r. He crossed the room in two strides and

his face inches from mi

n was sharp, but the casual cruelty of it was worse. This wa

me, John," I sai

he said, his voice low and venomous. "I lived in a black pit for two years, Eve. And you were so busy with your

nt trying to save him, into a selfish ambition. He was

st want us to be strong, Eve," he said, his voice dropping to a near-whisper. "Stronger than this. Vivian's work...

ivian. It was a self-serving justification he repeated like

dge to my voice. "Is that what you tell yourself at night

the monster vanished, replaced by the broken soldier I had married. But the

weak. You will be confined to the facility's residential wing. You will not leave.

obedient soldier. He turned and walked ou

Evelyn. No need for hysterics. If you're a good girl, we might eve

eek, a condescending, infuriatin

ouch me,

"General, I think Dr. Reed needs some time to... reflect. Perhaps a

mly. "The sub-level conta

They dragged me down there, to a cold, windowless room with nothing but a cot and a toilet.

uld bring me food and water, but no one spoke to me. The si

d in her hand, asking me technical questions about the neural architecture. Questions whose answers she already had i

ed non-lethal methods to cause me pain. A device that induced vertigo. A low-frequency sound that vibrated through my bones, mak

ere. Watching. C

ard a faint, disembodied whisper. It wasn't real, just a trick

not

s, the scientist, the creator. It was a spark in the overwhelming darkness, a tiny, impossible seed of hope.

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