The Darkness Before The Truth

At last, I opened my eyes, only to be met with nothing but darkness. In the distance, beside me, I could hear the sorrowful whimpering of Keli, trying to find me. Judging by the echo of his whimpers, I concluded we were in some kind of small, enclosed space. I still lay motionless on the cold concrete, feeling the weight of the metal cuffs around my wrists.

"Keli, come here," I whispered, turning my head in the direction of the sound. Keli eagerly approached, barking softly.

"No, be quiet," I told him, trying to remove the cuffs that still clung tightly to my wrists.

Suddenly, the creaking of a door broke the silence, drawing both of our attention and forcing us into stillness. From another room, voices could be clearly heard.

"So, a man... and—" I muttered to myself, "—a woman's voice." I raised my head slightly off the floor. "It's Merlin. That woman…"

Rage surged through me, and I began searching my surroundings for anything that might help me remove the cuffs. Keli remained silent, which was a relief. I could hear him closely following me as I crawled across the floor, feeling around for anything useful. At last, beneath my knee, I felt something hard — an old nail, which might just serve as a key. I took it in my free hand and carefully inserted it into the cuff's lock until I finally heard a click.

I stood up, steadying myself against the wall I had crawled toward, the pain and dizziness still coursing through my body. I couldn't help but wonder what she had given me. That moment remained a blur in my memory. Whatever it was, Merlin was not someone to be trusted. Unfortunately, I had realized that far too late.

I was a fool. One day, it'll get me killed.

While a storm of thoughts rushed through my mind, the voices in the other room grew clearer once again.

"Is she here? Is she hurt?" a man's voice asked.

"She's here. I'll take care of her. We can't let her escape again," the woman's voice replied calmly — it had to be Merlin.

"Get rid of her. That's what's best for everyone," the man said, his voice now laced with frustration.

"Oh, I will," she responded, satisfaction dripping from her voice.

Footsteps echoed again, and the door creaked. This time, the steps were coming toward me.

"I know you can hear me. I know you're listening. I'm not that stupid…" Her voice was separated from me only by a thin door, in a room still shrouded in darkness and filled only with the sound of my own breath.

"What do you want from me? Don't tell me you're one of those Nortons," I shouted back, anger and pain in my voice, as I instinctively reached for my injured knee — most likely bruised from the fall.

Finally, the door opened, and the room was flooded with the dim light of an old bulb from the adjacent space where the conversation had taken place.

"The man you heard is Autin. I'm sure you remember him," she said with a smile, looking at me with something that resembled pity.

"What the hell are you doing!?" I stormed toward her, prompting Keli to growl and attempt to lunge at her.

"Calm the dog down, then we'll talk," she said flatly.

I motioned to Keli to stand back, which he did, though keeping his eyes fixed on Merlin. She stepped closer, close enough now that I could clearly see the sharp features of her face. Her dirty blonde curls still cascaded down her shoulders, and her eyes — chestnut in color — burned with some strange mix of fury and desire. She wore a black uniform marked with the letter N and wide black trousers. Around her neck was a tattoo that unmistakably marked her as one of the Nortons: two intertwined N's.

"I knew it!" I gasped, rage burning behind my eyes as the truth of that day replayed vividly in my mind.

Overcome with fury, I grabbed her by the collar of her uniform and yanked her toward me, close enough to feel her breath on my face.

"I will make you pay for everything you did that day. You killed my parents. You killed my friends. You killed everything inside me that day," I screamed at her, pausing after each sentence to catch my breath.

She stared back into my eyes calmly, as if filled with pity once more. Keli quietly retreated to a corner of the room, watching us both with cautious attention.

Finally, she sighed and looked at the floor.

Heavy footsteps echoed in the distance, approaching quickly, until a man's silhouette appeared in the doorway.

"Devin, calm down," he said. "You're here because of your own actions. The government has issued a death sentence. They're hunting you down everywhere."

I looked at him, stunned. "My own actions?" I stepped toward the stranger. "How do you know my name? Who the hell are you?"

Furious, I lunged at him, trying to get past him through the door, but Merlin stepped in front of me, pulling a gun from her uniform and aiming it directly at my head.

"Autin, step back. She's my responsibility. Just leave. You're only making things worse."

Autin stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Now it was just the two of us — Merlin and me — and the oppressive silence that filled the room.

What the hell is going on?