Melissa took a deep breath and started up the path toward the cabin. The morning air was crisp, carrying the scent of damp earth and pine. The town behind her felt like a different world, a place untouched by the industry's shadows. But here, on this hill, Melissa knew she was stepping directly into the heart of Requiem's secrets.
The cabin looked abandoned. The wood was worn, the windows dark. For a moment, she hesitated. Was Ethan really here? Or had Vaughn's warning been right, was he no longer the man she once knew?
Steeling herself, she knocked on the door. Silence. She tried again, harder this time. The wood groaned against her fist.
Then, the door creaked open.
Melissa's breath hitched.
A figure stood in the dim light. His face was gaunt, his eyes unreadable. He didn't speak. He just stared.
"Ethan?" Melissa whispered.
The man tilted his head slightly. His lips parted, as if trying to form words, but nothing came. Then, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke.
"You shouldn't have come."
Melissa's pulse pounded. He was alive. But was he really Ethan Clarke or just a ghost left behind?
"You don't understand," Ethan continued, voice hoarse. "They don't let people walk away. Requiem isn't just about erasure. It's about control. And if they know you found me…"
Melissa squared her shoulders. "Then we have to move fast."
For the first time, Ethan's expression shifted. A flicker of something...fear? Hope? Recognition? all passed through his gaze.
"Then you better be ready to fight."
Because Requiem wasn't done with either of them.
And Melissa had just placed herself directly in their crosshairs.
Melissa stepped inside cautiously, scanning the dimly lit cabin. Dust clung to the air, and faded papers covered the small wooden table in the corner. Ethan moved stiffly, shutting the door behind her as if expecting someone to burst in at any moment.
"You shouldn't be here," he repeated, his voice low and strained.
Melissa ignored the warning. "I found the files, Ethan. I know about Requiem. I know what they did to you."
A shadow passed over his face, something between resignation and fury. He ran a hand through his overgrown hair, exhaling sharply. "You think knowing helps? You think it changes anything?"
Melissa stepped closer. "It does if we fight back."
Ethan let out a bitter laugh. "Fight back? You don't understand. They don't make mistakes. They don't leave loose ends. If you found me, it means they let you find me. And that means..."
A sudden sharp ring echoed through the cabin. Ethan stiffened. Melissa's pulse spiked.
A phone sat on the table, an old flip model, its screen blinking with an unknown number.
"You need to leave," Ethan said sharply, but Melissa wasn't listening. She reached for the phone. Ethan grabbed her wrist. "Melissa—"
She answered.
Silence.
Then, the voice. The same one from before. "You were warned."
Melissa's breath hitched. "Who are you?"
A pause. Then, barely above a whisper: "The only one who made it out."
The call cut off.
Ethan's face was pale. "You have no idea what you've just done."
Melissa clenched her jaw. "I don't care. If there's someone else out there, someone who escaped then we have a chance."
Ethan hesitated. She saw it...hesitation cracking the walls he'd built around himself. A glimpse of the man he used to be.
Finally, he spoke. "Then we need to move. Now."
Melissa didn't argue. She helped Ethan shove papers into a bag, grabbed the car keys from the counter. But as they reached the door, Ethan stopped short.
"Too late."
Melissa turned, her stomach dropping at the sight outside.
Headlights.
A line of sleek black cars at the base of the hill.
They'd found them.
Or worse Melissa had led them straight to Ethan.
"Run." Ethan's voice was steady now. Determined. "No matter what happens next, you don't stop."
Melissa had no choice.
She ran.
But how far could they go before Requiem erased them both for good?
Melissa didn't hesitate. She bolted through the back door, Ethan right behind her. The cabin was isolated, but not enough, they could hear the sound of car doors slamming, voices cutting through the quiet dawn.
"They're fast," Ethan muttered, his breath ragged as they raced toward the tree line. "But we have an advantage."
Melissa glanced at him. "What advantage?"
Ethan didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed her wrist, veering sharply to the right, away from the main road. They plunged into the dense forest, branches snagging their clothes, the damp earth swallowing their footsteps.
Behind them, engines roared to life.
Melissa's heart pounded as she fought to keep up. Ethan was leading her somewhere, but where?
"They don't know this terrain," Ethan finally said. "And there's a passage ahead that'll slow them down."
Melissa wanted to believe him. She really did. But the distant glow of headlights cutting through the trees told her they didn't have long.
"They'll spread out," she said. "They'll corner us if we're not fast enough."
Ethan's jaw tightened. "Then we don't get cornered."
They ran deeper, the air growing colder as they neared a steep incline. Ethan barely hesitated he climbed, gripping onto the jagged rock, pulling himself upward.
Melissa followed, her muscles burning as she scrambled to keep up.
A gunshot cracked through the stillness.
Melissa gasped as the bullet hit the rocks just below them.
"They're shooting at us?" she rasped, disbelief lacing her words.
"They're trying to make it look like an accident," Ethan corrected, pulling her up the last stretch. "Like we never made it out of the woods."
They reached the top and kept running, their feet kicking up dust and gravel. But then—
Ethan stopped.
Melissa nearly collided into him. "What—"
Then she saw it.
A vehicle.
Not one of Requiem's.
A single truck parked at the edge of the ridge, its driver standing outside watching them.
Melissa recognized him instantly.
The voice from the call.
"The only one who made it out."
Ethan stepped forward cautiously. "This doesn't mean we trust you."
The man nodded. "It shouldn't."
Melissa swallowed hard, glancing back at the approaching lights. "Then why are you here?"
A pause.
And then—
"Because I know where Requiem's headquarters are."
Melissa's breath stalled.
Ethan's expression darkened.
And for the first time, they had a real choice.
Run and disappear forever—
Or take the fight to the people who erased Ethan Clarke from existence.
Melissa's pulse hammered as she exchanged glances with Ethan. The stranger had given them a choice—one they'd never expected to have.
Ethan inhaled deeply, his gaze fixed on the man. "If we go after them, we need to be sure. You said you escaped. How?"
The stranger lean, with sharp eyes that had seen too much he folded his arms. "It wasn't clean. They erased me, same as they erased Ethan. But I slipped through the cracks. They don't expect ghosts to fight back."
Melissa stepped forward. "Then tell us where to strike."
The man's jaw tightened. "It's a facility off the grid. Underground. Secure. You don't walk in, you infiltrate."
Ethan's expression darkened. "You mean we play their game."
A slow nod. "Only way to win."
Melissa glanced at the approaching headlights in the distance. "Then we don't have time to debate. If we do this, we do it now."
The stranger opened the truck door. "Then get in. I'll explain on the way."
Ethan hesitated just for a second. Then, with a sharp breath, he climbed in after Melissa. The truck roared to life, kicking up dust as they sped into the darkness.
Inside, the stranger kept his eyes on the road. "They'll be expecting you to run. But they won't expect you to come straight for them. That gives us an opening."
Melissa's fingers curled around the edge of the seat. "And what happens once we get inside?"
Silence.
Then—
"You break Requiem from the inside out."
A chill settled over them.
Melissa knew this wasn't just about Ethan anymore.
This was about stopping a system built to make people disappear.
And they had just become the biggest threat to it.
But Requiem wasn't going to go down without a fight.
And Melissa was ready for whatever came next.
Are they prepared to infiltrate? What secrets will they uncover? And will they make it out alive?