Chapter 7 - THE BROTHER WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEADEthan could not speak.
Daniel looked exhausted.
Older than his real age.
A scar crossed one side of his neck.
His hands were restrained.
“Daniel.”
His brother looked away.
“Don't trust Vivian.”
Vivian sighed.
“You always were dramatic.”
Ethan stepped toward the screen.
“What happened to you?”
Daniel swallowed.
“They told everyone I died.”
“Why?”
“Because I found out what Halcyon really was.”
The video distorted.
Then returned.
Daniel leaned closer.
“Listen to me.”
His voice became urgent.
“They're not trying to cure anything.”
Vivian walked toward the monitor.
“Enough.”
Daniel ignored her.
“Emmie isn't the final subject.”
Ethan looked at the girl.
“Then who is?”
Daniel's eyes shifted toward the camera.
“You.”
Ethan stared.
“No.”
“They need your genetic marker.”
“For what?”
“To activate the sequence.”
The countdown flashed.
00:09:43
Daniel continued.
“Ethan, your father discovered something decades ago. He found a genetic pattern that could make certain therapies work without rejection.”
“And my brother?”
“I was the first attempt.”
Ethan went pale.
“That’s why you disappeared?”
Daniel nodded.
“I survived.”
“Then why did they fake your death?”
“Because I escaped.”
Vivian interrupted.
“Barely.”
Daniel glared at her.
“You kept children because you couldn't reproduce the result.”
“We needed compatible subjects.”
“You needed my brother.”
Vivian looked at Ethan.
“Exactly.”
Ethan understood.
“You brought me here.”
“Yes.”
“You chained Emmie as bait.”
Vivian's expression remained calm.
“She was the only thing that would make you stop thinking and start moving.”
Ethan looked at Emmie.
The little girl stared at him with tears in her eyes.
“I'm sorry,” Vivian said.
“You're not sorry.”
“No.”
For the first time, Vivian sounded almost proud.
“I am efficient.”
A metallic click echoed through the room.
The children's door locked.
The monitor changed.
INITIATION REQUIRES TWO ACTIVE SUBJECTS
Ethan looked at the screen.
“Two?”
Daniel whispered:
“Me and you.”
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
Daniel looked at Emmie.
“Not anymore.”
Ethan's face changed.
“What did you mean?”
Daniel said nothing.
Vivian smiled.
“She carries enough of the sequence to complete the chain.”
Ethan stepped backward.
“No.”
Daniel shouted:
“Ethan, listen!”
But the screen cut out.
All the monitors went black.
Then the main doors opened.
Three armed men entered.
They wore dark medical masks.
Vivian stepped aside.
“They aren't here to hurt the children.”
Ethan looked at them.
“Then why are they armed?”
Vivian answered:
“Because you're about to become difficult.”
The first man raised his weapon.
Ethan grabbed a metal chair.
The children screamed.
Emmie stepped forward.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at her.
She reached beneath her shirt.
From around her neck hung a tiny key.
Vivian's face changed.
“Where did you get that?”
Emmie held it tightly.
“Lila gave it to me.”
Vivian's expression finally cracked.
Ethan saw it.
For the first time, genuine fear.
He looked at the key.
Then at Vivian.
“What does it open?”
May you like
Emmie whispered:
“Your brother's room.”
