CHAPTER 11 THE MAN WHO KNEW

The basement door opened another inch.

Lena couldn't move.

Ethan stepped in front of her.

"Stay behind me."

A man's silhouette appeared at the top of the stairs.

He didn't rush.

He didn't attack.

He simply stood there, watching them.

Then he stepped into the light.

Lena's breath caught.

She didn't recognize him.

But something about him felt familiar.

He was in his forties, dressed in a dark coat, with a small silver symbol pinned beneath his collar.

Three lines crossing a circle.

Ethan's voice became cold.

"Who are you?"

The man looked at him.

"That doesn't matter."

"It matters to me."

The man ignored him.

His eyes moved to Lena.

"You remembered."

Lena's hands tightened.

"Remembered what?"

The man smiled faintly.

"More than we expected."

Ethan moved forward.

"Answer her."

The man finally looked at him.

"You shouldn't be here either, Mr. Cross."

Ethan's expression hardened.

"How do you know me?"

"We've been watching you for years."

Lena felt a chill.

"Why?"

The man looked toward the notebook.

"Because of Project Aurora."

Ethan held the notebook tighter.

"What is it?"

The man didn't answer.

Instead, he looked at Lena.

"You were never supposed to wake up with your memories intact."

Lena stared at him.

"Who did this to me?"

"Not who."

He paused.

"What."

The silver light suddenly appeared across Lena's palm.

The man's expression changed.

For the first time, he looked frightened.

"It's already activated."

Ethan noticed.

"What is activated?"

The man stepped backward.

"Lena."

She looked at him.

"What?"

"Don't let them find you."

"Who?"

He looked toward the basement entrance.

"The people who started the project."

A loud sound came from outside.

The man immediately turned.

"They're here."

Ethan raised his phone.

"Who?"

The man didn't answer.

A vehicle stopped outside the lodge.

Then another.

Lena's stomach dropped.

"How many?"

"Too many."

Ethan looked at the basement exit.

"Can we get out another way?"

The man nodded.

"Behind the storage room."

Ethan looked suspiciously at him.

"Why help us?"

"Because I made the mistake of helping them once."

He looked at Lena.

"I won't make it twice."

Another vehicle door slammed outside.

The man moved toward the hidden passage.

"Come."

Ethan didn't move.

Lena looked at him.

"We don't have time."

He nodded.

They followed.

The passage was narrow and dark.

It led beneath the lodge and opened several meters behind the property.

Lena remembered the first timeline.

She had never known this passage existed.

That frightened her more than anything.

Her memories were becoming less reliable.

The three of them emerged into the forest.

Ethan looked back.

Lights were moving around the lodge.

"They're searching the building."

The stranger pointed toward the trees.

"Keep moving."

They ran.

After several minutes, they reached an abandoned maintenance road.

The stranger stopped.

"My vehicle is nearby."

Ethan grabbed his arm.

"Before we go anywhere, you're going to answer questions."

The man looked at him.

"Fair."

"What is Project Aurora?"

"A research program."

"For what?"

"Memory preservation."

Lena stared at him.

"After death?"

"Not exactly."

He looked at her.

"The goal was to preserve human consciousness beyond biological failure."

Ethan's expression changed.

"That sounds impossible."

"It was."

"Then why did it work?"

The man was silent.

Lena stepped forward.

"It didn't work."

He looked at her.

"I died."

"Yes."

"And I woke up three years earlier."

"Yes."

"So what happened?"

The man hesitated.

"You were the first successful subject."

Lena's face went pale.

Ethan stepped closer.

"Who funded the project?"

The man looked toward the distant lodge.

"People with more money than governments."

"Names."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because they're already looking for you."

Lena's palm began glowing again.

The man stared.

"They've found you."

Ethan turned.

A faint light moved between the trees.

Then another.

Flashlights.

They were coming closer.

The stranger reached into his coat.

Ethan immediately tensed.

But the man pulled out a small black drive.

"Take this."

Ethan accepted it.

"What is it?"

"Everything I know about Aurora."

"Why give it to us?"

"Because I won't survive long enough to explain it."

Lena looked at him.

"What does that mean?"

The man smiled sadly.

"You'll understand soon."

A sharp sound echoed through the forest.

The man dropped to one knee.

Ethan caught him.

Lena stepped forward.

"What's wrong?"

The stranger looked at her.

"Listen carefully."

He struggled to speak.

"Your memories aren't the only thing that came back."

Lena froze.

"What else?"

His eyes moved to her glowing hand.

"Something inside you."

Then he looked toward Ethan.

"And it has already changed him."

Ethan's expression tightened.

"What are you talking about?"

The stranger didn't answer.

His eyes closed.

Lena looked at Ethan.

"What does he mean?"

Ethan shook his head.

"I don't know."

But something had changed.

His breathing.

His expression.

The way he was looking at her.

Then Lena noticed it.

A faint silver mark had appeared on Ethan's wrist.

Three lines.

Crossing a circle.

Exactly like hers.

Lena stared.

"Ethan..."

He looked down.

Neither of them spoke.

Behind them, the forest filled with approaching footsteps.

And ahead of them, the future waited.

But for the first time, Lena realized something terrifying.

She hadn't returned alone.

To be continued....