David didn't sleep that night. The photo of Elena that had mysteriously appeared on his phone kept flashing through his mind even after the screen went dark. He had tried deleting it, but a few seconds later, the same photo reappeared in his gallery. He tried moving it to another folder, renaming the file, even turning off his phone. Nothing changed. The photo remained. Elena stood in the Sanctuary courtyard in white clothing, her face turned toward the camera, while Adrian stood a few steps behind her. There was no smile on his wife's face. No fear, either. Only a blank expression that was difficult to read. David zoomed in on the background of the photo again and again, trying to find a date, a sign, or something that could explain when the picture had been taken. But there was nothing. Only a small line of text beneath it: NINTH RETREAT — FINAL DAY. What unsettled him even more was the ring on Elena's finger. It was exactly the same ring now sitting in David's pocket. He didn't know how two identical objects could exist in two different places at two different times, but after everything that had happened at Sanctuary, he was beginning to stop using the words “impossible.” This place seemed to have a way of making things that should have been impossible become real.
Morning came with thinner fog. David left his room carrying his journal and phone. He had no intention of attending the morning session. For the first time since arriving, he wanted to leave. He walked to the reception desk and asked Mara to open the gate. She was writing something in a large ledger when David approached.
“I want to go home.”
Mara's pen stopped moving.
“Now?”
“Now.”
“The program has only been running for a few days.”
“I know.”
“You're not finished.”
David gave her a sharp look. “I don't care.”
Mara slowly closed the ledger. “You found something.”
It wasn't a question. David felt his jaw tighten.
“I just want to go home.”
Mara looked at him for a long moment, then said, “Of course.”
David nearly felt relieved.
“But the gate doesn't open until the seventh day.”
He frowned. “What?”
“Sanctuary's rules.”
“I never read any rule about that.”
“You signed it.”
“I signed a lot of pages.”
“That doesn't change anything.”
David stepped closer. “What if I want to leave now?”
Mara sighed. “The road down the mountain has been blocked by a landslide since last night.”
David glanced toward the window. “I came in on that road.”
“Before the rain.”
“Then send a car.”
“No car can get down right now.”
“Call someone.”
Mara fell silent.
“There’s no signal.”
David stared at her. “You have a radio.”
For the first time, Mara looked slightly irritated. “David, you need to calm down.”
“I am calm.”
“No.” Mara looked him straight in the eye. “You're scared.”
David wanted to argue, but Adrian's voice came from behind him.
“Let him go.”
David turned.
Adrian stood at the far end of the room.
The man was wearing white, as usual. His face was calm. There wasn't the slightest sign that David's request had bothered him.
“Open the gate,” he told Mara.
Mara looked at him.
“Now?”
“Now.”
David didn't understand.
Adrian walked closer.
“If you want to go home, then go.”
David eyed him suspiciously. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Then why did Mara say the gate couldn't be opened?”
Adrian smiled.
“Because she's afraid you aren't ready.”
“I don't need anyone's permission.”
“No.”
Adrian stopped a few steps in front of him.
“You only need the courage.”
David stared at the man.
“Open the gate.”
Adrian nodded.
Mara walked toward the back door.
David followed her.
But when they reached the courtyard, the sound of an engine came from the distance. A vehicle emerged from the fog and stopped in front of the building. Two staff members got out carrying several boxes.
The gate stood open.
The road outside really was blocked by a landslide.
Rocks and dirt covered most of it.
David stared in disbelief.
“How long?”
“I don't know,” Mara replied.
David looked up at the mountain.
For the first time, he realized how far Sanctuary was from the outside world.
Not just in distance.
In reality.
He went back inside.
Not because he wanted to stay.
But because for the moment, he had no choice.
Lena was waiting for him in the recreation room.
“You tried to leave?”
David nodded.
“The road's blocked.”
Lena sighed.
“I tried three times.”
David looked at her.
“Three times?”
“During the first week.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I thought you'd try, too.”
David sat down across from her.
“I found something.”
Lena waited.
David took out his phone.
Elena's photo appeared on the screen.
Lena's expression changed instantly.
“Where did you get this?”
“My phone.”
“That's impossible.”
“I thought so, too.”
Lena took the phone and zoomed in on the photo.
