The door opened.
Arnold stepped inside.
His expression hadn't changed.
"Hello, Karry. Sasha."
Karry strained against the restraints.
"You bastard," he spat. "I didn't know you were this kind of—"
"Enough," Arnold said flatly.
Sasha stared at him, eyes cold.
"So it's true."
Arnold didn't deny it.
"You're speaking without understanding," he replied. "That habit will get you killed."
He gestured.
The restraints unlocked—not to free them.
Guards moved in immediately.
"Take them."
Karry resisted.
"Let go of me!"
Sasha lashed out, but the guards didn't react. They dragged them forward without effort.
The corridors stretched endlessly.
Steel. Glass. Silence.
Karry's anger faded—replaced by unease.
Weapons lined the walls. Machines he couldn't recognize hummed softly. Massive structures extended into darkness.
"This isn't a base," Karry muttered.
They reached an observation chamber.
The doors slid open.
And Karry stopped breathing.
Beyond the reinforced glass—
something massive loomed.
Not one thing.
Many.
Shapes that didn't belong to Earth.
Contained. Suspended. Monitored.
Scientists moved nervously between terminals, never turning their backs on the glass.
Sasha whispered, "What… is this place?"
Arnold's voice came from behind them.
"A blind spot."
They were moved forward again.
Another chamber.
This one wider.
Colder.
Karry noticed the gravity shift. The subtle wrongness in his body.
Then he saw the horizon.
Gray. Silent. Endless.
His eyes widened.
"…Arnold."
No answer.
The view pulled back.
A vast installation carved into pale stone.
Floating above nothing.
Sasha's voice trembled.
"This isn't Earth."
Arnold finally spoke.
"Think."
She did.
And her face drained of color.
"The Moon…"
Arnold turned sharply.
"Lower your voice."
He leaned closer.
"You are being watched."
They passed another section.
Rows of markers embedded into the surface outside.
Not names.
Just numbers.
Too many.
Karry's throat tightened.
"What are those?"
Arnold didn't look at him.
"Records."
Sasha swallowed.
"What about the landings?"
Arnold paused.
Then, quietly—
"Necessary."
Silence swallowed the corridor.
They were led deeper.
Away from the light.
Away from the lie they once called the sky.
[End of Chapter 15]