ERASED : Act 2 – The Descent

Chapter 10 – Descent

The metal rungs of the ladder were cold beneath my hands as I climbed downward, the dim glow from the opening above shrinking with every step. The air grew heavier, damp, and laced with the scent of rust and something faintly metallic. The unknown yawned beneath me, swallowing me whole.

Ansel followed; his movements were quick but deliberate. The man—who still hadn’t given me a name—closed the panel above us, plunging us into darkness. A small light clicked on a moment later, illuminating the tunnel in a sickly yellow glow.

“This leads to an abandoned sector of the facility,” the man explained. “Biogen built beneath the city for projects that weren’t meant to see daylight. If your brother is still here, this is where they kept him.”

My stomach twisted. “And if he isn’t?”

Ansel’s voice was quiet. “Then we find out where they took him.”

The tunnel stretched forward, the walls lined with pipes that pulsed faintly, like veins beneath the skin of something living. The hum of distant machinery reverberated through the ground, vibrating beneath my feet. Each step echoed, amplifying the silence between us.

I turned to the man. “You said I agreed to forget him. That I made them take him instead. Why would I do that?”

He hesitated before answering. “Because they gave you a choice.”

“What kind of choice?”

He stopped walking. He turned to face me. “Your memories, or his life.”

A sharp chill crawled up my spine. “What does that mean?”

“They gave you an ultimatum. Either he disappeared, and you forgot everything, or he stayed—but you lived with the knowledge of what they’d done to him. And you chose the only way to survive.”

The words hit me like a fist to the gut. My breath came shallow. “No. I wouldn’t have—”

“You did.”

Ansel placed a hand on my shoulder, grounding me. “Whatever happened, Lydia, you’re here now. That means you’re strong enough to face it.”

The man exhaled. “We’re close. The lower sectors are still active. If he’s alive, they won’t let him go easily.”

I forced my feet forward, swallowing back the rising fear. “Then we don’t give them a choice.”

The tunnel widened into a steel corridor. Flickering lights revealed numbered doors—each sealed shut, with ominously blinking electronic locks. I pressed my palm against the nearest panel, and the display flickered red.

ACCESS DENIED.

Ansel cursed. “They’ve reinforced security. We’ll need another way in.”

The man scanned the hallway and then motioned to a vent near the ceiling. “That leads to the monitoring station. If we can override the security from there, we can open the cells.”

I followed his gaze. The vent was narrow but just big enough to squeeze through.

“I’ll go,” I said, reaching for the ledge.

Ansel grabbed my wrist. “Lydia, are you sure?”

“I have to be.”

He held my gaze a moment longer, then nodded, giving me a boost. I pulled myself up and crawled into the shaft, the cold metal pressing against my palms. Below, Ansel and the man waited, their figures minor in the dim glow.

With a deep breath, I moved deeper into the heart of the place that had stolen everything from me.

I was done running.

I was taking my brother back.

Chapter 11 – The Forgotten Cells

The vent was narrower than expected, and each movement sent a metallic groan through the confined space. The stale air carried the scent of damp steel and something faintly medicinal. Crawling forward, I forced myself to stay calm, focusing on my breathing and the task ahead.

A dim glow shone ahead—a grated opening leading into a control room. I positioned myself, peering down. Two figures stood near a console, their backs turned, and the soft glow of monitors illuminated their silhouettes.

I had seconds to act.

Bracing myself, I kicked the grate loose. It clattered to the ground, and before they could react, I dropped down, landing hard on my feet.

One of them turned, eyes wide. “What the—”

I swung before he could finish, my elbow connecting with his jaw. He crumpled. The second reached for something—a radio? A weapon? I didn’t wait to find out. I grabbed the edge of the console and slammed it into his side. He gasped, collapsing against the monitors.

My heart pounded. I had done it.

I turned to the console. The screens displayed live feeds of the cells—narrow, sterile rooms with single occupants. I caught my breath when I saw one of them.

A boy.

He was older than I remembered, but the resemblance was undeniable—my brother.

I swallowed the lump and scanned the control panel, searching for a release function. Ansel’s voice crackled through my earpiece. “Lydia, what’s happening?”

“I found him,” I whispered. “I’m getting him out.”

My fingers hovered over the keys. Security Override. I pressed it. A warning flashed—Unauthorized Access Detected—but the cell locks disengaged. A red alarm flared, filling the room with an urgent wail.

I didn’t care. I turned and ran.

The corridors blurred as I sprinted toward his cell. Footsteps thundered in the distance—guards responding to the breach. I reached the door as he stepped out, blinking against the harsh artificial light.

His eyes met mine. Confusion, then recognition, flickered across his face. “Lydia?”

Tears burned my vision, but there was no time for emotion. I grabbed his arm. “We have to go. Now.”

A voice rang through the intercom: “Intruders detected. Secure all exits.”

I pulled him forward, running as fast as our legs would carry us. Ansel’s voice was sharp in my ear. “Lydia, you need to move! Security is closing in.”

I tightened my grip on my brother’s hand. “We’re not leaving without him.”

“Then run.”

The facility roared to life around us, but I didn’t care. I had him.

And I wasn’t losing him again.

Chapter 12 – The Price of Knowing

The wailing alarms echoed through the corridors, their piercing shriek rattling in my skull. My brother’s grip on my wrist was tight, his breath heavy with exhaustion and disbelief. I wanted to stop, say something, and tell him I had spent every waking moment of my forgotten life searching for something I hadn’t even known was missing.

But there was no time.

“This way!” Ansel’s voice cut through the chaos in my earpiece. “Exit’s compromised, but I found another way. You need to move. Now.”

We turned down another sterile hallway, the overhead lights flickering erratically. The place was crumbling, and the system failed due to a security breach. That’s good. Let it fall.

Footsteps pounded behind us. More guards. More obstacles. My mind raced. There had to be some way to shake them off before they boxed us in.

Ansel’s voice crackled again. “Lydia, listen to me. They’re not trying to capture you. They’re trying to contain you.”

I skidded to a stop, my brother nearly colliding with me. “What?”

“They won’t let you leave, not with him. They’d rather—”

Gunfire erupted behind us, bullets slamming into the walls. I yanked my brother forward, my pulse hammering. “Where do we go?!”

