Chapter 12 - The First ResetI found a chair beneath the wall.
My legs couldn't hold me.
“Forty-one?”
Logan nodded.
“You were twenty-nine when the first reset happened.”
“What was my real name?”
“Colin.”
“And Logan?”
“Always Logan.”
“Then why don't I remember growing older?”
“Because Helix kept resetting the memories connected to your identity.”
Evelyn opened another file.
Each reset had a date.
Each time followed a major operation.
Each time I had gotten close to exposing the Wardens.
Then someone had erased my memories.
But the strangest part was the final record.
RESET 7: FAILURE.
“What failed?”
Evelyn pointed to my tattoo.
“The symbol anchored your original identity.”
“What does it mean?”
“Twin.”
I frowned.
“The tattoo means twin?”
“It was designed as a memory trigger.”
Logan looked at me.
“That was the real reason we got matching tattoos.”
“Not a gang?”
He smiled faintly.
“That was the story they gave you.”
A memory surfaced.
Logan and I were teenagers.
He was laughing.
“You'll thank me someday.”
I was holding his arm.
A tattoo needle buzzing.
The symbol forming under my skin.
Then a man entered the room.
My father.
He looked terrified.
And he said:
“If they ever separate you two, never let them erase the tattoo.”
The memory vanished.
I opened my eyes.
“Dad knew.”
“Yes,” Logan said.
“He knew they'd reset me.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't he stop them?”
“He tried.”
A noise came from the corridor.
Footsteps.
We froze.
Someone entered the archive.
A man in a dark suit.
Silver ring.
My father.
He looked at me.
Not surprised.
Almost relieved.
“Hello, Colin.”
My gun rose.
“You're dead.”
He smiled.
“They told you that too.”
Logan stepped between us.
“You don't get to talk to him.”
My father looked at Logan.
“I wondered how long it would take you to bring him back.”
“Bring me back from where?”
My father turned to me.
“From the life they built for you.”
I aimed my weapon at his chest.
“Tell me the truth.”
He nodded.
“Your brother isn't the one who betrayed you.”
“Then who did?”
My father looked over my shoulder.
At Marcus.
Marcus's face changed.
May you like
My father smiled.
“Your partner.”
