Smoke in the Dark

The drive to the coordinates Leanna had uncovered was long and tense. The further they went, the fewer signs of civilization remained. The facility, if it was even still there, was buried deep in Argentina’s rural countryside, hidden behind miles of overgrown terrain and forgotten roads.

Jessica sat in the front seat, eyes scanning the horizon. The closer they got, the more the air thickened, like the past was pressing in, waiting to be found.

"There it is," Leanna said, pointing ahead.

Through the dense brush, the outline of a compound came into view. Faded concrete walls stretched into the distance, surrounded by rusted fencing that had long since collapsed in places. The air had a dead stillness, the kind that made it clear that something unnatural had happened here.

Elias, sitting in the back, clenched his fists. “I’ve seen this. In flashes.”

Jessica turned. "How?"

His brow furrowed. "I don’t know. But it feels... familiar."

Leanna exchanged a glance with Olivia. "That means we’re in the right place."

---

The group parked a safe distance away and approached the facility on foot, moving through the underbrush carefully.

The front gate hung open like a mouth that had forgotten how to close. The silence was thick, oppressive.

Jessica led the way, stepping carefully into the darkened halls of what was once a fully operational research site. The air was thick with dust, the walls lined with abandoned monitoring stations and broken screens.

Leanna wiped off a panel near the entrance. The Vanguard logo was still there. "This is it," she murmured. "We need to find records. Anything that tells us what happened here."

Olivia pulled out a small flashlight. "We split up?"

Jessica hesitated but nodded. "Leanna, you’re with me. Olivia, take Elias. Stay sharp."

---

Jessica and Leanna pushed deeper into the facility, moving through abandoned rooms filled with decayed equipment. Most of the files had been either burned or removed—whoever shut this place down didn’t want anyone finding out what they were doing.

Then, Jessica spotted something. It was a locked metal cabinet, half-hidden behind a fallen shelf.

"Help me with this," she said.

Leanna wedged a crowbar into the rusted lock and wrenched it open. Inside were rows of thick, leather-bound journals.

Jessica pulled one out, flipping it open. Handwritten notes. Experiment logs. She skimmed the pages, eyes narrowing as she read.

"They weren’t just wiping memories," she said quietly. "They were testing how far they could push someone before their sense of self broke entirely."

Leanna took another book, scanning it quickly. "Subjects weren’t just ‘reset.’ They were rewritten. Reprogrammed. Over and over again."

Jessica’s stomach turned. They had done this to Elias.

---

In another part of the facility, Elias and Olivia moved carefully through what looked like an old containment area. The walls were lined with metal observation rooms, their glass shattered. Chains still hung from the walls inside.

Elias stopped cold. "I’ve been here before," he whispered.

Olivia turned. "Are you sure?"

Elias touched the rusted metal restraints, his breathing shaky. "I don’t remember how. But I know I was in one of these rooms."

Then they heard it. A scraping sound from deeper in the corridor. Someone else was here.

---

Jessica and Leanna heard it too. A single footstep, then silence.

Jessica tensed. "We’re not alone."

Leanna pulled her sidearm, eyes scanning the darkness. "Vanguard wouldn’t just leave this place abandoned. Someone’s been keeping an eye on it."

Jessica’s grip tightened around the journal in her hands. Then a voice, smooth and calm, echoed through the darkness:

"You shouldn’t have come here."

Jessica turned, heart hammering. A man stood at the far end of the corridor, half-shrouded in shadow. His suit was crisp, his posture composed, and in his hand was a lit cigarette.

"Some doors stay locked for a reason, Ms. Carter. You won't like what’s behind this one," he said, exhaling a plume of smoke. "Turn around and walk away while you still can."

Jessica didn’t move. Didn’t blink. She’d heard that voice before, and ghosts didn't forget either.