I glanced one last time at the wasteland stretching out behind me. So much time, so much effort to break free. And in the end, it took just one moment, one word, one snap of the fingers — for all of it to lose meaning.

I sighed, then grabbed the rope ladder. Every step upward felt heavier than the last, as if my mind was trying to stop my body from what was about to come. When I finally reached the deck, the guards surrounded me immediately, even though I was no longer a threat. I didn’t need to be — knowing too much was enough.

The doctor sat across from me, fastening his seatbelt. I did the same. The helicopter took off, its interior filling with the rhythmic thump of rotor blades. The desert shrank beneath us until it vanished completely from sight.

The silence was broken by the doctor’s voice.

— I knew you'd choose reason. Deep down, you’ve always been... susceptible to logic. That’s just who you are.

— Don’t pretend you know me, — I snapped. — You know nothing about me.

He smiled slightly.

— Believe me, Aiden, we know more about you than you do. Your reactions, thought patterns, stress responses — it’s all in the reports. Your encounters with SCPs. That incident with SCP-667-2. The scar on your eye? We know its exact chemical composition.

I clenched my fists.

— So why the games? Why the communicator stunt? Why give me hope?

The doctor looked out the window, as if debating whether it was worth answering. Finally, he said:

— I wanted to see if you were ready. If your adaptability to anomalous contact was coincidence… or if you’re something more.

I froze.

— Something more?

— Not yet, Aiden. For now, we just want to… talk. Study. Observe.

— And afterward?

The doctor looked me in the eyes. For the first time, I saw something that resembled genuine seriousness.

— Then we’ll find out whether you’re a threat... or a tool.

The helicopter crossed into the airspace of one of the most isolated regions. Below us appeared a facility — black, geometric, jarring against the landscape. A new Foundation site.

A new hell.

I knew one thing: I was back inside. But this time, not as a nameless number.

This time, as something they didn’t fully understand yet.