The Strong Ones Come Back

Nobody believed in me. That was their first mistake.

By the time the boom sounded, it was too late. A flash of blinding light erupted, and a distinct ringing filled the air. The damage was done, but I was already gone.

Alone, but gone.

My hands ached as I ground two sticks together beneath a sagging tarp. Rain hammered overhead, and cold seeped into my bones.

Despite the frigid chill, sweat dripped from my brow as I worked tirelessly to start a fire.

A face haunted my thoughts as I worked.

Long, chestnut brown hair. Whiskey-colored eyes, brimming with desperation.

Smoke curled from the wood in front of me, followed by a spark. I pushed harder, and a wild grin spread across my face.

Her voice filled my ears, echoing through my wandering mind.

"Don't go," she pleaded.

The wind roared, and before I could blink, one side of my shelter collapsed, splashing rainwater onto my kindling and extinguishing any chance of warmth.

I shouted in frustration, throwing the sticks aside.

Defeat washed over me as I fixed my tarp.

Wrapping myself in a thick sleeping bag, I laid against a damp pile of leaves and closed my eyes.

The memories began.

"Mason, please don't do this," Elena begged, following me to the front door. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she clung to my jacket.

"Come with me," I said, turning to face her. "I will protect you with everything I have."

"Mason..." She breathed. "I know you’re scared. But please don't disappear."

I closed my eyes, feeling as though a weight were crushing my chest.

"You've seen the reports," I whispered. "You know what’s coming. I won't fall victim to it."

"Then let me help you." Her voice broke. "Just stay with us."

I looked at her one last time, memorizing every feature of her beautiful face.

Our lips met.

I kissed her fiercely before grabbing my gear and turning away.

"No!" she shouted, lunging after me. "Don’t go."

Before I could respond, her mother appeared behind her, a disapproving look shadowing her face.

"Let him go, Elena," she hissed. "He is unwell."

She wrapped reassuring hands around her daughter's shoulders and gently pulled her back.

Elena wailed, and I could barely keep myself together as I opened the door.

Every instinct screamed at me to turn around.

But I knew she’d never leave her family.

I couldn’t blame her for that.

With one final shout, Elena tore herself from her mother's grip and disappeared deeper into the house.

A piece of my soul withered away.

I stepped outside, but before I could close the door, her brother, Miguel, cleared his throat.

I looked over at him.

"Don't come back." He scowled at me.

I left the porch and disappeared into the night.

***

The rain had stopped, but I hadn’t moved, wishing I had found a way to take Elena with me instead of letting her family pull us apart.

All the signs had been there.

I warned them.

How could they not see it coming?

I had been working in cybersecurity for the military when I discovered plans for a classified chemical warfare operation.

At first, I thought it was a simulation. Something written by analysts paid to imagine worst-case scenarios.

Then I kept reading.

The documents described a slow and deliberate attack on the population. One designed not to kill, but to change and manipulate the mind.

I spent weeks convincing myself I had misunderstood what I was seeing.

I hadn't.

Three months before the detonation, reports of a strange neurological illness began appearing across the country.

Emergency rooms saw an unusual spike in patients complaining of memory lapses.

Teachers forgot the names of students they had taught for years.

Air traffic controllers made mistakes that should have been impossible.

The news blamed stress. The government blamed misinformation. The public blamed each other.

But the symptoms continued spreading.

I recoiled at the memory of one page from the documents.

SUBJECT RESPONSE — PHASE ONE

Memory degradation observed in 82% of participants.

Emotional instability increasing.

Continued monitoring recommended.

Phase Two followed weeks later.

Patients reported a burning sensation at the base of the skull. Neurologists began publishing papers documenting unusual activity in regions of the brain responsible for memory and emotional processing.

Some of those studies disappeared almost as quickly as they appeared.

Then came the behavioral changes.

People stopped questioning things. Arguments vanished. Resistance faded.

Loved ones became strangers wearing familiar faces.

After that came the redacted sections detailing a chemical detonation.

While the final phase wasn’t listed in full, one symptom appeared repeatedly throughout the remaining reports.

The detonation would mark those infected with a glowing, iridescent ring around their irises.

Something straight out of a nightmare.

Whatever happened next had been hidden even from people with my level of clearance.

Who wanted to do this?

And why?

That realization drove me underground.

I spent months building a shelter in a remote location. I stocked it with food, supplies, and enough purified water to survive for months.

I tried to convince Elena to come with me.

She tried to believe me.

For a while, she even kept my secret from her family.

But when she finally told them out of fear for their lives, everything changed.

They convinced her that I was paranoid. That I was the problem.

Maybe I would have believed them too if I hadn't seen the documents with my own eyes.

Gray light faded from the sky. The forest remained silent around me. I watched it as it watched me back.

I had left the shelter a week ago and was running low on supplies.

I waited a month before emerging.

A month hiding underground. A month wondering whether Elena was alive.

Now I was heading back toward the place I had left behind.

Toward Elena.

