Beyond the Mirror

Gabriel woke up to 100 missed calls from his best friend, Ethan. The strange part? Ethan passed six months ago. But that's not what scared him most. The last voicemail Ethan left was from the night he disappeared. His phone kept buzzing one, missed call after another. He stared at his screen, his hands shaking. Ethan’s phone was buried with him. And then…a new voice mail appeared. His voice was panicking, out of breath. “Don't trust them, It was never an accident. If you get this.” The call cut off. Gabriel checked the timestamp. It was dated six months ago. The night Ethan vanished. He played the voicemail again, trying to make sense of it. The background noise static, heavy breathing…. and something else. A voice distorted, whispering. He cranked the volume up. And that’s just when he heard it: “You were supposed to forget!” Unnerved, he drove straight to Ethan’s old apartment. Everything was untouched. His family never cleared it out. It was like a time capsule. He searched through his things, desperate for any clue. Then, he found Ethan’s old laptop, still powered on. And the last of his files he searched read: “How to fake your own death.” Gabriel’s pulse surged. Had Ethan been hiding from someone? From what? He kept digging. Hidden in his files, he found a folder labeled: 'DO NOT OPEN.' Inside, there were hundreds of documents: Photos, Emails, Maps and a text file with his own name on it: “Gabriel’s”. He opened the file. Just one sentence: “If you found this, it means they didn't get to you yet. Check your arm.” His stomach rumbled immediately. He rolled up his sleeve and that's when he saw it. Faint, barely visible under my skin... a scar he didn't remember getting, and beneath it? Small, raised bumps like something was implanted there. He grabbed a flashlight, shining it against his skin. Something was moving under it. And then his phone vibrated. Unknown Number. A text popped up: “STOP DIGGING.” He bolted out of the apartment, heart racing. That's when he noticed a black SUV parked outside. Engine running. Headlights off, watching him closely. He ran to his car. As soon as he started his car, his phone rang. It was Ethan's voice, calm this time: “They're coming. If you want the truth, you need to find me first.” Find him? Ethan was supposed to be dead. Headlights gushed out behind him. He bashed on the gas, gripping the wheel. If Ethan was alive, that meant everything to him. He knew Ethan’s death was a lie and, worse still, It meant whoever faked his death might be coming for him next. He didn’t know who to trust. Ethan might be dead. He might also be alive, but one thing was certain. Someone didn’t want him to find out. But he was not going to stop until he reached the bottom of the truth. Ethan had been dead for six months. But last night, he received a voicemail from him dated the night he disappeared. Then he found a scar on his arm he could not remember getting. Now, he was being followed. And Ethan just told him to find him. To where could he possibly look for him? This was what happened next. The black SUV tailed him for miles. No headlights, no plates. He then turned onto a side road, killed his headlights, and sped up. His hands were shaking. Then his phone rang again. Another unknown number. But this time, he immediately recognized the voice. It was not Ethan’s. It was his own voice. Gabriel spoke to Gabriel. “Turn left. Now.' 'Turn left. Now.” It was another Gabriel. His voice. Same tone, same cadence. How was that even possible? He nearly crashed trying to process it. He was not used to talking to himself on phone. He had never left a voicemail to the future. So, how could he be calling himself? He followed the voice, cutting through back roads. He ended up at an abandoned gas station in the middle of nowhere. The SUV was gone. But someone else was waiting for him. A woman, late 40s. Sharp eyes. Holding an envelope, she didn't say her name. She Just handed him the envelope and said: “You were supposed to forget.” He tore the envelope open. Inside it were his medical records: Dates, scans, redacted notes. One page stood out. It had just four words written in the margin: “Memory Reset: Attempt 3.” The woman spoke again, “Ethan tried to warn you. But they got to you first. Every time you get too close, they wipe your memory. But it's failing. That's why you're remembering pieces.” Gabriel stared at her. This was insane. “Who are they?” He asked the woman She sighed. “People who don't want you to know who you really are.” “Check your arm again,” she said. He pulled his sleeve. The scar. The implant. She pulled out a small scalpel. “If you want the truth, you need to cut it out,” His pulse was thundering. This was insane, but some part of him already knew whatever was under his skin wasn't normal. He took the scalpel, hand shaking, and he cut through the scar. It wasn't just scar tissue. Something metallic slid out. A tiny, black microchip, not bigger than a grain of rice. The woman took it and crushed it under her boot. “Now, they can't track you, but it won't stop them from coming.” “You need to find Ethan,” she said. “He's the only one who remembers the first reset.” Gabriel was still reeling. “Ethan is dead!” She looked at him, dead serious. “Are you sure? Or is that just what they made you believe?” The woman handed him one last thing: a plane ticket. “Go here. It's where you and Ethan went before the first reset, before they erased you.” He checked the destination: Berlin, Germany. He had never been to Berlin in his life. ...Or has he? If his memories weren’t real, then what else have they changed? Ethan might be alive. His own past might be a lie, and whoever 'they' were... they were not done with him yet. Gabriel boarded the plane to Berlins. A mix of uncertainty, fear and hunger for the truth whirled around in his mind. He was hungry to unravel his real identity, his past as well as his present. Who was he, really? What had happened in his past life before now that he didn’t know of? The woman’s words rang through his mind in scary succession: “people who don’t want you to know who you really are.”