The Safe Zone - Ascension (Book 4)

Chapter 7: The Overseer's Reach

Lena:

The shadows of the bunker seemed heavier that night, thicker than usual. Maybe it was just exhaustion playing tricks on my mind, or perhaps it was the weight of what we had just discovered at the Western Front—what the Directive had done to those people. The image of their lifeless bodies, eyes open and frozen in terror, was seared into my memory. It was more than just death. It was the erasure of their humanity. And that's what Phase Three was all about.

The Directive wasn't just trying to control the world—they were trying to reshape it.

I sat at the edge of my cot, the cool metal biting into my skin through the fabric of my pants. The map of the region lay crumpled in my hands, covered in lines and markings that were starting to feel like meaningless scribbles. We had a plan—at least, we thought we did—but now it felt like the world was slipping through our fingers. The Overseer had made sure of that.

I looked over at Ethan, sitting across the room, staring blankly at the wall. His face was pale; his body slumped forward like all the energy had been drained out of him. He had barely said anything since we returned from the Western Front, and it was starting to scare me. I couldn't lose him—not again.

His silence weighed heavily on me, filling the room like a thick fog. I couldn't reach him, no matter how hard I tried.

"Ethan," I said softly, my voice foreign in the stillness. He didn't respond. Didn't even blink. His hands rested in his lap, fingers twitching slightly like they were moving to some invisible rhythm I couldn't hear. "Ethan, talk to me."

Finally, his eyes shifted, meeting mine with a hollow, faraway look. "I can't stop hearing him."

My stomach twisted at his words. I had suspected as much. Something had been wrong since we got him back from the Directive. He had moments of clarity, moments where he seemed like the old Ethan, but they were fleeting. Most of the time, it was like he was somewhere else, trapped in his mind. And now I knew why.

"The Overseer?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

He nodded, his fingers curling into fists. "He's always there, in the back of my head. Whispering. Watching."

A shiver ran down my spine. The Overseer. The puppet master behind everything. Even after we escaped their clutches, he still had his hooks in Ethan. I felt anger rise in my chest, but I forced it down. Anger wasn't going to help us right now.

"Ethan, we're going to figure this out," I said, keeping my voice steady despite my heart pounding. "Whatever they did to you, we're going to fix it."

His eyes flickered with doubt. "I don't know if it can be fixed, Lena. I don't even know if I'm... me anymore."

I reached across the small gap between us and took his hand, squeezing it tightly. "You're still you. Don't let him make you think otherwise."

For a moment, we just sat there, holding onto each other in the darkness, the only sound the low hum of the bunker's ventilation system. But the silence didn't last long.

The door creaked open, and Carter stepped into the room, his face grim. "We need to talk."

I glanced at Ethan, then back at Carter. "What is it?"

"We picked up a transmission. It's from the Overseer."

My heart sank. Of course, it was. The Overseer was always one step ahead, watching and pulling the strings. I let go of Ethan's hand and stood up, crossing the room to where Carter stood.

"Let's hear it," I said, my voice tight.

Carter nodded and led me down the narrow hallway to the communications room. It was a small, cramped space filled with old radios and outdated equipment we'd scavenged over the years. Zara was already there, hunched over one of the consoles, her fingers tapping rapidly across the controls as she tried to isolate the signal.