Fragments of the Mind

Chapter 6: Fragments of the Mind

The room was small and cold, the walls pressing in on me as though they were alive, an invisible force suffocating me. Shadows flickered from the dim light overhead, casting long, uneven shapes that crawled across the walls in a slow, unnerving dance. There wasn't much to see, just those shifting shadows and the pale glow of the light above me.

I had lost track of time. Days? Weeks? It all blurred together, fading into an endless stretch of silence.

They had left me here, alone. No explanations, no reassurances. Nothing. No one came. The silence pressed down on me, heavy and suffocating. With each passing moment, it felt like a weight on my chest, making it harder to breathe.

I had failed.

The thought echoed in my mind, over and over again, relentless. I had come so close—so close to the fragments, so close to understanding—and yet I had been pulled away, locked up before I could even touch the surface of their meaning. The staff had intervened, stopping me, reminding me of my place.

I wasn't ready. That's what they believed.

But as I sat there, knees drawn up to my chest, the cold floor leeching the warmth from my skin, I started to think. Really think.

Why wasn't I ready? What were they waiting for? What did they know that I didn't?

My thoughts circled back to the fragments. The others spoke of them with awe and reverence, as though they were the key to something far bigger than any of us could understand. And I had seen them. Just a glimpse, but it had been enough.

The memory was still vivid, pulsing in the back of my mind—the soft energy, faint but insistent, calling to me the moment I had stepped into that room. The pull was undeniable, like something deep within me had been awakened just by being near them.

The fragments were power. Real power. And that was why the staff had stopped me. They didn't want me to touch it, to understand it.

Maybe they were afraid.

I shook my head, pushing the thought away. Fear? No. The staff were too controlled, too calculated for fear. Everything they did was deliberate. Everything had a reason.

They hadn't kept the fragments from me out of fear. It was because they believed I wasn't worthy. I wasn't like the others—the ones who had already unlocked their abilities, the ones who were praised and pushed further while I remained in the shadows, unseen.

But I wouldn't stay unseen forever.

I had to be smarter. Quieter. More patient.

The staff were always watching, always there. They knew everything that happened in the facility, every movement, every shift in the air. And if I wanted another chance at the fragments—if I wanted to understand what they were and why they were so important—I couldn't act out of desperation. Not again.

I had to move differently. I couldn't rush it. Not this time.

No, I had to play their game.

I leaned my head back against the wall, closing my eyes, letting the silence wrap around me. My thoughts sharpened, cutting through the fog of frustration that had clouded my mind for so long. The fragments were out there, waiting for me. And if the staff thought they could keep them from me forever, they were wrong.

I didn't care how long it took, or what I had to do. I would find a way.

The fragments weren't just the key to unlocking the power inside me. They were the key to everything.

I was certain of it now.

And when the time came… I would be ready.