The forest seemed alive. Every leaf crackled with warning, every gust of wind whispered her name like a threat. Ava clutched Noah's hand tighter as they moved through the trees, but her mind was no longer entirely present.

She was slipping.

Reality folded inward like a storm cloud collapsing.

She could feel it—something shifting inside her, like a locked vault slowly creaking open.

Suddenly, she stopped. Her breath caught.A scream echoed in her mind. A child's scream.

The world blurred.

FLASH—

She stood barefoot on cold tiles.A man in a white coat leaned over her."You're going to be a very important girl, Ava."

She couldn't move. Couldn't scream.There was another child in the room—strapped down. A boy. His face was covered in blood.

"No!" Ava choked, stumbling backward into the present.

Noah caught her just in time. "Ava—what did you see?"

She looked up at him, eyes wide and wet."I was there, Noah. In the facility. There were others... children. They experimented on us. I think—I think they killed them."

Luca approached slowly, his face pale. "That's why you were erased. You weren't just a witness. You survived something you weren't supposed to."

Ava's voice cracked. "Why me?"

He hesitated. "Because you reacted differently. You didn't break like the others. You adapted. And when they realized what you could become… they erased it to start over. But memory is resilient."

Something rustled in the trees.

Noah immediately raised his weapon, stepping in front of Ava.

Three figures emerged in black tactical gear—silent, calculating. One of them held a syringe glowing faintly blue.

Luca's eyes widened. "They're not here to kill her. They're here to take her back."

Ava took a step back, heart racing. "No. No—I'm not going back."

One of the agents spoke into a radio. "Subject has surfaced. Memory sync confirmed. Authorization to extract."

Luca whispered, "Run."

But Ava didn't run.

She stepped forward.

And the ground beneath their feet trembled.

The agents hesitated.

Noah's eyes flicked to the forest floor—pebbles jittering. Energy pulsed from Ava like a silent explosion. Her hands glowed faintly, veins lit with some buried charge.

"I remember now," Ava said, voice low. "What they did to me. What I can do."

Her body quivered. The air around her shimmered like heatwaves. A tree branch cracked and fell—without being touched.

The agents lunged. Too late.

Ava threw out her hand—instinctively.

The forest screamed.

An invisible force burst outward, sending the agents flying back into the trees like broken dolls.

Ava gasped and collapsed to her knees, trembling.

Noah rushed to her. "Ava—what was that?"

She looked at him with terrified clarity."I think… I'm waking up."

To be continued...