Chapter 7 - The ExperimentWe drove for nearly two hours.
Nobody spoke.
I sat beside the boy who looked exactly like me.
At some point, he introduced himself.
“Evan.”
That name felt strangely familiar.
“Why Evan?”
He shrugged.
“They called me Evan in the facility.”
“Facility?”
“The place where I grew up.”
He stared through the window.
“No parents. No school. No birthdays.”
I looked at him.
“Then how do you know things?”
“They taught me.”
“What?”
“Everything.”
Math.
Languages.
Medicine.
History.
Combat.
Computers.
It wasn't a childhood.
It was programming.
“Why did they create you?”
Evan was silent.
Then:
“To replace you.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“They thought you were dead.”
My stomach tightened.
He continued.
“They wanted a child with the same genetic profile.”
“Why?”
“Because of your mutation.”
I looked at my hands.
“What mutation?”
Evan stared at me.
“You heal faster than normal.”
I laughed.
“That sounds ridiculous.”
“Does it?”
He pointed at a scar on my wrist.
I remembered getting it when I was twelve.
It had disappeared in days.
I always thought that was normal.
Evan leaned closer.
“They cut me.”
My blood froze.
“What?”
“Small cuts.”
He showed me his forearm.
Thin scars covered it.
“They measured everything.”
“How quickly I healed.”
“How much blood I lost.”
“How my cells reacted.”
I felt sick.
“They did that to a child?”
“They did it to a copy.”
I looked at him.
“You're still a person.”
His expression softened.
“That's what I hoped you would say.”
Dad suddenly pulled over.
We stopped beside an empty gas station.
Dad turned around.
“I need to tell you both something.”
Nobody moved.
“The experiment wasn't about healing.”
Evan looked at him.
“What was it about?”
Dad sighed.
“They discovered Connor's cells could regenerate damaged tissue.”
“Mine?”
“Yes.”
“Then why clone Evan?”
Dad looked at me.
“Because your body couldn't be controlled.”
I stared.
“Controlled?”
“They tried.”
Evan's expression darkened.
“What did they do?”
Dad's voice dropped.
“They injected you with a compound.”
“When?”
“March 14.”
My heart pounded.
“The day I was born?”
Dad nodded.
“The treatment failed.”
My mother began crying.
“Your body rejected it.”
“But I survived?”
“Barely.”
Dad looked at Evan.
“Your twin died.”
Evan went still.
Dad continued:
“They thought the procedure killed Connor.”
“But I didn't.”
“No.”
“You survived.”
“And that's when Voss realized something.”
“What?”
Dad took a deep breath.
“You were not only resistant.”
He looked at me.
“You were adapting.”
Silence.
“What does that mean?”
Dad whispered:
“Your cells were learning.”
Evan stared at me.
“That's why they need you.”
I felt cold.
“For what?”
Dad didn't answer.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A man's voice came through the speaker.
“Mr. Hayes.”
Dad froze.
Dr. Voss.
The voice continued:
“You've spent seventeen years hiding my property.”
Dad grabbed the phone.
“You're insane.”
“No.”
Voss laughed softly.
“You've simply forgotten who paid for your son's life.”
Then he said something that made the entire car go silent.
“Bring Connor to St. Mary’s before midnight.”
“Why?”
“Because your wife is already here.”
May you like
Mom screamed.
The call ended.
