"When they break you, they don't shatter you all at once. It’s piece by piece, so you're left feeling whole, yet lost."
— Skylar, Genesis: The Awakening

----

Roselyn’s thoughts splintered with each attempt to make sense of where she was. A sharp pain tore through her mind every time she tried to hold on to a memory—each one slipping through her fingers like sand.

Faces blurred, names tangled, and words that should have been familiar danced just out of reach.

The restraints were cold against her skin, and the harsh light overhead flickered in time with her erratic pulse. She tried to remember something—anything—but the pain sliced deeper with every effort. It was as if her mind was being broken apart, deliberately shattered. She winced, fighting against the fog that clouded her thoughts.

"They’re always watching, always listening."
The phrase echoed in her head, but she couldn’t place who had said it or why.

Finally, the restraints clicked open, and hands gripped her arms, dragging her upright. Her legs felt unsteady as she was pulled forward, out of the suffocating brightness and into a darker, colder space. The walls were different here—rough, cement-like. The air was thick with the smell of damp concrete.

She stumbled into the room, blinking against the dim light. Two figures were already there, sitting against the far wall. A guy with tangled hair and a haunted expression glanced up at her first, his fingers flickering with faint sparks of electricity. Beside him, a girl stared at the floor, her sleeves singed and her face pale.

Roselyn swallowed, trying to push through the haze. She knew she should speak, say something—but the words felt stuck in her throat. Her head throbbed, making it harder to concentrate.

The guy —Lucas— was the first to break the silence, his voice low and rough. "They've never brought you here before." He didn’t ask; he just stated it, like he’d seen this happen too many times before. His eyes flickered toward the door, then back to her. "I’m Lucas. That’s Ariella."

Roselyn didn’t respond right away. The pain in her head flared up again, making her vision blur. Names... Names should mean something, she thought, but the connection wouldn’t form. She looked at them again, their tags were on their shirts — B-012 and B-004.

After a pause, Lucas continued, his voice quieter now. "They got me for... siphoning electricity from the main grid." He let out a breath, a bitter smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. "Guess I tapped into the wrong line."

Roselyn blinked, trying to piece together what he was saying. She could see the faint sparks between his fingers, like static that wouldn’t stop. She opened her mouth, but Ariella spoke before she could say anything.

"I... I lost control," Ariella whispered, her voice tight. She still wasn’t looking up. "Nearly set fire to an entire wing." Her shoulders trembled slightly. "Now... I’m here."

The weight of their words pressed down on Roselyn, but she couldn’t fully grasp it. She knew why she was here, though.

She had overheard them.

She had overheard Krane, Kane, and Elena. That memory was sharp—one of the few that hadn’t slipped away, though it felt like it was wrapped in thorns. Every time she tried to focus on it, the pain flared up again, forcing her to pull back.

She swallowed hard, trying to keep herself steady. Her body ached from whatever they had done to her, but the real damage was inside her head. She could feel the fragments of her mind, scattered and sharp, cutting her every time she tried to remember too much.

Lucas eyed her for a moment, as if he could sense her confusion. “You don’t have to say why you’re here,” he murmured, his tone softening. “They get all of us eventually. One way or another.”

Of course they did. They had control over them.

Roselyn tried to nod but stopped when another sharp pain shot through her skull. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to focus. Names, she thought again. Names are important.

“I’m Roselyn,” she finally managed, her voice hoarse and uncertain. “I... I was—”

Her words faltered as a wave of nausea hit her. She clutched her head, groaning, as the room seemed to spin around her.

Lucas’s expression darkened. “Easy. Don’t push yourself. That’s what they want—your mind to break. It’s how they keep control.”

Ariella glanced up now, her wide eyes locking onto Roselyn. “Don’t let them win,” she whispered, her voice fragile but fierce. “They want you to forget, to lose yourself in the fragments. You have to hold on to something... anything that’s still yours.”

Roselyn wasn’t sure what was still hers. Her memories, her mind, even her body—it all felt out of her control. She took a slow, shaky breath, trying to center herself. The throbbing in her head dulled slightly, and she managed to speak again. She looked at the door.

“Has... anyone ever escaped?”

Lucas and Ariella exchanged a glance, the tension in the room thickening. Lucas leaned back against the wall, his eyes narrowing as if he were weighing whether to tell her the truth. Besides she's supposed to know, she probably did not remember.

“Once,” he said after a long pause. “A long time ago. No one knows what happened to them, though.”

Ariella added, her voice a whisper, “They say bad things happen to those who try.”

Roselyn’s pulse quickened. “What kind of bad things?”

Neither of them answered. The silence was heavy, and Roselyn didn’t need them to explain. The walls here had seen too much. Whatever had happened to the person who tried to escape, it had left a mark on everyone.

Before she could ask anything else, the door creaked open, and two guards entered the room. Their expressions were unreadable as they motioned for Roselyn to follow.

Lucas gave her a slight nod, but his eyes held a warning. “Remember what I said. They’re always watching, always listening.”

The words sent a chill down her spine as the guards gripped her arms, dragging her back down the dim hallway. She was too tired to resist, too broken to fight. But the fragments of her mind, painful as they were, kept her grounded.

She had to survive this. She had to remember.

When they finally reached the cell, the guards shoved her inside. The room was small and cold, a faint light flickering from a cracked bulb. Her eyes adjusted, and she saw her—Kendall.

She was sitting on the edge of one of the bunks, her face lighting up when she saw Roselyn. “Roselyn!”

The sudden rush of familiarity hit Roselyn like a punch to the gut. She staggered, clutching her head as another sharp pain split through her mind. Kendall... Kendall...

The name slipped from her lips, barely a whisper. “Kendall?”

Kendall was beside her in an instant, grabbing her shoulders. “Roselyn, what did they do to you?” Her voice was thick with concern, but Roselyn couldn’t answer. The pain was too much. Every memory of herself, of Kendall, of everything before this place—it all twisted and blurred, leaving her breathless.

Kendall pulled her into a tight hug, but even that comfort was tinged with pain. Roselyn felt like she was losing herself piece by piece, but for now, she held onto Kendall’s warmth.

“Stay with me,” Kendall whispered, her voice trembling. “We’ll get through this. I promise.”

Roselyn wanted to believe her. She wanted to feel safe. But as the words echoed in her mind—They’re always watching, always listening—she knew that nothing in this place was truly safe.

After all they had all the control.

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And finally I've written chapter nine! It was a hassle but it's finally done. I'm sorry for not updating sooner. Also thank you guys so much for 500+ reads! Means a lot!

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See you soon!

Muah💋!
~Rhoda