In the dimly lit confines of the bunker, the faint hum of machinery filled the air, creating an eerie ambiance. The Professor, a man worn down by guilt and isolation, sat hunched over a workbench cluttered with broken devices and scraps of metal. His hands trembled as he tried to fix a delicate instrument, but the weight of solitude bore heavily on his mind. He sighed, frustration leaking through his voice.
"Dumal, pass me the wrench!" he shouted, only to be met with silence. He paused, looking around the empty room. "Oh, right… he left."
A chuckle echoed softly, a voice both familiar and foreign. "You're not losing it, old friend."
The Professor froze, his heart racing. "Where did that voice come from?"
"Hey, I'm over here." The voice was playful, yet unsettling.
Turning slowly, the Professor's gaze fell upon the skeletal remains of a dead human, Jeff, slumped against the wall. Memories flooded back, and he shook his head in disbelief. "What's going on? Am I going insane?"
"No, you're not," the voice assured him, taking on a mocking tone. "I'm really here."
The Professor attempted to shake off the surreal moment, his hands fumbling with the tools on the bench. "Let me just get back to work," he muttered, trying to drown out the voice.
But Jeff's voice pierced through his thoughts like a dagger. "You're a terrible father, Sahid."
The Professor stopped dead in his tracks, the words cutting deeper than he could bear. "How do you know my name?" he asked, fear creeping into his voice.
"How could I not know you?" Jeff chuckled darkly. "You're the scientist who sacrificed his own daughter to the Union."
Sahid felt the room spin, anger and sorrow welling up inside him. "Stop it! You don't know what you're talking about!" He turned away, but the ghostly figure of Jeff remained, unrelenting.
"What a sad story," Jeff continued, his tone dripping with disdain. "A scientist who let the Union experiment on his daughter is now trying to save the world. Don't make me laugh. She was just a child—a beautiful child with dreams."
"No! Shut up!" Sahid shouted, feeling the walls close in on him.
Jeff's laughter echoed, and the Professor couldn't bear it. He charged at the skeleton, kicking it violently. As the bone fragments scattered, Jeff's head tumbled to the ground, his mocking grin forever etched into the fragments.
"Daddy, why?" came a voice, soft and filled with pain, mimicking his daughter's innocence.
Sahid's heart plummeted as the reality of his past crashed over him. He staggered back, his breath hitching in his throat. "No… No!"
"Don't you remember her laughter? Her dreams?" Jeff's voice morphed into that of his daughter, each word a painful reminder. "Why did you let them take me?"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Sahid's voice broke, desperation seeping into his every syllable. He pressed his palms against his temples, trying to block out the memories.
The haunting echoes of his daughter's cries filled the bunker, a chorus of guilt that enveloped him. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" he chanted, his heart breaking under the weight of his own regrets.
He glanced at the array of guns lined up against the wall, the cold metal glinting in the dim light. The voices grew louder, relentless in their accusation. With shaking hands, he picked up a gun, the weight of it feeling both foreign and familiar.
In that moment, he was a man backed into a corner, stripped of hope and haunted by memories he couldn't escape. Tears streamed down his face as he raised the weapon to his head, the sobs wracking his body.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, a final plea for forgiveness echoing in the silence.
A deafening shot rang out, shattering the stillness of the bunker, a tragic end to a lifetime of regret.
END OF CHAPTER 65