
The steel elevator groaned as it descended slow, intentional, almost punishing. The smell of burnt oil lingered thick in the air, clinging to the silence between them. No one spoke. The only sound was the thundering of their hearts.
66Please respect copyright.PENANANZoynTfKtu
Jayden Crowe had his head lowered, trapped in the haunting echo of those final words:
66Please respect copyright.PENANASiii197c2I
"Prepare to lose something precious."
66Please respect copyright.PENANA1GC42hwuuz
With a jolt, the elevator stopped.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAvFvtLXjXao
The doors slid open with a hiss.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAyxyCEy7DHC
They stepped out into a room flooded with golden light, but it wasn't from any source they could see. The floor beneath them gleamed like glass but it wasn't just any glass. Beneath it shimmered images... reflections of memories. Each of them saw someone they had loved or still did. Someone their soul still whispered to in the dark.
66Please respect copyright.PENANADUCOO39bW3
Jayden saw Evelyn Mayfield. Arms around him, sunlight warming their faces, her smile reaching every corner of his heart. His chest tightened. His knees nearly buckled.
66Please respect copyright.PENANATmN7JapPNl
Rhea Morgan stared at a little girl Daisy. Her daughter. The one who had been ripped from her after a filthy custody battle stained with lies and corruption. Rhea forgot how to breathe.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAqaCpC1Eu41
Connor Black's eyes locked onto a frozen moment in time: his older brother, wide-eyed and bleeding. A gun in Connor's 14-year-old hands. An "accident" he had lied about for years. Said it was suicide. But it wasn't.
66Please respect copyright.PENANANr1Js81daa
Sienna Volk saw the patients. All of them. The ones who died under her care. They stared back from beneath the glass, cold and accusing.
66Please respect copyright.PENANALPtutlVRK1
A voice returned. Calm now. Almost... soothing.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAgm26CcF14V
"Welcome to the Chamber of Truth. Here, each of you will face a choice: lose someone... or lose a part of yourself."
66Please respect copyright.PENANAGrHGRoXRd3
"We begin with Jayden Crowe."
66Please respect copyright.PENANAnEbtAQipuM
Jayden froze.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAVdAJWpzJDq
"You have one minute to decide. Either sacrifice someone still living someone who matters deeply to you or erase every memory you've ever had of Evelyn Mayfield. If you refuse to choose... you lose them both."
66Please respect copyright.PENANA5T3o5bz9m8
His throat was dry. The others turned to look at him, the weight of the room unbearable.
66Please respect copyright.PENANA1bTV38CW9o
"Anna. Evelyn's daughter. She's still alive. She's with Evelyn's family. If you choose to give her up... she dies. If you choose to forget Evelyn, you lose everything you shared. You won't even remember loving her."
66Please respect copyright.PENANAePOuIlZtlX
Jayden slowly sank to the floor. His breath shook. Evelyn had been his anchor to humanity. But Anna? She was innocent. She didn't even know him.
66Please respect copyright.PENANA5k3juVwgkf
He closed his eyes.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAzg7t5jkwQP
Then whispered, "Erase her from me. All of it. Every piece."
66Please respect copyright.PENANA9ZR9ZD9nCs
Silence.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAkaI0fflqAf
"You have chosen to erase part of your soul. You have shown mercy and real pain. Proceed."
66Please respect copyright.PENANAxtkKo9iYdm
Jayden blinked.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAdkwU6EbAkC
A vacuum filled his chest.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAcMZo6g4ANN
He stood... hollow.
66Please respect copyright.PENANApT3szESVmL
"What is this?" he muttered. "Why does it hurt... when I don't know why?"
66Please respect copyright.PENANAl8lFDATFZ3
Rhea bit her lip, tears threatening. She knew. Evelyn was gone from him now. Forever.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAmta0ZIXAuh
One by one, they were called. One by one, they chose. Some clung to memory, letting go of the people they loved. Some gave up pieces of themselves. Others couldn't choose and the room made the choice for them.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAt6ULr5ZQLy
When it was over, only five remained:
66Please respect copyright.PENANAXlQAyyALBL
Jayden Crowe
66Please respect copyright.PENANAm4iXKoDQgX
Rhea Morgan
66Please respect copyright.PENANAEWNb7HuHsr
Sienna Volk
66Please respect copyright.PENANAmNtRFUzMTD
Connor Black
66Please respect copyright.PENANAUY1F9Am3d6
Luisa Delvane
66Please respect copyright.PENANAsTQnaUrqcT
A new voice emerged this one female. Soft. Familiar.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAmXtbyNdEat
Jayden's heart skipped. It sounded like Evelyn.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAvaebXtdfRY
"This was never a game. It was a process. Designed to strip away the shadows inside you. Now... it's time for the final truth."
