Not Me
859 Words
We didn’t stop running.
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Not when the street turned.
Not when the lights thinned.
Not even when the sound behind us finally… faded.
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Zayden slowed first.
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I didn’t.
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My legs gave out before I could decide to.
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I hit the ground hard, catching myself with my hands. My chest tightened as I dragged in a breath that didn’t feel like enough.
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Air.
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I needed air.
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“What… was that?” I managed.
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Zayden stood a few steps away, watching me.
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Not panicked.
Not confused.
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Focused.
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“That,” he said, “was you.”
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My head snapped up.
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“No.”
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The answer came too fast.
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Too sharp.
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“That wasn’t me.”
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Zayden didn’t react.
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“You stopped running,” he continued. “You turned around.”
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My hands clenched slightly.
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“I didn’t choose that.”
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“That’s the problem.”
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Silence fell between us.
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Heavy.
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I looked down at my hands.
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They were steady now.
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Normal.
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Like nothing had happened.
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But I could still feel it.
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The strength.
The control.
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The way it *fit*.
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My stomach twisted.
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“I didn’t mean to hurt it,” I said quietly.
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Zayden exhaled.
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“That thing wasn’t human.”
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I looked up.
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“Neither was what you did.”
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The words settled deep.
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Uncomfortable.
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True.
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“They called me a subject,” I said after a moment.
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Zayden nodded once.
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“Yeah.”
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“And ‘reactivation.’”
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Another nod.
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My chest tightened.
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“That means something.”
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“It does.”
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“Then tell me.”
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Zayden hesitated.
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Just long enough to make my pulse pick up again.
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“You weren’t supposed to wake up,” he said finally.
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The words hit harder than expected.
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“…Wake up?” I repeated.
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He held my gaze.
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“You didn’t survive last night,” he said. “You stopped.”
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My breathing slowed.
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Too controlled.
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“I felt it,” he added. “No pulse. No movement. Nothing.”
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My fingers curled slightly.
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“And then?” I asked.
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A pause.
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“Then something changed.”
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A chill moved through me.
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“How?”
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His eyes didn’t leave mine.
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“You tell me.”
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I shook my head.
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“I don’t remember.”
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*You do.*
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The voice slipped in again.
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Calm.
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Close.
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Too close.
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My breath caught.
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“Not now,” I whispered.
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Zayden frowned.
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“What?”
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“Nothing,” I said quickly.
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He didn’t look convinced.
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Good.
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Because I wasn’t ready to explain that I wasn’t alone in my own head.
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Not yet.
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“I need to understand what’s happening to me,” I said.
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Zayden leaned back slightly against the wall.
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“Yeah,” he said. “So do I.”
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I frowned.
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“What does that mean?”
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“It means you’re not the first strange thing I’ve seen,” he replied.
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A pause.
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“But you’re the first one that got back up.”
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That didn’t help.
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At all.
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I pushed myself to my feet slowly, my body still feeling… off.
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Like it wasn’t entirely mine.
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“So what now?” I asked.
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Zayden glanced down the street.
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Then back at me.
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“Now we don’t stay in one place too long.”
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“Because of them?”
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“Because of whoever sent them.”
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My chest tightened again.
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That was worse.
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“More are coming, aren’t they?”
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Zayden didn’t answer.
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Which was answer enough.
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I looked away.
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“I can’t keep running like this.”
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“You won’t have a choice.”
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“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I need control.”
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The word felt heavier this time.
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More real.
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Because now I understood what happened without it.
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Zayden studied me for a moment.
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Then—
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“Then you better learn fast,” he said.
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A beat.
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“Because next time…”
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His gaze dropped briefly to my hands.
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“…you might not come back.”
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Silence followed.
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But this time—
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It wasn’t empty.
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It was warning.
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And deep down—
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I knew he was right.
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Because whatever took over back there—
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It didn’t hesitated.
It didn’t question.
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It acted.
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And the worst part?
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It felt natural.
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*Of course it did.*
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The voice returned.
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Soft.
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Certain.
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*It’s what we are.*
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My breath caught.
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No.
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Not *we*.
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Not yet.
- Writer
