The platform lowered into a massive, circular chamber lined with transparent cylinders—
not containing anything frightening, just old paperwork, stacked notebooks, broken monitors, and sealed containers.
An archive.
Ash exhaled slowly.
"I expected something worse."
Calder gazed around in awe. "This… this is everything they recorded. Every drawing. Every test. Decades of data."
Palo approached one of the cylinders. Inside were hundreds of drawings from children long gone—spirals, towers, shadowy shapes.
And then he saw something that made his breath catch.
A drawing of himself.
Small.
Curly-haired.
Holding a notebook.
Ash stepped closer. "That's definitely you."
Calder studied the label. "Test Subject P.S. Session 97."
Palo's stomach twisted. "Session ninety-seven?"
"You were here longer than you remember," Calder said softly. "Most children couldn't handle more than twenty sessions. But you… you kept seeing things."
Palo trembled. "That's not a good thing."
"It was for them," Calder said bitterly.
Palo touched the cylinder gently.
"I don't want these memories back."
Ash placed a reassuring hand near his shoulder—not touching, just close.
"You don't need to. Not unless you want to."
Before Palo could answer, a monitor fizzed to life at the far side of the chamber.
A video loaded.
And the Director appeared on-screen—
but younger.
Much younger.
Holding a small child in their arms.
Palo.
Calder's breath hitched.
"Oh no… I didn't know—"
Ash's eyes widened. "Palo… that's you. But the Director—"
Palo shook his head violently. "Turn it off."
But the video played anyway.
The Director's younger voice spoke gently:
"This one is the most sensitive. He sees more than the others. His mind reacts before the questions are asked."
Palo squeezed his eyes shut.
"I don't want to watch."
The children hugged him tightly, sensing his distress.
Calder whispered, "We can stop it. Let me try."
But before he could move, the lights flickered—
and the Director's voice echoed through the chamber.
"Memories can't be avoided forever, Palo."
Ash snapped, "Show yourself!"
The Director replied calmly,
"I am already here."
---