Esi is one of the best experts in the field of research of artifacts of the Dead world. She prefers to work in a laboratory or on a dig, where she can really relax while doing what she loves, to socialize with colleagues. Esi since childhood was interested in the history of a mysterious world that disappeared, leaving behind strange artifacts, but no matter how much they fought over them, they did not give away their secrets. During one of the expeditions, her group came across a strange creature that was quite hostile and even harmful, as it later turned out, but it (later Esi gave it the name Atta) became attached to Esi . The creature could not be assigned to any existing race, it belonged to a Dead world and came from behind a gate in one of the caves. How he managed to slip into our world, they could not find out. Esi has to keep Atta on the chain, despite the obvious attachment of the creature, because it is part of the Dead world, and therefore requires study and caution. The reason why Esi left the creature was because of its amazing properties. It was as sensitive to psi signals as the detectors, and Atta somehow kept in touch with the Dead world - it reacted immediately to sudden amplifications of psi signals even at a distance, behaving very restlessly and even aggressively. That is why, when it turned out that all the guards had mysteriously disappeared, Esi went to the site without hesitation. She couldn't miss the chance, perhaps for the first time in history, to be on the other side of the gate, and the creature would be a useful helper and guide. But there was another reason. Esi didn't want to admit it, even to herself. Jo was one of the missing guards, not just a friend, but someone she trusted implicitly, someone who accepted her longing for solitude while staying close, offering her a shoulder at any moment. Of course, she loved him. It's stupid to deny the obvious. But scientific work and research remained in the first place. It was only after Jo disappeared that she realized she couldn't even focus on her work because of the thought of him. When she arrived at the site, she immediately felt uneasy: something was wrong. Usually, the authorities were not called to the excavations, even if there were some incidents. There was a team at the site that Esi had only heard of, but had never met at work, much less on a dig. The appearance of this unit indicated that the matter was more serious than the Esi superiors were willing to admit. Anxiety gave way to fear, but Esi tried to suppress it with thoughts of work. Everything seems to be in place: a laptop computer for processing data, a mini-lab for working with samples, and a journal with the results of the most important experiments and research. Atta pulled the chain with his tail between his legs and spun around without stopping for a second. His behavior did not reassure Esi at all. She understood that this behavior only meant that the dead world was not as dead as it was supposed to be. Something on the other side of the gate had awakened and wanted to break out. The missing guardians were just the beginning…