“Left! End of the hall! There’s a service hatch that leads to the lower tunnels. I can reroute you.”

Lower tunnels. Another unknown. But I had no choice.

We ran, pushing through the dizziness of adrenaline and terror. The hatch loomed ahead, a reinforced steel door embedded into the floor. My brother hesitated, glancing back. “Lydia, wait—”

A sharp pain seared through my shoulder.

I gasped, stumbling forward. Heat bloomed where the bullet grazed my skin. My brother caught me before I collapsed, his grip the only thing keeping me upright. I could feel the panic radiating off him.

“No, no, no,” he muttered. “You’re okay. You have to be okay.”

“I’m fine,” I gritted out. “We have to keep moving.”

The guards were closing in. Ansel’s voice was a desperate whisper. “Lydia, they’ll kill him before they let him leave. Do you understand? They will make sure he disappears again.”

I clenched my jaw, my vision swimming. “Then we don’t let them.”

My brother opened the hatch, revealing a dark tunnel leading deeper into the facility’s veins—no more hesitation.

We jumped.

The darkness swallowed us whole, and the past chased after us unrelentingly.

Chapter 13 – Beneath the Surface

The air in the tunnel was thick, damp, and stifling. The further we descended, the stronger the scent of rust and decay became. Each step echoed off the narrow walls, swallowed by the darkness ahead.

My shoulder throbbed with every movement, warm blood trickling down my arm. My brother’s grip on my other hand was too tight, but I didn’t pull away. He was afraid to lose me again.

So was I.

Ansel’s voice crackled in my ear. “You’re almost at a secondary access point. If we’re lucky, it’ll still be functional.”

I swallowed hard, forcing the pain aside. “And if we’re not?”

Silence. Then: “We’ll figure it out.”

The tunnel sloped downward, leading into a cavernous opening with low, flickering emergency lights lining the floor. A rusted terminal sat in the centre; its screen cracked but faintly glowing.

Ansel’s voice came through again. “That’s the control panel. If you can access it, I can override the security from here.”

My brother stepped forward first, hovering over the screen. “Lydia, you’re better at this.”

I hesitated, then moved beside him, fingers trembling as I typed commands into the terminal. The screen flickered, then blinked red. ACCESS RESTRICTED.

“No, no, no,” I muttered. “There has to be another way in.”

Ansel’s breathing was heavy in my earpiece. “They’ve locked this section down tighter than I thought. But there’s one more option. There’s a manual override deeper in. It’s risky, but it might be the only way.”

“Where?” I asked, already preparing myself for the answer.

“The sublevel—past the containment wing.”

A shiver ran down my spine. Containment—the word alone sent a fresh wave of nausea curling through me. I turned to my brother. His expression was tight and unreadable.

“We don’t have a choice,” he said quietly.

No, we didn’t.

Taking a steadying breath, I turned back toward the dark corridor leading further into the unknown.

“Then let’s go.”

 

Chapter 14 – The Containment Wing

The hallway leading to the containment wing stretched endlessly, the dim emergency lighting barely piercing the oppressive darkness. Every breath felt heavier; the air was thick with an unplaceable tension. I tried not to let my mind wander to what had been kept down here—what might still be waiting.

My brother walked ahead, his grip tightening on the rusted crowbar he had taken from the tunnel’s wreckage. I could hear his breathing, shallow and deliberate, as we approached a heavy steel door at the end of the corridor.

“This is it,” Ansel’s voice crackled in my earpiece. “The containment wing. Whatever they were hiding, it’s in there.”

I glanced at the keypad next to the door. The numbers were faded, smudged from years of use, but the screen flickered faintly. A manual lock override would take too long. We didn’t have time.

My brother stepped forward. “Stand back.”

Before I could protest, he swung the crowbar against the panel. Sparks flew as the metal crunched, the screen flickering violently before the door clicked and slid open just a fraction. A stale gust of air rushed out, carrying with it the unmistakable scent of antiseptic and something older—something rotten.

I hesitated. “Are we sure about this?”

“No,” he admitted. “But we’re out of choices.”

With a nod, I pushed the door open the rest of the way, revealing a massive chamber lined with reinforced glass cells. Some were empty, their restraints hanging loosely, long abandoned. Others...

My stomach turned.

Something had been here recently. The glass in one of the nearest cells was smeared with dark streaks. Scratch marks, jagged and deep, marred the surface. I stepped closer, trying to ignore the chill creeping up my spine.

“Lydia,” Ansel’s voice in my ear was sharper this time. “You need to keep moving. The control override should be in the central chamber.”

I forced myself to move, stepping over broken debris and shattered screens. The further in we went, the more unsettling the space became. The walls had been lined with monitors, most of them shattered, but one still flickered dimly.

I pressed a shaking hand against the console, watching as the screen struggled to display its corrupted data. A single message blinked across the display:

SUBJECT RETRIEVAL INCOMPLETE.

I inhaled sharply. “What does that mean?”

Ansel didn’t answer right away. Then: “It means whatever they were doing here was never finished.”

My brother tensed beside me. “Then where is everyone?”

A distant clatter rang through the chamber.

We weren’t alone.

I turned, scanning the rows of glass cells. Something shifted in the shadows—just out of reach of the emergency lighting. My pulse pounded as a slow and deliberate shape emerged.

A figure, barefoot and draped in torn medical scrubs, stepped forward from the darkness.

I knew that face.

My breath caught in my throat. “Oh my God...”

It was him.

My brother.

But he was standing right next to me.

Chapter 15 – The Reflection

My brother—both of them—stood frozen. One beside me, gripping the crowbar tightly, his breath uneven. The other was clad in torn medical scrubs, his face an exact mirror, and his eyes hollow but locked onto mine.

I took a step back, my pulse hammering. “How—?”

The figure in the cell tilted his head, his movements eerily slow and deliberate. “Lydia.” The voice was hoarse and cracked but unmistakable.

My brother—beside me—tightened his grip on my arm. “That’s not me. It’s—”

“A copy,” Ansel finished, his voice sharp through the earpiece. “A failed one. This is what they were working on. Memory suppression. Cloning. They weren’t just erasing minds, Lydia. They were trying to replace them.”

