“I'm not doing anything.”
Daniel did not answer.
He looked at the sprouts.
One beside the tree.
Another near the path.
Another several metres away.
Small.
Green.
Harmless.
And completely impossible.
Flora took a step back.
“Daniel.”
He raised a hand.
“Wait.”
“Wait for what?”
“I don't know.”
“You don't know anything again.”
“That's been happening a lot lately.”
Flora did not smile.
Daniel approached the nearest sprout.
Crouched down.
Did not touch it.
It was a tiny plant.
Two leaves had just opened on a stem that had not existed a few seconds earlier.
Daniel looked towards the place where Flora had reached out her hand.
The first sprouts were still there.
Then he looked at the others.
There was too much distance between them.
“Do what you did before.”
Flora looked at him.
“What?”
“The thing with your hand.”
“I don't know what I did.”
“Try.”
“Daniel, I'm telling you I don't know how.”
“Then do exactly the same thing.”
Flora took a deep breath.
Raised a hand.
Studied it.
Then pointed it towards a small patch of earth.
Nothing.
They waited.
Nothing.
Flora lowered her hand.
“See?”
Daniel kept watching the soil.
“Again.”
“What for?”
“Because it worked before.”
“That doesn't mean I can do it again.”
“That's exactly what I want to find out.”
Flora looked at him.
“Since when are you a scientist?”
“For about thirty seconds.”
“We're doomed.”
Daniel was about to reply.
Something moved beside Flora's shoe.
They both looked down.
A small leaf was emerging from a crack between two paving slabs.
Flora stood still.
So did Daniel.
The stem grew barely a few centimetres.
Stopped.
Flora's hand was down.
“I didn't do anything.”
Daniel looked at her face.
Then at the plant.
“I know.”
“I wasn't even thinking about it.”
Daniel stood up.
Flora took another step back.
“I don't like it.”
“Neither do I.”
Daniel looked across the park.
There were still people there.
Fewer than there would have been on any other day.
Near one of the entrances, two police officers were talking beside a parked vehicle.
Further away, two soldiers crossed the walkway, carrying equipment towards a cordoned-off area.
Part of the park was still closed off with tape.
Another military vehicle was visible in a nearby street.
Since the Fall, their presence had stopped seeming strange.
Police.
Ambulances.
Soldiers.
Civil Protection.
They were at stations, hospitals, squares, junctions and around the worst affected buildings.
The city was trying to keep working, surrounded by uniforms.
A man was walking a dog.
A couple talked beside a bicycle.
Two children played near their parents.
It seemed normal.
But only from a distance.
Daniel looked at the sprouts again.
If one of the officers came over and saw that, he had no idea what would happen.
“We should go,” he said.
Flora looked at him.
“What if it happens again?”
Daniel glanced discreetly towards the police.
“Better if it isn't here.”
Flora followed his gaze.
That was enough.
She gathered her things.
They started walking.
Daniel looked back.
The sprouts were still there.
Motionless.
As if they always had been.
They walked for a few minutes without speaking.
Flora kept her hands in her pockets.
Daniel noticed.
Said nothing.
When they reached a quieter street, Flora broke the silence.
“Do you think it's me?”
Daniel took a while to answer.
“I think it happens when you're there.”
“That's not the same thing.”
“I know.”
“Then answer.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Yes.”
Flora lowered her gaze.
“I think it's you.”
She let out a breath.
It did not seem to be the answer she wanted to hear.
“Perfect.”
“You asked me to answer.”
“You could have lied.”
“That would have annoyed you too.”
“Yes.”
“Then we're all right.”
Flora looked at him.
“We're not all right.”
Daniel stopped walking.
So did she.
For the first time since they had left the park, Flora took her hands out of her pockets.
Studied them.
“What if it's worse tomorrow?”
Daniel stayed silent.
“What if I touch something and...?”
“We don't know that it works like that.”
“We don't know anything.”
Daniel thought of Lina.
The leaves circling her body.
Her asking him whether she could hurt him.
The words were different.
The fear was not.
“You're not the only one.”
Flora lifted her head.
Daniel realised what he had just said.
Too late.
“What?”
Daniel did not answer.
“What do you mean, I'm not the only one?”