If there was even the slightest chance she had escaped whatever happened that day, I had to find her.

The thought would haunt me until I knew for certain.

***

The moon hung low in the sky as I crept through the wooded area leading up to the estate Elena and I once called home.

My clothes were dry, and I had filled my stomach with bread and canned meat.

A twig snapped to my left, and my head whipped toward the sound.

I caught the blur of a rabbit's tail darting into the darkness.

"Hell of a warning," I whispered.

As I emerged from the trees, warm yellow light spilled from the house windows.

Shadows moved across the glass, both upstairs and down, and my heart began to race.

There were people inside.

The thought hit me like a shock wave.

I almost didn't see the guard standing by the back door.

He stared across the property with cold, lifeless eyes.

Normal eyes.

My heart dropped.

Slowly, his hand drifted toward the weapon at his side.

Who was he protecting?

Just as I reached for my own weapon, Elena appeared from the west wing.

Every part of me froze.

She was alive.

She was so close I could almost smell the familiar scent of citrus and sea breeze drifting through the night air.

A summer dress brushed against her legs as she walked toward the guard.

His hand immediately left his weapon.

"Miss Elena," the guard said. "You gave me quite a scare."

She laughed softly.

"Don't worry, Gabriel. I was just checking the grounds before we lock up for the night,” she said. You can head to your quarters."

He nodded and disappeared into the darkness.

I watched her, a hurricane of emotions swirling through me.

When she was alone, she pulled something from her pocket and spoke quietly into it.

Too quietly for me to hear.

Her back was turned.

This was my chance.

I darted from the bushes.

She spun at the sound of my footsteps, but I reached her before she could react, pressing a finger gently to her lips.

Her eyes widened in fear.

Then recognition.

Copper-colored irises met mine.

No iridescent ring.

Relief flooded me.

"Hi," I breathed. "It's me. I'm here."

Before I could pull her into my arms, a shadow moved from the corner of my eye.

Elena's mother stood beneath the estate lights.

Silent.

Watching.

Elena immediately pushed me behind her.

"Mama," she said quietly. "What are you doing out of bed?"

Her mother shuffled toward us.

A slow, mindless walk.

Horror recoiled in my gut as a glowing ring caught the light around her irises.

Her gaze landed on me.

I braced myself. Prepared to fight if I had to.

But she simply stared.

No recognition.

No reaction.

After a long moment, she turned and walked back into the house.

I looked at Elena, trying to make sense of what I had just witnessed.

"I was beginning to think I'd never find you." She whispered, her features softening.

Relief crashed over me.

I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her into a tight embrace.

She laughed softly and squeezed my shoulders.

Her scent enveloped me, and suddenly a million questions fought for attention.

"How are you alive? Have you been looking for me?" The words tumbled out. "There's no ring in your eyes."

She glanced upward toward something I couldn't see and leaned close to my ear.

"Let's talk somewhere else."

She linked her arm through mine and began guiding me toward the house.

The moment we stepped inside, the air felt sterile. Controlled.

The furniture and floors remained, but unfamiliar faces filled the living quarters.

Some shuffled slowly through the halls.

Others sat motionless on couches, staring at nothing.

A few looked up and nodded as we passed.

Elena nodded back.

Every one of them wore the same glowing ring around their eyes.

As we moved down the main corridor, one familiar face stopped me cold.

Miguel.

He sat alone at the dining table, staring at his hands.

I nearly called his name. Then he looked up.

The horror in his eyes stole the breath from my lungs.

Elena squeezed my arm. "It's okay," she muttered.

We continued upstairs toward the bedroom we had shared only a month ago.

A man appeared beside Elena.

"You found him?" he asked, keeping pace with us.

His eyes were light blue, with no ring in sight.

"Who the hell is this?" I asked, unable to hide the jealousy in my tone.

Elena nodded at the man in response.

He gave her a slight smirk before disappearing down another hallway.

Frustration twisted inside me.

"Who was that?" I asked quietly.

There were clearly many things I didn't understand, and for the first time since finding Elena, I began to wonder if I was the one walking into a trap.

Elena led me into our bedroom and shut the door quietly behind her.

She let go of me and crossed the room toward a bar cart beneath the windowpane. The room was dark, but moonlight slipped through the open curtains, pooling across the large rug. The fireplace crackled quietly on the far wall.

“You can talk in here,” she said softly. “The room is soundproof.”

She handed me a glass of what I knew was my favorite bourbon. The aroma filled me with nostalgia.

I took it willingly.

“A lot has happened since you left,” she began, taking me in from head to toe. “I’m glad you’re alive.”

“I could say the same.” I took a sip. The liquid burned in the best way.

“A month in solitude is a long time.”

It felt like a century.

“I tried to find you,” she murmured.

“I should have come back sooner,” I admitted.

The wood in the fireplace shifted as silence settled between us.

“So, your mom and brother were infected.” I mentioned.

She nodded, her gaze distant.

