Several hypotheses ran through my mind, but the one that gained the most strength was that apparently, Dareh had some kind of talent and we had teleported to Earth, far from the space station. I looked up at the sky, searching for an explosion that would confirm that our home had been destroyed, but the dense layer of clouds prevented me from seeing anything beyond.

I walked for a while until I left the street to find another one that was more lit up, but just as empty. I shook my head. I was alone on Earth, and it would only be a matter of time before biological contamination ended my life too, as it had done with all the humans on Earth.

"Hello?!" I exclaimed to check that, indeed, I was alone. "Is there anyone there?!"

At first, a disappointing silence surrounded me. I rubbed my arms again as I felt my fingertips tingle. We were probably below 30 ºF and the thin fabric of my uniform, made to withstand the comfortable 75 ºF at the academy, was insufficient.

I headed towards a door. If I didn't find some shelter, I would freeze to death. I tried to open it, but it was locked. That way I went from one door to another, until I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around, startled, unable to imagine what kind of beings would be inhabiting the Earth, but my surprise could not have been greater when I saw that they were men. Normal, ordinary men, without any kind of genetic mutation due to years of exposure to contamination. 

"He- hello..." I hesitated. My teeth were chattering and I couldn't speak properly. "I don't know if you can understand me, gentlemen, but I was wondering if you could..."

"Did you hear that, Steve?" said one of the men to another who was beside him, "She actually called us gentlemen. Haven't heard that word in ages."

The man smiled, but his smile gave me chills. He was missing some teeth and the few he had were a blackish yellow as a result of some disease and a great lack of oral hygiene. Perhaps they had suffered some mutation after all and that's why they were so unattractive. I tried to smile back, but I don't think it was sincere enough.

They all burst out laughing and I tried to follow them, but I didn't know quite what they were laughing so much about.

 "You see, I'm looking for my team." I tried to explain my problem. "I've lost them by mistake and I have no idea where I am or where they could be."

"We could help you, of course," laughed Steve. "But nothing in this world comes free."

"Do you have anything to give us?" asked another man with the same appearance as the first.

"Actually... no" I checked my pockets, but I was totally empty-handed. I didn't even have my tablet—I'd left it in music class. No food, no water... I was hoping these guys might have something to share. I really needed to find the rest of my group

"I think I know where they are," a third intervened.

I felt relieved. The rest of the men laughed again. Their laughter began to not please me very much. Were they laughing at me? 

"Would you be so kind, sir, to show me the way?" I tried to sound polite, but the harder I tried, the more they laughed. 

"Of course, my lady," he said, making a clumsy bow. As he bent down, he lost his balance and almost fell to the ground. The others burst out laughing again. "The way forward, my dear princess, is this."

The man pulled out a knife. It was so big that for a moment I thought it was a sword. I opened my eyes in horror and took a step back.To my misfortune, I seemed to have found a group of hostile men. I took a couple of steps back and bumped into a wall, but when I turned around, arms grabbed me and I realized that I hadn't bumped into a wall, but into a man so big he seemed like one.

"Excuse me," I mumbled as I tried to wriggle free of his grasp. The man with the knife stood in front of me and hit me in the face, leaving me dazed for a moment. 

"In exchange for finding your friends, you could give us something..." The man slid the weapon across my cheek and I felt with horror the cold, smooth touch of the weapon, which slid down my neck and began to easily cut the seams of my uniform. Then I understood what they intended. I had read about this kind of behavior in books. This type of behavior had existed among the men of Earth, going as far as to mistreat women as if they were mere objects for their pleasure without rights or privileges. I couldn't imagine that this kind of behavior still existed today.

Luckily, I had taken self-defense classes. I never imagined they would be of any use to me. You never know when something you've learned will come in handy. 

I leaped up and slammed my head into my assailant's nose. He recoiled with a howl, releasing me. Grabbing the chance, I struck the knife-wielder's throat with the bones of my wrist and bolted. I had to weave through a couple more men who, with vile, twisted grins, reveled in my distress, while mocking their companions for the pain I'd caused them. The screams and insults that echoed behind me were unimaginably disgusting. What had become of humanity? What had we turned into?

