Chapter 7 — The Price of a Memory
Victor didn't sleep.
He tried.
For nearly an hour, he lay motionless beneath the thin blanket, staring at the ceiling.
Every time he closed his eyes, the same fragments returned.
The grave.
The flames.
The creature's eyes.
Elena's smile.
The photograph.
And the impossible panel floating in front of him.
[MEMORY: 0.02%]
Victor opened his eyes.
The room was still dark.
He looked toward the empty space beside the bed.
"System."
The panel appeared immediately.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION: 0.02%]
Victor sat up.
"So you were listening."
No response.
He studied the panel.
It wasn't transparent enough to see through completely, yet somehow he could still see the room behind it.
He raised his hand.
The panel remained perfectly still.
"Can you understand me?"
Nothing.
Victor sighed.
"Useful."
He looked at the status again.
Name: Victor Hale
Level: 1
Race: Human
Condition: Stable
Memory: 0.02%
Power: Locked
Skills: None
Gate Affinity: Unknown
Hidden Attribute: ———
His eyes stopped on the word Human.
For some reason, it bothered him.
Maybe because of the creature in the laboratory.
Maybe because of the way Ward had looked at him.
Or maybe because of the sensation he'd felt when the creature looked into his eyes.
Victor touched his chest.
Nothing.
His heartbeat was normal.
He looked back at the System.
"Why did you show me that creature?"
The System remained silent.
Victor leaned forward.
"Was it connected to my memories?"
Nothing.
"Was it connected to me?"
Nothing.
Victor rubbed his face.
"You're terrible at conversation."
The panel flickered.
Victor froze.
A new message appeared.
[QUERY NOT RECOGNIZED.]
Victor stared.
Then slowly smiled.
"So you can respond."
Another message appeared.
[LIMITED COMMUNICATION AVAILABLE.]
Victor's smile disappeared.
"Fine."
He thought carefully before speaking.
"What am I?"
The System remained silent.
Then:
[QUESTION REQUIRES HIGHER ACCESS.]
Victor frowned.
"What determines access?"
No response.
He tried again.
"What is locked?"
This time, the answer came immediately.
[MEMORY.]
[POWER.]
[SKILLS.]
[ORIGIN.]
Victor's expression changed.
"Origin?"
No response.
He stared at the word.
That was new.
His origin.
Whatever that meant.
He tried asking again.
"What is my origin?"
[ACCESS DENIED.]
Victor leaned back.
"Of course."
He looked at the final requirement.
[GATE ACCESS REQUIRED.]
"So entering a Gate unlocks everything?"
The System remained silent.
Victor narrowed his eyes.
"That's not an answer."
Nothing.
He sighed.
"Fine."
The panel disappeared.
Victor lay back down.
He still couldn't sleep.
But now he had another problem.
He knew where his answers were.
Somewhere behind a Gate.
Morning came without sunlight.
Victor knew only because the facility's artificial lights changed.
A soft chime sounded from the ceiling.
His door unlocked.
Victor sat up immediately.
He hadn't heard anyone approaching.
A tray was pushed through a small opening.
Breakfast.
Bread.
Eggs.
Fruit.
Coffee.
Victor stared at it.
He hadn't realized how hungry he was.
He ate everything.
A few minutes later, the door opened.
Lyra stood outside.
"You're awake."
Victor looked at her.
"I didn't sleep."
"I guessed."
She glanced at the empty tray.
"At least you ate."
Victor stood.
"Where are we going?"
"Your clothes arrived."
Victor looked down at the hospital clothing he'd been wearing.
"Finally."
Lyra handed him a sealed bag.
"Bathroom is through there."
Victor took it.
As she turned away, he stopped her.
"Lyra."
She looked back.
"Yes?"
"The creature downstairs."
Her expression changed slightly.
"What about it?"
"It spoke to me."
Lyra stared at him.
"Are you sure?"
Victor nodded.
"It said something."
"What?"
Victor hesitated.
"You came back."
He decided not to tell her.
"It was difficult to understand."
Lyra studied him for several seconds.
Then nodded.
"If you hear it again, tell me."
"Why?"
"Because those things don't normally speak."
She walked away.
Victor watched her disappear down the corridor.
That answer was more interesting than she probably realized.
An hour later, Victor found himself sitting across from Ward.
A folder lay on the table.
Thick.
Old.
Victor looked at it.
"That's mine?"
Ward nodded.
"Part of it."
Victor opened the folder.
The first page contained his photograph.
Name:
VICTOR HALE
Age:
27
Victor stopped.
"Twenty-seven?"
Ward nodded.
Victor looked at him.
"How old am I now?"
"Thirty-six."
Victor stared at the number.
Nine years.
Gone.
He looked back at the photograph.
Twenty-seven-year-old Victor stared back.
He looked almost identical.
That disturbed him.
"People don't age?"
Ward understood immediately.
"Normally, they do."
"Then why don't I?"
"We don't know."
Victor turned another page.
Education.
University records.
Employment.
Research credentials.
Everything was there.
But strangely—
nothing felt familiar.
It was like reading the biography of a stranger who happened to have his face.
Victor continued.
Then he reached a page marked:
PROJECT ECLIPSE
His hand stopped.
"What is this?"
Ward's expression changed.
"That's classified."
Victor looked at him.
"It's my file."
"It doesn't matter."
"I was part of it."
"Yes."
"Then I have a right to know."
