The Darkness I Carry

Chapter 37: The Weight of What Comes Next

Fractures

Leah's pulse drummed in her ears, the silence between her and Caleb thick with unspoken words. His presence was a strange kind of comfort something she hadn't realized she needed until he was standing there, his eyes fixed on her like he was searching for a way inside her mind.

She wasn't sure if she wanted him there. She didn't know what she wanted. All she knew was that the walls she'd built to protect herself from everything everyone were crumbling. And it terrified her.

"I don't know what you want from me," Leah said, her voice quieter than she intended. She hated how vulnerable she sounded. "You think you can save me? Is that it? After everything?"

Caleb didn't move, didn't flinch. He just kept his eyes locked on hers, like he was trying to find the girl he used to know beneath the layers of blood and scars.

"Leah, I " He stopped himself, frustration flickering across his face. "I'm not trying to save you. I'm trying to understand you."

Leah laughed, but it was hollow, broken. "Understand me? You can't understand what I am."

"You're right," Caleb said, his voice steady but filled with a weight she could hear even in the simplest words. "I don't know everything. But I know you're not a monster. Not the way they want you to be."

Leah's breath caught in her throat.

Not the way they want you to be.

The truth stung harder than she expected. She hated it. She hated that Caleb could still see something in her. She hated how, for a second, she almost wanted to believe him.

Cracks in the Mask

The moment stretched between them, pulling taut like a wire on the verge of snapping. Leah glanced away, her gaze drifting to the cold, metallic walls of the room, the sterile hum of the compound echoing in the background. She couldn't look at him anymore. She couldn't deal with the way he was making her feel.

"Maybe you're wrong," she muttered, her voice a whisper of defiance. "Maybe I am a monster."

Caleb shook his head, stepping closer, his voice lowering. "You're not a monster, Leah. You're the result of something broken, but you're not beyond saving."

She didn't know why those words hurt. Maybe it was because they felt like a lie, or maybe it was because for the first time in years she wasn't sure if she wanted to prove him wrong.

Before she could answer, the intercom crackled to life, cutting through the moment like a blade.

"Leah. Caleb. You're both required in the operations chamber. Immediate briefing."

Leah's heart dropped. She didn't want to go. She didn't want to face whatever they had planned for her next. She didn't want to keep playing their game. But the pull of the compound, the pull of Division Nine, was too strong.

She looked at Caleb one last time, her eyes a mixture of defiance and something else something darker, something she couldn't name.

"You still think you can save me?" she asked quietly, almost to herself.

Caleb didn't answer right away. Instead, he met her gaze, his eyes soft but unwavering. "I think you're worth saving."

Her breath hitched, but she didn't let herself react. She couldn't. Not here. Not now.

Without a word, Leah turned and walked toward the door, each step a fight to keep her walls intact.

The Briefing

In the operations chamber, the air was thick with tension. The sterile room was filled with figures in dark suits, the ever-present hum of machinery buzzing like flies around a corpse. Leah didn't need to look at the monitors to know what was happening. She knew their eyes were on her, analyzing her every move, waiting for her to break.

"Leah," the voice of the woman in charge rang out from the far corner of the room. Dr. Hargrove sharp eyes, colder heart. "You know why you're here."

Leah's eyes flicked to her, then to the others in the room. She had no patience for this. No patience for their tests and their lies. But she kept her mouth shut, her expression unreadable.

The woman continued. "We've been monitoring your behavior. You've had... breakthroughs."

Leah's fists clenched at her sides. She didn't need them to tell her about her so-called breakthroughs. They were watching her. Measuring her. Trying to sharpen her into a weapon they could aim.

But then the woman dropped the bombshell.

"We've decided it's time to move forward. You will be deployed immediately for your final assignment."

Leah froze. "Final assignment?" Her voice cracked before she could stop it. She hadn't expected that. Not now. Not so suddenly.

Dr. Hargrove's lips curled into something like a smile. "It's time to test your loyalty. To see how far you'll go."

The Terms

Caleb's heart was hammering in his chest as he stood beside Leah, feeling the weight of what had just been said. Final assignment.

He didn't want to ask. He didn't want to know what it meant. But the words left his mouth anyway. "What's the assignment?"

Dr. Hargrove turned her cold eyes on him, as though just remembering he was there. "You, too, are part of this. You will accompany her. Make sure she follows through."

Caleb's stomach twisted. "What happens if she doesn't?"

The woman didn't flinch. "She will be eliminated."

Leah tensed beside him, but Caleb couldn't bring himself to look at her. He couldn't bear to see the emotions flicker across her face the fear, the rage, the resignation.

Dr. Hargrove turned back to Leah. "You will kill the target. And Caleb will ensure you do."

Leah's voice was barely audible. "And if I refuse?"

The woman's smile widened. "We're done asking."

The door to the chamber hissed open, a signal that the conversation was over. Orders had been given. Fate had been sealed.

The Edge of Something

Caleb's mind was racing. He could feel the weight of the decision pressing down on him one he hadn't been prepared for. He had come here to protect Leah. To help her escape this place. But now, everything had changed.

He looked at her, his eyes meeting hers in the silence. This wasn't just about survival anymore. It was about control. About obedience. And Leah was caught in the center of a war she hadn't asked to fight.

What did he owe her? What was he willing to risk?

The silence between them stretched on, suffocating.

Leah took a deep breath, her voice low but steady. "You'll make me do this, won't you?"

Caleb's throat tightened. He didn't answer. He couldn't.

But he wasn't sure anymore if that was because he was afraid of what she might do...

...or because he was afraid of what he might become.