Chapter 11 - Freezing water swallowed Marcus.The cold was immediate.
Brutal.
Every muscle seized.
He tried to swim upward.
But the opening above him seemed impossibly far away.
His lungs burned.
Then something grabbed his wrist.
He looked down.
A hand.
Someone was beneath him.
The figure pulled him through darkness.
Marcus couldn't breathe.
Then everything went black.
When he opened his eyes, he was lying inside a warm room.
A fireplace burned nearby.
Julian sat across from him.
Marcus tried to rise.
"Don't."
Marcus stared.
"You shot me."
"I didn't."
"Then who?"
Julian looked toward the window.
"Someone who wanted you frightened enough to follow me."
Marcus sat up.
His clothes were dry.
His head hurt.
"How long?"
"Four hours."
"Where are we?"
Julian didn't answer.
Marcus looked around.
Family photographs covered the walls.
He saw himself.
As a child.
But the memories didn't match.
He saw Julian.
Their father.
Their mother.
Then photographs of Marcus at twenty.
Thirty.
Working at the company.
Every year documented.
But Marcus couldn't remember half of them.
Julian sat beside him.
"You need to understand."
Marcus stared.
"Am I real?"
Julian hesitated.
"You exist."
"That's not what I asked."
Julian looked away.
"You were created from multiple memory structures."
"So I'm a copy."
"Yes."
Marcus laughed bitterly.
"Then who was the original?"
Julian pointed toward a photograph.
A small boy.
Marcus.
But the boy was not him.
"That was your real brother."
Marcus stared.
"I've been carrying his memories?"
"Not carrying."
Julian swallowed.
"Replacing."
Marcus felt sick.
"What happened to the original Marcus?"
"He died."
"How?"
"Brain tumor."
Marcus stared at the photograph.
"He was twelve."
Julian nodded.
"Our parents couldn't accept it."
"So they used Project Mirror."
"Yes."
"And created me."
"Not exactly."
Julian looked at him.
"They tried to restore him."
Marcus froze.
"They copied his memories into a new neural structure."
"Me."
"Yes."
Marcus touched his chest.
"Then why am I working for Vaughn?"
"Because Vaughn acquired the project."
"He knew what I was."
"From the beginning."
Marcus's jaw tightened.
"And Harris?"
Julian's expression darkened.
"Harris tried to protect you."
"Did he?"
"The real Harris did."
Marcus remembered the laboratory.
The body.
The silver watch.
The copies.
"Where is he?"
Julian looked toward the floor.
"Alive."
Marcus stood.
"Where?"
"Not far."
"Take me."
Julian shook his head.
"There's one problem."
"What?"
"Harris isn't the only person trapped."
Marcus looked at him.
"Who else?"
Julian handed him a photograph.
Marcus stared.
It showed Laura.
But behind her was another Laura.
Then another.
Seven versions.
Julian said:
"Vaughn doesn't just replace people."
"He replaces entire teams."
Marcus felt cold despite the fire.
"Why?"
"Because he needs people who can pass security, bypass systems, and carry encrypted memories."
Marcus looked at the photographs.
"Laura is one of them."
"Which one?"
Marcus looked up.
Julian's answer was quiet.
"That's the problem."
A noise came from upstairs.
Footsteps.
Julian reached for a weapon.
Marcus stood.
Someone knocked on the front door.
Three times.
Marcus recognized the rhythm.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Julian whispered:
"They found us."
Marcus stared at the door.
A voice came from outside.
His own.
"Julian."
Marcus felt his blood run cold.
The door opened.
Marcus was standing outside.
Same face.
Same clothes.
Same eyes.
May you like
The duplicate smiled.
"You really should stop running."
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