Chapter Eleven: Zack’s Memories
Chapter Eleven: Zack’s Memories The alcove was silent except for the faint hum of machinery in the distance. I sat with my knees pulled to my chest, trying to make sense of everything Lena and the Overseer had told me. Zack’s sacrifice. My supposed purpose. It all felt impossibly heavy, like a weight I couldn’t escape. The quiet was broken by a strange sensation in my mind—a flicker of light, followed by a sharp, static hum. I winced, clutching my head as the sensation grew stronger. It wasn’t pain, exactly, but something foreign, something… opening. Images flooded my mind, unbidden and vivid. I wasn’t in the alcove anymore. I was walking down a busy street toward a building that seemed to loom over the rest of the town. Its sleek, corporate design was identical to those I’d seen in old footage—every town had one, built and maintained by the corporation. It served as a hub, selling tech, dispensing drugs, and connecting directly to their health system. Everyone relied on it, whether...