Edge of the Game (Part 3)

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PART-1

PART-2 By Rowan Finley

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Ava’s pulse thundered in her ears as she stared at the file. The names blurred together, but one stood out in horrifying clarity: Project Rechannel: Harper, Ava—Subject Active.

Her breathing hitched as she scrolled down. Faces from a forgotten life stared back at her—Chi, Sam, Liam. The friends who had made the orphanage feel like home. The friends she had believed were lost forever.

But there was more. A video file at the bottom of the folder glowed like a beacon. With shaking hands, she clicked it.

The screen flickered, and grainy footage filled the monitor. Rows of children sat motionless, black helmets locked onto their heads. The room pulsed with an eerie blue light. Doctors moved mechanically among them, adjusting settings on panels, murmuring words she couldn’t hear.

Then the camera panned, and her breath caught in her throat.

There she was—ten years younger, strapped into a chair, her eyes wide with terror.

A voice crackled through the speakers.

“Subject Harper shows resistance. Increase the dosage.”

“No! Don’t!” Ava’s younger self screamed, her voice echoing through the lab.

The camera lingered on her, on the tears streaming down her face, until her body convulsed and her eyes rolled back.

The screen went black.

Ava stumbled back from the desk, her heart slamming against her ribs. Her entire body trembled as fragments of buried memories clawed their way to the surface.

The sterile rooms... The needles.... The screaming....

“I was just a CHILD,” she whispered, the words tasting bitter on her tongue.

“You were more than that.”

The voice, mechanical and cold, sliced through the room like a blade. Ava whipped around, her gun drawn, but she froze when she saw him. The helmeted figure stood in the doorway, his silhouette framed by the flickering lights.

“I should’ve known,” she hissed, her voice laced with venom. “You’ve been following me since the start. Who the hell are YOU?”

The figure tilted his head, as though amused. “I’m the one who’s always been two steps ahead of you. And now, Ava, the game ends.”

“Take off the helmet,” she demanded, her finger tightening on the trigger. “Let me see your FACE.”

The figure chuckled, a low, distorted sound. “You really don’t remember, do you? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. They TOOK so much from you.”

He reached up, unfastening the sleek black helmet. When it came off, Ava’s breath caught in her throat.

“Liam?”

The boy she had once known was gone. The face before her was older, harder, scarred by years of pain and something darker—something unrecognizable.

“I knew you’d remember,” he said softly, his voice devoid of warmth.

Ava’s grip on the gun faltered. “What did they do to you?”

“The same thing they did to all of us,” Liam said, stepping closer. “But unlike you, I didn’t RUN. I stayed. I survived. And now…” His lips curled into a bitter smile. “I’m everything they wanted me to be.”

Ava shook her head, her voice trembling with fury. “You’re lying. You hated them as much as I did. We were going to escape together!”

“And then you left me,” he snapped, his voice cutting like glass. “You left all of us. Do you know what it was like, waking up in that chair? Realizing you were GONE?”

“I didn’t know—” Ava began, but he cut her off.

“They rewired me, Ava. They broke me down and built me back up into their perfect WEAPON. But you?” He sneered. “You got to run FREE, pretending you could leave it all behind. Did you really think the past wouldn’t catch up to you?”

Ava took a shaky step back, her gun still raised. “Liam, listen to me. We can stop this. We can destroy them—together.”

“Destroy them?” Liam laughed, a hollow, haunting sound. “You don’t get it, do you? I am them.”

Before she could react, he moved—lightning fast. He knocked the gun from her hand, slamming her against the wall. Ava gasped as the air was forced from her lungs.

“You should’ve stayed OUT of this,” he said, pulling a syringe from his belt. The liquid inside glowed a sickly green.

“No,” she gasped, struggling against his grip. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I don’t have a choice,” he whispered, almost regretfully. “And neither do you.”

She felt the sharp sting of the needle in her neck, followed by a wave of icy numbness. Her vision blurred, and her limbs went heavy.

“Why?” she choked out as darkness crept in.

Liam leaned in close, his breath warm against her ear. “Because the game isn’t over, Ava. It’s just beginning.”

Her world spiraled into oblivion as his voice echoed in her mind.

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To Be Continued...

AUTHOR's NOTE:

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!

Part-4 will be written by Rowan Finley and to find his profile, follow the link below: