Breaking Point

Merlin stood just a few steps away from me, her boots planted firmly on the cracked concrete floor, her gaze fixed, sharp as a blade, boring into mine. Her chest rose and fell with each labored breath. For a moment, time seemed to stretch—until finally, she lowered her gun, the metallic click echoing like a punctuation mark in the tense silence between us.

She inhaled deeply, as if drawing in the strength to speak."I don't understand how you don't remember what you did," she said quietly, her voice low and trembling, her head bowing under the weight of something that looked like guilt—or grief. Her curls slipped over her face, veiling her expression.

"We were friends. Close friends." Her voice cracked. "Why did you have to kill them? Why!"

Her sudden shout struck me like a slap. Her eyes were wide and glassy, burning with fury and confusion, her whole frame trembling from rage barely contained. The air between us thickened, oppressive. Even Keli, usually brave and alert, lowered his ears and slunk behind me with a quiet whimper.

"Who did I kill? Who?" I yelled back, the scream erupting from deep inside me, raw and shaking. "I want a fucking explanation! Why is everyone treating me like I'm insane?"

Merlin took two rapid steps toward me, her boots scraping against the floor."Listen to me. We don't have fucking time. We have to get out of here as fast as possible."

Heavy footsteps echoed behind us now—multiple pairs, boots striking in a rhythm of doom. Merlin glanced over her shoulder, then locked eyes with me again.

"Follow me! I can't kill you, no matter how furious I am because of everything… and I can't let them fucking kill you either." her words laced with anger and sorrow, burning and breaking all at once.

I stared at her, stunned. My mind was a battlefield of confusion and rage. Questions screamed in my head, loud and relentless. I didn't move, but my body felt like it was being pulled apart.

Keli was already at our heels as we broke into a run. We sprinted down a dim corridor of bare concrete, its walls lined with rusted pipes and broken lights that flickered like dying stars. The place smelled of mold, oil, and something metallic—blood, perhaps.

The corridor twisted and turned, ending in a rusted iron door with a thick padlock.

"Shit… I hope I still have the key," Merlin muttered, frantically patting down the pockets of her uniform. Her hands trembled. Beads of sweat dripped from her forehead down her cheek, tracing the curve of a face carved by panic.

I stood frozen, a storm of emotions surging through me.

I was beside a Nortoner—one of them—who was blaming me for murder. Saying we were once close. The same woman who had drugged me in my house after I saved her life. Why hadn't I realized it sooner? Why didn't she kill me when she had the chance?Why was I still alive when all the others were slaughtered without hesitation?

Now she was saving me?

None of it made sense.

I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't notice she had found the key and was unlocking the door. She reached out and yanked my arm.

"Move! We don't have time. They'll kill us," she hissed, her voice tight with urgency."There's a place—I think you might remember it too."

The door swung open, and we stumbled into an enormous white hall. Rows upon rows of metal tables and chairs stretched before us like a forgotten assembly line. The fluorescent lights buzzed above, too bright, almost sterile. The room was vast, echoing, institutional—like a lecture hall or indoctrination chamber.

A giant white screen loomed at the front of the room. Printed on it, stark and unmistakable, was the symbol: a bold, double N.

The sight of it made my stomach twist.

This place could fit hundreds—no, thousands—of children.

Children?

I whispered the word under my breath as it surfaced in my mind without warning.

Why children?

Merlin didn't stop. She tugged at my hand and we dashed through the rows toward another exit.

I couldn't take my eyes off her. The way she ran. The warmth of her hand holding mine. And then, like a photograph unraveling in my memory, I saw it—A little girl with tight curls, wearing a white uniform marked with the double N, holding my hand.

My breath caught.

What did it mean? Why did this place feel so familiar—so intimate, like a ghost from my past had dragged me back here?

Was it a dream?No.No dream could feel this real. This terrifying.

Cold dread spilled through me as we burst out into the open, the pale blue of dusk filtering through the trees. We were on a narrow bridge that arched over a rushing river below, surrounded by thick forest. Behind us, voices were shouting, closer now.

Then I heard him.

"Catch them! Merlin, what the hell are you doing!? Come back!"

"Fuck off, Autin!" Merlin shouted over her shoulder, still running. "I'm not killing her—and you can tell that to Gordon!"

He tried to chase us, but Keli charged, snarling, blocking his path.

Up ahead, two Norton soldiers appeared, their silver pistols already raised.

Merlin turned to me suddenly and dropped my hand. Her voice trembled.

"I'm sorry… for what I'm about to do."

Before I could speak, she threw her full weight into me, sending us both tumbling over the edge of the bridge.

The fall felt endless.Then the icy water hit like a slap, knocking the air from my lungs. The current wrapped around me like a beast, dragging me under.

I gasped, choking. Spun wildly in the torrent.

"Keli!" I screamed, trying to lift my head above the water. "Keli!"

Gunfire rang out. Bullets whistled overhead. Dozens of soldiers aimed into the river, trying to track us through the chaos.

Merlin swam beside me, her presence the only thing keeping me grounded in the chaos.

"I'm sorry!" she shouted again, before diving with me beneath the surface.

The water fought us like a living creature, tearing at our limbs, pulling at our clothes. But then… it began to shallow. The current weakened. My knees scraped against the muddy riverbed.

We were ashore.

Merlin pulled herself up first and turned back, offering me a hand.

"Come on."

I gasped for air, still hunched over."My dog… Keli…" I said through gritted teeth. "I have to go back."

"Don't be stupid," she snapped. "You'd die going back. Autin probably already killed him."

I turned away from her, tears streaming down my face. My hands clenched into fists as grief cracked open something raw inside me.

"How much more?" I sobbed. "How much more do I have to lose?"

My voice shattered. The pain in my chest burned so deep I could hardly breathe.

Merlin stepped closer and gently placed her hand on my shoulder. I flinched, spun around, eyes burning.

"What are you doing? What is all of this? Suddenly you're kind? You're all just playing with me, aren't you? Another one of your fucking experiments!"

With a surge of rage, I pulled out a knife, knocked her to the ground, and lunged to drive it into her chest.

She didn't move. She lay perfectly still.

Then I froze.

Everything… changed.

It wasn't Merlin anymore beneath me.It was my mother. Her face pale, her body drenched in blood, lifeless.

The knife fell from my hands. I stared at them—blood everywhere. My breath came in sharp, shallow bursts. My chest ached. The air was thick, suffocating.

Then I felt hands on my shoulders."What's wrong with you? What happened to you?"

The blood vanished.It was Merlin again.

I scrambled off her, picked up the knife, and shoved it back into my pocket.

She stood slowly, brushing herself off."Come on," she said quietly. "We need to talk. I'm guessing you have questions… same as I do."

I didn't speak.My body followed her steps.

But my mind?

My mind was somewhere else entirely.