“You've seen the videos.”
“I'm not talking about the videos.”
Flora took a step towards him.
“Daniel.”
He looked away.
Lina had asked him not to say anything.
“I know someone.”
Flora watched him.
“Who?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because it's not mine to tell.”
Flora took a few seconds to respond.
“Then it's someone close to you.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Flora.”
“All right.”
She raised her hands.
“I won't ask.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
“Really?”
“No.”
Daniel almost smiled.
Flora did not.
“But it's good.”
“What is?”
“Knowing I'm not the only one.”
That silenced Daniel.
He thought of Lina. Two people had trusted him with the same fear, and he still did not know what to do with it.
Flora put her hands back in her pockets.
They walked on.
A sound cut through the street.
Several phones vibrated almost at the same time.
Daniel stopped.
So did Flora.
His vibrated in his pocket.
Then again.
Daniel took it out.
A notification filled the screen.
CIVIL PROTECTION ALERT
Flora was already reading hers.
Conversations around them began to die away.
A man took out his phone.
A woman stopped walking.
From a café terrace, someone asked:
“What's happening?”
Daniel opened the alert.
The authorities ask members of the public to avoid all contact with animals displaying unusual behaviour or visible physical alterations.
Daniel stopped reading.
Flora looked at him.
“Animals?”
Daniel read on.
Do not attempt to capture or approach them. Notify the emergency services and keep a safe distance.
For a moment, he was back under the rubble.
Dust.
Blood.
The creature advancing through the ruins.
Too large.
Too aggressive.
Its mouth open.
That thing which had once been a rat.
“Daniel.”
Flora was looking at him.
“What?”
“You've gone white.”
Daniel locked his phone.
“It's nothing.”
“That wasn't a nothing face.”
“I'm tired.”
Flora watched him.
Daniel started walking.
“Come on.”
“Daniel.”
“Flora.”
She understood that he did not want to talk.
Followed him.
Around them, people were beginning to discuss the alert.
“What does ‘physical alterations’ mean?”
“It'll be injured animals.”
“My brother saw an enormous dog near...”
“There are videos online.”
“There are videos of everything online.”
Daniel listened without wanting to.
Flora took out her phone again.
“They're uploading things.”
“Don't watch them.”
Flora looked at him in surprise.
“You're telling me that?”
Daniel kept walking.
“Yes.”
“Now I definitely want to watch them.”
She opened a social media app.
It did not take her even ten seconds.
“Daniel.”
He did not answer.
“Daniel.”
Something in her tone made him stop.
Flora showed him the screen.
The video had been filmed from a window in a building.
Below, in a street, several people stood behind two police vehicles.
An officer was telling everyone to move back.
The camera tried to focus on something between some parked cars.
For a moment, nothing was visible.
Then it came out.
A dog.
Or something that still looked like one.
It was too large.
Its body had strange proportions.
It walked slowly.
One of the officers raised an arm.
The person filming zoomed in.
The video ended.
Flora lowered her phone.
“Is that real?”
Daniel did not answer.
He had seen something far too similar.
Flora understood.
“You've seen one.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Not exactly that.”
“But you've seen something.”
Silence.
“During the Fall.”
Flora stopped walking.
“What did you see?”
Daniel remembered the teeth.
The creature lunging.
The gunshot.
The soldier.
And then that moment.
The claw.
The air.
No.
“A rat.”
Flora waited.
“A rat?”
“It was bigger than normal.”
“How much bigger?”
Daniel looked at her.
“Like a dog.”
Flora had nothing more to say.
Daniel kept walking.
This time, she took a moment to follow him.
When Daniel got home, the television was louder.
His father stood in front of it.
His mother was talking on the phone.
Lina sat on the sofa.
She watched him come in.
Then looked towards the door.
“Did you see the alert?” his father asked.
“Yes.”
“Now apparently we can't go near animals either.”
His mother spoke into the phone.
“Yes, yes. We're all fine.”
Daniel looked at Lina.
She held her phone in her hands.
“Where were you?” she asked.
“With Flora.”
Lina watched him for another second.
Daniel knew she had understood that something had happened.
She did not ask.
The television showed images from several places across Spain.