“Is this Elena?”
“Yes.”
“Has she been here?”
“Adrian says she has.”
Lena stared at the screen for a long time.
Then she handed the phone back.
“I found Elena's name on an old list.”
David froze.
“Where?”
“The archives.”
“You went into the archives?”
“Not yet. I only saw some of the documents.”
“Where?”
Lena glanced around.
“Not here.”
They eventually went to a small storage room behind the kitchen, a place that was rarely used. Lena closed the door and made sure no one was outside.
“How long have you been investigating this place?”
“Since the third day.”
“And what did you find?”
Lena pulled out a notebook.
“Participants' names.”
David opened to the first page.
There were dozens of names.
Some had been crossed out.
Some had circles around them.
Some had nothing but dates.
David flipped through several pages.
Then he found a name.
ELENA ARYANA.
Beside it was written:
NINTH RETREAT.
David felt his throat go dry.
Beneath the name was a small handwritten note.
High resistance. Did not accept the process.
David read the sentence again.
“What does this mean?”
“I don't know.”
David turned to the next page.
There was no name.
Only one sentence.
Participants who refuse to let go must not be sent home before the process is complete.
David looked at Lena.
“Complete?”
Lena nodded.
“That’s what they call it.”
“And Elena?”
Lena pointed to the bottom of the page.
There was a red mark.
PROCESS HALTED — EMERGENCY.
David stopped breathing.
“What emergency?”
“I don't know.”
David turned to the next page.
Blank.
Then the next page.
Blank.
Until finally, he found something.
A date.
The same date as the day before Elena died.
David closed the notebook.
“She didn't die in an accident.”
Lena didn't answer.
David looked at her.
“You know something.”
“I only know that this record makes me doubt the official story.”
“The official story?”
“That Elena was simply in an accident.”
David stood.
“Then what really happened?”
Lena looked at him, her face pale.
“According to this record, Elena left Sanctuary less than twenty-four hours before the accident.”
David froze.
“She went home?”
“She was supposed to.”
“Supposed to?”
Lena nodded.
“Because there’s one final note.”
David waited.
Lena turned the page.
The writing was much smaller.
Almost as if it had been written in a hurry.
SUBJECT WILL RETURN.
David stared at the three words.
“Subject?”
Lena nodded.
“That’s what they call the participants.”
David took the notebook.
His hands were trembling.
“Who wrote this?”
Lena shook her head.
“But there’s something worse.”
“What?”
“The note was made the day after Elena died.”
David stared at her.
The world seemed to stop moving.
“The day after?”
“Yes.”
“So they knew she was going to die?”
“I don't know.”
David walked toward the storage-room door.
“We have to find the complete archive.”
Lena immediately stood.
“David, wait.”
“I have to know.”
“What if we’re caught?”
David turned.
For the first time since arriving at Sanctuary, the look in his eyes was no longer that of a man seeking healing.
It was the look of someone searching for the truth.
“If I don't find out,” he said quietly, “I'll go on living with a story they may have made up.”
He opened the door.
But before they could leave, Adrian's voice came from the hallway.
“There's no need to look.”
David froze.
Adrian stood a few yards away.
He wasn't angry.
He wasn't surprised.
He only smiled.
“The archives are in a place that's not hard to find.”
David stared at him.
“How did you know we were here?”
Adrian didn't answer the question.
Instead, he looked at the notebook in David's hand.
“You found Elena's name.”
David tightened his grip on the notebook.
“Who was she, really?”
Adrian smiled faintly.
“That's the wrong question.”
“Then what's the right one?”
Adrian moved closer.
“Why did Elena come here?”
David looked at him.
“I want to know.”
“Then come with me tomorrow night.”
“Where?”
Adrian looked into David's eyes.
“To the place where Elena underwent her final ritual.”
Then he left.
David and Lena stood in silence.
A few seconds later, Lena whispered,
“David…”
“What?”
“If Elena underwent her final ritual…”
She swallowed.
“Why is her name still on the list of participants who aren't finished?”
David stared at the notebook in his hands.
On the last page, directly beneath Elena's name, was a small field he hadn't noticed before.
STATUS: INCOMPLETE.
And beside it was a date.
TOMORROW.