The weight of his words settled in my chest like lead. I looked back at the figure behind the glass, his pale lips curling into something like recognition. Or was it amusement?

“You left me here,” he rasped.

The words cut through me. A memory—fragmented, distorted—slammed into place—a cold, sterile room. My hands gripping restraints. A voice whispering in my ear: Make the choice.

I staggered back. “No. I—I wouldn’t have.”

But deep down, I wasn’t sure.

My brother—the one beside me—shook his head. “We have to get out of here. Now.”

“And leave him?” My voice cracked. “What if—”

“He’s not me!” my brother snapped, his eyes flashing with something I couldn’t place—fear, anger, or both. “You have to trust me. We can’t save him. We don’t even know if he’s real.”

“I am real,” the figure whispered.

A deep rumbling sound echoed through the chamber. The facility’s systems were failing, alarms blaring in warning. The containment wing wasn’t stable. If we didn’t leave now, we’d all be trapped.

Ansel’s voice broke through again. “Lydia, listen to me. You have to choose. You don’t have much time.”

I turned back to the glass, my mind warring with itself. I had left him behind once, if he was real— my brother. Could I do it again?

The ground shook beneath us. My brother—beside me—grabbed my arm, his voice firm. “We go now, or we all die here.”

The clone’s eyes met mine. A silent plea. Or was it a trick?

I had to decide.

And I had seconds to do it.

Chapter 16 – The Choice

Time stretched impossibly thin as if the world itself was holding its breath. The alarms blared, and the tremors beneath my feet grew stronger. The walls groaned in protest, and metal twisted under the strain of imminent collapse.

I stared into the eyes of the clone—my brother’s doppelgänger. His expression was pleading and desperate, a flicker of something familiar, something real, twisted in my gut.

“Lydia, now!” Ansel’s voice snapped through the earpiece. “You need to move!”

My brother—the one beside me—gritted his teeth. “We don’t have time for this.”

The clone pressed his palm against the glass, his fingers splayed wide. “You left me once,” he whispered. “Don’t do it again.”

I clenched my fists. I had abandoned him if he was real—if he was my brother. But if he wasn’t…

A violent tremor rocked the facility, sending shards of glass from splintering cells crashing to the floor. Smoke curled through the cracks in the ceiling, and the overhead lights flickered wildly.

“Lydia, make a choice!” Ansel barked.

I inhaled sharply. Then, in one swift motion, I made my decision.

I reached for the emergency override panel, my fingers slamming against the buttons. The glass hissed, the locks disengaging with a final, deafening click.

The clone stumbled forward, stepping into the crumbling chaos around us. His breath hit, hed; his eyes wild as they met mine. “You—”

“Come with me,” I cut him off. “If you’re real, we figure it out later. But we have to get out. Now.”

My brother—the one I had always known—let out a sharp exhale, his hands curling into fists, but he said nothing. He turned and sprinted toward the exit.

The clone hesitated for only a second before following.

We ran.

The walls buckled, and fire erupted from shattered pipes. The hallway ahead was twisted in smoke and debris, and the path was barely visible through the chaos. Ansel’s voice guided us, his directions sharp and urgent.

“Take the next left! There’s an emergency access tunnel—go!”

I skidded around the corner, my lungs burning. The tunnel loomed ahead, a heavy metal door between us and the outside world. Ansel’s figure emerged from the shadows, his eyes narrowing as he saw the clone.

“You brought him?” he asked, incredulous.

I didn’t stop. “We don’t have time for this argument. Open the door!”

He muttered something but complied, hacking the system with rapid keystrokes. The locks hissed, then disengaged. The door slid open, revealing the cold night air beyond.

“Move!” Ansel ordered.

I shoved the clone through first, my brother at my side. The moment we crossed the threshold, the facility let out a final, deafening groan. The ground lurched violently beneath us, a shockwave of heat and dust erupting as the building imploded behind us.

We hit the pavement hard, the world spinning. For a long moment, none of us moved, our chests heaving and our hands scraping against broken asphalt.

Then, slowly, I turned.

The facility was gone.

I exhaled sharply, trying to steady my thoughts. But as I looked at the two identical figures beside me—one I knew, one I didn’t—I realised my real battle was just beginning.

I had saved them both.

But had I made the right choice?

Chapter 17 – What Remains

The silence after the explosion was deafening. The air was thick with dust, swirling in the dim glow of the streetlights. My ears rang, my body trembling from the shock. I forced myself to move, pushing off the rough asphalt as I turned toward the two figures beside me.

Two identical faces stared back.

One I had grown up with shared memories with—my brother. The other echoed something I had lost, a fragment of a past they had tried to erase.

Ansel was the first to break the silence. “We need to go. Now.”

My brother—the one I had known my whole life—pushed himself up, wiping the dust from his face. “Lydia, what the hell did you just do?”

The clone remained silent; his gaze locked onto me. Something unreadable in his expression made my stomach twist.

I swallowed hard. “I couldn’t leave him there.”

Ansel ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. “You realise what this means, right? They’re going to come after us. The facility collapsing doesn’t erase the people who built it.”

I nodded, my mind racing. “We need to figure out who he is. Who he really is.”

The clone—my brother’s double—spoke for the first time. “I don’t remember everything,” he admitted, his voice hoarse. “But I know one thing. They weren’t just making copies. They were replacing people.”

A chill ran through me. “Replacing them?”

He nodded, glancing between me and my brother. “There were more like me. Others who didn’t make it. The ones who weren’t…perfect.”

My brother tensed. “And you think you are?”

“I don’t know what I am.” The clone looked at me. “But I remember you. Before they took me.”

The words lodged in my chest like a dagger.

Ansel was already moving, scanning the area for any sign of approaching threats. “We need to keep moving. There’s an old shelter about a mile from here. It’ll give us some time to figure this out.”

I hesitated. “And then what?”

“Then we decide what to do with him.” Ansel’s gaze flickered to the clone. “And what we do next.”

No one spoke as we started walking, the city stretching out in eerie quiet. The battle for my memories had ended.

But the war for the truth was just beginning.

Chapter 18 – Ghosts of the City

The city swallowed us as we moved, its vast, empty streets stretching into the distance. The only sound was the distant hum of power lines and the occasional flickering of a neon sign long past its prime. It felt abandoned, yet I knew better. Someone, somewhere, was watching.

