. And don't die. Your Variants could be our enemies in this situation"

Everyone pulled out their guns and moved to their positions.

"Good Luck guys" bidded Ikarus to the group.

46 bombs had to be placed. The Nest didn't use to sleep for so long. Time was vital.

"Well done Shriek, now we just need to place the last ones" jubilated Ikarus.

Light was fixing his one while talking to him.

"Is it true that you've worked with Major Edderkopp on a mission?" asked Light, trying to ease the pressure.

"We looped sometimes but he wasn't my friend. He was more like a rival. I just know that he retired after a failed leap which costed him his place in the army. Probably he got lost in the timestream"

"Do you think..." continued Light but was hushed by him.

"Keep your hand on the bomb. I'll deal with it"

Clatter of steps reached them.

"How many Ikarus?" asked him.

"Don't know. The heat signals ten or twelve guards coming your way"

"Can you hold them off by yourself?" said Light

"Don't think so. The Mauser has enough bullett for them but we can't leave the bomb here"

He thought for a short time about the possible ways to outmaneuver them.

"Give me your gun and your pad" ordered him to Light.

"What, why? I didn't save you to let you die" lamented Light.

"It was an order Light"

"Don't..."

Light didn't have time to express his opinion because he cut him off. Then he snatched the gun and the pad from his hands. The loop was activated and he moved away. After the loop the pad shut itself off and made itself unable to work again. Usually this process lasts a day or more. It depends on the loop length and iterations.

"What are you doing?" asked Ikarus worried.

"We don't have time to lose. I'm going by myself. I can die but at least Ember and Shriek can conclude the mission" answered him.

"We're a bit busy right now. Nest's guards are closing on us too" said Shriek.

"Alright, Ikarus, shut down all comms. From now on we're going wraith. We'll see each other on the other side" orderem him.

A buzzing sound followed.

He started moving. The guns straight up and the safety off. He saw the guards. They were more than the scanner's reading. He only had 8 bullets and a blaster with half a magazine. It could've been worse.

He put his back against the wall and took a deep breath. He started a countdown from ten in his mind. Meanwhile the guards started moving, slowly.

Ten.

"Whoever you are we want you to show yourself and surrender? We won't hurt you" said the squad's captain.

That voice seemed familiar.

Nine.

"Why should I trust you?" asked him.

"Because we're the Government. We care about our citizens. Even about the ones who want to go rogue"

The voice was slow, charming and particularly masculine. Only one guy used this kind of tone during tense situations.

"How did you end up here?"

Eight.

"Who are you supposed to be? How are you supposed to know my past?" replied to him, without flinching.

"Trinidad. Do you remember?"

Seven.

"Never heard of it"

"First Variant kill ever recorded" said him, trying to understand if his sensations were right.

Six.

Five.

Four.

"It can't be you. We hunted you down ages ago"

Three.

"I was your friend Edderkop"

Two.

"You showed me the way out. How to be free" told him to Edderkop.

"I did but you ki...." Edderkop fell down. A blaster shot left a large hole in his head.

One.

The blasters lit up and bullets flew around. Blood rained down, voices choked and walls quaked.

The alarm started. A loud scream which spread like a storm. Some guards got down, torned by the noise. Some heads exploded due to the high frequency of the alarm. His remained untouched.

There was little time before the variants of Edderkop and his squad would reach him.

"Why?" asked a guard, looking at him with a haywire face.

"It was never about you comrade. We'll see each other at the end of this loop" and fired a shot at his throat.

He picked up the soldier's rifle and left there the Mauser.

He ran off and find himself in a hall with four possible directions.

Now the Nest doesn't allow us to loop or leap but we can still hear each other thought.

"Better late than never" said him to himself.

Turn right. You'll find four guards. Blast their legs with a enhanced shot.

He turned right and, after changing the weapon's settings, executed what his future self did.

Take the elevator and reach the eleventh floor. You'll find Ember there.

He did it but didn't find Ember.

"How can I trust your thoughts if they're so wrong" said him, annoyed.

He moved anyway. Time was running off, for real this time. A staircase was located on the other end of the room.

Strange, something feels off.

He heard steps behind him. The Nest wouldn't allow him to get to his destination.

"Vigors, is that you?" asked someone who was staying hidden in the dark.

Ember doesn't deserve to use that name.

"You're alive. Where's Shriek?" asked Vigors.

"He sacrificed himself to let me live and complete the mission with you" said her with teary eyes.

Open the door.

"We have to move. They're coming for us. There's little time left" urged Vigors.

They opened the door by forcing it.

Dashing feet. Panting breath. Smoky gun's muzzles.

Behind them the noise generated by the guards boots became louder. They were shooting without seeing where they were.

"Why are they shooting?"

Something feels off.

"Are we going to doubt our own reality Ember?" asked him.

Ember didn't know how to answer. She thougth that Vigors was too calm to be true.

At some point the noise stopped and found themselves in a atypical room.

A big hall made of two intertwining ovals, shaped like an hourglass. I've never seen something like that.

"What is it ? Where are we?" started to worry Ember.

He looked at her. And smiled.

The gun fired. The body fell down, like a centenary tree. Blood started spreading on the pavement.

" I'm sorry Ember" said him while looking at her.

"Why Vigors? What...was that...for?." asked her while all her stength was leaving her body.

Vigors smiled. It was a genuine smile. Not a grin.

"I'm not Vigors anymore" said him.

His eyes turned away. He threw his gun away and walked to the door. He passed through it.

He went off the door.

One step.

It's him.

He didn't look around, just in front of him.

"Is it time?"

A beeping sound, ominous and dismal, on a monitor beside a big cocoon with a hummingbird logo on the top and a name under it: Project Koliber.

A person standing beside it. A white coat. A name.

Sisyphus Edderkopp.