The Safe Zone - Ascension (Book 4)

Chapter 5: The Truth About Phase Three

Lena:

The sun barely broke through the thick, gray clouds that hung over our hideout like a suffocating blanket. It felt like the world itself was holding its breath, waiting for something terrible to happen, something inevitable. The thick air pressed down on you, making it hard to move, think, and even breathe.

I stood just outside the entrance to the underground bunker; my arms crossed tightly over my chest as I watched the horizon. It had been hours since we'd escaped the Directive stronghold with Ethan, and even now, the adrenaline from the mission hadn't entirely worn off. My body still thrummed with the memory of the fight, the rush of narrowly escaping death, but now it was replaced with something darker.

Fear.

Ethan was inside, recovering—or at least, that's what I kept telling myself. But the truth was, I didn't know if he would recover. Physically, maybe. The doctors said he'd make it so that his body would heal, but mentally... after what the Directive had done to him... I wasn't so sure.

They had taken him and tried to turn him into one of their weapons, one of their mind-controlled soldiers. And they had almost succeeded.

I clenched my fists to keep the rage from bubbling to the surface. It wasn't just anger; it was something deeper that scared me. The Directive had crossed a line, a line they couldn't uncross. They had taken too much from me, from all of us, and now, with Phase Three looming over us like a shadow, they were about to take more.

I couldn't let that happen.

The footsteps behind me pulled me from my thoughts, and I turned to see Carter approaching, his face drawn and tired. He looked like I felt—exhausted, worn down by the weight of everything we'd been through, but still standing and fighting.

"How's he doing?" I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper.

Carter sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Physically, he's stable. But..." He hesitated, his gaze shifting to the door of the bunker. "Lena, he's not the same. Whatever they did to him... it's still there. He's been asking questions and talking about things that don't make sense. Half the time, he doesn't even know where he is."

I swallowed hard, the knot in my stomach tightening. I had known this would happen, known that the Directive wouldn't just let him go without leaving some mark, but hearing it out loud made it real in a way I wasn't ready for.

"I need to talk to him," I said, my voice firm even though my hands shook. "He knows something about Phase Three. He said he saw it and learned what they were planning. We need to know if we're going to stop them."

Carter nodded, though I could see the hesitation in his eyes. "Just... be careful, Lena. He's not the same Ethan you knew."

I didn't respond, couldn't respond. The truth was, I wasn't sure what to expect when I walked into that room. The man I had loved, the man I had fought so hard to save, might not even be in there anymore.

But I had to try.

I turned and entered the bunker, the cold, damp air wrapping around me like a shroud. The hallway was dimly lit; the only sound was the low hum of the generators that kept the place running. It wasn't much, but it was the best we could do for now. The Directive had pushed us to the brink, scattering the resistance and leaving us with scraps to hold onto. But scraps were enough. We'd rebuild. We always did.

Ethan was in the medical bay, a small, sterile room with flickering lights and outdated equipment. When I entered, my heart clenched at the sight of him.

He was sitting up on the cot, his back propped against the wall, his eyes half-closed, his face pale and drawn. He looked thinner and weaker than I remembered. Dark circles were under his eyes, and his skin had an almost sickly pallor, but his expression hit me the hardest.