Ansel led the way, his pace brisk but controlled. My brother—the real one—walked beside me, his movements tense. The clone lingered slightly behind, silent, his gaze flickering between us as if trying to anchor himself to something familiar.

The shelter Ansel spoke of wasn’t far. A crumbling industrial warehouse was hidden in the shadows of the skyline, its rusted exterior blending into the decayed landscape. We slipped inside through a side door, the space cavernous and cold. Dust coated the surfaces, but it was clear someone had used it recently. Supplies were stacked neatly against the far wall, and a makeshift sleeping area was tucked in the corner.

Ansel scanned the room. “It’s secure. For now.”

I exhaled, the weight of everything settling over me. My gaze flickered to the clone. “What do you remember?”

He hesitated. “Pieces. Faces. Flashes of something… but it’s all jumbled. I remember you, but not everything. I remember being taken, but not how.”

My brother folded his arms. “Then how do we know you’re not dangerous?”

The clone met his stare. “I don’t. But if they were replacing people, you must ask yourself—was I meant to replace you?”

A cold silence settled over the room.

Ansel sat on an overturned crate. “We need to lay low, gather intel, figure out what’s next. They won’t stop looking for us. We need to move carefully.”

I swallowed. “And if they find us?”

He glanced at the clone. “Then we find out just how much of a fight he has in him.”

The clone exhaled slowly. “I’ll fight if I have to. But I want to know who I am.”

I nodded. “Then we find out. Together.”

As the city loomed, I realised we were no longer running from the truth.

We were hunting it.

Chapter 19 – The Silent War

The city stretched endlessly before us, its skyline fractured by half-collapsed buildings and the occasional flicker of distant lights. A quiet battle was taking place in its ruins—one we had just stepped into.

Ansel was already moving, leading us deeper into the warehouse district. “We can’t stay here long. They’ll be scanning the area.”

The clone—my brother’s mirror—kept pace beside me. His eyes moved restlessly, scanning the surroundings with a wariness that spoke of instincts neither of us understood yet.

“Who are ‘they’?” he asked, voice cautious.

Ansel didn’t look back. “The ones who built the facility. The ones who erased you. The ones who won’t let you exist.”

A chill settled into my bones. “So, what do we do? Keep running?”

Ansel shook his head. “No. We strike first.”

My brother—the real one—exhaled sharply. “And how exactly do we do that? We don’t even know where to start.”

The clone’s gaze hardened. “Yes, we do.”

We all turned to him.

He inhaled deeply as if bracing himself. “I remember something. Not much, but enough. There’s a research hub—hidden, deep underground. It’s where they monitored me, where they kept the others. If we can get there, we’ll find answers. Maybe even others like me.”

Silence stretched between us.

Ansel studied him, eyes narrowed. “And you’re sure about this?”

“No,” the clone admitted. “But if we wait, they’ll find us first.”

My pulse quickened. A part of me knew this was reckless. But another part—one that had been buried for too long—was desperate for the truth.

I met Ansel’s gaze. “Then we go. We find this place. And we end this.”

The night air felt charged as we moved, no longer running or hiding.

We were going to war.

Chapter 20 – The Descent into Truth

The road ahead stretched into the city’s depths, the glow of distant lights barely illuminating our path. We moved quickly, our steps soundless against the cracked pavement, the tension between us growing with each passing second.

Ansel led the way, his posture rigid. He scanned the shadows as if expecting an ambush at any moment. My brother, his jaw clenched, walked beside me, his silence heavier than the night air. The clone—the reflection of the past they tried to erase—kept his distance, but I could feel his gaze flickering toward me, searching for something. Understanding? Reassurance?

“The research hub is underground,” the clone said, his voice barely above a whisper. “It won’t be easy to get in.”

Ansel scoffed. “Nothing ever is.”

We reached an alleyway behind an abandoned factory, the remnants of its former use long stripped away. A rusted metal grate covered a passageway leading beneath the city. The clone knelt beside it, running his fingers over the corroded edges before glancing at me.

“This is it. They used this access point to transport test subjects. It leads directly into the lower sector of the facility.”

I swallowed hard. “And you’re sure we won’t walk straight into their hands?”

“I’m sure of nothing,” the clone admitted. “But if we don’t move now, they’ll find us first.”

Ansel nodded. “Then we go in quiet. Fast. If this goes sideways, we pull out.”

No one argued.

The grate groaned as we pried it open, revealing a narrow ladder descending into darkness. One by one, we climbed down, the air thick with the scent of damp concrete and old metal. My fingers tightened around the rungs as my heart pounded in my ears.

We landed in a narrow tunnel, dripping water echoing against the walls. The clone moved ahead, leading us through the maze of corridors, his steps sure, as if guided by instinct or memory.

Then he stopped.

“We’re close,” he whispered. “Beyond this door.”

A steel door loomed before us, its surface covered in scratches as if something—or someone—had tried to claw its way out.

I exhaled. “No turning back now.”

Ansel pulled a crowbar from his pack, handing it to me. “Then let’s open it.”

With a deep breath, I wedged the metal into the rusted lock, the door resisting first before giving way with a sharp snap.

It swung open, revealing a darkened chamber filled with flickering monitors, cables coiled along the floor like veins. And at the centre of it all—

A single occupied containment pod.

The figure inside stirred, and as the lights illuminated his face, my breath caught in my throat.

It was another clone.

And this one was awake.

Chapter 21 – The Awakening

The pod’s glass was coated in a thin layer of condensation, distorting the man’s features inside. His eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first, then locking onto mine with an eerie familiarity.

He was identical to the clone standing beside me.

A deep chill settled over my skin. “How many of them are there?”

The clone beside me hesitated. “I don’t know. But if he’s here, that means we’re not the only ones.”

Ansel shifted, gripping his crowbar tightly. “We need to wake him up properly and fast. If he’s conscious, then so is the facility’s security system.”

A low mechanical whir hummed through the chamber the moment he said it. The monitors flickered to life, displaying unreadable code in rapid succession.

The facility knew we were here.

