METRO 1497 - CHAPTER 15 WHISPER BEFORE THE STORM

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CHAPTER 15

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"WHISPER BEFORE THE STORM"

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— METRO'S CHAMBER —

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Metro wakes up to a warmth he doesn't trust.

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The sheets beneath him are soft, impossibly clean — royal white, tucked with care.

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The chamber is his, but not the one he remembers. Everything has been redone.

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Polished stone, fresh drapes, lanterns burning with a gentle amber glow.

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It feels like a room prepared for someone important.

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Someone alive.

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He sits up slowly, pressing to his face.

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His right eye throbs — swollen, bruised, tender.

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He can feel the shape of the assassin's boot still imprinted in the bone.

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Then it hits him.

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A violent spark of memory — like lightning striking his skull — then another flash.

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Paul, Blake, Lutheran, Phillip, Jeffrey, and Gregory.

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The hand dragging him through the castle while in and out of consciousness.

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His brain catches.

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His body locks.

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He shakes.

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The door opens with a soft wooden sigh.

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Veronica steps in.

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She smells faintly sweet — too sweet — like flowers crushed under heat.

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Her hair is brushed smooth, falling over her shoulders. Her skin glows strangely warm despite the dirt and mud she should be wearing.

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There are small bandaged patches on her arm and neck, but she looks composed.

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Almost radiant.

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Metro stares at her like she's a ghost.

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She walks towards him like this is part of her daily routine.

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It feels rehearsed.

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Practiced.

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Veronica:

"You were out for a long time…

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All day and night…"

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Her voice is soft, but there's something underneath.

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"I stayed behind…

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I found you on the floor, dying…

so… I dragged you into the chamber here."

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Metro's expression doesn't change.

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His eyes are distant, cold, hollow.

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Metro:

"Thank you."

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His words are flat, like stones dropping into a well.

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Veronica sits beside him on the bed.

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Close.

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Too close.

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She studies his face — the bruises, the exhaustion, the way he won't look at her.

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Veronica:

"I know you were brave.

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" I know that…"

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Metro doesn't respond.

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His gaze shifts past her, toward nothing.

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She lowers her eyes, fingers tightening.

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Veronica:

"I'm here for you, and always have been."

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She lets the words work.

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Veronica:

"I'm sorry..

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(beat)

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...for everything, I feel like it's all my fault.

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(another beat)

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... I should have never gotten you mixed up with my father.”

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Metro looks at her — not cruelly, not kindly, just empty. Like the words aren't reaching him.

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She turns her face away, staring at the bed sheets, jaw slightly tightening.

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Veronica:

"I wanted you to stay away from all of this. I knew what the risks were, but I just wanted to be with you, to be near you."

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She looks longingly into his eyes.

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Veronica:

"… I don't…"

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Metro's voice is barely audible.

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Metro:

"What happened to the others?"

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Veronica lifts her chin, scoots beside him searching his face for any sign of emotion.

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Veronica:

" Many men have perished."

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Her tone shifts, like she's reading an article.

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Veronica :(running through the motion)

"Lutheran was stabbed to death, and will be given an honorable mention for laying down his life for his friends.

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Paul is alive — he left yesterday, refusing our help. Blake's safe, he's currently downstairs in the cafeteria, not a scratch on him."

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Metro looks at her astonished, slightly confused, shaking, but allowing her to continue.

— Veronica doesn't notice.

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Metro:

"And the others?"

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Veronica's eyes soften but her voice is steady.

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Veronica:

"Chad and Jeff are gone…"

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"The infantry have been burying bodies since dawn, in the ditches that Paul dug. Our men will receive proper burials of course.

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Metro's jaw tightens.

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His eyes burn between grief and fury.

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Veronica:

"And Phillip, he's dead, all bodies were identified and recovered."

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Metro sits at the edge of the bed, shoulders slumped, eyes fixed on the floor.

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He looks hollow.

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Like something in him has already died.

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Veronica slides closer — slow, deliberate, hunting him. She wraps her arms around him, chin brushing his shoulder.

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Veronica (soft, breath)

"I missed you…"

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Metro brushes her off with a limp, exhausted motion.

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Metro:

"Stop."

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She freezes.

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Offended.

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Then something flickers behind her eyes.

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She rises to her knees on the mattress, closing in on him like a shadow swallowing light.

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Veronica:

I know that you love me…

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you said so…

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I know it, and you know it."

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She leans in, eyes locked on his, voice smooth with confidence.

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Veronica: (whispers)

"Come here."

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Metro stares at her.

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That stillness — cold, unblinking — makes her smile.

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She moves in to kiss him —Metro snaps his head sharply aside.

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Her smile dies.

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Her aura erupts, ghostly white, swirling like pale wind around her skin.

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Her pupils pulse with a cold, unnatural light.

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She grabs his jaw, fingers digging in hard.

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Veronica: (low, shaking)

"Look at me."

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Metro turns away softly.

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She pulls him closer, breath trembling, eyes burning.

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Veronica (exploding)

"Look at me!"

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He looks.

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Her expression softens, almost tender —then twists into something proud, wounded, and terrifying.

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Veronica: (breaking, still cocky)

"I almost died for you."

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She shakes her head slowly, a smug, dangerous smile forming.

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Veronica: (shouting a whisper triumphantly)

"You better watch out. Because I am a witch!"

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Her smile becomes a horrific beauty —and she crushes her mouth to his.

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The door creaks.

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Metro jerks back breath stolen.

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Rose stands in the doorway — frozen, eyes wide, heart breaking in real time.

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Veronica turns her head, slow and satisfied.

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Rose bolts down the hallway, toward the cafeteria, footsteps echoing like screams.

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Metro looks like he's falling off a cliff. Stomach dropping, soul splitting in pieces. Veronica watches Rose flee — pleased —then turns back to Metro.

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Trying not to smile.

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But fails.

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The longing in her face curls into something resentfully sharp, possessive, evil.

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— Switch scene —

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