Chapter 11 - The Missing TwinWe searched the hospital for Evan.
Nothing.
No body.
No blood trail.
No footprints.
Just the bracelet.
My brother had disappeared.
Dad blamed himself.
Mom blamed Voss.
Mara said nothing.
She just stared at the bracelet.
“You know where he is.”
She looked at me.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“The place where they took every failed subject.”
Dad stepped forward.
“Where?”
Mara answered:
“Room Twelve.”
The name made Mom freeze.
“No.”
Mara looked at her.
“Yes.”
Sarah whispered:
“Room Twelve was sealed.”
“Not anymore.”
We found the stairwell.
The lower levels descended beneath the official basement.
The walls became newer the deeper we went.
This part of the hospital wasn't abandoned.
It was active.
Cameras.
Security doors.
Monitors.
Someone had restored it.
Mara hacked the first door.
We entered.
Rows of rooms stretched into darkness.
Most were empty.
Some contained beds.
Some contained restraints.
One had blood on the floor.
Then we saw the number.
Mara opened it.
Inside was a chair.
A medical console.
And Evan.
He was unconscious.
His arms were strapped down.
Voss stood beside him.
“Let him go.”
Voss looked at me.
“You've become troublesome.”
I stepped forward.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to prevent him from dying.”
“You kidnapped him.”
“I saved him.”
Evan's monitor beeped.
Voss looked at the readings.
“His body is collapsing.”
“Why?”
“Because he's missing a component.”
“What component?”
Voss looked at me.
“You.”
Silence.
He continued:
“Your stem cells contain the adaptation.”
Mara stepped forward.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
Voss pointed to a machine.
“His genome is rejecting itself.”
Dad shouted:
“Then why clone him?”
“Because we didn't know the original survived.”
I stared at him.
“When did you find out?”
“Three months ago.”
My heart dropped.
“How?”
Voss smiled.
“Your school.”
I froze.
“The school?”
“We monitor medical records.”
“Why?”
“Because your body was beginning to change.”
“What changes?”
Voss answered:
“Your blood.”
I remembered getting dizzy in gym class.
Bruises that healed overnight.
A cut that disappeared in minutes.
I had thought I was simply lucky.
“You've been watching me?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Your entire life.”
My stomach turned.
“Then why wait until now?”
Voss looked at Mara.
“Because we needed another subject.”
Mara's expression changed.
“You.”
Voss nodded.
“The first clone.”
He pointed to a monitor.
A genetic profile appeared.
SUBJECT ZERO
Mara stared.
“That isn't me.”
“No.”
Voss looked at me.
“It's your mother.”
Mom stepped forward.
“What?”
Voss smiled.
“Your mother wasn't merely a researcher.”
He pressed a button.
A file appeared.
SARAH HAYES - ORIGINAL DONOR
Then another.
GENETIC SOURCE: 100%
Mom stared at the screen.
“What are you saying?”
Voss answered:
“She was part of the experiment before she ever became pregnant.”
Dad looked at Sarah.
“You knew?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Voss laughed.
“Your wife didn't know.”
He looked at me.
“But her body contains the key.”
“What key?”
Voss's expression became almost reverent.
“The ability to create life without a mother.”
Nobody spoke.
Then Evan's eyes opened.
He looked directly at me.
“Connor…”
“What?”
His voice was barely audible.
“Don't believe him.”
He turned his head toward Voss.
“He isn't trying to save me.”
May you like
Then he whispered:
“He's trying to make another you.”
