CHAPTER 06_THE GASLIGHTING BEGINS
"You really should sit down Ethan you look like you've seen a ghost and that kind of pacing isn't helping Morgana's nerves."
Marcus sits on my sofa like he bought the place with his legs crossed and a look of practiced pity on his face. I can see the clock on the wall ticking behind his head and it feels like a countdown to my own execution. Morgana is tucked into the corner of the loveseat with her knees pulled up to her chest and her eyes are so red she looks like she hasn't slept in a week.
"I'm fine Marcus I just didn't expect to find my girlfriends boss in my living room at three in the morning." I say while I lean against the kitchen counter to keep my hands from shaking.
"I called him Ethan I was scared." Morgana whispers while she looks at the floor. "You were gone and I found those maps in your bag and the receipts for all that survival gear and I didn't know who else to talk to."
Marcus nods slowly like a doctor delivering a terminal diagnosis. "It's a lot for a young woman to handle alone Ethan. This level of paranoid ideation and the stockpiling of medical supplies and the obsessive research into dimensional displacement on your laptop. It's classic signs of a high stress break."
"I'm not having a break Marcus I'm being cautious." I say while I try to keep my voice level but I can feel the heat rising in my neck.
"Of course you are and that's exactly what someone in your state would believe." Marcus says while he stands up and smooths out his jacket. "The university has excellent counseling services Ethan and I've already spoken to a colleague in the psychiatric department who can see you tomorrow morning. Perhaps some mild medication to help with the anxiety and the sleep disturbances."
I look at Morgana and I see the way she's watching me. She's looking for the cracks. She's looking for the monster Marcus is describing and every second I spend standing here I'm giving him exactly what he wants.
"I appreciate the concern Marcus really I do." I say while I force a smile that feels like it's cracking my face. "I've just been stressed with the insurance claims and I guess I went down a bit of a rabbit hole with the economic news. I went for a walk to clear my head and I should have left a note."
Marcus's eyes flicker for a split second. It's tiny but I see it. He wanted me to scream. He wanted me to throw him out so he could tell Morgana I was violent.
"Well I'm glad to hear you're feeling more grounded." Marcus says while he walks toward the door. "But the offer stands. Morgana why don't you walk me to the car so we can discuss your schedule for tomorrow."
They leave the apartment and I collapse into a chair. My heart is thumping so hard I can feel it in my fingertips. The blue screen in my vision pulses a dull steady amber.
Manipulation timeline accelerated. Subject Morgana Chen is currently 64 percent compromised.
When the door opens again Morgana doesn't come back to the sofa. She stays by the entry way with her arms wrapped around herself like she's trying to hold her skin on.
"What is happening to you Ethan." she asks and her voice is so thin it barely reaches me. "The food in the pantry and the water filters and now Marcus tells me you've been looking into his private research files. Are you okay mentally."
"I'm fine babe I promise." I say while I stand up and take a step toward her.
She flinches. It's small but it's there. She's actually afraid of me.
"Don't lie to me anymore please." she says while tears start to spill over. "Marcus showed me the search history. He said people who obsess over this stuff sometimes get... fixated. He said you might start seeing things that aren't there."
"Marcus is a scientist Morgana he looks for patterns in everything even when there aren't any." I say while I reach out and take her hands. They're cold as ice. "I've just been worried about our future and I handled it badly. I'll stop the prepping and I'll be more open I swear."
She lets out a long shaky breath and leans her head against my chest. I wrap my arms around her and I feel sick. I'm holding the person who killed me and I'm lying to her to keep her from doing it again. We go to bed and I lie there in the dark listening to her breathe and every time her foot brushes against mine I have to fight the urge to bolt out the window.
The next morning I'm at Elena's apartment before the sun is even fully up. She looks like she hasn't slept either. Her kitchen table is covered in high resolution prints from the lab and she's got a magnifying glass in her hand.
"He's not just studying that being in the tank Ethan." she says without looking up. "Look at these tubes. These aren't for life support. They're extraction lines. He's taking genetic material and bone marrow and god knows what else."
"He's draining them to death." I say while I look at the photos of the crystalline skin.
"Exactly." Elena says while she taps a photo of a storage container. "He's trying to replicate the stabilization properties in a lab. He wants the power of an anchor without the actual person attached to it. That's why Subject Zero is failing. Marcus is literally harvesting them until there's nothing left."
"We have to get them out Elena." I say while I pace the small kitchen.
"The security is doubled now Ethan and if we break in again he'll know it's us." she says while she leans back and rubs her eyes. "And the second that tank is empty he's going to come for you with everything he's got."
"What if we let him think he's winning." Elena says while she looks at me with an intense light in her eyes. "You play the unstable boyfriend and let him keep gaslighting you. I'll stay in the shadows and gather the evidence that even the university board can't ignore. We need the proof of the murder and the imprisonment."
I'm about to answer when my phone starts screaming on the table. It's Morgana. I pick it up and before I can even say hello I hear her sobbing.
"Ethan where are you." she cries and she sounds like she's hyperventilating. "Something happened at the university. There was an accident in Marcus's lab and the police are here and they're asking about you."
"What accident Morgana what are you talking about." I ask while my blood goes cold.
"There was a fire and Marcus is hurt and he told the officers he saw you on the security cameras near the subbasement last night." she sobs into the phone. "He said you were trying to sabotage the equipment because you thought it was a weapon. Ethan what did you do please tell me you didn't do it."
I look at Elena and she's already grabbing her laptop.
"I was with you all night Morgana you know that." I say while my voice cracks.
"I was asleep Ethan I don't know when you left." she screams. "The police are coming to the apartment right now and Marcus says he's afraid for my safety. He says you're coming for me next."
I hang up the phone and my hand is shaking so hard I drop it. The blue screen in my vision turns a violent flashing red.
CRITICAL UPDATE: Subject One status changed to PRIMARY SUSPECT. Arrest warrant pending.
"He's not waiting thirty days Elena." I rasp while I grab my jacket. "He's framing me right now."
Elena grabs my arm and pulls me back. "You can't go back there Ethan if you go to that apartment you're done."
"She's there alone with the police Elena." I say while I try to shake her off.
"No she isn't." Elena says while she points to her laptop screen which is tied into a local scanner. "There are no police at your apartment Ethan. But there is a black sedan registered to Marcus's private security firm sitting in your driveway right now."
I freeze and the air feels like it's turning to glass around me.
"He's using her voice." I whisper while I look at the dead phone. "He's using a deepfake or he's got a gun to her head."
The phone rings again and this time it's a video call. I slide the bar and Morgana's face fills the screen. She's sitting in our living room and she looks terrified but she isn't crying anymore. She looks cold.
"Ethan Marcus says if you come back right now he won't press charges." she says and her voice is flat like a robot. "He says he just wants to help you get better before you hurt someone else. Are you coming home Ethan or do I have to tell them everything."