 I ran through the alleys feeling the adrenaline take over me. I had to find the rest of the group, otherwise I would die that night. Surprise had helped me escape the attackers, but I couldn't confront them directly and come out unscathed. I was no match for them in a fight.

I reached a crossroads, my heart pounding in my chest. The screams of my attackers echoed through the darkness, their voices coming from all around me. Lost and alone, I realized I was trapped in a living nightmare. Not only was I afraid of dying, but the thought of a slow, agonizing death filled me with dread

Suddenly, I felt hands sliding around my waist and my mouth and dragging me into a dark corner of the street. Whoever was this person, placed a sturdy cloth cover over us and remained quiet. I struggled to escape, thinking those barbaric men had caught me, and bit the hand that covered my mouth.

They let out a low growl as they pulled their hand away, but instead of letting me go, they clamped their hand over my mouth again, this time taking care to avoid another bite.

"Don't make a sound," a male voice said. "They'll leave soon. Be patient." 

 I shook again trying to break free, but at that moment, the men from before passed by, shouting and looking for me. I didn't dare move a muscle as I watched them tear through everything in sight.

"She's not here!" one of them shouted. 

"You go down that street over there. We'll go down the other one," another exclaimed furiously. 

A few minutes later, when calm returned to the street, my strange rescuer uncovered my mouth and loosened his grip on me.

"Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?" he whispered.

 "Y-yes... no! I'm fine," I replied, trembling, although I wasn't sure anymore if it was from the cold or from the fear I had been through.

I moved away from him and although I couldn't see his face well, I could tell that he was a young man of about twenty years old. He was wearing a thick coat. I was going to return the cover, which turned out to be a piece of clothing that he had placed over me, but he refused it.

"Use it yourself. You seem to need it more than I do."

 "Thank you," I whispered as I slipped my arms into the sleeves. It was soft and very warm, to the point that it made me shiver. 

"You should zip up the jacket too," he said, clearing his throat awkwardly and looking away. "With your clothes in that state, they'll probably mistake you for a woman of ill repute." 

I looked at my uniform and, sure enough, they had torn the fabric, revealing my entire upper chest. I covered myself in embarrassment and nodded gratefully again. 

The young man looked up and down the street before exiting the hollow under a staircase, where we had hidden, and shook his clothes to remove the remnants of snow that had clung to his clothes. 

I looked at him timidly. His face was very familiar to me. I didn't know why. He had light eyes and straight brown hair. He was tall, although quite thin. He didn't seem like the type who exercised a lot, but rather the type who spent a lot of time in front of a book.

"Thank you," I murmured. I left the hiding place without daring to look up and he snorted.

"Look, I don't know where you come from or how you ended up in that situation. I'm not sure I want to know either, but for your own good, don't go out again through one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city screaming like crazy. Do you want to get killed?"

"N-no..."

"You were lucky I was just passing by."

"I appreciate it..." He tilted his head to one side, annoyed. 

"Stop thanking me. Just don't get into trouble."

"Okay," I mumbled.

He watched me for a few moments, turned around, and started walking. I stood there, watching him go as I began to feel panic take over me again. I had nowhere to go, I was alone and the only person who had treated me well was about to leave.

"Wait!" I said, not quite knowing how to continue the sentence.

He turned and looked at me for a moment. He frowned and although I didn't have June's gift of knowing what people felt, I saw his forehead contract hesitantly. Then he shook his head and stopped in front of me again. 

"At least do you have somewhere to go?" 

I shook my head vigorously. I hoped he could shelter me, or help me find my friends. I had been very lucky to come across someone as kind as him. Luckily, not all survivors were hostile.

The young man snorted and looked up at the sky. "I know you're gonna be a pain in the neck, but I can't just leave you here. You're so reckless, you'll be dead before morning. You can stay at my place for the night"

"Thank you..."

"Do you know how to say anything else besides 'thank you'? I already told you, no need to thank me. I'll just shelter you for one night and then you're on your own."