“Lydia, help me!” My brother’s voice yanked my attention back. He had already begun disengaging the pod’s locks, his fingers flying over the control panel.

A sharp hiss filled the air as the seals broke, releasing a blast of freezing vapour. The clone inside gasped, lurching forward as the glass slid open. His body trembled violently, his breath coming in rapid bursts.

I grabbed his arm, steadying him. “You’re safe. We’re here to help.”

His eyes darted between us, his confusion palpable. “Where… where am I?”

The clone beside me answered first. “Somewhere you weren’t meant to leave.”

A booming noise shook the chamber. The security system was no longer just aware of us—it was activating.

Ansel swore. “We need to move. Now.”

I turned back to the newly awakened clone, his skin still icy beneath my grip. “Can you walk?”

He nodded weakly. “I think so.”

No more hesitation.

I wrapped his arm over my shoulder and pulled him forward. “Then let’s get out of here.”

The facility roared to life behind us as we ran, the past chasing after us with every step.

ERASED- Act 1 – The Fractured Mind

Chapter 1 – The House of Mirrors Effect

I woke up gasping, my breath sharp in the sterile air.

White walls. The soft hum of a machine. The faint antiseptic tang clinging to my throat. The kind of place where nothing bad should happen, and yet—

I swallowed. My head ached. My skin felt wrong as if I had been scrubbed clean of something important.

A screen flickered beside me. Welcome back, Lydia.

I blinked. The name felt… fine, like a coat that fits well enough but wasn’t mine.

The door slid open with a soft hiss. A man stepped inside, his white coat pressed, his smile curated. “Lydia, how are you feeling?”

I opened my mouth. Closed it. The words weren’t there.

“I—” I cleared my throat. “I don’t remember… waking up here.”

A slight tilt of his head, almost imperceptible. “That’s expected.”

Expected.

A tremor slid through me. I shifted under the crisp sheets, the fabric stiff and unfamiliar. My hands—were these my hands? The lines on my palms felt foreign, as though I were seeing them for the first time.

“What is this place?” My voice came out steadier than I felt.

He smiled. “A clinic. A safe place. You volunteered for a procedure, Lydia. A therapeutic intervention.”

A word surfaced in my mind, slow and sticky.

Erasure.

My fingers dug into the sheets. “What did you take from me?”

His eyes softened. Not with warmth—with something else. Something closer to pity.

“The things you didn’t want anymore.”

My breath hitched.

Memories didn’t feel gone. They felt like half-open drawers, waiting to be filled with something I couldn’t name.

I forced myself to sit up. The movement made my head spin, but I ignored it. “I want to know what you erased.”

He exhaled a slow, measured thing. “You asked us not to tell you.”

The room tilted.

“No,” I whispered.

I didn’t just lose memories. I left something behind. I wanted this.

But why?

My mind was a house with all the doors locked, the key discarded. And the worst part?

I knew I was the one who threw it away.

Chapter 2 – A Mind Full of Holes

I dressed in the neatly folded clothes at the foot of my bed. The fabric was soft and slightly oversized, like something chosen for comfort, not style. That detail bothered me. Had I ever cared about style?

I had no way of knowing.

The doctor—Dr. Ansel, my mind supplied, though I had no memory of learning his name—stood by the door, watching me with the kind of patience that felt practised. He wasn’t in a hurry. He wasn’t uncomfortable.

He had done this before.

“I know this feels disorienting,” he said, folding his hands behind his back. “It’s part of the process.”

“What process?”

A flicker of something—annoyance? Amusement?—crossed his face before it vanished. “Reintegration.”

The word sat uneasily in my head, like a puzzle piece forced into the wrong slot.

“I want my records,” I said. “If I consented to this, I want to know why.”

Dr. Ansel gave me another one of those curated smiles. “Of course. That’s part of reintegration, too. In time.”

In time.

I pressed my fingers to my temple. A dull throb had begun to build, not quite pain, more like pressure—like something trying to surface but hitting a barrier just before breaking through.

“Do I have a family?” I asked.

Dr. Ansel nodded. “Yes.”

Something in me loosened. “Can I see them?”

A pause. “Not yet.”

The tightness returned. “Why not?”

He tilted his head. “You don’t remember, do you?”

A slow trickle of cold spread through my chest. “Remember what?”

He watched me as though deciding something. Then, finally, he said, “Your request wasn’t just to remove memories, Lydia. You asked us to erase people.”

My throat went dry.

“That’s not possible.”

His expression remained kind. Understanding. Professional.

“You chose to forget them.”

Something inside me splintered.

I didn’t just erase the pain.

I erased everyone who could remind me of it.

Chapter 3 – The Empty Spaces Where They Were

The world outside the clinic was too bright, T and sharp like it had been overexposed. The edges were too defined, and the colours were too vivid.

Or maybe I was the one who had faded.

I walked down the hallway, each step feeling like it belonged to someone else. At the end, a door stood open. Beyond it, a waiting area.

A woman sat there. Young. Dark hair. Something in her posture was familiar, a shape my mind couldn’t grasp. She lifted her head, eyes searching, hopeful.

I slowed. “Do I know you?”

Her face crumpled. “You did.”

The words hit like a physical blow. I swayed slightly, grabbing the door frame for support.

“What do you mean?” My voice was barely a whisper.

She swallowed. “I’m your sister.”

My breath stopped. I stared at her, waiting for the rush of recognition, the warmth of familiarity. It didn’t come. My mind was a blank slate where her name should be.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “That’s not—”

Dr. Ansel’s voice cut in, calm and even. “Lydia, your memories of her were part of the erasure. She is telling the truth.”

I looked at the woman—at my sister—but she was nothing to me—a stranger.

She wiped at her eyes and stood. “You asked for this,” she said, her voice trembling. “You chose to forget me.”

I had no words. No explanation. It’s just a space where love should have been.

She hesitated before turning to leave as though expecting me to stop her. When I didn’t, her shoulders slumped.

I wanted to call out, to reach for her, but my arms remained at my sides.

Dr. Ansel placed a hand on my shoulder. “Memories can’t be restored, Lydia. Only replaced.”

My sister paused at the door. “Would you want to remember?”

Silence stretched between us. I didn’t know what was more terrifying—the idea that I had lost something precious or the fear that I had done it willingly.

