The Man Beyond The Map

CHAPTER 33 — THE DREAM

“You really don't remember killing me, do you?”

The words stayed in the corridor.

For a moment, nobody moved.

Not me.

Not Aria.

Not Daniel Reed.

My brain rejected the sentence before I could even process it.

Killing him?

I looked at Daniel.

He was standing ten meters away.

Alive.

Breathing.

Smiling.

“You're Daniel Reed.”

“Yes.”

“The real Daniel Reed.”

He nodded.

I glanced at Aria.

She looked like she had seen a ghost.

But there were no ghosts.

Not here.

Not anymore.

Whatever Meridian had done, there had to be an explanation.

There always was.

I forced myself to breathe.

“Aria didn't kill you.”

Daniel's smile disappeared.

“You're certain?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Because she's been with me since I arrived on this island.”

“And before that?”

I stopped.

Daniel noticed.

“Exactly.”

Aria stepped forward.

“I don't know you.”

“You did.”

“No.”

“You knew me very well.”

She shook her head.

“I've never seen you before.”

Daniel looked at me.

“She believes that.”

Something cold moved through my stomach.

“What does that mean?”

“It means Meridian worked.”

He reached into his jacket.

Marcus's gunshot from earlier had left my nerves raw.

My hand moved toward my weapon.

Daniel slowly raised one hand.

“Relax.”

He pulled out a folded photograph.

Then he placed it on the floor.

He stepped back.

I approached carefully.

The photograph showed a room.

A medical room.

Two people stood inside.

One was Daniel.

The other was Aria.

But they weren't standing beside each other.

They were facing each other.

Aria was holding a pistol.

Daniel had his hands raised.

Behind them was a glass wall.

And written across it in black marker were three words.

FINAL RESPONSE TEST.

I stared at the photograph.

“When was this?”

Daniel answered immediately.

“June 14, 2009.”

My eyes lifted.

The same date as the other photograph.

The same date Meridian kept showing us.

Aria moved closer.

Her face had gone completely pale.

“I wasn't born yet.”

Daniel looked at her.

“You were.”

She shook her head.

“No.”

“You were twenty-seven.”

She stared at him.

“I am twenty-seven now.”

“I know.”

“That means—”

“You were twenty-seven seventeen years ago.”

Silence.

I looked at Daniel.

“How?”

He smiled bitterly.

“That's the question Meridian wanted you to ask.”

I picked up the photograph.

It felt real.

The paper was old.

Yellowed at the edges.

There were fingerprints across the back.

And a handwritten note.

SUBJECTS E.C. AND A.V.

Below it:

MEMORY DISPLACEMENT TEST — ROUND 7.

I turned toward Aria.

She wasn't looking at me anymore.

She was staring at her own hands.

“What's wrong?”

“I remember the room.”

My chest tightened.

“What room?”

“This one.”

She looked around.

“No.”

Her breathing quickened.

“Not this room.”

She touched her forehead.

“The other room.”

“Aria.”

“There was a table.”

She closed her eyes.

“A camera.”

Her voice became quieter.

“And Daniel.”

Daniel didn't move.

“You remember.”

She opened her eyes.

“I remember you.”

Daniel nodded.

“What happened?”

She looked at him.

“You were bleeding.”

Daniel's expression changed.

“And then?”

Aria swallowed.

“I had a gun.”

I looked at Daniel.

He said nothing.

Aria's breathing became uneven.

“You told me to shoot.”

“I did.”

“Why?”

“Because you were afraid.”

She shook her head.

“No.”

“You were afraid of what would happen if you didn't.”

She stared at him.

“What did I do?”

Daniel's eyes hardened.

“You pulled the trigger.”

Aria covered her mouth.

I stepped toward her.

Daniel immediately said, “Don't touch her.”

I stopped.

“Why?”

“Because she isn't finished remembering.”

“What happens?”

“She relives it.”

I looked at Aria.

She was trembling.

Then her knees gave way.

