Chapter 390: Strange feeling

When Elena woke from what felt like a deep slumber filled with strange noises and dreams that had nothing to do with her, she felt heavy and disoriented, as though her body had forgotten how to wake properly.

The last thing she should have remembered was what had caused her to fall. Why was she in this state? Was she dead? Had she survived? Where was she?

Those questions should have been the ones occupying her mind. Instead, an unnatural calm had settled over her, muffling the frantic thoughts that should have been screaming for answers. She stared blankly ahead, trying to make sense of what she had just witnessed in her dreams.

Memories, actually.

And they were not hers. She knew that much.

It felt as though she had witnessed everything from beginning to end. She had seen countless stars, incomprehensible entities, and destruction on a scale so immense that even the wildest scenes in movies could not compare. Her mind struggled to process what it had been shown, replaying fragments of those memories again and again.

Yet, unlike an ordinary dream, she knew exactly where it had begun.

"Are you okay?"

Elena slowly turned to her left.

Her eyes widened.

She instinctively tried to sit up, then found herself attempting to stand for reasons she could not understand. Something deep within her told her that she should greet the person standing before her.

But then she heard him speak.

"It’s okay. Remain seated."

The strange urge immediately faded.

The words had not sounded like a command, yet Elena felt as though they were the only instructions she needed to follow.

The radiance surrounding him gradually faded, revealing the familiar face of the man who shared the room with her at the headquarters. He stood there with his usual calm expression, though she could somehow sense the concern beneath it.

That realization unsettled her more than anything else.

She could feel what he was feeling.

"You..." Elena began, struggling to find her voice beneath the mountain of thoughts crowding her mind. "...you were the one. In my memories, you were there. All along."

She watched him sigh.

For some reason, the sight made her chest tighten.

Had she disappointed him?

"Yes, you did. And you saw a lot more than I intended."

Elena clutched the sheet wrapped around her body.

"Is that a bad thing? Did I do something bad?"

Her heart was in disarray, much like her thoughts. Whenever he spoke or even reacted to something, his words seemed to take priority over everything else occupying her mind.

"Not at all. You simply saw things I intended to show you, just not right away. And it was never your fault. I allowed it to happen."

Kyle slowly approached her.

Her heart began to race.

He sat down in front of her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

Warmth spread through her at the touch, dispelling the last remnants of haze clouding her vision. For the first time since waking, she could truly see him.

"Kyle..." she muttered. "...what happened to me? Why do I feel like this?"

Kyle gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Calm down. Nothing bad happened to you. You’re safe now."

Elena nodded.

The words seemed to reach somewhere deeper than her mind, sinking directly into her soul. The tension that had gripped her body eased almost instantly.

It was strange.

She had known him for less than a week, yet trusting him came as naturally as breathing.

Kyle then asked, "Want to eat something? You’ve been unconscious for nearly a day."

Elena’s eyes widened.

Then she suddenly remembered something.

Her gaze dropped to her stomach.

She clearly remembered being shot with something that had pierced through her back before dissolving into her body. The burning sensation remained vivid in her memory, almost as though it had happened only moments ago.

Yet strangely, the pain itself was gone.

She had lost consciousness while staring into his golden eyes that day.

And now, where there should have been at least a burn mark, her skin was completely clear and pristine.

"Don’t worry. I healed it right away," Kyle assured her.

Elena slowly looked back up at him.

"Who... are you? Why do I feel like you’re someone I know, yet at the same time, you’re a complete stranger to me?"

Kyle offered her a faint smile.

"For now, don’t overthink those things. Come with me. Your family has been quite distressed since your disappearance."

Her eyes widened.

"Right... Mom... and Dad."

She flinched at the thought.

"They’ve been so stubborn about taking me back home. Just the night before I told them I wouldn’t go, and then this happened."

Kyle hummed softly.

"Well, you’re safe now. And that’s all that matters to them too."

Elena nodded, but then her attention shifted.

She finally began to look around.

She appeared to be lying in the middle of a vast grassland, surrounded by nothing but open space and quiet greenery. The place was peaceful, almost unnaturally so. Yet the comfortable bed beneath her looked almost comical against the endless stretch of wilderness.

Her gaze wandered across the surroundings before eventually settling on herself.

She froze.

She was naked beneath the oversized shirt she was wearing.

Heat rushed to her face.

Before she could even formulate a complaint, Kyle spoke.

"It was necessary for us to remain in contact as much as possible. Please forgive me."

Elena’s embarrassment only deepened, though beneath it came a strange sense of relief.

At least it had been him who had seen her like that.

Still, that did not mean she was going to let him off so easily.

She bared her teeth and leaned forward, biting down on his forearm in protest while glaring at him as if daring him to underestimate how offended she was.

The bite, however, lacked anything resembling real force.

Kyle’s response made it obvious what he saw when he looked at her.

Not a threat.

Not an angry woman.

Just a child throwing a tantrum because she had been embarrassed.

....

"Why are we here?" Elena asked as they entered the PSC base in Montclair, leaving the strange place behind.

She was now wearing proper clothes... Which Kyle made it out thin air.

When Elena had learned that they were in the Bridge, she had nearly panicked. The realization alone had been enough to send her thoughts spiraling, especially after everything she had experienced.

It had taken considerable reassurance from Kyle to convince her that, while the Bridge might be the source of nightmares for most people, it was a safe place for them.

Kyle hummed before answering, "Well, we’re here to discuss what lies we’re going to present to the world."

Elena nodded slowly as understanding dawned on her.

Of course.

There was no way she could tell anyone about what she had seen. Not only because Kyle had asked her to keep it to herself, but because exposing those memories felt almost like a sin. Revealing what she had witnessed, revealing the truth behind those memories, and especially the fact that she had been so deeply in love with...

’Agh, what am I thinking?’

She scolded herself inwardly and immediately pushed the thought aside.

This was hardly the time to think about something like that.

Kyle led her toward the cafeteria section before stopping.

"Can you wait here for a while? I’ll go check whether Veronica has invited our guests yet."

Elena nodded, though a hint of unease remained in her eyes.

"Please don’t take too long. I’m not good with questions."

She glanced around the cafeteria, noticing the occasional officer looking in their direction.

"And I have a feeling I’m going to be questioned very soon."

Kyle understood her anxiety. They had already attracted more than a few curious glances since entering the base, and Elena was hardly in a state to deal with an interrogation.

"It won’t take long. I’ll come back for you. And if someone does approach you, just tell them you’re Ava’s sister. They won’t bother you after that."

"..."

Elena’s expression went completely blank.

She really did not like being associated with that woman, even if she was no longer alive. The thought alone was enough to sour her mood.

But if it meant avoiding unnecessary questions, she supposed she could endure it.

Anything for convenience.

She nodded, watching Kyle walk away.

The farther he went, the heavier the strange feeling in her chest became. Elena remained still for several seconds, her eyes fixed on his retreating back until he finally disappeared from view.

’God... I really need to get my head straight.’

She lowered her gaze and quietly exhaled, trying to steady the thoughts that had once again begun running wild.

Just then, she saw someone stopping right before her.

She sighed and started, "I am-" and then paused.

Those eyes...that face. She remembers it all too well.

"Layena."

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A/N:- Thanks for reading. Please drop a comment if you are enjoying the story so far. The stats had gone down possibly because of update rate...haah.