The Procedure.
1162 Words
Elena could not breathe.
The words echoed through her head over and over again.
Prepare the procedure again.
Again.
Not for the first time.
Again.
Which meant whatever had been done to her before could still be repeated.
The realization wrapped cold fingers around her throat.
Beside her, Damien had gone completely still.
The narrow space between the shelves suddenly felt suffocating as flashlight beams continued sweeping across the room outside.
The older man stood near the center calmly, his dark coat untouched despite the storm raging beyond the archive windows.
Everything about him felt controlled.
Dangerously controlled.
One of the men beside him lowered his voice slightly.
“Her memory recovery is progressing faster than expected.”
The older man’s expression remained unreadable.
“That’s because she returned to the academy.”
Another man frowned.
“Then we should remove her immediately.”
“No.”
The answer came instantly.
Sharp enough to silence the room.
The older man slowly looked toward the shelves again.
Elena’s heartbeat pounded violently.
For one horrifying second, she was certain he knew exactly where they were hiding.
But then he spoke calmly.
“We proceed carefully this time.”
A younger man stepped forward uncertainly.
“What about Damien Blackwood?”
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Elena felt it immediately.
Every person in the room seemed more cautious after hearing his name.
The older man finally sighed softly.
“He was never supposed to remember anything.”
Elena slowly looked up toward Damien in the darkness.
His expression had hardened completely now.
Cold.
Focused.
Dangerous.
Another voice spoke quietly.
“The Blackwood family will interfere if he becomes involved.”
The older man’s eyes darkened slightly.
“Then we make sure he doesn’t.”
Silence followed.
Then footsteps approached closer toward the shelves.
Elena’s pulse nearly stopped.
One of the men was coming directly toward them.
Damien reacted instantly.
Before Elena could even process what was happening, he grabbed her waist and pulled her deeper into the shadows behind the metal shelves.
Their bodies pressed close immediately.
Too close.
Elena could feel the warmth of his hand through the fabric of her coat.
Feel the steady rise and fall of his breathing.
Outside, footsteps stopped directly beside the shelf.
The flashlight beam swept slowly across the metal racks.
Closer.
Closer.
Elena instinctively grabbed Damien’s shirt tightly.
The movement made him glance down at her.
For one suspended second, the world outside disappeared again.
The danger.
The voices.
The fear.
All Elena noticed was how intensely he was looking at her.
Like he was trying to remember something impossible.
Then the flashlight beam suddenly moved away.
The footsteps retreated.
Neither of them moved immediately.
Elena slowly released his shirt, suddenly aware of how fast her heart was racing.
Not entirely from fear anymore.
The realization unsettled her deeply.
Outside the shelves, the older man spoke again.
“She accessed the archive file tonight.”
One of the others nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
“Then the remaining records must be destroyed before she remembers everything.”
Elena’s stomach tightened painfully.
Everything.
What exactly had she forgotten?
Another fragmented image flashed suddenly through her mind.
A hidden room underground.
People arguing violently.
Her father shouting at someone.
Then a gunshot.
Elena gasped softly.
The memory disappeared instantly, but the fear remained.
Beside her, Damien noticed immediately.
“What happened?” he whispered.
Her voice shook slightly.
“I heard a gunshot.”
His eyes narrowed.
“A memory?”
“I think so.”
The tension in his expression deepened.
Before either of them could say more, the older man suddenly spoke again outside.
“Bring me the folder.”
A younger man handed him something.
Elena’s chest tightened the moment she saw the black archive folder from earlier.
The one containing her photograph.
The older man opened it calmly.
Then after several seconds, he removed one photo from inside.
Elena.
The old Elena smiling outside Vale Academy.
Rain tapped softly against the windows as the older man studied the photograph silently.
Then finally he said,
“She should have stayed dead.”
The words shattered something inside her.
Dead.
Not missing.
Not erased.
Dead.
Elena pressed a trembling hand against her mouth to stop herself from making a sound.
Five years.
For five entire years, these people had spoken about her like she was a mistake that survived.
A problem.
An inconvenience.
Not a person.
Beside her, Damien’s jaw tightened dangerously.
Elena could feel anger radiating from him now.
Cold anger.
Controlled anger.
The kind that frightened people.
The older man finally closed the folder again.
“Find her before sunrise.”
The men nodded immediately.
Then the group slowly began leaving the room one after another.
Flashlights disappeared gradually into the hallway.
Footsteps faded.
Silence returned.
But neither Elena nor Damien moved yet.
Not until the last sound vanished completely.
Only then did Damien step away from her slowly.
The sudden distance felt strange again.
The room remained dark except for faint moonlight spilling through the dusty windows.
Elena wrapped her arms tightly around herself.
“She should have stayed dead.”
Her voice sounded hollow now.
Damien watched her carefully.
“You heard him.”
“Yes.”
Her chest hurt.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like every answer she uncovered tore away another piece of stability beneath her feet.
“My family announced my death,” she whispered. “And these people talk like they buried me themselves.”
Damien remained silent.
Which somehow hurt more than denial would have.
Elena looked toward him sharply.
“You already suspected this.”
His expression did not change.
“I suspected there was more to your disappearance.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“No.”
Silence settled heavily between them again.
Then Damien finally spoke quietly.
“I think someone powerful wanted you erased permanently.”
Elena almost laughed bitterly.
“You think?”
His gaze darkened slightly.
“You don’t understand how dangerous this is yet.”
“Then explain it to me.”
For the first time since meeting him, Damien looked genuinely conflicted.
Like he was fighting between instinct and memory.
Finally he said,
“The people behind this aren’t just wealthy families.”
Elena frowned slightly.
“Then who are they?”
His answer came softly.
“The Council.”
The word felt heavy instantly.
Like something she was supposed to recognize.
And judging by the sudden headache exploding behind her eyes
she did.
Another memory crashed violently into her mind.
A long black table.
Men and women sitting silently around it.
Her father standing beside them.
Someone saying:
“The girl cannot leave Viremont alive.”
Elena staggered backward sharply.
Damien caught her arm immediately.
“Elena.”
Her breathing became uneven.
The memory felt clearer than the others.
Sharper.
Real.
She looked up at Damien slowly, fear filling her chest completely now.
“They tried to kill me.”
- Writer
