The Silent Witness

Chapter 10-Shadows Beneath The Surface

The car hummed quietly as Emma, Ryan, and Ava sped through the empty streets, the night thick and still around them. Felix curled up in Emma's lap, his gentle purring a stark contrast to the tension filling the vehicle. Emma stared out the window, watching the city scape blur into a series of shadowy buildings and dimly lit alleyways. Her mind was still spinning from the fragments of memories that Ava's device had stirred up.

The image of the lab haunted her. The cold sterility of the room, the man in the lab coat—it was so vivid, yet utterly foreign. It made no sense. Emma couldn't recall any moment in her past where she had been involved with something so clinical, so scientific. And yet, the memory felt real, as though it was something she had been trying to forget for years.

Ryan's voice broke through her thoughts. "We're almost there."

She turned to him, her brow furrowed. "Where exactly are we going?"

"To someone who might have answers," Ryan said, his hands tight on the steering wheel. "Someone who knew Sasha before... everything."

Emma's stomach clenched at the mention of Sasha. The image of her standing before her with that gun, her cold, detached expression, played in her mind like a broken record. It didn't add up. She had been her friend, her closest ally. How had it come to this?

"And you trust this person?" Ava asked from the back seat, her voice as calm and measured as always.

Ryan nodded, his gaze fixed on the road ahead. "As much as we can trust anyone at this point. He was part of our old network before things went south. If there's anything he knows about what Emma's memories are connected to, we need to hear it."

Emma shifted uneasily. "And what if he's working for Mr. Black?"

Ryan's jaw tightened. "We're being careful. That's why Ava's here."

Ava, silent and composed as always, met Emma's eyes in the rear-view mirror. "If things go wrong, we'll handle it."

The reassurance did little to calm the nerves that were gnawing at Emma's insides. Too much of her life had spun out of control in the past few days, and now she was being led into another situation with no guarantees of safety. But there was no turning back now. She had already taken the plunge—her memories, the fragments that had resurfaced, were only the beginning.

After what felt like an eternity, the car turned down a narrow alleyway and came to a stop in front of an old, nondescript building. The windows were boarded up, and the exterior had the look of a place long forgotten. Ryan killed the engine, and for a moment, the only sound was the faint buzzing of the city around them.

"Stay close," Ryan said, pushing open his door. Ava was out of the car in a heartbeat, scanning their surroundings with the alertness of someone who had seen too much to ever relax. Emma followed, clutching Felix tightly as they made their way toward the building.

Ryan led them to a heavy metal door, its paint chipped and rusted. He knocked three times, a specific rhythm that made Emma's skin prickle with unease. After a few tense seconds, the door creaked open, revealing a tall, wiry man with graying hair and sharp, calculating eyes. He looked them over for a moment before stepping aside, wordlessly inviting them in.

The inside of the building was no less decrepit than the exterior. The air was musty, the floor creaking beneath their feet as they followed the man down a dimly lit hallway. He didn't speak until they reached a small room at the end of the corridor, where he motioned for them to sit at a rickety wooden table.

"Ryan," the man said, his voice gravelly as he leaned against the door-frame. "It's been a long time."

Ryan nodded in acknowledgment. "Too long, Marcus."

Marcus's gaze shifted to Emma, lingering on her for a beat longer than she liked. "So this is the girl you were talking about."

Emma tensed under his scrutiny. "What do you know about me?"

Marcus smirked slightly, though there was no humour in it. "More than you think. I knew Sasha well. He talked about you a lot."

The mention of Sasha made Emma's heart clench. "What happened to him? Why did he—" Her voice faltered. "Why did he turn on me?"

Marcus studied her for a moment, his expression hard to read. "Sasha didn't turn on you because he wanted to, if that's what you're thinking. Whatever he did, he did because he had no other choice."

Emma blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"

Ryan and Ava exchanged a glance, but Marcus continued. "Sasha was part of something bigger than either of you realised. You think the rebellion was just about taking down a corrupt system? It was a front for something far more dangerous."

Emma's mind raced. "The lab," she whispered, the image flashing through her mind again. "I saw... I saw a lab."

Marcus nodded slowly. "And that's where it all started. That's where they put the pieces in place."

Emma's hands tightened around Felix, who was now wide-eyed and alert in her arms. "What pieces? What are you talking about?"

Marcus sighed, running a hand through his graying hair. "Years ago, when you and Sasha first joined the rebellion, you were involved in more than just political activism. The people you worked with... they were playing a long game. A game of control. They were after information—data that could shift the balance of power. And they needed people like you and Sasha to help gather it."

Emma shook her head. "But I don't remember any of that."

"That's the point," Marcus said. "You weren't supposed to remember. They buried the information deep in your subconscious. Hidden away, so no one—not even you—could access it without the right triggers."

A chill ran down Emma's spine. "But why? Why go through all that trouble?"

"Because the information you're carrying is worth more than you can imagine," Marcus said, his tone deadly serious. "It's the key to unlocking a system that can control everything—communications, infrastructure, even governments. Whoever holds that information has the power to bring nations to their knees."

Emma's breath caught in her throat. The weight of his words sank in, cold and heavy. She was a walking target, not because of anything she had done, but because of what had been planted inside her without her knowledge.

"And Mr. Black?" she asked, her voice shaky.

Marcus's eyes darkened. "He's after it too. But he's not the only one. There are others—people far more dangerous, who would stop at nothing to get what's in your head."

Emma's pulse quickened. The danger she was in felt even more suffocating now. "So what do we do?"

Marcus glanced at Ryan and Ava before answering. "There's only one way to protect you. We have to find a way to extract the information before they get to you. But it won't be easy. The process of unlocking those memories could—"

A loud crash echoed from down the hall, cutting Marcus off mid-sentence. Everyone froze, tension rippling through the room. Ava's hand went to her sidearm, her eyes sharp and focused.

"What was that?" Emma whispered, her heart pounding in her chest.

Marcus moved toward the door, but before he could reach it, another sound—a low, guttural growl—filled the air. Emma's blood ran cold. Felix, now on high alert, hissed in response.

Ryan stood quickly, motioning for Emma to get behind him. "We need to move. Now."

But as they turned to make their escape, the door burst open, and a figure stepped through. Tall, cloaked in shadows, with eyes that gleamed unnaturally in the dim light.

Emma's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the intruder. This wasn't just a person. It was something far worse.

Something she had hoped never to see again.