Chapter 10 - THE MEMORY THAT DIDN’T BELONGThe building shook.
A ceiling panel crashed to the floor.
Dust filled the hallway.
Ethan carried Emmie away from the falling debris.
“Can you hear me?”
She nodded.
“What just happened?”
“I remembered.”
“Remembered what?”
She stared at him.
“Everything.”
Ethan felt a coldness creep over his skin.
“Tell me.”
“Your father brought Daniel here.”
“He volunteered?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Daniel tried to expose Halcyon.”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“And my father stopped him.”
“No.”
Emmie shook her head.
“Your father tried to destroy it.”
Ethan looked at the file.
That made sense.
But then why the warning?
Why had his father written not to let Ethan see Daniel?
Emmie whispered:
“Because he knew the reconstruction would fail.”
“Fail how?”
“It wouldn't know who it was.”
Ethan looked toward the monitor.
The man calling himself Daniel.
“What did they put in him?”
“Bits.”
“Bits of what?”
“Everyone.”
Ethan's stomach turned.
“The memories weren't copied from Daniel alone.”
Emmie nodded.
“They used memories from all the children.”
Silence.
“And some from adults.”
Ethan understood the horror.
Daniel wasn't Daniel.
He was a composite.
A living archive of stolen memories.
Vivian's voice came through the speaker.
“You're getting closer.”
Ethan looked up.
“Where are you?”
“Above you.”
A monitor switched on.
Vivian stood in the operating room.
Daniel was strapped to a table beside her.
“Come upstairs,” she said.
Ethan's instincts screamed not to.
Then Daniel looked into the camera.
“Ethan.”
His voice sounded terrified.
“Do not come.”
Vivian smiled.
“Now.”
The countdown showed:
00:03:07
Ethan looked at the children.
“You stay here.”
The boy shook his head.
“We've been told to follow you.”
“By who?”
He pointed to Emmie.
Ethan looked at her.
Her face was pale.
“I never said that.”
The boy's expression changed.
“Yes, you did.”
Ethan froze.
“When?”
“Before you came.”
Emmie stared at him.
“I've never seen you before.”
The boy whispered:
“You have.”
Then he lifted his shirt.
A small scar crossed his chest.
The same symbol.
The same circle with a diagonal line.
Ethan looked at Emmie.
She slowly stepped backward.
“What is it?”
The boy answered:
“Your memory mark.”
Ethan's heart pounded.
“What does that mean?”
The boy pointed at the scar.
“Everyone here has one.”
“Why?”
“Because they took something from us.”
“What?”
The boy looked at Emmie.
“Her.”
The lights went out.
Ethan heard Emmie's voice in the darkness.
But it came from somewhere behind him.
“Ethan…”
He turned.
She wasn't beside him.
He grabbed the flashlight on his belt.
The beam swept across the room.
Emmie was gone.
The children were gone.
Every door was open.
And on the floor lay the white card.
A new message had appeared.
TRANSFER COMPLETE.
May you like
Beneath it:
NEXT SUBJECT: ETHAN VALE
