CHAPTER 25: THE FORGOTTEN BASEMENT
The car skidded to a stop before a hidden guest house between hills long since abandoned and fences grown rusty. It was a place Anish mentioned in passing long ago — a family home no one visited in years.
Ava escorted her brother into the car and took him to a makeshift bed. He was weak, with not much strength remaining to speak, but his eyes shifted toward the notebook that Ava still gripped tightly.
"There's… more," he panted. "You have to go underneath."
"Underneath what?"
He coughed. "Our house. The basement. What you saw… that wasn't everything."
Ava looked over at Priya, who flinched.
"You knew?"
"I didn't think it would matter anymore. After the fire. your uncle told us to stay away from there."
"Which house?" Ava demanded.
Priya paused. "Your old house. The one we left when you were five.".
A chill was sent down Ava's spine. "You mean the one you said was destroyed?"
Priya looked down.
"You lied."
"I had to," Priya said, her voice cracking. "We were warned."
Anish was taken aback with a shaking hand. "Project ECHOES started there. Vikram uncle. he established the foundation there before others came to know."
Ava took a step back. "Then that's where I'm heading.".
....
The home wasn't demolished. It stood, whole, deserted ,overcome by overgrown ivy and decades.
Ava parked a distance away, surveying the surroundings. No movement. No signs of life. Just wind through broken windowpanes.
She crept in slowly.
The smell hit first , damp wood, old dust, and something else… metallic.
Her shoes creaked against the warped floorboards. The walls were stained, pictures still hung in crooked frames , frozen moments of a life Ava couldn't remember. A toddler, sized version of herself with Priya and Prashant, grinning with ice cream smeared across her face.
She had absolutely no recollection whatsoever of that day.
She found the door to the basement behind a tall, cracked cabinet. Dust rose as she pushed it aside. The doorknob was rusty, almost fused. With a sudden yank, it came free.
The door creaked open into complete darkness.
She hesitated.
Then turned on her flashlight.
Down step by creaking step, she descended.
The stairs groaned with every step. The air here was cold, heavy, as if it hadn't been disturbed in years.
At the bottom was a reinforced steel door, half ajar,
She slipped inside.
The room within was not what she expected.
It was not a basement.
It was a lab.
Old machines hummed softly, somehow still electrified. Desktops were covered with files, notebooks, and maps speckled with red notes.
Ava stared, stunned.
Project ECHOES was not an experiment.
It was a surveillance program. A memory experiment. A psychological weapon.
And on one of the whiteboards, in red ink:
"𝗦𝗨𝗕𝗝𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝟭𝟭 – 𝗔𝗩𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗟𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗥𝗔 – 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘"
She stumbled back.
Subject 11.
They had erased her memories. Her past. Her connection to everything.
A low beep drew her attention.
A monitor flickered to life. A video file auto-played.
Dr. Vikram Joshi appeared on screen. Gaunt, eyes wild, whispering quickly.
"If you're watching this, Ava… they know you've come back."
He looked over his shoulder.
"They used your memory as a lock. You are the key. The culprit —the controller of Project ECHOES — is watching you even now. They are someone close. Trusted. You must—"
A loud bang.
The screen went to static.
Ava's breathing grew ragged.
Someone had been watching this place.
Recently.
She turned to leave — but froze.
The door at the top of the stairs was closed.
She hadn't closed it.
Heavy footsteps echoed above.
Then a familiar voice called down:
"Ava."
Her father.
But something in his voice was… wrong.
Not warm. Not fatherly.
Calculated.
Like an actor who'd been playing a role too well for too long.
She backed away slowly, heart racing.
"Dad?"
He didn't respond.
Just a knock on the basement door.
Slow.
Measured.
Then: "𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣'𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧."
..........