66Please respect copyright.PENANAMXDepqAP9u
A panel in the wall slid open.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAwFWG1hJoWX
A single chair sat in the center of the room, surrounded by cables, needles, and a curved screen with pulsing radiation monitors. Below the chair, engraved into the metal, read:
66Please respect copyright.PENANAbl5gub9R1q
"Only one can know the whole truth."
66Please respect copyright.PENANAU6TjEbXEWA
"One of you will sit in the chair. The others will vote. Whoever sits will learn everything who created this, why it began, who's behind all the deaths. But after one hour... they will die. Exposure to the radiation of truth is fatal."
66Please respect copyright.PENANAiRCokmtU2U
Dead silence.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAFIzuKPCKiu
Rhea whispered, "I can't anymore... I've already lost everything."
66Please respect copyright.PENANAKZCha49xHq
Connor looked at Jayden. "You seem strong. Maybe it should be you."
66Please respect copyright.PENANANHnx4OZA2h
Jayden didn't answer.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAwnX9XU0pa3
Sienna curled in on herself, shaking. "I wish I had died earlier..."
66Please respect copyright.PENANA6UQD9xxkEs
Then Luisa stepped forward.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAquXL6wgGlj
Her voice didn't tremble.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAAc4gBuasJF
"I'll do it."
66Please respect copyright.PENANAK25lY7Mf2V
Everyone turned.
66Please respect copyright.PENANABngEjGFZ7m
"I've been searching for answers since the day I disappeared. They blamed me for what happened. Said I killed my friends. I didn't. I was innocent. If dying gives this pain meaning then let me die for something."
66Please respect copyright.PENANAP6y3k57MXd
Jayden's voice was hoarse. "Luisa... you know this isn't normal, right?"
66Please respect copyright.PENANADspTqu2TwD
She smiled through her grief. "I've been dead inside for years, Jayden. This... is the closest I'll get to living again."
66Please respect copyright.PENANADukTXESeJH
They voted. One by one.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAMWNDkLX9MD
Four votes.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAMQ6rLwkTkf
All for her.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAhGM46CqSTh
Luisa sat down.
66Please respect copyright.PENANA6eVbsEtQ4T
The restraints clicked. Lights flared red, then blue. The screen in front of her blinked on, showing the image of a man.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAxj7mK8xfDg
Cold eyes. A scar on his forehead in the shape of the Greek letter "Ω."
66Please respect copyright.PENANAVZoqBoYOsy
Luisa gasped. "It's him. That's the man. Dr. Kain Ezekiel. He ran the government's cognitive trial program. We were part of it."
66Please respect copyright.PENANACco7u3OviO
Jayden stumbled back. The voice Evelyn's voice returned.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAwhnfN0xc9Z
"Dr. Kain initiated Project SIREN a system designed to remove guilt from field operatives. But it went too far. It became torture. Everyone in this room... was an early test subject. And now... it ends."
66Please respect copyright.PENANACClqLOZMj5
Jayden's memories came crashing back.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAbvRVtvVg1G
The training. The mission. Evelyn.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAUDhI5diHeu
"If you ever remember, Jayden... tell them the whole truth."
66Please respect copyright.PENANALThNVan2d3
Luisa, weak now, whispered her last words:
66Please respect copyright.PENANAUDKuC8McAb
"Project Siren never ended. This whole thing... was the final test. To see if any of us... were still human."
66Please respect copyright.PENANAb6l8NB1JKM
She collapsed.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAv5Ipijd73k
Blood trickled from her ears.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAiznupnVJH9
She was gone.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAFsZwhNgwZC
The walls glowed.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAFcaQkTGYMk
A final door unlocked, hissing open.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAKSE6J7HYPf
Glowing letters above it read:
66Please respect copyright.PENANA7mod7qXBuy
"ONE FINAL ROOM: THE HEART OF IT ALL."
66Please respect copyright.PENANAtA4HxD6lUt
Jayden rose to his feet.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAM6MRiZDWZO
He didn't know what waited in that room.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAhJ3jMqxGxA
But for the first time, he understood:
66Please respect copyright.PENANAIGmwNbqiFG
This wasn't about survival any
66Please respect copyright.PENANAr6SKN8Rc8D
more.
66Please respect copyright.PENANANVmmDiYgFr
It was about truth.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAoE2tPm5hAy
And he was finally ready to face it.
66Please respect copyright.PENANAY2l8X6rOqa
(To be continued..................)
66Please respect copyright.PENANAXYX5gaYFOG
Leave a comment 💭
Rate it ⭐
Follow me EricProtyJr
66Please respect copyright.PENANABZ740K46Wg