Ghosts in the Machine

For a moment, Kiera's world shrank to the space between her and the stranger. The hum of the patrol drones, the distant shouts of enforcers—they all faded into a dull murmur beneath the weight of recognition.

She didn't just know this person.

She remembered them.

But that wasn't possible.

The Architects had stripped her past away, rebuilt her with precision, molded her into something new. She wasn't supposed to have memories that didn't belong to their design.

Yet here she was, staring into the eyes of someone who had lived in that missing time. Someone who knew the parts of her she had been forced to forget.

"Kiera." The voice was low, steady, edged with something she couldn't place—relief, maybe, or disbelief. "You're awake."

Her pulse pounded. "Who are you?"

The figure took a slow step forward. Their hood slipped back slightly, revealing sharp features, dark eyes that held a weight she couldn't yet understand. "That's not the right question."

Rhys shifted beside her, tense, ready. "You know this person?"

Kiera's mouth was dry. "I think so."

Marek, ever practical, had already raised his weapon. "We don't have time for this." He was right. The drones were sweeping closer, and the faint metallic clatter of enforcers on the move sent adrenaline spiking through her veins.

The stranger didn't seem fazed. "You're not safe here. None of you are." They glanced past Kiera, toward the approaching patrols. "Come with me, or they'll find you."

Kiera hesitated.

Everything in her screamed not to trust too easily, but at the same time, something deep inside her whispered that this person wasn't a threat. That they were—had been—something more. A friend? An ally?

Before she could decide, the voice in her head surged forward again.

They are a danger to the Architects' order. Eliminate the threat.

She stiffened. The static in her mind crackled, and for a second, she felt herself slipping. Her body—her training—was prepared to obey.

No.

She wrenched herself free from the voice's grip, clenching her fists. She was done being controlled. Done obeying commands she hadn't chosen.

"Kiera!" Rhys grabbed her wrist, snapping her back to reality. The drones had spotted them.

The stranger moved fast. "This way." They turned and darted into the alley, expecting her to follow.

Kiera made a choice.

"Go!" she ordered, taking off after them.

Marek cursed but followed. Rhys was right behind them.

The alley twisted through the ruins, the walls tight around them. Overhead, the drones' searchlights cut across the darkness like cold knives. Kiera's lungs burned as she ran, vaulting over broken pipes, dodging collapsed scaffolding. The stranger moved with practiced ease, leading them deeper into the forgotten parts of the city.

Then—

A sharp turn. A heavy metal door. The stranger slammed their hand against a panel, and the lock hissed open.

"Inside. Now."

Kiera hesitated for only a second before diving through the entrance. The others followed, and the door sealed behind them just as the whirring of drones passed overhead.

Darkness swallowed them.

Kiera caught her breath, heart hammering. The air was stale, thick with dust and old circuitry. The space they had entered was small, cluttered with ancient monitors, discarded tech, and crates marked with symbols she didn't recognize. A hideout.

The stranger flipped a switch, and dim lights flickered to life.

Kiera turned to face them fully. "Start talking."

The stranger studied her for a moment, then exhaled, almost like they had been waiting for this.

"My name is Aerin." Their gaze locked onto hers. "And before the Architects took you, you and I were part of the same rebellion."

Silence.

Rhys stiffened. Marek swore under his breath.

Kiera felt like the floor had vanished beneath her.

"That's not possible," she said, but the words tasted hollow. The Architects had rewritten her, rebuilt her. But Aerin's presence, the familiarity in their eyes—it was shaking something loose inside her.

Aerin continued. "You don't remember me. I know that. But I remember you. And I know what they did to you." A pause. "I know who you were before they erased you."

Kiera felt her pulse in her throat.

She had spent so long running, fighting, searching for answers. And now—

Now, she wasn't sure she was ready for them.

But she would find out.

Because if there was one thing she knew for certain, it was this:

The Architects had stolen something from her.

And she was going to take it back.