Ward leaned back.
"You have a right to know what we can prove."
Victor stared at him.
"What's Project Eclipse?"
Ward was silent.
Then he closed the folder.
"Not today."
Victor's jaw tightened.
"Why?"
"Because I don't know whether you're ready."
Victor laughed once.
"You keep deciding that for me."
Ward didn't respond.
Victor stood.
"Then I'll find out without you."
Ward's eyes followed him.
"Victor."
Victor stopped.
Ward's voice was quieter.
"There are things in that file that people have killed for."
Victor turned.
"People have already tried to kill me."
Ward held his gaze.
"That's exactly why I'm warning you."
The meeting ended.
Victor returned to his room.
He couldn't stop thinking about Project Eclipse.
Or the woman in the photograph.
Or the creature that had recognized him.
He sat at the desk.
The System appeared.
[MEMORY FRAGMENT DETECTED.]
Victor immediately stood.
"What?"
The panel changed.
[MEMORY FRAGMENT: PROJECT ECLIPSE]
Victor's heart began pounding.
The room disappeared.
For a fraction of a second, he saw another place.
A laboratory.
Not the facility he'd just left.
This one was enormous.
Machines covered the walls.
A massive circular structure occupied the center of the chamber.
A Gate.
Victor knew that immediately.
Several people stood around it.
Scientists.
Soldiers.
And Elena.
She was beside him.
Her face was terrified.
Victor heard his own voice.
"We shouldn't be here."
Elena grabbed his arm.
"Then why did they bring us?"
Victor looked toward the Gate.
Something was moving behind it.
Not a creature.
A silhouette.
Human-shaped.
Too tall.
Too thin.
Victor heard another voice behind him.
"Open it."
Victor turned.
A man stood there.
His face was hidden by darkness.
He held a device in his hand.
"Victor, you're the only one who can stabilize it."
The memory shattered.
Victor gasped.
He was back in his room.
His hands were gripping the desk.
Sweat covered his forehead.
The System remained before him.
[MEMORY RECOVERY: 0.04%]
Victor stared.
It had increased again.
But there was something else.
[MEMORY FRAGMENT RECOVERED.]
[PROJECT ECLIPSE]
Victor whispered:
"Eclipse..."
A sudden knock came from the door.
Victor jumped.
The System vanished instantly.
The door opened.
Lyra stood outside.
"Ward wants you."
Victor wiped the sweat from his face.
"Now?"
"Now."
Victor looked toward the place where the System had disappeared.
Then back at Lyra.
"What happened?"
She hesitated.
"One of the Gates moved."
Victor's expression changed.
"What does that mean?"
Lyra's face was unusually serious.
"It means something came through."
They reached the command center minutes later.
The atmosphere had completely changed.
People were moving quickly.
Orders were being shouted.
Screens displayed maps.
One location flashed red.
Victor recognized it.
Not because he'd seen it before.
Because something inside him did.
A Gate.
Ward stood in front of the main screen.
He turned when Victor entered.
"We have a problem."
Victor looked at the screen.
"What kind?"
Ward pointed toward the map.
"A Gate opened without a registered activation."
Victor frowned.
"Is that unusual?"
"Extremely."
"Why?"
Ward looked at him.
"Because Gates don't normally open by themselves."
Victor stared at the screen.
The red marker pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then the System appeared.
Only Victor could see it.
[GATE DETECTED]
His breathing stopped.
Another line appeared.
[DISTANCE: 18.7 KM]
Then:
[MEMORY RESONANCE: HIGH]
Victor stared at the message.
The Gate wasn't merely nearby.
It was connected to him.
Ward spoke again.
"We're sending a team."
Victor looked at him.
"How long?"
"Ten minutes."
Victor's eyes returned to the System.
[RECOMMENDATION: ENTER GATE]
Victor swallowed.
Ward continued:
"You stay here."
Victor looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because until we understand what you are, you're too valuable to risk."
Victor almost laughed.
Too valuable.
Yesterday he had been a prisoner.
Today he was an asset.
Tomorrow?
He didn't know.
Victor looked at the red marker.
Something deep inside him was pulling toward it.
Not curiosity.
Not courage.
Something closer to recognition.
As if some forgotten part of him already knew what waited on the other side.
Victor turned toward Ward.
"I want to see the Gate."
"No."
"I wasn't asking."
Ward's expression hardened.
"And I'm telling you no."
Victor stared at him.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Victor felt something beneath his skin.
A faint pressure.
The same sensation he'd experienced when the creature looked at him.
The System appeared again.
This time, the message was different.
[WARNING]
Victor's eyes widened.
[MEMORY RESONANCE EXCEEDS SAFE LIMIT.]
A second message appeared.
[TARGET HAS DETECTED THE HOST.]
Victor's blood ran cold.
He looked toward the red marker.
Something on the other side of that Gate—
had sensed him.
Ward noticed Victor's expression.
"What is it?"
Victor looked at him.
He almost told him.
Instead, he said:
"We need to get there."
Ward frowned.
"You don't understand what you're asking."
Victor looked back at the screen.
"No."
His voice was quiet.
"But I think something over there understands me."
The command center fell silent.
Victor didn't know why he'd said it.
He didn't know whether it was true.
But somewhere beyond the Gate—
something had just awakened.
And for the first time since Victor opened his eyes in the mass grave,
he had the terrible feeling that he wasn't the one hunting for his past.
His past was hunting for him.