I caught her.

“Aria.”

Her eyes were open.

But she wasn't seeing me.

She was somewhere else.

“No,” she whispered.

“Aria.”

“No, Ethan.”

Her fingers dug into my shirt.

“Don't open the door.”

“What door?”

“The white one.”

Her breathing became faster.

“They said you were dead.”

“Who?”

“Everyone.”

She looked directly at me.

“They told me you died.”

I felt my pulse pounding.

“When?”

“After the shooting.”

“What shooting?”

She didn't answer.

Her eyes moved past me.

She was staring at something that wasn't there.

“Daniel was on the floor.”

Her voice shook.

“You were standing behind the glass.”

I frowned.

“I was there?”

She nodded.

“You were watching.”

Daniel's face became unreadable.

I looked at him.

“Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because that was the experiment.”

I lowered Aria gently into the chair.

“What experiment?”

Daniel stepped closer.

“Trust.”

He pointed toward the photograph.

“They wanted to know whether emotional attachment could override conditioning.”

“And?”

“You were the variable.”

I stared at him.

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“What did I have to do?”

“Choose.”

“Between what?”

Daniel looked at Aria.

“Her life.”

Then at me.

“And your own.”

I felt something twist inside my chest.

“Explain.”

“They told you Aria had compromised the program.”

“Why?”

“She knew too much.”

“What did she know?”

“Everything.”

I looked at Aria.

“What did you know?”

She whispered:

“Meridian wasn't testing soldiers.”

Daniel nodded.

“They were testing control.”

I felt my jaw tighten.

“Control over what?”

“People.”

He walked toward the wall.

“Memory was only the beginning.”

He pulled away a section of loose paneling.

Behind it was a small metal box.

He opened it.

Inside were dozens of files.

Paper.

Not digital.

Old-fashioned.

Harder to erase.

Daniel removed one.

He handed it to me.

The label read:

MERIDIAN — BEHAVIORAL REPLICATION PROGRAM

I opened it.

The first page contained a list of names.

Soldiers.

Scientists.

Pilots.

Intelligence officers.

Doctors.

Then a second list.

Replacement identities.

My eyes moved down the page.

Daniel Reed.

Ethan Cross.

Several others.

Each had a corresponding name.

Different faces.

Different lives.

Same psychological profile.

I looked up.

“They created identities.”

“Sometimes.”

“Sometimes?”

Daniel nodded.

“Sometimes they recruited people who already existed.”

“Why?”

“Because disappearing someone is easier than creating someone.”

I turned another page.

A photograph fell out.

I picked it up.

It showed me.

Older than the photographs from 2009.

Maybe twenty-nine.

Standing beside a military transport aircraft.

Behind me was a sign.

AIRFIELD 7.

My blood went cold.

The same airfield where I had found the aircraft that brought me here.

Except this photograph was dated 2014.

I stared at it.

“I was here.”

“Yes.”

“I came back.”

“Yes.”

“Why don't I remember?”

Daniel looked at me.

“Because you asked them to make you forget.”

My fingers tightened around the photograph.

“I asked them?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because you couldn't live with what you had done.”

“What did I do?”

Daniel didn't answer immediately.

He looked at Aria.

Then back at me.

“You chose her.”

My heart skipped.

“What?”

“You chose Aria over the program.”

“That doesn't explain anything.”

“It explains everything.”

He walked toward me.

“You were supposed to kill her.”

I stared at him.

“You refused.”

“What happened?”

“You tried to expose Meridian.”

“And?”

“They caught you.”

My mouth went dry.

“What happened to me?”

Daniel's eyes hardened.

“They gave you a choice.”

I waited.

“They said they'd erase everything you knew.”

“And I agreed?”

“You agreed.”

“Why?”

“Because they told you Aria would die if you didn't.”

The room became silent.

I looked at Aria.

She was crying.

Not loudly.

Just tears rolling down her cheeks.

I crouched beside her.