I didn’t answer.

She walked away.

Chapter 4 – The Fractured Path Ahead

The next step was integration. That’s what they called it. A return to a life I no longer recognised. A home that wasn’t mine. A past I had chosen to reject.

But what if I had erased the wrong things?

I had no answers. Only questions that no longer had a place to land.

I took my first step beyond the clinic doors into a world that was supposed to belong to me.

And I wondered if I had ever truly belonged to it.

The city stretched beyond me—vast, unfamiliar, and eerily structured. Buildings with smooth, glass exteriors loomed in calculated uniformity. There was no graffiti or trash. Everything was clean and eerily pristine. The streets hummed with silent efficiency.

A bus pulled up. The doors slid open, and I stepped inside, hesitating momentarily before scanning my wrist at the glowing checkpoint. The machine blinked green. Access granted.

I sat at the back, watching the rows of passengers. Their faces were expressionless. Their eyes didn’t wander. Everyone was absorbed in something—a glowing screen or a data feed projected onto their wrists.

I turned my arm over, staring at the faint outline of something just beneath my skin.

Erased.

Not completely. Something was left behind—a ghost of what was once there.

I closed my fist, feeling the weight of something I didn’t yet understand.

The bus stopped, and I stepped out. A towering building marked Public Archives stood ahead of me.

I didn’t remember why but knew I had to go inside.

Maybe the answers were there.

Maybe the questions were just beginning.

I walked through the entrance, my footsteps echoing against the marble floor. The air smelled of dust and something faintly metallic. A receptionist sat behind a curved desk, her eyes flicking up briefly before returning to the glowing screen.

“Identification?” she asked, her voice devoid of inflexion.

I hesitated, then raised my wrist. She scanned it with a handheld device. The screen flashed Limited Access in a sterile blue font. Her lips pressed together, but she said nothing.

“Why limited?” I asked.

The receptionist’s fingers stilled over the keyboard. “Your records have restrictions. Only partial data retrieval is permitted.”

“By whose authority?”

She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she leaned forward, lowering her voice. “They don’t want you to remember everything at once.”

A shiver crawled up my spine. “Who’s ‘they’?”

Another pause. Then, “You requested it.”

I gripped the edge of the desk to steady myself. My past self had built walls to keep me out. But why? What had I buried so deeply that even now, knowing I had erased something, I still wasn’t sure I wanted it back?

The receptionist slid a keycard across the desk. “Restricted archives are on sublevel three. You have one hour.”

One hour. To unearth whatever pieces of myself remained.

I took the keycard with a steadying breath. Whatever happens next, I chose this.

The elevator doors slid open, revealing a narrow hallway lined with reinforced glass panels. Behind them, rows of data storage units blinked in a cold, mechanical rhythm. The hum of the servers filled the silence, a distant mechanical heart pulsing beneath the earth.

I stepped inside. The moment the doors shut, the lights dimmed, leaving only the glow of embedded LED strips to guide me. The air smelled of ozone and something faintly acrid, like old plastic burning beneath detection.

A row of terminals sat at the far end. I approached the nearest one and inserted the keycard. The screen flared to life, and a list of file directories appeared, each coded in letters and numbers I didn’t recognise. ACCESS LEVEL: PARTIAL flashed in red at the top of the interface.

I clicked on the first file. A loading symbol spun momentarily, and then a video began to play.

A woman sat in a chair. She looked… familiar. Too familiar. My breath caught as I realised I was looking at myself.

But her eyes—my eyes—were hollow. Dark circles clung beneath them like bruises. Her lips parted, but her voice, when it came, was flat. Devoid of emotion.

“I consent to the procedure,” she—I—said.

A male voice responded. “State your reasons.”

She hesitated. My pulse pounded in my ears.

Then she said, “I don’t want to remember what I did.”

The screen flickered—data corruption. The film ended abruptly.

I stumbled back from the terminal. The walls felt closer, the air thinner. My heart was a drumbeat against my ribs.

What had I done?

A sudden click echoed through the chamber. The door at the end of the hallway unlocked.

Someone knew I was here.

And they were waiting for me to find out the rest.

Chapter 5 – The Ghosts of Memory

The door at the end of the hallway stood slightly ajar, revealing only darkness beyond. The air in the chamber thickened, pressing against my skin like a warning. Whoever had unlocked the door wanted me to enter.

I took a slow step forward, my breath shallow. The moment I crossed the threshold, the door clicked shut behind me. The walls pulsed with dim red light, illuminating rows of filing cabinets stacked high against steel shelves. This was not just a digital archive—this was something older, something they had not yet erased.

A terminal blinked in the corner of the room, awaiting input. I hesitated, then pressed my palm against the scanner. The screen flared to life, revealing a new set of files labelled SUPPRESSED RECORDS.

A list of names scrolled past. At the very top: LYDIA MARSH – CONFIDENTIAL.

I clicked it. The screen flickered, and then a document filled the display.

Subject: Lydia Marsh

Status: Modified Memory Protocol Initiated

Clearance: Restricted – Level Omega

Below is a series of transcripts dated months before my procedure appeared. I skimmed through them, my pulse hammering.

INTERVIEW LOG – SESSION 04

Dr. Ansel: “You understand that this procedure is irreversible?” Lydia Marsh: “Yes. That’s the point.” Dr. Ansel: “Once we remove these memories, you will not retain any trace of them. You will not ask about them. You will not question what was lost.” Lydia Marsh: “I know. I just… I don’t want to feel it anymore.” Dr. Ansel: “And you are certain you want to proceed?” Lydia Marsh: “Yes. Just erase it.”

My voice, hollow and desperate, sent a chill through me. What had been so unbearable that I had begged them to take it away?

I scrolled further until I found another recording.

INTERVIEW LOG – SESSION 10

Unknown Subject: “She can’t know. She can’t ever remember.” Dr. Ansel: “She consented to the procedure.” Unknown Subject: “That doesn’t mean she chose it. You told her what she needed to hear. But she can’t ever—” (Data corruption detected. file incomplete.)

A cold dread spread through my limbs. Someone else had been involved in my erasure. Someone who had ensured I would never question what was taken from me.

