Chapter 124 Chapter 124

Chapter 124 Chapter 124
The lecture hall was filled to the brim. Leo was sitting in the third row, near the window. His notebook was open. His pen was in his hand. He wasn't writing.

The professor went on and on about things. History. Modern history. The official version. The one the governments had agreed on.

"...the terrorist organization known as Phoenix was dismantled after a coordinated international effort. The leaders were apprehended. The facilities were destroyed. The threat was neutralized."

Leo stared at the screen. At the photos of buildings on fire. At the faces of men in uniforms.

"Preposterous," he whispered.

"The Zero Collective was a fringe group that claimed responsibility for several attacks. They were ultimately defeated by joint task forces. No survivors were identified."

Leo's hand tightened on his pen. He pressed his lips into a straight line. His eyes were burning with anger.

The professor kept talking. "The aftermath of the conflict led to widespread medical reforms. The so-called 'genetic therapy' was banned. International oversight committees were established. The world is safer now."

Leo looked at his notebook–at the blank page.

He didn't write anything on it.

The lecture ended. Leo packed his bag and walked out of the hall with a serious face. The hallway was crowded. Students pushed past him. Nobody looked at him twice.

He was just another face. Just another student. Just another person who didn't matter.

He walked to the library and spotted a quiet corner. He sat down. He pulled out his phone.

There was a message from Elias.

"Thinking of you. Hope you're okay."

Leo stared at the screen. His thumb hovered over the keyboard.

He typed: "I'm okay."

He deleted it.

He typed: "They're lying. They're still lying."

He deleted that too.

He typed: "I am fine. Thanks."

He sent that and kept his phone back.

The library was quiet. The shelves were tall. The windows were wide. Leo sat in the corner with his head down.

He thought about the grove. About the trees. About the names carved into the stones.

Jax. Kenji. Borealis. Raven. Mikkal. Liv. The seven clones.

He thought about the last time he saw Elias. The way his hair was grayer. The way his eyes looked sad like he was forcing himself to survive.

He thought about the lectures. About the history they taught. About the lies they told.

He put his head in his hands down and took a deep breath.

A girl sat down across from him. She had red hair. She was holding a book.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Leo looked up. His face was pale. "I'm fine. Thank you.”

"You don't look fine."

"I'm fine."

She looked at him for a moment. Then she held out the book.

"I found this… in the stacks," she said. "It's weird don't you think? It's supposed to be fiction. But it reads like…it's real."

Leo took the book and he looked at the cover.

"The Zero Collective. A Memoir."

No author name. Just the title.

Leo's hands started shaking.

"Where did you find this?" he asked with his eyes wide opened and eyebrows raised.

"In the back. The old section. It's not supposed to be here. I think someone hid it."

Leo opened the book. He read the first page.

"The first time I died was on a Saturday night in an abandoned textile mill outside Pittsburgh." He remembered this exact message from Jax when he was telling them about his past.

He closed the book immediately.

"Can I keep this?" he asked.

The girl looked at him. "You know about it?"

"Yes. I know about it."

She nodded. "Ohh. Okay. Keep it."

She stood up and she walked away.

Leo held the book. His hands were shaking.

He read it in one night.

He sat in his dorm room. The lights were off. The only light came from his desk lamp. He turned the pages.

He read about Jax. About Kenji. About Borealis. About Raven. About all of them.

He read about the labs. The tanks. The reset. The fight.

He read about the grove. The trees. The stones.

He closed the book. His eyes were wet.

He looked at his phone. There was a message from Elias.

"I'll be in town next week. Coffee?"

Leo typed: "Yes."

He sent it.

The coffee shop was small. Quiet. The walls were brick. The tables were old.

Leo sat in the corner. He was holding the book. He was waiting.

Elias walked in. His face was older. His coat was worn.

He sat down across from Leo.

"You look tired," he said.

Leo nodded. "I read the book."

Elias was quiet for a moment. "Elena wrote it."

"I thought as much."

"It's the truth."

"I know."

Elias looked at the book. At the cover. At the title.

"They tried to suppress it," he said. "The government. They wanted to bury it. But it got out. People started reading it. Sharing it."

"It's a cult classic now."

"Yes."

Leo looked at him. "Is that enough?"

Elias was quiet.

"Elena wrote it so people would know the truth. So they would remember." He paused. "But they don't. They just think it's a story. A myth. A legend."

Leo's voice was low. "The lectures. The history. It's all lies."

"Yes."

"They said Phoenix was defeated by joint task forces. They said the Zero Collective was a fringe group. They said there were no survivors."

Elias looked at his coffee. "I know."

"How do you live with it?"

Elias looked up. His eyes were tired. "Just live. Forget about it for now."

Leo shook his head. "That's not enough."

"It has to be."

The door opened. A woman walked in. She had dark hair. She was carrying a bag. It was Elena.

She spotted them and walked over. She sat down.

"You're here," Elias said.

"I got the message."

Elena looked at Leo. At the book. At his face.

"You read it," she said.

Leo nodded. "I read it."

Elena looked at the book. At the worn cover. At the creased pages.

"I wrote it so people would know the truth," she said.

"They don't believe it."

She nodded. "Some do. Some don't."

"Is that enough?"

Elena was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "Well, I don't really care about that."

The day was slow.

They sat in the coffee shop. They talked about nothing. They talked about everything.

Elena told them about the villagers. About how they knew Elias as a quiet man. A man who had lost his family in a war.

Leo told them about the lectures. About the lies. About the history they taught. About the students.

Elena looked at him. "You're carrying too much."

"I know."

"Just let it go."

"I can't."

Elena put her hand on his. "You can. It's just a matter of time.”

The sun went down.

They walked out of the coffee shop. The street was empty. The lights were on.

Elena looked at Leo. "What are you going to do?"

He looked at the sky. At the stars.

"I'm going to…you know, carry on I guess," he said. “Like everything is fine.”

"That's all any of us can do." Elena placed her hands on her waist.

The wind moved through the trees.

Elias stood in the grove. He was alone. The stones were in front of him.

He knelt down. He put his hand on the stone.

Jax. Kenji. Borealis. Raven.

"I'm still here. You all will always be in my heart. We fought a good fight and your deaths aren't in vain," he whispered.