CHAPTER 13: THE AWAKENING PROTOCOL
The words followed me through the darkness.
"They are coming to wake you up."
I hated that sentence.
Because everyone kept talking about me like I was something waiting to happen.
A weapon.
A project.
An heir.
An experiment.
Nobody saw me as Aurelio.
Just Aurelio.
A boy who once jumped into a river because someone was drowning.
That was all I had ever been.
Or at least...
that was what I thought.
The archive doors slammed shut.
Valentina immediately moved toward the control panel.
"We need to leave."
Nobody argued.
For once, everyone agreed.
Something bigger than all of them had arrived.
The Council.
Even Sebastian Mendoza feared them.
And that told me everything.
"Where do we go?"
I asked.
Nobody answered.
I laughed bitterly.
"Of course."
Everyone looked at me.
"Another secret."
I walked toward the center of the room.
"I'm done running."
Valentina stopped.
"Aurelio."
"No."
I looked at her.
"For twelve years, people decided my life."
"My grandmother hid me."
"My father erased me."
"Mateo watched me suffer."
"Sebastian built me."
I clenched my fists.
"And now some invisible people want to wake me up?"
I shook my head.
"No."
The room became silent.
"I want answers."
For a moment...
nobody moved.
Then Damian spoke.
"You sound like him."
I turned.
"Who?"
"Rafael."
The mention of my father's name still hurt.
Damian looked at me.
"He also refused to obey."
I stared at him.
"Then why did he lose?"
Damian's expression changed.
"Because he tried to fight alone."
Those words stayed with me.
Because maybe that was the difference.
Everyone before me had carried the burden alone.
My grandmother.
My father.
Even Mateo.
They had all made choices in darkness.
And now the darkness had finally reached me.
A loud metal sound interrupted us.
The archive door began opening.
Slowly.
Everyone prepared for an attack.
But nobody entered.
Instead...
a small device rolled across the floor.
A screen activated.
A countdown appeared.
05:00
Valentina's face changed.
"No."
"What is it?"
She looked at me.
"The Awakening Protocol."
My stomach tightened.
"What happens at zero?"
Nobody answered.
I looked at Sebastian.
Even he looked afraid.
Finally, he spoke.
"The system begins."
"What system?"
His voice became quiet.
"The one created for you."
The countdown continued.
04:32
I looked around.
"Can we stop it?"
Valentina shook her head.
"Not from here."
Damian stepped forward.
"I can."
Everyone turned.
Sebastian stared.
"You?"
Damian nodded.
"I was designed from the same system."
A pause.
"I know how it works."
He moved toward the terminal.
I watched him.
The boy who was created to replace me.
The boy who looked empty.
The boy who called me a failure.
Yet he was trying to help.
"Why?"
Damian stopped.
He didn't look back.
"Because I spent my entire life being someone else's idea."
His voice was quiet.
"I know what that feels like."
For the first time...
I saw him as a person.
Not a replacement.
Not an experiment.
A person.
The countdown continued.
03:00
Damian worked quickly.
The screens changed.
Files appeared.
Images.
Data.
Then one file opened.
A name.
AURELIO MENDOZA - ORIGINAL SUBJECT
I froze.
Original.
Not first.
Original.
"What does that mean?"
Sebastian looked away.
Valentina noticed.
"Sebastian."
He didn't answer.
"Tell him."
The old man remained silent.
Then finally:
"You weren't created from the project."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
"You started it."
The room froze.
I stared.
"What are you saying?"
Sebastian looked at me.
"The Mendoza project was built after you were born."
"No."
He nodded.
"Your existence was the reason it began."
I couldn't breathe.
My entire understanding shattered again.
"Why?"
Sebastian looked at the countdown.
"Because when you were born..."
A pause.
"Something happened."
The room became silent.
"Something nobody could explain."
I stepped closer.
"What happened?"
Sebastian whispered:
"You survived."
I frowned.
"Survived what?"
He looked at me.
"The impossible."
The countdown continued.
02:00
I felt anger rising.
"Stop speaking in riddles."
Sebastian looked at me.
"When you were born, doctors said you wouldn't live."
I froze.
"You were weak."
"Your body was failing."
"Your heartbeat stopped."
The room became silent.
"Then..."
He looked at me.
"You opened your eyes."
I stared.
"And?"
"Your heart started again."
A cold feeling spread through me.
"That's impossible."
"Yes."
Sebastian nodded.
"That's why everyone became obsessed."
"The Mendoza family wanted to understand."
"The Council wanted to control."
"Adrian wanted to use."
My voice became quiet.
"And my parents?"
Sebastian looked down.
"Your parents wanted to protect you."
The countdown continued.
01:00
The screens suddenly changed.
A video appeared.
My mother.
Elena.
Alive.
Holding me as a baby.
My breath stopped.
She was smiling.
Crying.
Whispering something.
The audio was broken.
Damian repaired it.
Then her voice filled the room.
"If you are seeing this..."
She looked into the camera.
"My son survived."
Tears filled my eyes.
"Not because he was stronger."
"Not because he was special."
A pause.
"But because he chose to live."
The room became silent.
My mother smiled.
"Remember this, Aurelio."
"You are not what they created."
"You are what you choose."
The video ended.
The countdown reached:
00:10
Everyone moved.
"Get away!"
"Prepare!"
"Stop the system!"
Nobody could.
The number changed.
00:05
My body felt strange.
A warmth spread through my chest.
My heartbeat accelerated.
00:04
The walls shook.
00:03
Images flashed through my mind.
Memories.
Not mine.
My mother.
My father.
The laboratory.
The night they hid me.
00:02
A voice whispered.
Not from outside.
From inside my head.
"Aurelio."
00:01
Everything went white.
Then...
silence.
When I opened my eyes...
I was standing somewhere else.
Not the archive.
Not the mansion.
A room from my childhood.
A room I had never remembered.
A little boy sat on the floor.
Drawing.
I recognized him.
Me.
The child looked up.
And smiled.
"You're late."
I couldn't move.
"Who are you?"
The child tilted his head.
Then answered:
"I am the part of you they couldn't control."
My heart stopped.
The child stood.
Behind him appeared a door.
A door covered with the Mendoza symbol.
He pointed.
"Open it."
I stared.
"Why?"
The child smiled.
"Because behind that door..."
May you like
A pause.
"...is the truth you chose to forget."
