Chapter 3 - The Stranger Behind The Glass
The observation window reflected our faces.
Mine.
Colonel Willis.
Dr. Porter.
And Atlas.
But behind the reflection…
Someone stood there.
Watching.
Atlas stared directly at the glass.
His body became tense again.
Not aggressive.
Alert.
I noticed.
So did Colonel Willis.
“Who is in there?”
Nobody answered.
That was never a good sign.
Master Sergeant Cole moved toward the door.
Before he reached it, it opened.
A younger officer stepped out.
His face was serious.
“Colonel.”
Willis looked at him.
“Report.”
The officer glanced at me.
Then at Atlas.
“Someone accessed the old K9 archive.”
The room changed.
Dr. Porter frowned.
“Impossible.”
The officer handed Colonel Willis a tablet.
He read silently.
Then his expression hardened.
I watched.
Because I had spent a lifetime reading people.
And Colonel Willis was afraid.
Not of Atlas.
Of what someone had found.
He looked at me.
“Did you come here because you knew?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Then why now?”
I looked at Atlas.
“Because he called for me.”
Everyone went quiet.
Colonel Willis stared.
“Dogs don’t call.”
I looked at Atlas.
“People forget.”
A pause.
“Animals remember.”
Atlas lowered his head.
The officer checked the tablet again.
“There is one more thing.”
“What?”
“The archive search used a name.”
Colonel Willis looked at him.
“Whose?”
The officer hesitated.
Then answered.
May you like
“Margaret Mercer.”
📖 Chapter 4 reveals why Margaret’s name was searched in the military archives and what Atlas’s past has to do with Noah. 👇