“Sadly, yes.” She sighed and finished her drink in two gulps. “But I’m going to get them back.”

The determination in her tone filled me with sorrow.

“Elena,” I whispered, “I don’t think they’re coming back.”

A look of annoyance crossed her features.

She walked toward me with the bottle of bourbon and topped off my glass.

“There’s a lot you don’t know, Mason.”

“Then explain it to me.”

A flicker of worry danced in her eyes as she returned the decanter to the bar cart.

“Please?” I begged.

She fumbled with the fabric of her dress, as if battling something inside herself.

“Let’s start from the beginning,” I tried. “How did you escape the illness?”

“I didn’t escape it.” She turned and walked toward the fireplace.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “It’s obvious you did.”

She leaned over the fire, using the iron poker to rearrange the wood. The embers blazed. I had never once seen her start a fire on her own.

“I let it happen to me, Mason,” she confessed, her voice low. “I needed to see what they were doing.”

Elena stared into the flames. “I couldn’t leave my family.”

I set the nearly empty glass of bourbon on the dresser, alarm coursing through me.

“The research you left behind helped,” she continued. “But there was far more to the story than you could have uncovered.”

My spine prickled. “How do you know this, Elena?”

A moment of silence passed before she met my eyes, flames dancing in the reflection of her own.

“I was infected,” she said at last.

I didn’t believe her.

Not at all.

Before I could argue, an iridescent ring formed around her honey-colored irises.

I stumbled backward, lost my balance, and hit the floor.

Shock radiated through me as I stared up at her.

“You lied to me,” I muttered.

She took a few steps toward me.

I scooted back, my eyes finding the door.

“I didn’t lie,” she protested. “But I learned something dangerous after battling what I thought was the end of my life.”

I looked around, searching for anything to protect myself with.

The door groaned open, and the man with blue eyes strode in, pushing a gurney in front of him.

“Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way,” Elena continued, glancing at him and then back to me. “But you won’t have to.”

My eyes shot to the stranger.

“Stay the hell away from me,” I growled.

He ignored me, fumbling with the straps on the bed.

Restraints.

Panic surged through me as I shot up. I took one step, and my knees weakened.

Elena moved to lock the door with the key from her dress pocket.

A deep exhaustion flooded me from head to toe.

The room began to spin.

Horror filled my gut.

“You drugged me,” I sputtered.

My eyes found the bourbon glass on the dresser.

“I know what it looks like, Mason.” Elena’s voice softened. “But I promise I’m not going to hurt you.”

She took a step toward me, but I lost my balance trying to move away.

Sadness swam in those glowing eyes, but she didn’t come any closer.

“Whatever you’re about to do to me…” I breathed. “Please don’t.”

She walked toward the gurney.

“Those in power who created this disease made a critical mistake,” Elena spoke as she hooked up an IV bag.

“The infection doesn’t erase the person inside,” she informed. “It buries them.”

Sweat coated my forehead, and the walls felt as if they were closing in.

“They’re still in there,” she continued. “Watching from within. Unable to control themselves.”

The ceiling swayed above me.

“It takes unbearable pain and a strong sense of will to break through it.” Her voice was closer now.

She linked her arm through mine, pulling me up and guiding me toward the gurney.

“Not everyone comes back,” she stated, helping me onto the bed. “But the strong ones always come back.”

I grunted in protest as leather straps tightened around my wrists and ankles.

Her words hit me then.

“What are you saying?” I questioned. “There’s a cure?”

She smiled at me.

“I wouldn’t call it that,” she answered. “But it’s as close to a cure as we’ve found.”

I stared up at her as the ring around her eyes began to vanish, as if it had never been there.

“You can control its influence?” I asked in disbelief.

“Yes.” Hope filled her eyes. “Once you come back, you can control it.”

“What do you mean, come back?” I asked. “I don’t have the illness, Elena.”

She didn’t answer as she reached for something on the tray next to me.

“Not yet,” she replied.

My head swam with panic as I pulled against the restraints.

“I don’t understand.”

She turned toward me, holding a syringe up to the light. Amber liquid glowed inside.

“I’m going to infect you,” she said determinately.

“What?”

I shot up from the bed in complete terror, causing the gurney to squeak and rattle.

The other man moved quickly, holding me down.

“Piss off!” I shouted at him.

His eyes darkened.

“You’re going to get it anyway, Mason,” Elena declared. “You’ve been exposed to the air.”

My heart sank as the fight left my body at that revelation.

“Fine,” I gritted out, lying back in defeat. “If I’m doomed, then what’s the rush?”

My eyes grew heavy as I fought to keep them open.

She sat beside me and laid her hand over mine.

Longing twisted inside me at her touch.

“We need to stay ahead of it,” she maintained. “It’s better you do this here, with me. Under my watch.”

Sleep pulled at me.

“Tell me why,” I breathed, barely managing to stare into her eyes.

A strong look settled over her features, and I immediately recognized the woman beneath it.

“Because I’m going to teach you how to fight it.”