I drifted in the liminal space between a half-remembered nightmare and the cold, relentless bite of reality. The first thing to slice through the fog was the chill, a bone-deep cold that seeped into my skin, reminding me I was still alive, tethered to this grim existence.
My head throbbed, a dull, persistent ache, like a hangover from whatever hell had just passed. I forced my eyes open, only to regret it. The overhead light flickered with all the subtlety of a migraine trigger. Great.
Took a moment for the world to settle. Everything swam at first, fragments of memory bobbing up like wreckage, The blinding flash, the searing pain, Larek’s gasp, all of it came rushing back, distorted.
I pushed myself upright, wincing as the world tilted on a bad axis. The floor was a patchwork of cold metal and grime, and the air reeked so sharp it set my teeth on edge. Across from me, Larek lay slumped, breath ragged, eyes cracked open just enough to register pain.
Arvie’s presence was a comforting feeling that reminded me I wasn’t entirely alone in this twisted nightmare. She wasn’t chirping yet. That alone told me things were bad.
“Arvie?” I reached out mentally, fumbling like someone trying to reboot an ancient terminal.
“Took you long enough,” she said, voice clipped, but laced with worry. “We need to get a grip before they come for us.”
I scanned the cramped cell, a simple metal box, no windows, no tech. Nothing but a grimy door, and Larek’s shallow breaths filling the space. The memory of our capture crawled back into focus, piece by piece.
Larek stirred. His eyes found mine, some recognition flickering behind the pain.
“You’re here,” he rasped, eyes darting to the door like it might explode any second. He opened his mouth to say more, but before he could, the door slammed open.
Two figures entered, hulking and deliberate. Shadows hid their faces, but their movements were sharp. “Up. Now.” Growled one of them something guttural.
They didn’t bother with me, just yanked Larek to his feet. He winced, but didn’t resist. Just gave me a resigned look.
Then they were gone. Door slammed behind them, and the silence that followed was thick and oppressive, broken only by a faint drip.
“Well, that was unpleasant,” Arvie quipped, cutting the tension with her usual mix of sarcasm and concern.
I stared at the metal panel where the door had been. “What now?”
A pause. “We wait. Not much else to do.”
I leaned back against the cold wall, closing my eyes. "If they come back."
“They will.” Her voice serious. “You’re too interesting to ignore.”
Time dragged on, a slow, torturous crawl. I tried to piece together the shattered fragments of memory, but every path led back to the same question: Who am I?
When the door creaked open again, I almost welcomed it. New pair of goons. Same no-face aesthetic. They dragged me out into a rust-streaked hallway that smelled like wet decay and burned circuitry. Every instinct told me to fight, but I didn’t have the strength.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKzjxi50BH
They shoved me into a chamber. Dim lights. One metal table covered in tools that looked like torture devices. I forced myself to stay still as they strapped me into a cold, metal chair.
One of them leaned in, breath hot and metallic against my face. “Who are you?”
Hell of a question.
The memories flashed, fragments of a shattered past. Waking in the wreckage, breathing the toxin, finding the relic and weapon, meeting Jaraek and Reya, busted Neurolink,being dragged to Larek, and then the attack, but before all that… nothing. Just a void.
“I… I don’t know,” I muttered, each word scratching at my throat.
They backed off. Whispered to someone I couldn’t see. Their murmurs blurred, drowned out by the throb in my head.
“Don’t know, huh?” Cold voice. “We’ll see about that.” They paused, then leveled a fresh question at me, sharper now. “Why were you with Larek?”
I swallowed, feeling the walls close in. “My NeuroLink’s busted,” I said. “Droids got suspicious, so they dragged me to Larek for interrogation.”
The figure nodded, confirming they’d heard something about that.
“Is it true, then?” The figure’s voice had an edge now. “You can breathe the miasma?”
“Yeah,” I said, keeping my voice flat. “Lucky me.”
They didn’t respond to that. Just gave a nod to the other figure, who stepped forward, holding a sleek, humming device. Its surface glowed with faint symbols, pulsing like a heartbeat. Without warning, they slammed it against my neck.
Lightning arced through me, white-hot, searing every nerve. My thoughts fractured, shards of memory slicing through the unrelenting maelstrom of pain. Colors bled out, shapes collapsing into a chaotic mess as the device hunted for something I didn’t have, tearing through the wreckage of my brain like they’d find some hidden truth.
My jaw locked, muscles straining as I fought to stay conscious. And then, abruptly, it was over. They pulled the device away, leaving me gasping, heart pounding. The figure stared at me, frustration twisting their face.
“No data. No identity. Just a blank slate,” he growled, passing the device like it was useless. “Throw him back.”
Dragged again. Back through rust and rot. Dropped in the cell like trash in a chute. Larek was gone. Just me now.
“Charming. They didn’t seem too happy with your readings, did they?” Arvie whispered in my mind, her mischievous voice cutting through the haze of pain. “Looks like I’ve been having a little fun with them.”
“Did you mess with them?”
“Of course. Couldn’t let them poke around in your head, now, could I?”
I managed a weak laugh. “What do they want with Larek?”
Arvie’s tone darkened. “Whatever it is, it’s bad. We’ll face it together.”
I closed my eyes. Let her voice anchor me in the cold. The world might be crumbling, but I had her. For now, that had to be enough.
Yet even that small comfort struggled to pierce the oppressive weight tightening around me, as my mind wrestled against the ever-present shackles of doubt.
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