The first days in the settlement were a blur for Jeremiah. At first, he clung to his purpose -he was here to find the missing truck, to uncover Dirty Joy's operation, to bring justice for the lives lost. But the rhythm of the settlement, its strange mixture of routine and dreamlike haze, soon began to erode his resolve.
He met Lila on his second day. She was waiting by the well, her eyes sharp, watching everyone with a practiced wariness. She approached Jeremiah with a smile that was both welcoming and guarded.
"You're new here," she said, her voice low. "Looking for work or just passing through?"
Jeremiah hesitated, the story he'd rehearsed on the drive in suddenly slipping from his mind. "I… I guess I'm looking for work. Coal mine, maybe."
Lila's smile widened, a touch of sadness in it. "You'll find the mine's not what it used to be. But there are other ways to get by." She nodded toward the cluster of buildings at the edge of the settlement. "Come by the brothel tonight. I'll show you around."
He did. That first night, the brothel was warm and crowded, filled with laughter and music that seemed to echo from another era. Lila introduced him to the others, faces that blurred together, names that slipped away as soon as he heard them. He drank, he laughed, and for the first time in months, he felt the weight of his badge and his mission begin to fade.
Days turned into weeks. Jeremiah found himself swept into the routines of the settlement: working odd jobs, sharing meals, losing himself in the stories and secrets that filled the nights. Lila became his anchor, her presence a comfort in the haze. He visited her at the brothel almost every evening, their conversations growing deeper, more intimate. She never pressed him about his past, and he never spoke of it. In the settlement, the outside world felt distant, unreal.
But beneath the surface, something was wrong. Jeremiah would sometimes wake in the middle of the night, heart pounding, certain he'd forgotten something important. He'd stare at the ceiling, trying to remember why he'd come to the canyon, but the memories slipped away like water through his fingers.
One evening, as the sun dipped behind the canyon walls, Jeremiah wandered into the settlement's bar. The place was nearly empty, save for a solitary figure at the counter,a stranger with a weathered face and eyes that seemed to hold the weight of a thousand lives.
Jeremiah sat beside him, drawn by a sense of déjà vu. The man turned, studying him for a long moment, then leaned in close.
"You don't belong here," the stranger whispered. "You came for something. Someone. They made you forget."
A jolt of fear shot through Jeremiah. He tried to protest, but the words caught in his throat.
The stranger reached up and pressed his fingers behind Jeremiah's ear. Pain flared, sharp and electric, and then..... suddenly... memories flooded back. The truck. The chase. Dirty Joy's mocking smile. The blood in the alley. María's face.
Jeremiah gasped, clutching the edge of the bar. The haze shattered, leaving him raw and exposed.
The stranger was gone. Only the echo of his words remained: You came for something. Don't let them retake it.
Jeremiah staggered out into the night, the truth burning in his mind. He remembered everything. And he knew, with cold certainty, that the settlement was a trap... a loop designed to make people forget who they were and why they came.
He had to find a way out. And he had to find Lila before the memory veil closed over him once more.