Chapter 11 - THE ROOM WITH NO MIRRORSEthan ran.
He tore through the corridor, shouting Emmie's name.
Nothing.
No answer.
He found the stairwell.
Up.
Two floors.
Then three.
An operating room waited above.
Daniel was gone.
Vivian stood alone.
Ethan grabbed her by the collar.
“Where is she?”
Vivian did not resist.
“Which one?”
“Emmie!”
Vivian smiled.
“That's not the name she was given.”
Ethan shoved her against the wall.
“You have ten seconds.”
Vivian laughed.
“You still think time belongs to you.”
He pulled the file from his jacket.
“She was the prototype.”
Vivian's smile vanished.
“You read that.”
“Yes.”
“And now?”
“Now I know she isn't just a patient.”
“No.”
Vivian looked toward the operating table.
“She is the source.”
Ethan stopped.
“The source of what?”
“The bridge.”
“To Daniel?”
“To you.”
Ethan stared.
“What does that mean?”
Vivian pointed toward a glass wall.
Behind it sat a chair.
No wires.
No restraints.
Just a mirrorless black surface.
“The room is called the Archive.”
Ethan shook his head.
“I'm not going in.”
“You already did.”
He froze.
“What?”
Vivian pressed a button.
A screen lit up.
Video of Ethan entering the property.
Then entering the woods.
Then entering the facility.
But the timestamp was wrong.
Three days earlier.
Ethan watched himself walking through hallways he had never seen.
His own voice came from the recording.
“Where is she?”
He stared in disbelief.
“That isn't possible.”
Vivian whispered:
“Your memories were edited before you arrived.”
Ethan couldn't move.
“You've been here before.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Then why don't I remember?”
“Because that was the test.”
She opened a file.
SUBJECT 00 — ETHAN VALE
He read the next line.
MEMORY SUPPRESSION SUCCESSFUL.
His breathing stopped.
Vivian continued.
“Your father erased the memory to protect you.”
Ethan looked at her.
“And you restored it?”
“No.”
She smiled.
“You did.”
A noise came from the Archive room.
A child's voice.
“Ethan?”
He turned.
Emmie stood behind the glass.
Her eyes were open.
But she wasn't alone.
Daniel stood behind her.
And another figure stood behind him.
An older man.
White hair.
Ethan recognized him immediately.
His father.
Impossible.
Dead for seven years.
Ethan whispered:
“Dad?”
The older man looked through the glass.
And said:
“Son.”
Vivian stepped back.
“There.”
She smiled.
“That is the reunion you've been running toward.”
Then the Archive door opened by itself.
May you like
And Ethan's father's voice came from inside.
“Please don't come in.”
