Ava's fingers hovered over the object.
It looked harmless.
Too harmless.
A small black device, no bigger than a key fob, with a single cracked light on its surface.
Rayan's voice was tight.
"Ava… don't."
The man didn't move.
"Last chance," he said softly. "Once you see it, you can't unsee it."
Ava swallowed.
"I've already lived without answers long enough."
Rayan stepped closer.
"You don't know what that thing does to your mind."
Ava didn't look at him.
"That's the problem," she whispered. "I don't know anything."
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Then—
Ava grabbed it.
The moment her skin touched it—
Everything went white.
Not light.
Not darkness.
Something between both.
A voice echoed.
Soft.
Familiar.
"Ava… breathe."
Ava gasped.
"Who—who's there?"
No answer.
Only footsteps.
Then—
A room appeared.
White walls.
Cold air.
Metal table.
A younger version of her sat in a chair.
Strapped.
Ava stumbled back mentally.
"No… no, that's not me…"
But it was.
A voice spoke again.
Calm.
Scientific.
"She's stable."
Another voice replied.
"Memory suppression successful?"
A pause.
Then—
"Yes."
Ava's breath broke.
"What… is this…"
The scene shifted.
Rayan appeared.
But younger.
Different.
Colder.
Standing behind glass.
Watching her.
Ava's voice cracked inside the vision.
"Rayan…?"
He didn't respond.
Not to her.
To them.
"She's ready for deployment," someone said.
Ava's knees gave out—but there were no knees here.
Only memory.
"Deployment?" a voice asked.
"Yes. She reacts faster than the others."
A sharp silence.
Then the man from earlier—
"You sure she won't remember?"
A pause.
Then:
"She won't."
Ava screamed inside the memory.
"I DIDN'T AGREE TO THIS!"
But no one heard her.
The scene shifted again.
A corridor.
Blood on the floor.
Alarms screaming.
Ava running.
Barefoot.
Confused.
Rayan grabbing her arm.
"Move!"
She looked at him.
"Why am I here?!"
He hesitated.
Just for a second.
That second changed everything.
"I'll explain later," he said.
Ava shook her head.
"You always say that!"
A loud explosion.
The corridor shook.
A voice in the distance:
"Subject is escaping!"
Ava turned.
"Subject?! That's me?!"
Rayan pulled her forward.
"Don't stop!"
Ava yanked her arm away.
"Tell me what I am!"
Rayan froze.
Just for a heartbeat.
Then—
"You're not supposed to exist outside that facility."
Ava stared at him.
"…What?"
He looked away.
"…You were created for controlled missions."
Everything shattered inside her.
"No," Ava whispered. "No, I'm a person."
Rayan's voice dropped.
"You were… until they changed you."
The memory blurred.
The object in her hand buzzed.
Reality flickered.
And suddenly—
She was back.
On the ground.
Breathing hard.
Sweating.
Rayan was holding her.
"Ava! Hey—look at me!"
Her eyes shot open.
The man stood a few feet away, watching calmly.
Ava pulled back instantly.
"No… no no no…"
Rayan held her shoulders.
"Ava, you're here. You're safe."
She pushed him away.
"Safe?! You call that safe?!"
Her voice broke.
"I saw everything!"
Rayan went still.
Ava pointed at him.
"You knew me there. You knew ALL of it!"
He didn't deny it.
That silence again.
Ava laughed once.
A broken sound.
"So it's true."
The man spoke quietly.
"Now you understand."
Ava turned to him.
"No, I understand I was used."
The man nodded slightly.
"Yes."
Rayan stepped forward.
"That's not the whole truth."
Ava snapped.
"Then give me the rest!"
Rayan hesitated.
For the first time—
He looked afraid.
"You didn't just escape," he said.
Ava froze.
"What?"
Rayan looked at her directly.
"You were taken out."
Silence.
Ava whispered.
"…Taken out?"
The man added calmly.
"Deleted from their system."
Ava shook her head.
"I'm standing right here."
Rayan's voice lowered.
"You weren't supposed to survive it."
A pause.
"But you did."
Ava's breath trembled.
"Then why don't I remember everything?"
Rayan looked at her.
"Because someone saved you… and erased the rest."
Ava's voice cracked.
"…Who?"
Rayan answered quietly.
"…Me."
Everything stopped.
Even the air felt frozen.
Ava stared at him.
"You?"
Rayan nodded once.
"Yes."
The man smiled faintly.
"And that's where the real danger begins."
Ava stepped back.
"No… no, you don't get to just say that."
Rayan reached out.
"Ava, I did it to keep you alive."
Her voice shook.
"Or to control what I remember?"
Rayan didn't answer.
And that—
Was answer enough.
Ava backed away slowly.
"I don't know who you are anymore."
Rayan whispered.
"You never did."
Silence stretched.
The object on the ground flickered one last time—
Then shut off.
As if it had finished its job.
And somewhere far away—
An alarm went off.
The man turned his head slightly.
"…They noticed."
Ava looked up.
"Who?"
The man smiled.
"The people who built you."
Rayan tightened his jaw.
"They're coming back."
Ava's voice was barely audible.
"…For me?"
The man corrected softly.
"For what you became."
A long pause.
Then Ava whispered—
"Then I guess I need to know one last thing."
Rayan frowned.
"What?"
Ava looked at both of them.
"…Am I still human?"
Silence.
No easy answer.
No comfort.
Just truth waiting.
🔥