A reporter spoke in front of a cordoned-off area.
Daniel went closer.
“...the authorities insist that there is currently no definitive explanation for these cases.”
The picture changed.
Another video.
An animal moving among trees.
Too far away to make it out.
Another.
Officers closing a road.
Another.
A cage covered with a tarpaulin being loaded into a vehicle.
The presenter reappeared.
“These incidents come on top of the numerous recordings shared in recent hours in which members of the public claim to have witnessed phenomena whose nature remains unknown.”
His father shook his head.
“Phenomena whose nature remains unknown.”
He looked at Daniel.
“That's what they call having no idea now.”
Daniel did not answer.
Neither did Lina.
Daniel's mother ended the call.
“That was your aunt.”
“Is she all right?” Daniel asked.
“Yes.”
She looked at the television.
“This again?”
No one answered.
Then a caption appeared at the bottom.
EXTRAORDINARY GOVERNMENT BRIEFING
His father turned up the volume.
Daniel checked the time.
The broadcast changed.
An official room.
A Spanish flag.
Several journalists.
A man took his place at the lectern.
The murmuring ceased.
Daniel sat down.
So did Lina.
The man arranged some documents.
Looked up.
“Good afternoon.”
A pause.
“I am here to report on the situation following the events of the past few hours.”
Daniel looked at Lina.
Her eyes stayed on the screen.
“Since this morning, emergency services, security forces, hospitals and various scientific bodies have reported a growing number of incidents which remain under investigation.”
A journalist raised her hand.
The spokesman continued.
“Some of these incidents affect people. Others involve animals and certain areas close to the fragments recovered after the Fall.”
Daniel leaned forwards slightly.
His father put the remote on the table.
“So far,” the spokesman continued, “we do not have sufficient evidence to establish a definitive explanation of their nature.”
A murmur passed through the press room.
“However...”
The man paused.
“We can confirm that some of the incidents documented and analysed by public services are real.”
Silence in the living room.
Daniel looked at Lina.
She looked at him.
That sentence seemed small.
It was not.
Until then, there had always been a way out.
Fabrications.
Rumours.
Confusion.
Frightened people.
Now someone had just closed that door.
The spokesman continued.
“We ask the public to remain calm. Anyone experiencing an unusual physical phenomenon should avoid putting themselves or others at risk.”
Lina lowered her gaze.
Daniel saw.
“We also reiterate our advice not to approach animals displaying visible alterations or anomalous behaviour.”
A journalist spoke from off camera.
“Is the Government saying that the videos of people starting fires, moving objects or generating other phenomena are genuine?”
The spokesman was silent for a moment.
“I am saying that several of the incidents circulating publicly have been verified.”
Questions erupted.
“What causes them?”
“Is it related to the Fall?”
“Is there a risk to the public?”
“Are they contagious?”
The spokesman raised a hand.
“There is currently no evidence of contagion.”
Another question.
“Is it related to the fragments?”
“It is being investigated.”
“How many cases are there?”
“We cannot yet provide a consolidated figure.”
“Why?”
“Because it keeps increasing.”
Daniel lifted his head slightly.
The questions multiplied again.
The spokesman tried to continue.
“An extraordinary coordination group has been established, comprising scientific, healthcare, security and civil protection bodies, to centralise all available information.”
Daniel listened closely.
“Our immediate aim is to identify the origin of these phenomena, determine their potential risks and establish response protocols.”
Another journalist raised her hand.
“Have you found anything in common among the people affected?”
The spokesman stayed silent for a few seconds.
Looked at the documents in front of him.
“Yes.”
The room grew stiller.
Daniel lifted his head slightly.
“The scientific teams working with several of the verified cases have detected something recurring.”
Another journalist spoke immediately.
“What?”
The spokesman consulted his notes again.
“The people who have experienced these phenomena appear to radiate some kind of energy.”
Daniel stopped moving.
So did Lina.
“What kind of energy?”
“We don't know yet.”
The questions began to pile up.
“Radiation?”
“We cannot say that.”
“Is it dangerous?”
“We don't know.”
“Does it come from the fragments?”
“It is being investigated.”
“Can it be measured?”
The spokesman paused.
“It has been detected.”
