- PROTECT

van hummed softly beneath them, tires rolling over rain-slick asphalt. Larry kept his gaze fixed o

arcus sat quietly in the back, bandaging a shallow cut on his arm, his nerves still raw from th

d stirred something deep inside him-a combination of fear, exhilaration, and a strange clarity. Somewher

re of concern and resolve. "Larry... you've got to stay quiet. Focus o

top thinking about the leader. The man in the

dangerous. If you recognize him... we have to assume he know

ing. Fear and adrenaline mixed with a gnawing need to remember. "I need to k

t you've done in your past, or who you were. But I know someone wants

o an alley, its windows dark, curtains drawn. Ella pulled the van into a s

ady to snap. His instincts screamed: danger, always dan

shakily. "Well.

. Stay alert. Don't go outside

ow. Even in apparent safety, his instincts refused to relax. He moved

ll kitchen formed the center of the main floor. Security cameras blinked sile

u need to rest. Gather your though

ntil I remember. Until I know who I am... who Arden really is. Everything's tied to m

Analyze. Prepare. Your past isn't just in your memory-it's in their hands too. Every instin

that passes, I feel it... like pieces of me are

hink... this is all part of the game? Li

e, provoking me. And if I can remember-even a li

.. we need information. Every scrap of data, every pattern we can

part of him hesitated. Something else was hiding, something dangerous. "And... what

past, but right now, I trust you. And if we're going to survive

eyes grounded him. He nodded slowly. "Alright... for now, I'll trust you

line. "Then we adapt. But for

threat. The fragments of his past teased him, fleeting glimpses of a life erased: a room, a voice, a

he hallway-a sound out of place in the otherwise quiet house. La

o her weapon. "Sta

deliberate, armed. Larry didn't think-he reacted. Rolling to the side, he intercepted the intruder

er with rapid, precise action. Marcus stumbl

tter. What matters is they found us.

better. Someone powerful, someone patient, was orchestrating every

ring something under his breath. Larry le

l remember... soon enough, Arden. And whe

emory, were starting to connect. And the realization hit him like a w

e to secure this place. Lock everything down. They're coming

ready. They can come. I'll protec

ouse made them freeze. The night stretched

begun. Arden's past is out there, waiting. And

orner, instinct honed from the attacks earlier that night. Every creak, every rustle, set his nerves on edge. He had the u

re they could find. "We need to buy time," she muttered, her hands steady b

st showed empty streets and dark alleys, but fragments of movement flickered

think. Not just outside-inside our heads, our instincts. They're pre

't do this. We've barely survived the parking lot attack, and n

nts me dead... they're patient, organized. They don't just attack-they ma

orward. You keep surviving. I don't know how, Larry, but you do. Every instinct y

rden" lingered at the edges of his consciousness, a key to the past someone had stolen from

erceptible creak, followed by another. Larry's body tensed, m

t to her gun. "

shadows. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Every instinct screamed that this

weapon raised. Recognition flickered in Larry's mind-blurred, distant-bu

torted but chilling. "You've come

ting the figure with precise force, but the man was fast, stronger than he expected. A struggle ensued, limbs cla

tairs, firing, forcing the intrud

llet. He grabbed a metal pipe from the floor, striking with

ce shaky. "Larry... they're e

move was survival. And then, as the intruder lunged again, a flash of memory hit

-they were trying to push him toward memory, toward realization

at. Larry took the opening, striking with precision, sendin

didn'

out. Larry's instincts screamed danger. "Ella... we've been spotte

wn. Every exit, every angle. This safehouse won't hold for

dows. He could sense it-the organization, the leader, the attacks-they were all interconnected.

e safehouse. Someone had broken through the outer

ed, voice tight. "And this ti

. But inside, every heartbeat, every instinct, every shred o

d the truth about his erased life-was closer than ever.