I nodded. That would be enough. At dawn, I would go out again to look for the rest of the group

 We walked in silence, hiding whenever we heard voices in the distance. He was, at the moment, my only "ally" and I knew absolutely nothing about him. The only thing I could assume was that he wasn't a bad person. After all, he had saved me from danger and was also offering me shelter for the night. 

"Why are you doing this for me?" I asked as I watched him open a rather thick metal door with difficulty and invite me in.

"These are tough times. The war is wreaking havoc everywhere and it's even made good people do terrible things..." He paused for a moment, lost in thought, likely recalling a painful memory, before continuing. "If we didn't help each other, this earth would be absolute hell."

The word "Earth" struck a chord with me, and I longed to return to the academy to tell everyone that there were survivors. But then I remembered the final moments there. Everything was destroyed. Everyone was dead.

"What's your name?" he asked, changing the subject as he removed his jacket and approached a small machine. He flipped a switch, and heat began to emanate from it. It was a portable heating system. At that moment, it seemed like the most fascinating thing I had ever seen, and I instinctively moved closer to warm myself. We didn't have those at the academy.

His scrutinizing gaze, waiting for a response, pulled me from my thoughts.

"Oh, right, sorry. My name is Ada."

"And where are you from, Ada? You must not be from around here, judging by your clothes and the way you act in front of one of the most dangerous gangs in the city."

I looked at him again, unsure of what to say. Perhaps it wouldn't be wise to tell him the whole truth about me. Seeing my hesitation, he smiled.

"You know what? Don't tell me. I don't want to know."

He stood in front of me and gently pressed on my cheekbone. I flinched at the sharp pain, and he frowned.

"Someone gave you a shiner," he said, examining it closely. "Let me take a look at that."

He took a small case from a cupboard and pulled out some objects I had never seen before. Bottles and strange materials. What was he going to do to me?

I touched the bruise and felt my stomach churn as I noticed the pain. There was blood that was starting to dry, and it was swollen and looked bad.

He approached me with a white cloth dampened by one of the bottles and passed it over the wound. It hurt, but I tried to endure it. He didn't say a word, he just silently did whatever he was doing.

When he was finished, he put everything away without haste. As if he was thinking about what to say to me and how to say it. For me, it was surprising to know that there was life on Earth after all, but him, why did he look so confused? He looked at me, raising an eyebrow, studying my outfit, and shook his head with a tired smile.

"You're very strange, you know?" he approached an old but tidy kitchen that was in the same room and began to heat some water. "Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat."

"Yes, thank you."

The young man looked at me again for a second but shook his head again before continuing with the food.

"You show up in the middle of the street, without a coat in the middle of January, at night, without any protection, and screaming, to attract all the thugs in the area. All you needed was a sign that said 'Please take advantage of me, I'm as crazy as a bat'. What were you thinking? Do you really want to get killed that bad?"

His sarcasm caught me off guard and I lowered my gaze, unsure how to react to that. When the teachers spoke sarcastically, they were usually upset. Had I angered my unknown savior?

"I'm sorry," I mumbled in my well-trained apologetic tone.

"Why are you apologizing? You're the one who was getting into trouble."

"I've lost the rest of my team. I was looking for them."

"Yes, the whole neighborhood knows about that." He laughed and shook his head. "Well, I think if they're as crazy as you, they're already dead..."

"Dead?" I raised my head in shock and my stomach clenched. "That's impossible. Naewat would have defended them. I'm sure that, after all, they wouldn't have let them die."

"Did you say Naewat? What connection do you have with them?" the boy dropped everything he was doing and turned to look at me with a surprised expression on his face.

"Actually, I don't have any," I quickly objected. Judging by his surprise, it was likely that it was illegal to establish social relationships with them, just like at the academy.

"But you say there are Naewat in the group you've lost."

I nodded shyly.

"And they... Are they bad?" He insisted.

I thought about it for a moment. The Naewat woman seemed like she was going to hit me at any opportunity, and Dareh was a bit of a jerk, but they weren't hostile.

"No... They didn't seem very friendly, but to say they were bad, I wouldn't say that."

