Nova
She won’t shut the fuck up.
I thought the silence was bad. I thought being alone in the dark with nothing but my own thoughts was the worst thing that could happen in here.
I was wrong.
So fucking wrong.
They brought Lena back maybe an hour ago. I heard the door. The footsteps. The sound of her being shoved into the cell next to mine. I thought maybe we could talk again. Maybe she’d tell me something useful. Maybe just hearing another voice would help.
But something’s wrong.
She hasn’t stopped talking since they put her back.
Not to me. Not really. Just talking. Rambling. Like someone flipped a switch in her brain and now she can’t turn it off.
“Watch for the shifters,” she says. Her voice is hoarse like she’s been screaming. “The weird ones. Find out how it started. Find out why it’s there.”
I press my back against the wall and close my eyes.
“Lena.”
She doesn’t answer. Just keeps going.
“Why would they do that? Why would Clockwork come? Why would Nova come? Why would Vaelor come?”
I don’t know what Clockwork is. I don’t know why she’s saying my name like I’m not right here. I don’t know what they did to her while she was gone.
But whatever it was, it broke something.
“Lena,” I say again. Louder this time.
Nothing.
“Find out how it started. Watch the shifters. The weird ones. Why would they bargain for the archives? Why does Minerva have it? Why would Clockwork come unless—”
She stops. Just for a second. Then starts again.
“Watch for the shifters.”
The pain in my shoulder gets worse as I move, but I grab the piece of bread from the tray they brought earlier. I need to eat. I know I need to eat. But listening to her is making it hard to swallow.
I take a bite anyway.
Chew.
Swallow.
Lena’s still talking.
“Find out why it’s there. Find out how it started. Why would Nova come? Why would Vaelor come? Watch the shifters. The weird ones.”
It’s the same things. Over and over. Like she’s stuck in a loop she can’t get out of.
I wonder what they did to her.
I wonder if they’re going to do it to me and if this is what I’ll sound like when they’re done.
I shudder as I finish the bread. Drink some water. Lean my head back against the wall and try to sleep.
But Lena won’t stop.
“Why would Clockwork come? Why would they bargain for the archives? Find out how it started. Watch the shifters.”
I close my eyes.
Try to block it out.
I can’t.
“Why would Vaelor come? Why would Nova come? Why would Clockwork come unless they found her?”
I sit up.
That one’s different.
Clockwork. Archives. Vaelor. And then unless they found her.
Found who?
Me?
For half a second something inside me reaches for it. The stupid, broken part that still wants to believe someone is coming.
But I know better.
I watched them fall. Lena confirmed it. They’re gone.
I stare at the wall between us.
“Lena, stop.”
She doesn’t answer. Just keeps cycling.
“Watch the shifters. The weird ones. Find out how it started.”
That fragment sits in my chest anyway. Unless they found her.
And I hate it. I hate that part of me still reacts. I hate that my brain still reaches for the idea that they’re coming.
Because they’re not.
They’re dead.
Lena keeps talking like the world outside this place is still moving. Like people are coming. Like rescue is real.
And every time she does, it feels like losing them all over again.