LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 45: Shattered Dreams, Unbroken Wills
Shattered Dreams, Unbroken Wills
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1. Waking in a World That Has Moved On (Tom's POV)
Tom's eyes snapped open to darkness.
No blinding light. No sterile corridors. Just cold, suffocating black.
His body ached with a pain so deep it felt like it was carved into his bones. Every breath was like inhaling smoke—thick, heavy, and wrong.
This isn't the dream anymore.
The realization struck hard, sending a surge of adrenaline through his veins.
He tried to move. His muscles screamed in protest, like they hadn't been used in months. His fingers twitched against rough fabric beneath him—a medical cot.
The air was sterile, humming with the faint buzz of machinery.
We're back.
But the question was—where?
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2. A City of Ghosts (Stacy's POV)
Stacy's awakening wasn't quiet.
Her first breath came as a choking gasp, her vision swimming as she struggled to focus.
The scent of antiseptic filled her lungs. The cold, artificial light above her flickered intermittently.
The room was unfamiliar.
Not the clean, sterile facility from their prison.
This was different.
The walls were cracked, the air heavy with dust. It felt abandoned—a forgotten place hastily repurposed.
Her limbs were weak, but her instincts screamed: They weren't safe here.
Footsteps echoed outside the room.
Someone was coming.
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3. Orion's Return to Clarity (Orion's POV)
Orion awoke to the sound of static.
The lights flickered, casting jagged shadows across the walls. A broken console sputtered weakly beside his cot, cycling through old surveillance feeds—most of them displaying empty hallways or sealed doors.
His fingers flexed against the restraints on his wrists—a precaution his captors had taken, though clearly unnecessary now.
With a sharp tug, the bindings snapped free.
They expected me to stay down longer.
He swung his legs over the edge of the cot, his body groaning in protest. His mind, however, was razor-sharp.
First priority: Locate the others.
Then?
Find out who was foolish enough to keep them alive.
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4. Diane's Grief, Reawakened (Diane's POV)
Diane's return to consciousness was a slow, agonizing crawl through layers of grief she thought she'd buried.
The illusion had given her Jerry back—his voice, his warmth, his forgiveness.
Now there was nothing but silence.
Her fingers curled against the cold surface of the medical bed.
Stay focused.
She forced herself upright, every muscle aching with fatigue. The air felt wrong, too still—as if the room itself was holding its breath.
The door creaked open.
Tom stood in the doorway, pale and hollow-eyed.
"Mom?"
The sound of his voice shattered what was left of her hesitation.
They were alive.
And that was enough to keep moving.
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5. The Facility's Dark Secret (Group POV)
The four of them regrouped in a narrow hallway lined with shattered glass and rusted control panels.
Tom's voice was low, urgent. "We're not in the Council's facility anymore. This place… it's something else."
Orion scanned the walls, tracing the faint scorch marks across the metal. "It's abandoned—or was until recently. Someone brought us here."
Stacy pressed her hand to a nearby console, trying to trigger any remaining systems. The screen flickered weakly, revealing a faded symbol: UED Research Station 17.
Tom's stomach dropped.
UED.
The United Earth Directorate.
"They were supposed to be dismantled centuries ago," Diane whispered.
Orion's jaw tightened. "Someone's been keeping the old war machines running."
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6. The First Signs of Pursuit (Stacy's POV)
A low hum vibrated through the floor, subtle but unmistakable.
Stacy's breath caught. "We're not alone."
The lights overhead flickered violently before cutting out entirely.
Then—
A voice echoed through the station's ancient intercom system.
"You shouldn't have woken up."
The voice wasn't mechanical. It was too calm, too calculated.
"The Council doesn't lose their assets."
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7. A Trap Set in Shadows (Tom's POV)
"Run," Tom hissed.
The hallway around them shifted, sections of the wall sliding closed in mechanical bursts of motion.
They sprinted, the sound of metal grinding against metal chasing them through the maze of decaying hallways.
Diane stumbled, but Orion caught her, dragging her forward as alarms blared in the distance.
"This place is rigged," Orion growled. "They want to herd us into a kill zone."
"Then we break the pattern," Tom said, skidding to a stop at a junction. "We're not lab rats anymore."
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8. The Battle for Freedom Begins (Group POV – Final Scene)
They found themselves in what had once been the station's central control hub—a vast, circular room filled with shattered monitors and rusted machinery.
But something new had been installed.
In the center of the room, a containment pod pulsed with a faint blue light.
Tom's stomach turned.
Inside the pod was another prisoner.
Or at least—what was left of one.
A figure, half-consumed by machinery, eyes hollow and mouth twisted in a permanent scream.
The voice from the intercom returned, colder this time.
"You were never supposed to leave the illusion."
"Now, you'll never leave this station."
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