"Okay..." The young man paced back and forth nervously. "Okay, okay, okay..."

"What's wrong?" I asked, worried.

He looked at me and smiled. He pointed at me with one finger, but his eyes showed hope.

"If we're lucky, nothing bad will happen. If we find your group, would they wanna do a live stream?"

"I don't know. Live... what?"

"You know, like a live stream to tell the truth. Those jerks are planning a big attack, but I'm sure it won't help anyone. It'll just make things worse." He ran a hand through his hair. "If I can prove they're lying, the media will be all over them and they'll have to..."

"I don't understand anything. What are you talking about?"

Again he looked at me and cleared his throat as soon as he realized he was going overboard.

"Don't worry about it. It's just my crazy ideas. I guess I care too much and that's not very well seen lately."

"It's okay," I shrugged resignedly. At the academy, we had been taught not to seek more information than we were given, although, to be honest, I was annoyed not to know what he was talking about.

The young man continued preparing something in his small kitchen and soon handed me something that, judging by the smell and appearance, seemed edible.

"What is this?" I took it and opened it curiously. It smelled good and my stomach growled, asking for some food.

He looked at me, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I don't have much food. I can only offer you a ham and cheese sandwich. I hope it's enough for you."

"Sandwich?"

I didn't even know how to eat it, they hadn't taught us about this in class, so I opted for the simple thing. To imitate him, who had a replica of, as he had called it, the sandwich that he held in his hands. He bit into it without more ado. Without using cutlery or a plate. We had always been taught that eating with your hands was rude, but apparently, the rules worked differently there, so I decided to do the same.

At that moment, an explosion of different flavors hit my taste buds and my mouth watered with pleasure. After having eaten tasteless multivitamin pap for my whole life, this was a real treat. I could never go back to eating that stuff again.

"This is delicious!"

Again, the boy looked at me strangely.

"It's okay if you don't like it. You don't have to act. It's just a sandwich with yesterday's bread."

"I've never tasted a sandwich before. It's delicious."

He laughed. "You're kidding me, right?"

I looked around the house while I ate the sandwich. It was tidy but looked quite worn down. It was probably older than the boy in front of me, who was moving around the kitchen preparing a drink that smelled very good.

"Are there many survivors of the war?" I finally asked. His eyes searched mine again, alarmed.

"Survivors?"

"Yes, you know, from the interstellar war. The one that broke out to protect the Engel and all that..." I began to recite, but he interrupted me.

"What do you know about the Engel?" he asked with renewed interest.

"Well..." I began to quote from memory the text I had been studying for my Earth history class - "It was a revolutionary cure. An immune system booster invented by Dr. Tristan Salazar who..."

"Wait, what?"

This time I spoke with more uncertainty.

"An immune system booster..."

"Invented by who?"

"Dr. Tristan Salazar..."

He started laughing. "Okay, I get it. You're just messing with me."

"Excuse me?" I was offended. If there was one thing I was a great expert on, it was the history of Earth.

"Who sent you? Daniel? Alexander? Tell them there's no need to try to fix my life and that I can meet girls without their help," he said while chuckling softly.

"I don't know who those people are you're talking about, and I also don't like being contradicted on something I know without a shadow of a doubt. Earth history is one of the subjects I'm best prepared for," I replied angrily.

The young man's smile began to fade.

"Let me help you understand. This makes no sense. How could I have invented the Engel? The Engel is from the Naewat. They brought it to Earth."

"Now you're the one making fun of me," I replied uncertainly, watching every expression on his face and looking for a hint of sarcasm.

"If I had invented something as wonderful as that, everything would be different, don't you think?" he pointed to his humble home and I began to get angry, but then the pieces fell into place.

For a moment I had to stop processing arguments in my mind to pay attention to the words he had just said.

"What are you saying? Are you Dr. Salazar?"

"Well, I'm not a doctor, but my name is Tristan Salazar. Maybe it's a coincidence... What I do know is that no human being has 'invented' the Engel, as you say." His tone was still joking and that irritated me even more.