Jimin searched every floor of the hostel, going up and down the stairs as fast as he could, and had found no sign of Storm. As he left the building, he noticed that the moon was already in the sky and the army was covered by the darkness of night, which made him feel even more desperate. It would be harder to find the animal. Running around the building, Jimin called for the dog in a tone that wouldn't alarm anyone in the distance, but that could be heard if the animal was nearby. As he moved, gusts of icy wind hit his face, dried his lips, and forced his eyes to water so that he had to wipe them with the palms of his hands frequently.

           At one point, he couldn't tell if he was hearing his hurried footsteps, the frantic drumming of his heart, or the oscillation of his breathing. Perhaps all of them at the same time. Storm missing meant trouble. Jimin, Jungkook, and Tania could be punished if they found the animal running loose. Besides, they didn't know what they could do with the animal, not to mention the dangers it could get into. He understood that the animal hadn't gotten used to the space where it lived, but Jimin admitted to himself that the constancy with which the male ran away was beginning to irritate him.

           Frustrated by the failure of the search, he stopped near the entrance to the Lodge to catch his breath and thought about what he could do to deal with the situation. In a few seconds, he concluded that he needed to widen the scope of the search, and, to do so, he needed to find Jungkook and Tania, the only people who knew about the dog. He went back inside the building and knocked on the doors of his friends' rooms, but none of them answered. They probably hadn't returned from combat training. Jimin ran again, this time towards the Open Field, where cadet combatants often practiced, and ignored any looks he might attract because of the desperation in which he was moving. He had to find Storm.

After turning a few corners and passing different buildings, he could see what he was looking for from afar. The Open Field was a giant, flat space, covered in synthetic grass and surrounded by white stripes painted on the ground that molded the place into a rectangular shape. At the southern end, there were human body-shaped targets for shooting with firearms. In another area, Jimin noticed the mannequins used for hand-to-hand combat – it was from there that Jungkook stole one for their nightly training –, the warehouse filled with army jeeps, the plastic wall for climbing training, and a muddy space to the right filled with ropes, hanging nets, sandbags, and metal bars lined up in sequence for weight training.

Jimin recognized Tania's black power hairstyle, Jungkook's straight black hair, and a man he didn't know walking toward him. He sped up and braked when he reached the group, almost running over the fighter in the process.

— Jimin? — he asked, holding onto his shoulders to prevent him from taking him with him into a free fall towards the ground — Is everything all right?

— Jungkook. Tania — Jimin caught his breath between words and still couldn't finish the sentence. He needed to breathe so badly that his lungs were burning in protest at his lack of air.

— You must be the famous Jimin. Those two talk about you a lot — the boy who accompanied them came forward and gave him an open smile. He was the tallest of the four, wearing standard army clothing – a white short-sleeved shirt and shorts – and a metal orthopedic prosthesis that went down to his knees. His short hair, muscular arms, deep-set black eyes, and broad nose, combined with his black skin and the silver chain necklace around his neck, gave him the image of a strong, well-trained soldier — I'm Pedro, nice to meet you.

— You have to see how incredible Pedro is — said Jungkook with a genuine smile — One of the best marksmen I've ever seen and one of the fastest cadets.

— I do my best whenever I can — replied Pedro, visibly pleased with the compliment he had received.

— Why are men so unbearable? — Tania walked a few steps towards Jimin and put her hand on his shoulder — What's going on? You don't look well.

— I need to talk to you and Jungkook. Urgent business — when they saw the seriousness in Jimin's eyes, Pedro said goodbye to the group and his friends came closer to listen carefully. As soon as he had finished telling his friends what was going on, Jimin made a mental note to be more polite to Pedro the next time he saw him. He barely had time to be sociable with the boy who seemed like a nice person. Storm's disappearance was unforgivable.

— Did you look in every corner of your room? And the hostel? — Jungkook asked him with wide eyes.

— Yes, every inch of it. I can't find Storm.