“But can you measure it?”
“The results are still preliminary, and we will not speculate.”
Daniel looked at Lina.
She was completely motionless.
The spokesman continued.
“I want to stress something important.”
He looked straight at the cameras.
“Anyone who has experienced any of these changes, or a physical phenomenon they cannot explain, should contact the services provided by the authorities.”
Lina slowly lowered her gaze.
“Do not try to trigger it again on your own. We do not yet know what effects it may have on the person involved or on those around them.”
Daniel immediately thought of Flora.
Her hand reaching towards the plants.
Do what you did before.
He felt a sudden unease.
He himself had asked her to try it again.
He had turned Flora's fear into a test simply because he needed an answer.
“Our aim is not to criminalise those experiencing these phenomena,” the spokesman continued. “We need to study the cases, understand what is happening and ensure the safety both of those people and of the rest of the population.”
Another journalist spoke.
“How many people show this energy?”
“We do not yet have a reliable figure.”
“Everyone who appears in the videos?”
“We can only speak about cases which have been examined and verified.”
“And do all the verified cases show this energy?”
The spokesman paused.
“So far, yes.”
Silence.
Daniel felt something strange as he heard that.
For the first time, someone was not talking about videos.
Or rumours.
Or impossible things.
They were talking about something they had detected.
Something that was there.
Even if they did not yet know what it was.
Another journalist raised her voice.
“Does this energy have a name?”
The spokesman looked at her.
“No.”
A pause.
“Not yet.”
The broadcast continued.
Daniel stopped listening for a few seconds.
Looked at his hands.
Then at Lina.
Her hands were clasped together.
He thought of Flora.
The sprouts appearing far from her.
His father.
Snap.
The creature.
The videos.
Everything which, until a few hours ago, had seemed to belong to separate stories had just appeared in the same briefing.
Lina spoke very quietly.
“Dani.”
Daniel looked at her.
“What do I do?”
Their father and mother were still watching the television.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“About what?”
Lina looked at him as though the question were absurd.
Daniel knew exactly what she meant.
“They said we have to tell them.”
Daniel looked at the television.
Then at his sister.
He did not answer immediately.
“Do you want to?”
Lina looked at her hands.
“I don't know.”
Daniel nodded.
“Then don't decide now.”
“But when I do decide, I want to do it myself.”
Daniel looked at her.
“All right.”
“What if it happens again?”
Daniel thought of the wind.
How it had grown with her fear.
“Then I'll be with you.”
Lina looked up.
“That doesn't answer the question.”
“I know.”
She let out a breath.
“You haven't been able to answer much lately, either.”
Daniel smiled faintly.
“I told you.”
Lina almost smiled too.
The television continued in the background.
“...we ask that any original recording which may be useful to the investigation be preserved...”
Daniel looked at the screen again.
Something had changed.
Not in Lina.
Not in Flora.
Not in his father.
Outside.
Until then, the world had been trying to understand the Fall.
Now it was beginning to understand that the Fall had only been the beginning.
Hours later, on a minor road several kilometres from Barcelona, two vehicles stood behind a police barrier.
Blue lights illuminated the trees.
An officer advanced slowly with a torch.
A few metres away, two soldiers stood beside one of the vehicles.
One watched the road.
The other spoke by radio to the control post set up further back.
“Can you see it?” the officer asked.
The second shook his head.
“Nothing.”
The radio crackled.
“Unit four, report.”
The officer raised the transmitter.
“We're still searching.”
Something cracked among the bushes.
Both stopped.
The soldiers looked towards the vegetation too.
Silence.
The first officer pointed his torch.
Nothing.
“It'll be the wind.”
The second looked at him.
Neither smiled.
Another sound.
Closer.
The light swept over the trees.
Stopped.
Two eyes reflected the beam.
Too high.
The officer stopped breathing.
Something enormous moved back into the vegetation.
One of the soldiers immediately reached for his radio.
“Control...”
The second officer slowly raised the transmitter.
The branches moved again.
This time in several places.
One.
Then another.
Then another.
The officer looked into the darkness.
“Control, there's more than one.”
Silence.
He pressed the transmitter.
“There are several.”
CUT TO BLACK.