The library in Zone 3 had always seemed like a dead place to me: dust, silence, and shelves no one touched anymore. But now I knew it was something else—a battlefield of forgotten memories.
Kael had insisted we meet there. "It's the only place where no one looks too closely," she said. I wasn't sure if that was true or if she just liked the risk.
We sat in the back, among obsolete history books that officially "no longer contained useful information." Lira leafed through a volume of urban planning maps while Sol kept watch by the corridor. I could feel my heartbeat echo in my ears, faster than the whisper of pages turning.
Kael slid a file across the table toward me. It was thin, but heavy with weight."Darnell gave you proof," she said. "Now it's time you decide how much you trust him."
I opened it. Inside were scanned documents, partial transcripts, and blurry photos. In one of them, unmistakably, Darnell appeared shaking hands with men in dark suits, their faces hidden by shadows.
"He opposed the rise of X," Kael continued, her voice cold, "but he also sat at the table when the system was born. He wasn't just a rebel. He was part of the negotiation."
The air thickened around us. Lira finally spoke, her voice low but sharp:"Everyone who survives long enough makes compromises. The question is… did he betray us, or did he sacrifice himself to stay inside?"
Before I could answer, the lights flickered.
Sol whistled softly from the corridor: a signal. Someone else was inside the library.
We hid between the shelves, our breaths caught. Two patrols walked by—ordinary guards, armed but careless. Yet behind them came another figure, slower, precise, wearing a mask with X's symbol engraved in silver.
He moved differently. Not like a soldier, but like someone who knew what he was looking for.
He stopped in front of our section. Turned his head.
For a moment, I swore he could hear my heartbeat.
Then Kael grabbed my hand and pressed me against the wall, whispering almost without sound:"Don't move. Don't even breathe."
The masked figure finally walked away. The silence he left behind was heavier than his presence.
When the danger passed, Sol returned, pale as chalk."They're not just looking for rebels," he said. "They're hunting for memories. For the ones who still remember."
I looked at the file again, at Darnell's blurred image, and my chest filled with doubt.If the system itself wore masks… then maybe even my teacher was wearing one.
And I didn't know yet if, when he finally removed it, I would find an ally… or another enemy.
End of Chapter 8