Chapter II: The Awakening

[United States, Colorado Mountains, 2038]

Scene I: The Silence of Years

Snow falls lightly over the Colorado wilderness. A small wooden cabin sits between pines, smoke curling lazily from its chimney. Inside, a man in his late forties sits by the fire, bearded, eyes hollow, hands scarred. It’s Damien Hutcher.

The radio hums softly in the background, an old military frequency now static and forgotten.

RADIO ANNOUNCER (distant):

“...reports of increasing corporate acquisitions by Abstergo Industries continue to raise questions about the company’s growing influence across the globe...”

Damien exhales, loading a rifle. His dog rests beside him. The silence is familiar, almost comforting. Until he looks at his hands.

DAMIAN (quietly, to himself):

“Twenty-six years… and I still see the knife.”

He grips his wrist, flexing the scar where the blade once slipped. A flash of memory hits, the compound in Afghanistan, the blood, the whisper. He flinches.

DAMIAN (thinking):

“They said I was unstable. They said I was dangerous. Maybe they were right.”

He steps outside, breath steaming in the cold. The mountains stretch endlessly. Then, in the distance, a faint hum. Not wind. Something mechanical.

Scene II: The Intruders

Night. Damien sits by the fire again, cleaning his rifle. His dog growls suddenly, ears perked.

DAMIAN:

“What is it, boy?”

The lights flicker. A faint thud echoes outside. Damien moves to the window — a black SUV parked half-hidden among the trees. No headlights. No plates.

DAMIAN (mutters):

“Oh shit, Not locals…”

He loads his rifle silently, steps outside. Snow crunches beneath his boots. The wind howls softly, masking footsteps approaching from the rear.

UNKNOWN VOICE (from behind):

“Sergeant Damien Hutcher. U.S. Delta Force, dishonorably discharged, 2012. We’ve been looking for you.”

Damien turns, gun aimed. Three figures in black tactical suits, masks with faint blue lenses. They move like professionals.

DAMIAN:

“Bad idea sneaking up on a soldier, friend.”

AGENT 1:

“You’re not a soldier anymore.”

DAMIAN (smirks):

“Depends who’s asking.”

Before they can answer, he moves, lightning-fast, tackling one into the snow. His knife flashes. Another agent swings a baton; Damien parries, counterstrikes with brutal precision. It’s instinct again, the same assassin’s movement, precise and ancient.

But then, pain. A shock dart hits his neck. He stumbles, eyes fading to black.

AGENT 2 (radio):

“Target secured. Prep for transfer.”

The last thing Damien sees is his dog barking wildly, before a rifle butt strikes his temple.

Scene III: The Awakening

Darkness. Then, light.

Damien opens his eyes. He’s strapped to a chair in a bright, sterile lab. Holographic monitors hover around him, displaying his vitals. Machines hum softly. A woman stands in front of him, early thirties, red hair tied back, eyes sharp but weary. She wears a white jacket with a red insignia on the sleeve: the Assassin insignia.

SARAH MCDOVER:

“Good. You’re awake.”

DAMIAN (hoarse):

“Who the fuck are you?”

SARAH:

“My name is Sarah McDover. I’m not your enemy.”

DAMIAN:

“You kidnapped me. Drugged me. I’d call that a mixed message.”

SARAH (calmly):

“If we hadn’t, you’d be dead. Abstergo was tracking you. They know who you are, and more importantly… who you come from.”

DAMIAN (confused):

“Who I come from? Lady, I’m a fucking orphan from Kansas, not some royal bloodline.”

SARAH (steps closer, studying him):

“No. Not royal… older. Hidden. You have the blood of Assassins, Damien. You’re the last surviving descendant of Julien Moniveir, a French Assassin who fought the Templars during World War II.”

Damien laughs, bitter and incredulous.

DAMIAN:

“Assassins? Templars? You’re out of your mind.”

SARAH (presses a button on the console):

“Then explain this.”

The monitor flickers. A holographic display projects DNA strands and ancestral memory mapping. One section glows red, marked “Subject: Hutcher, Damien R.” Another shows “Sequence Link: Moniveir, Julien 1940.”

SARAH:

“Your instinct in Afghanistan, that wasn’t luck. You accessed ancestral reflex memory. You killed like an Assassin because your blood remembers.”

DAMIAN (glaring):

“Even if that’s true, why bring me here?”

SARAH:

“Because you’re the key to uncovering what your ancestor knew, something the Nazis found, something Himmler tried to control. A Piece of Eden. It’s active again.”

Damien looks away, trying to absorb it all.

DAMIAN:

“So, what? You want me to hop into this fucking machine and relive my great-great-grandfather’s war stories?”

SARAH:

“Not just relive. Recover. The Animus allows you to experience Julien’s memories, his choices, his fight. The data he left behind could lead us to the artifact before Abstergo gets it.”

DAMIAN (mutters):

“And if I say no?”

SARAH (firmly):

“Then Abstergo finds you. They’ll carve it out of your mind piece by piece until there’s nothing left.”

Silence. Damien exhales, eyes narrowing. He stares at the machine, sleek, white, shaped like a coffin of light.

DAMIAN:

“You really think my head’s got the answers to your secret war?”

SARAH:

“I don’t think. I know.”

She turns to the console. The Animus glows. Damien sits up, resigned.

DAMIAN:

“Fine. Let’s get this over with. But if I end up seeing ghosts, you better have answers.”

SARAH (softly):

“You’re not seeing ghosts, Damien. You’re becoming one.”

She lowers the Animus visor over his face. The lights dim. His breathing slows. The hum deepens, turning into a pulse. The screen flickers: “SYNCING MEMORY SEQUENCE… JULIEN MONIVEIR.... 1940.”

A rush of white light consumes everything.

Scene IV: Transition

Sarah’s voice fades into the distance.

“The Animus links blood to memory, memory to truth. What Damien doesn’t yet understand… is that truth demands sacrifice.”

war-torn France, burning cities, Nazi banners, a young French soldier kneeling amid ruins Julien Moniveir.

“Welcome to 1940, Julien.”

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***