Chapter 3 THREE

"We can't stay here," Linda whispered. She looked down the empty hospital hallway.

Ethan leaned against the wall. His legs shook. "Who were those guys?"

"Syndicate enforcers. They know you're awake. They know I've got you."

"Why is my blood so important?"

"Not here." Linda tugged at his arm. She was holding on to him tight. "We have to get out. Now."

They hastened. Sterile overhead lights flashed. A door closed behind them. Ethan cringed. His heart thudded against his chest. He caught sight of a memory. A field of combat. Smoke. Same feeling of peril.

"This way," Linda urged her. She pushed open a door that read 'STAIRS.'

They descended. Their footsteps echoed in the concrete stairwell. "My clinic is safe," Linda huffed. "We can rendezvous there."

"Regroup for what? A war I don't recall?"

"Yes."

They went down to the lowest landing. Linda opened the door to the exit a small crack. She looked out into the parking garage. "Clear. Come on."

They proceeded quickly toward an ordinary black van. Lights blazed on. Two enormous SUVs blocked the exit ramp. Doors slammed open. Men in black tactical gear spilled out. They were armed.

Down!" Linda shoved Ethan behind a concrete pillar.

Gunfire rang out. Bullets ricocheted against the pillar.

"They caught up to us," Ethan said, his words strained.

"They were lying in wait," Linda replied. She pulled a tiny pistol from her coat. "You able to fight?"

Ethan looked at his hands. They were trembling. Then he looked at the men who were armed. A chill calm fell over him. "I think so.".

"Good." Linda handed him the pistol. "Cover me. I'll get the van."

"How?"

"Just do it!"

Ethan leaned out and fired two shots. The men ducked for cover. It was all the time Linda needed. She sprinted towards the van.

One of the guards saw her. He raised his rifle. Ethan did not think. He took a steady shot. The man shrieked and fell. Ethan's bullet was straight. A flash of memory. Gun drill. Drill after drill.

Linda reached the van. The motor roared to life. She jammed it into gear and sped towards him. "Get in!

Ethan dove into the passenger seat as she pulled up. Additional bullets clipped off the van's armored paneling. Linda accelerated. The van bulldozed ahead, knocking one of the SUVs out of the way. They took off into the night like a bullet going up the ramp.

Ethan was breathless. He looked at the gun in his hand. "I remembered something. How to use this."

Linda kept her eyes on the road. "It's starting. Your brain's waking up."

"Who were those men?"

"The Syndicate's clean-up crew. Their job is to wipe out issues. Like you."

"And what about you?"

"I'm an issue for them, too."

They rode in silence for a while. City lights whizzed by.

"Where are we going?" Ethan asked.

"To a safe house. Then to my main clinic. We must accelerate your training."

"Training for what?"

Ethan glared at her. The name 'Gad' sounded strange in his ears. It was not his name, yet something in him stirred when she used the name.

"To know how to fight?".

"It's your real name," Linda said, never looking away from the road. "Ethan is what they called you. To keep you hidden."

"Who am I?" he growled, his voice rising in desperation. The gun felt awkward in his lap.

"You are a leader. Or, at least, once you were. You were the leader of a group that rebelled against the Syndicate."

"The Syndicate... is that Sophia's family?"

"Yeah. And others. They're powerful. They control a lot of things in the background."

Ethan couldn't remember. He closed his eyes. He saw visions of faces, people looking at him, waiting for orders. But the memories were like mist. They disappeared every time he tried to hold on to them.

"I don't remember ordering anyone," he said, frustrated.

"You will. The process has begun. Your mind and your body are coming awake."

"What process? What happened to me?"

Linda was quiet for a moment. "They kidnapped you six months ago. They operated on you. It was like a deep brainwashing. They implanted your abilities and your memories. They tried to turn you into a blank slate. They wanted to use you for their purposes."

"Use me for what?"

"Your blood is special, Gad. It holds the secret to the virus."

"Virus? What virus?

"The Syndicate created a disease. They call it the 'Silent Sleep.' It debilitates individuals and makes them easy to manipulate. They plan to release it into the large cities. You possess a natural resistance to it. You can't contract it. They want to study you. In order to find a way of modifying the disease so that even you can't stop it."

Ethan looked out the window at the dark city. All of it, it felt like a crazy dream. But the gunfire in the garage wasn't a dream. The men trying to kill them weren't a dream.

"So now what's the plan?" he asked.

"First, we go to the safe house. It is a flat that is old. It is clean and there is no connection with me. We can stay there for a few hours. Then we go to my main clinic. There, I have equipment. I can assist you in remembering faster.

"How?"

"I can show you things. Pictures, papers. I can use certain sounds and lights to help your brain break through the doors that they construct. It will hurt. It might even hurt bad."

"I don't care about pain," Ethan said. "I do care about being lied to."

Linda smiled. "Well, that's an improvement. You're starting to sound like the man I once knew."

They drove for another twenty minutes. Linda rode black, narrow alleys. She was careful, glancing in the mirrors to see if they were following them.

She stopped the van in front of a worn brick building. The windows were black.

"This is it," she said. "Get the bag from the back. In it is water and food."

Ethan obliged. He followed Linda into the building and up a narrow set of stairs. The apartment was on the third floor. It was modest and plain, with nothing in it but a couch, a table, and one bedroom.

Linda locked the door behind them and put a chain across it.

We are safe for the moment," she replied. "But we can't stay for long. They will be searching everywhere in the city for us."

Ethan put down the bag. "What's next?"

"We eat. We rest. Then, we begin." Linda opened the bag and took out a bottle of water. She gave it to him. "Drink. Your body has gone through a lot."

Ethan took the water. He looked at Linda. For the first time, he saw how tired she was. There was dirt on her face and a tiny cut on her cheek.

"Thank you," he said. "For saving me out of there."

Linda smiled faintly. "You would have done the same to me. You did, once. Now, remember that."

Linda stared at him. Her expression was serious. "For the war you started, Gad. And the one you're going to finish."