Strangerville: Shadows in the Dust | A Manicpot8to LP

That night, sleep came hard and fast. But it was restless. The nightmares had begun again; only, they didn't feel like just dreams. They were deeper. Older. Long-buried fragments clawing their way up from the depths of her subconscious, from beneath her skin. A memory long forgotten; or maybe not hers at all.

Every night, it's the same. A little girl. Alone. She doesn’t speak. Just sits—head down—coloring; her quiet hands busily working in the quiet room. But even from a distance, Gloria can feel it. That eerie calm. Too calm.

At first, she’s always caught between two women, Vivian, and another she can never quite place. Their voices blur, too muffled to follow. 

But before she can grasp this space, she’s already inside the room. A vague flicker of familiarity catches in her chest and the air begins to feel like it's pressing in from all sides. 

And just when she's about to suffocate from the lack of air her mind lurches back to consciousness

It seems something doesn’t want her to remember. Or maybe her own mind won’t let her. She always starts losing air just as it nears the surface. The moment before clarity forever eluding her.

The next day she woke with new purpose to start digging. She didn’t know what she was looking for. But she had to start somewhere. The office had always been part of her daily routine, but today was anything but routine; stepping inside she felt like a stranger. Still, she hoped somewhere among the scattered boxes and file cabinets held the key to all the questions she's been too afraid to let herself ask.

Gloria hadn’t touched the old boxes until now. They’d always been there; tucked behind furniture, stacked beside the desk because she hadn't been ready to dig that intimately into someone else's life... but she can't avoid it forever she got to work. Folders, scraps. names she didn’t recognize, none of it made sense.

And then… she found something curious.

A photo. She's not sure what it means but the moment she saw it, the air left her chest; like someone had punched straight through her.

So, it wasn’t just a dream. But how?

Across town, someone else had been chasing ghosts of their own.

Deep beneath the surface, Vivian descended into the cold and familiar corridors that crisscrossed beneath what to the outside world appeared to be a normal base. She'd gone down this ladder a thousand time but today felt different. She was unsettled, the meeting with Gloria had knocked her off center. She'd searched for years. Combed through witness sightings, followed every failed lead, and yet there was... nothing.

Now without warning the girl was back, as if from the dead. Vivian thought back to their meeting. She'd question her about her why she was in town, her interest, why so many questions. But she denied knowing anything. Still, Vivian couldn't ignore the timing.

A knock at the door. Vivian didn't bother looking up. She already knew what would be said once the door opened.

"Come in."

It was Chloe, a young, capable scientist handpicked by Vivian herself to head her research team. Her Tone was Clipped and professional. "Ma'am it's a match." The words fell like a bomb in the room.

Vivian didn't answer immediately and instead rose slowly to her feet buying time to think. Of course it's a match. She'd never believed for a second that the experiment had been truly terminated. But how had Glorinda kept this buried for so long....Even from me.

When she finally spoke, she said, "I suspected as much, we'll have to run it again to be certain.

"But how is this possible?" Chloe asked, her voice lower now. "This sample is from a program terminated over a decade ago."

Vivian cut her off before Chloe could say more and leaned menacingly forward. Her voice was sharp and controlled "I don't recall asking for your opinion...Just run it again taking care to keep this off the radar...This goes strictly through me understood."

Chloes hesitated, she looked as though she may say more but thought better of it and instead just nodded her head in confirmation before leaving. The door made a soft click as it closed behind her, but Vivian didn't move, she stood transfixed; staring at it as if somehow it would open to place with all the answers.

Back at Gloria's the place was a mess. She had made good on her vow to go through every nook and cranny and had amassed a pile of chaos in the living room. Her mind was just as jumble, and she was going to need help if she was going to make heads or tails of what this all meant.

She plopped herself down on the couch and called the only person she feels could help her begin to figure out any of this. The phone rang once, twice and then Bo's voice came through, warm and grounding. Gloria hesitated as she stared at the photo on the coffee table before launching into a cliff notes version of what she's found out so far. "I know it sounds strange," she said, voice just above a whisper. "But I-I just need someone else to see it too."

Gloria nodded as if Bo could see her through the phone, her face softened slightly before saying "yeah...see you soon."

Glora let out a long sigh as she laid on the couch. Seemed like even the house had been holding its breath. she should've just sold like planned she mused, it would've been easier. But now she's seen too much, feeling too much. her mind turned to the woman she called grandma. What exactly was she mixed up in and what does that have to do with me. 

Outside, the wind stirred the dust across the dry lot as Bo strode with determination towards the front door. Inside Gloria was still staring at nothing. her body felt heavy, caught between resolve and dread. "I don't even know what I'm dragging her into.

The knock was soft. She's here Gloria thought as she slowly rose to her feet, the phone still warm in her hand. She crossed the room in a few strides but paused just short of the door. She needed one last breath to steady herself, before reaching for the handle. There's no turning back now she thought as she turned it to let Bo in.

Thanks for reading! Phew things are starting to heat up right? Where do you think we're headed?

Find out next time...

Watch the video here for further immersion:Episode 3: The Edge Of Recall