Alex

Shadows of the Past

The first thing I felt was a dull, aching hum radiating through my body. Not pain exactly, but something just shy of it—a discomfort that tugged at the edges of my consciousness. My eyelids were heavy, and my head felt stuffed with cotton. I groaned, forcing myself to sit up.

The room was dimly lit and unfamiliar. Wooden beams lined the ceiling, and the faint smell of antiseptic hung in the air. A fire crackled in a stone hearth on the far side of the room, casting dancing shadows across the walls.

“Easy,” a familiar voice said. “You’re not fully recovered yet.”

I turned my head slowly, finding Dr. Meyers sitting at a small desk cluttered with wires, monitors, and a laptop that glowed faintly in the dim light. He looked exhausted, dark circles under his eyes, his hair messier than usual.

“Where are we?” I croaked, my voice raspy.

“Safe house,” he replied without looking away from the screen. His fingers danced over the keyboard, pausing occasionally to adjust a small device connected to his laptop. “About sixty miles from the farm. ALPHA guided us here after the detonation.”

The detonation. The memory of the EMP flickered in my mind—the searing light, the thunderous pulse, the way it had scrambled my systems, and left me vulnerable.

“What happened to me?” I asked, touching the side of my head.

“You were too close to the EMP,” Meyers said, glancing over his shoulder at me. “Some of your systems overloaded. ALPHA managed to stabilize you, but... well, let’s just say you’re not at 100% right now.”

I flexed my fingers, testing the connection between thought and movement. Everything felt sluggish, like wading through molasses.

“You’ll heal,” Meyers reassured me, turning back to his work. “But it’ll take time. For now, try to rest.”

I wasn’t sure I could, not with the way my mind churned. I swung my legs over the side of the cot, ignoring the wave of dizziness that followed. “What are you working on?”

“Trying to hack into The Consortium’s systems,” he said. “We need to know their next move. Samuel’s visit wasn’t random—they’re testing us, probing for weaknesses.”

“And?”

“And... they’ve beefed up their security since I last had access.” Meyers frowned at the screen, his fingers slowing as if deep in thought. “But I’ll get in. It’s just a matter of time.”

I watched him work for a moment, noting the tension in his shoulders, the tight set of his jaw. Something was weighing on him, more than just the mission.

“Doc,” I said softly, drawing his attention. He looked up, his eyes tired but attentive. “Why did you really join The Consortium?”

He hesitated, his hands hovering over the keyboard. “You already know why. I wanted to change the world, to help people.”

“But that’s not the whole truth, is it?” I pressed.

Dr. Meyers leaned back in his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Jacob and I... we started out with the same vision. We were idealists, both of us. But somewhere along the way, he changed. He became... ambitious, ruthless. He started seeing people as tools, not lives to save.”

“And you?”

“I stayed because I thought I could fix it. That I could rein him in.” Meyers gave a bitter laugh. “I was wrong. By the time I realized what he was turning The Consortium into, it was too late. He’d already taken everything—my research, my patents, my reputation.”