— If they find that dog before we do, we're screwed. They'll punish us, I'm sure. Especially me. I'm not part of the project, so there's no reason why they can't punish me — whined Tania, pacing back and forth thinking of something.

— Let's split up and search the places near the lodge. I'll go into the forest and see if I can hear anything — commented Jungkook.

— Don't do that. Remember what happened the last time we were there?

— I'll be fine, Jimin. I won't go that far. Let's start searching — before he could say anything, his friends took off at a run through the army. Jimin tried to keep up, but fatigue from the previous race kept him a few meters behind. When they all arrived at the hostel, they split up and started looking in different places.

Jungkook went into the forest, Tania explored the streets and buildings in the area and Jimin was responsible for the green area before the Forest of Constellations. He called Storm until his throat scratched, strained his eyes so hard to look for the animal that his head hurt, and walked long distances to the point where his feet ached. Thoughts came and went at a frenetic pace, leading him to ponder ever worse and more disastrous scenarios. The darkness of the night was both a blessing and a curse, making it difficult to find the dog, but protecting them from being easily discovered. Jimin hoped that the animal would go unnoticed too.

           Almost an hour later, the three of them gathered at the back of the lodge, each with varying degrees of disappointment on their faces. No one had found Storm, not even a clue that might lead them to the animal. Tania walked back and forth, visibly nervous. Jungkook stood a few meters away and closed his eyes, searching his superhuman hearing for any sign of him. Jimin was sitting on the floor, hugging his knees and trying to control his unsteady breathing. At that point, he could no longer hope to find the animal.

           About to get up and tell his friends that they should go back to their rooms and start searching again in the morning, the sound of footsteps on metal in the building caught his attention. Jimin approached at a brisk pace and the sound of movement became more intense. Something or someone seemed to be walking inside the wall. The boy stuck his right ear to the cold tile that covered the building's external structure and noticed that, as well as the slow walk, he could hear a constant gasp.

— Storm? — As soon as he uttered the dog's name, the sounds of footsteps became intense, and then a bark echoed off the wall.

— STORM! — he shouted this time, attracting the attention of Jungkook and Tania, who ran towards him.

— What's going on, Jimin? — asked Tania and, before she could say anything, the noises came crashing down to the floor. In an instant, from a hole in the lower part of the concrete building's wall, close to the ground, Storm emerged as quickly as possible, skidding across the floor when he saw Jimin and running towards him. The dog barked and jumped at the young man, his tail wagging like the propeller of a helicopter. Jimin crouched down and him, so relieved that he couldn't process what had happened.

           — It's not possible — said Jungkook, ducking his head into the hole where the dog had come out — They're ventilation ducts. They seem to run the length of the building. He was in them somehow.

           — How did this dog get in there? — Tania was incredulous — What kind of animal is it? Is it possessed by the devil?

           — I have no idea — the fighter finally concluded. Jimin kept his hands on the animal's back, making sure it didn't run away again.

           — We need to find out how he got into the pipe to avoid something similar in the future — Tania approached the hole and crouched down next to Jungkook — Storm, come here — she called and the dog obeyed — How did you get here?

           He tilted his head and stared at her in silence, as if trying to understand what she was saying.

           — The tunnels — Tania slammed her hand against the metal part of the tubes, producing an echo that traveled the length of them — How did you get in there? — Her friend's movement seemed to awaken something in Storm, who soon entered the ventilation pipes and disappeared.

           — Tania, what have you done?

— Trust me — She put one of her ears against the wall of the building and followed the sound the dog made as it walked through the metal pipes — Jungkook, help me out here — The boy, on standby, took the same position as her and they both began to monitor Storm. After a few minutes of listening to the walls, they both retreated.

— Jungkook, where was the last time you heard anything?

— More or less over there — he pointed to one of the windows above, which overlooked the Forest of Constellations.

— That's my bedroom window — said Jimin.

— That's it — Tania snapped her fingers and smiled confidently — Follow me.

The three of them set off in the direction of the Lodge