“Did I leave you?”

She looked at me.

“I don't know.”

The answer hurt more than if she had said yes.

Daniel turned away.

“There was one problem.”

“What?”

“You didn't forget completely.”

I stood.

“What do you mean?”

“Your mind kept rebuilding the same memories.”

“The island.”

“The three moons.”

“The creatures.”

“The throne.”

“The woman.”

Daniel nodded.

“All of it.”

“So I imagined it?”

“Most of it.”

“Most?”

He hesitated.

That word caught my attention.

“What does 'most' mean?”

Daniel looked toward the corridor.

Before he could answer, we heard footsteps.

Marcus.

Then Kane.

They appeared at the far end of the hallway.

Marcus's weapon was raised.

Kane was behind him.

Both looked tense.

Marcus saw Daniel.

His expression changed.

“Reed.”

Daniel smiled.

“General.”

Marcus lowered his weapon slightly.

“You shouldn't be alive.”

Daniel laughed once.

“That's what everyone keeps telling me.”

Kane stepped forward.

“You were declared dead.”

“I know.”

“We saw the body.”

Daniel's smile vanished.

“No.”

Kane stopped.

“You saw someone wearing my uniform.”

Silence.

Marcus looked at me.

“What happened?”

I held up the photograph.

“You tell me.”

Marcus stared at it.

His face changed.

“You found the archive.”

“Yes.”

He looked at Daniel.

Then at Aria.

Then back at me.

“Ethan.”

“What?”

Marcus took a slow breath.

“There are things in that file you shouldn't know.”

I almost laughed.

“You've been saying that since I was twenty.”

“This is different.”

“No.”

I stepped toward him.

“This is exactly the same.”

I threw the file onto the table.

“You knew.”

Marcus looked down.

“You knew I was here before.”

“Yes.”

“You knew Aria.”

“Yes.”

“You knew Daniel.”

“Yes.”

“You knew Meridian erased my memory.”

Marcus closed his eyes.

“Yes.”

The word echoed through me.

I walked toward him.

“Why?”

“Because I was ordered to.”

“By Kane?”

“No.”

“Who?”

Marcus looked at the floor.

“The Commander.”

I felt my pulse rise.

“Which commander?”

Marcus didn't answer.

Kane did.

“Victor Kane.”

I turned toward him.

Kane shook his head.

“No.”

Marcus looked at him sharply.

Kane continued.

“Not me.”

“Then who?”

Kane looked at Daniel.

Daniel answered quietly.

“Someone who outranked all of us.”

I waited.

Daniel looked directly at me.

“Someone who has been watching you since you left the mainland.”

The lights suddenly flickered.

Once.

Twice.

Then every monitor in the control room came alive.

One after another.

Static.

Then an image appeared.

A live camera feed.

The jungle outside.

A figure was standing between the trees.

Silver hair.

White clothing.

A pale face.

I felt every muscle in my body tense.

Aria whispered:

“Her.”

The woman lifted her head.

Even through the grainy monitor, I could see her eyes.

White.

Not glowing.

Not supernatural.

Just pale contact lenses.

She looked directly into the camera.

Then she smiled.

The screen went black.

A single line appeared.

MEMORY SESSION COMPLETE.

Another line followed.

SUBJECT E.C. — RESPONSE ACCEPTABLE.

Then:

BEGIN PHASE TWO.

The final message appeared.

BRING HIM TO THE TEMPLE.

I stared at the screen.

“What temple?”

Daniel looked at me.

“The one beneath the island.”

Marcus's face hardened.

“There is no temple.”

Daniel shook his head.

“There is.”

He looked at Aria.

“And she knows where it is.”

Aria slowly raised her eyes.

“I do.”

My heart began to pound.

“Where?”

She pointed toward the jungle.

Then she whispered:

“Under the place where we first met.”

Outside, thunder rolled across the island.

And somewhere beyond the trees

an engine started.

A heavy one.

Military.

Getting closer.