A sharp beep echoed through the room. The terminal screen glitched, then a new line of text appeared:

YOU WERE WARNED.

The overhead lights flickered. A door at the room’s far end slid open, revealing a corridor bathed in cold white light.

Footsteps echoed beyond it.

Someone was coming.

I backed away from the terminal, my breath coming in short gasps. My mind screamed to run, but my feet refused to move.

Then the voice came, calm and familiar.

“Lydia, you shouldn’t be here.”

I turned slowly, my pulse roaring in my ears.

Dr. Ansel stood at the threshold, his expression unreadable.

But in his eyes, I saw it.

Fear.

Chapter 6 – The Man Who Lied

Dr. Ansel took a slow step forward, his eyes scanning the room. “You shouldn’t have accessed this,” he said, voice even, but something tight was in it—like a wire pulled too taut.

My hands curled into fists. “You lied to me.”

His gaze flickered, barely a hesitation, but I caught it. “Lydia, we can discuss this. But not here. We need to leave. Now.”

The sound of footsteps grew louder beyond the open door. Whoever was coming they weren’t alone.

I took a step back. “Tell me what I erased.”

His jaw clenched. “Lydia—”

“Tell me!” My voice cracked, but I didn’t care. The screen behind me still glowed, the fragmented truth staring back at me. “What was so terrible that I begged you to erase it? And who was the person in that last recording? The one who said I didn’t choose this?”

The lights flickered again. The air in the room felt thinner, charged.

“I was trying to protect you.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

The footsteps stopped just beyond the door. A mechanical beep followed, the sound of an access override. Someone was unlocking the final security barrier.

“Protect me from what?” I asked, voice hoarse.

His eyes met mine. “From yourself.”

The lock disengaged with a heavy click. The door started to slide open.

Dr. Ansel moved first. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back, shoving me behind a tall row of filing cabinets just as figures entered the room.

Three of them. Dressed in black, moving in practised synchronisation. Not just security—something worse.

“She was here,” one of them said. “Check the logs.”

I barely breathed. Dr. Ansel’s grip on my wrist tightened as he leaned in close. “Stay quiet,” he mouthed.

One of the intruders approached the terminal I had used. The screen still glowed, and Lydia Marsh—Confidential was displayed in stark white letters.

“She saw the files,” the figure muttered. “We need to contain this.”

Dr. Ansel exhaled softly. Then, without warning, he moved.

He grabbed a metal data rod from a nearby station and swung it, striking the nearest intruder across the back of the head. The figure staggered but didn’t go down.

“Run!” Dr. Ansel barked.

My body hesitated, but instinct took over. I bolted for the open door. One of the intruders lunged for me, fingers brushing my sleeve, but I twisted away, heart pounding.

Dr. Ansel moved between me and them, his stance braced. “Go!”

I ran.

The hallway blurred as I sprinted forward, my breath ragged. Behind me, the sounds of a struggle broke out—shouts, the crash of metal, a grunt of pain.

I didn’t stop.

I didn’t look back.

All I knew was that someone had tried to bury my past.

And now, I was going to find out why.

The corridor was a maze of identical doors, stretching endlessly in both directions. Panic clawed at my chest as I turned down the nearest hallway, the dim overhead lights casting eerie shadows against the sterile white walls.

Somewhere behind me, another door slammed open.

I kept running.

The sound of pursuit was growing louder. My breath came in ragged gasps, and my lungs burned as I pushed forward. I had no idea where I was going; stopping was not an option.

A doorway marked Emergency Exit loomed ahead. I threw my weight against it, expecting resistance, but it swung open startlingly. A blast of cold night air hit me as I stumbled outside.

I barely had time to process the open space before a sharp voice rang behind me. “There! Stop her!”

I turned just in time to see a figure step from the shadows—one of the operatives, gun raised.

I froze.

A sudden blur of movement to my left. Then—

Dr. Ansel.

He tackled the operative before he could fire, knocking the gun from his hands. The weapon skittered across the pavement, landing just feet away from me.

I didn’t think. I dove for it.

As the operative recovered, my fingers closed around cold metal, lunging toward me.

“Lydia, don’t!” Dr. Ansel shouted, but I was already swinging.

The butt of the gun connected with the operative’s jaw. He staggered back, dazed, and I scrambled to my feet, my pulse roaring in my ears.

Ansel grabbed my arm. “We have to go! Now!”

I didn’t argue.

We ran.

Past the cold white walls, past the city’s controlled precision, into the unknown darkness beyond.

Chapter 7 – Into the Shadows

We ran through the darkness, the wind biting at my exposed skin. The sterile glow of the facility behind us faded, swallowed by the looming cityscape ahead. My lungs burned, and my legs ached, but stopping wasn’t an option.

Ansel pulled me into a narrow alleyway between two looming buildings, pressing his back against the wall. He motioned for me to do the same.

“We can’t stop for long,” he murmured, barely above a whisper. “They’ll be tracking us.”

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to slow my breathing. “Who are they? Why do they want to stop me from remembering?”

He hesitated, glancing toward the alley’s entrance before meeting my gaze. “Because whatever you erased—it wasn’t just about you.”

The words sent a chill down my spine. “What do you mean?”

Before he could answer, a distant sound echoed through the alley—the low hum of a hovering drone.

Ansel tensed. “Move!”

We darted through the labyrinth of alleys, slipping past dumpsters and abandoned crates, until we emerged onto a deserted street. The air was thick with the scent of rain and asphalt. Neon lights flickered in the distance, painting distorted reflections onto the wet pavement.

“Where are we going?” I panted.

“Somewhere safe,” he said. “For now.”

He led me toward an old, rusted fire escape attached to a rundown apartment building. Climbing the steps felt like scaling a mountain, my muscles screaming in protest, but I pushed on.

We reached the rooftop as the drone’s searchlight swept across the street below. My heart pounding, I crouched behind a metal vent, watching as figures in black moved methodically through the area.

“They won’t stop,” I whispered. “They’re everywhere.”

Ansel crouched beside me. " That’s why we have to find the truth before they do.”

A beat of silence stretched between us before I forced the words out. "You said this wasn’t just about me. Then tell me—what did I forget?”

Ansel’s expression darkened. “You weren’t alone when you asked for the erasure, Lydia. There was someone else. Someone you wanted to protect.”

