In the Empty City

The Final Decision

The room fell into a heavy silence as they both absorbed the gravity of what they had just discovered. This wasn't some random disappearance or plague. This was the result of a secret government experiment gone horribly wrong—an experiment that had torn apart reality itself.

Deanna leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples. "I... I don't know what to think anymore. We've been looking for answers, and now that we have some, it feels... worse."

Jason nodded in agreement. "I know. It's like we have more questions than before. What happened to the people? Is there a way to reverse it? And if this experiment is the cause... who's going to fix it?"

They sat in silence for a few minutes, both lost in thought. The documents were important, but they were incomplete. There had to be more—somewhere. If this was a government operation, there would be other locations, more files, maybe even surviving personnel who knew the full truth.

They sat in silence for several long minutes, both lost in their own thoughts, the weight of what they had just uncovered sinking in. The documents were undeniably important, but they were also incomplete—fragments of a larger, more sinister puzzle. Jason stared down at the papers spread across the desk, the implications churning in his mind. There had to be more—somewhere. If this was a government operation, there were bound to be other facilities, other files, maybe even surviving personnel who knew the full truth.

But the real question hung heavily between them: Was it worth it?

Deanna finally broke the silence, her voice quiet but firm. "Even if we find more, Jason... what could we actually do? We're not scientists or physicists. We don't have the skills to reverse-engineer something like this."

Jason rubbed his hands over his face, the tension building in his shoulders. "I've been thinking about that too," he admitted. "Even if we found everything—every file, every piece of data—what could we do with it? What if we made things worse? What if... opening one of these portals again pulls us into the wrong place? Or worse, destroys whatever's left of this reality."

Deanna's gaze was distant, staring out of the dusty window at the fading sunlight. The three dogs were lying peacefully nearby, completely oblivious to the monumental decision they were contemplating. "And what if we just... let it be?" she asked softly. "We've survived this long. We have the dogs, the garden... maybe we should stop chasing answers we might never fully understand."

Jason nodded, but the unease on his face didn't disappear. "I get that, but... what if the people we lost—what if Troy, Ava—what if they're still out there, somewhere? What if they need us to find a way to bring them back?"

Deanna winced, her heart clenching at the mention of Troy. It had been weeks, and the sharp pain of his absence had dulled, but it was still there, gnawing at the edges of her mind. "I've thought about that too, Jason, but... would they want us to risk everything? Would Troy or Ava want us to throw away the life we've managed to build just to chase some faint hope of finding them?"

Jason fell silent, considering her words. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I can't shake the feeling that this experiment is the key to everything. Maybe it's not just about them. Maybe this... maybe there's a way to fix everything, for everyone."

Deanna shook her head slowly. "Or maybe we open a portal and something even worse comes through. What if we don't just lose them, Jason? What if we lose ourselves, too?"

They both sat there, weighed down by the enormity of the decision. Deanna's hand absentmindedly stroked one of the dogs, grounding her as she spoke. "We've been through so much already. We've survived. We've managed to build something—something small, but it's ours. I don't want to lose that."