My breath caught. "Who?”

He exhaled slowly. "Your brother.”

The world tilted.

"No,” I murmured. “That’s not— I don’t have a brother.”

"You did.” His voice was gentle but firm. “And they made sure you’d never remember him.”

The memories I didn’t have—the aching void in my past—suddenly felt suffocating. Someone had been there in my life, someone important. Someone I had willingly erased.

But why?

Ansel reached into his coat and pulled out a small, battered photograph. He handed it to me, his expression unreadable.

I stared at the image. A boy, no older than sixteen, stood beside me, his grin wide and familiar. My stomach lurched.

"What happened to him?” My voice barely made it past my lips.

Ansel’s jaw tightened. "That’s what we need to find out.”

Below us, the drone shifted, the searchlight sweeping dangerously close.

“Come on,” Ansel said, rising to his feet. “We don’t have much time.”

With the photograph clutched in my trembling fingers, I followed him into the night.

 

Chapter 8 – Echoes of the Forgotten

The city stretched before us, neon and steel, humming with an artificial life that didn’t belong to me. My hands trembled as I clutched the photograph, my brother’s face frozen in time. How could I forget him? How could I erase him from my life as though he never existed?

Ansel led me through a maze of back alleys, his movements sharp and practised. He knew where we were going, even if I didn’t. Whenever I tried to piece together a memory—something, anything—the void in my mind swallowed it whole.

“We need answers,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Ansel nodded. “And I know where to start.”

We stopped outside a dimly lit shop nestled between towering buildings. A flickering sign above the entrance read: RETRIEVAL SPECIALIST.

“This place deals in lost information,” Ansel said, pushing open the door. “If there’s any trace of your past left, they can find it.”

Inside, the air smelled of dust and old electronics. The small space had shelves lined with data drives and tangled wires. Behind the counter, a woman with piercing eyes and silver streaks in her dark hair regarded us with open suspicion.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” she said, her voice clipped. “They’ll be looking for you.”

Ansel placed a small, unmarked chip on the counter. “We need access.”

The woman glanced at the chip, then at me. “You’re the one they wiped. The girl who erased something big.”

A chill crawled up my spine. “How do you know that?”

She tapped the counter. “Because nothing is ever really gone. Your memories? They left echoes. Fragments buried deep. But I can pull them back—if you’re ready.”

I swallowed hard. I wasn’t ready. But I had no choice.

“Do it.”

The woman led me to a seat in the back of the shop, where wires snaked from a worn-down terminal. She then methodically attached small, cold electrodes to my temples.

“Close your eyes,” she instructed. “Let your mind open. If there’s something left, I’ll find it.”

I did as she said. The machine hummed to life, and the world around me suddenly dissolved.

Memories flickered—shattered images, out of reach. A voice, soft and desperate. “Lydia, don’t forget me.”

Then, a flash of something darker.

A struggle. A hand gripping my wrist. A scream ripped from my throat.

The memory slammed into me, visceral and raw, and I gasped, jerking out of the machine’s grasp. My vision blurred, and I blinked rapidly as Ansel steadied me.

“What did you see?” he asked.

I looked at him, my breath uneven. “Someone took him. Someone made me erase him. And I think I know where they took him.”

The woman exhaled sharply. “Then you don’t have much time.”

Ansel’s grip on my arm tightened. “We move now.”

I nodded, swallowing my fear. My past wasn’t lost. My brother wasn’t lost.

I was going to find him.

Even if it killed me.

Chapter 9 – The Hollow Truth

The streets blurred as we moved, each step quick and measured. My breath still hitched from the memory’s impact, but I had no time to process it. If what I had seen was real—if my brother had been taken—then someone had gone to great lengths to make sure I would never remember.

Ansel led me through another set of back alleys, emerging onto a deserted industrial road. Rusted metal fences loomed on either side, enclosing warehouses resembling forgotten monoliths.

“Where are we going?” I asked, forcing my legs to keep pace.

“A contact,” Ansel replied. “Someone who might have the missing piece. But we have to be careful.”

Before he stopped outside a massive, nondescript building, I barely had time to ask what that meant. The sign above the door had long since worn away, but the faint outline of words remained: BIOGEN RESEARCH FACILITY.

Something in my stomach twisted. “I know this place.”

Ansel didn’t react. “You should.”

He pressed a buzzer. Silence stretched before the door finally clicked open. Inside, the air was thick with chemicals and the faint hum of unseen machinery.

A man stood at the far end of the hall, waiting. His face was sharp, his expression unreadable. “You took too long,” he said.

Ansel exhaled. “Lydia needed time.”

The man’s eyes flicked to me. “Not much of it left.”

I clenched my fists. “Who are you?”

He stepped closer. “Someone who used to know you. Before they wiped you. Before you agreed to forget.”

My stomach lurched. “Tell me everything.”

He studied me for a long moment before speaking. “You and your brother were part of something—an experiment. You weren’t supposed to remember. But you fought it. And now you’re waking up.”

The words sent ice through my veins. “What kind of experiment?”

The man hesitated, then turned toward a control panel on the wall. A screen flickered to life with a few clicks, displaying surveillance footage. My breath caught.

It was me.

But not just me—me and my brother. Locked in a sterile room, wires attached to our temples, fear etched into our faces. A figure stood behind us, their face obscured.

A voice crackled through the speakers: “Initiate memory suppression.”

I stumbled back. “No. No, this—this isn’t real.”

Ansel caught my arm. “It is.”

The man turned back to me. “You wanted to protect him, Lydia. So, you made them take him instead. You made them erase him. And now, they’re coming to finish what they started.”

A sharp sound echoed through the facility—an alarm blaring.

Ansel swore. “They know we’re here.”

The man grabbed a set of keys from his belt. “There’s a tunnel beneath this building. It’ll take you far enough away to disappear. But if you want the truth—to find your brother—you’ll have to go deeper.”

I swallowed the terror rising in my chest. “Then we go deeper.”

Ansel nodded. “Lead the way.”

The man opened a hidden panel on the floor, revealing a ladder leading into darkness. I gripped the edges, glancing again at the screen where my past self stared back at me.

Then, I climbed down into the unknown.