Chapter 8 - Marcus fell to his knees.The voice inside his head laughed.
You finally found me.
He pressed his palms against his temples.
"Get out."
Laura knelt beside him.
"Marcus!"
Daniel shouted:
"Don't touch him!"
Laura stopped.
Marcus heard the other voice again.
They told you I was the copy.
Images flashed.
Marcus standing inside a laboratory.
Marcus writing code.
Marcus hiding a USB drive.
Marcus talking to Harris.
Then another memory.
Marcus killing a man.
Marcus killing another.
Marcus standing over a table covered with photographs.
Then a final image.
His own face reflected in a mirror.
But the reflection smiled before Marcus did.
He screamed.
The machines around Harris began beeping.
Harris shouted:
"He's transferring!"
Daniel ran to the control panel.
"What do I do?"
"Disconnect the servers!"
Daniel reached for the cables.
The chamber door suddenly opened.
Harris collapsed.
Marcus caught him.
Harris whispered:
"You can't disconnect them."
"Why?"
"Because the moment you do..."
He coughed.
"...the memory will finish downloading."
Marcus froze.
"The ledger."
Harris nodded.
"It was never a file."
Marcus stared.
"It was a memory archive."
"Stored inside living brains."
Laura looked horrified.
"Whose?"
Harris glanced toward Marcus.
"Yours."
Marcus closed his eyes.
He saw it.
A room.
A table.
Eight people.
Eight versions of himself.
They were all sitting around the table.
The original Marcus stood at the front.
He was younger.
Calmer.
He looked directly at the others.
"One of us has to survive."
Marcus opened his eyes.
"I remember."
Daniel stared at him.
"What?"
"There were nine."
Harris nodded.
"The ninth was designed as the final carrier."
Marcus whispered:
"Me."
The building shook again.
Gunfire sounded overhead.
Daniel loaded his weapon.
"We need to move."
Harris pushed himself up.
"I can't."
Marcus looked at him.
"Then leave him."
Laura said:
"No."
Marcus looked at her.
She was staring at Harris.
Something in her expression had changed.
"You're attached to him."
Laura didn't answer.
Harris smiled.
"She always was."
Marcus frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Laura whispered:
"He was the one who woke me."
Silence.
"He told me who I was."
Marcus looked between them.
"How long have you known each other?"
"Seven years."
"And you never told me?"
Laura shook her head.
"I didn't remember."
Marcus suddenly noticed something.
Harris's wrist.
The silver watch.
It wasn't on his left arm.
It was on his right.
Marcus stared.
"You."
Harris looked confused.
"What?"
Marcus stepped backward.
"You're not Harris."
Harris's expression changed.
Laura gasped.
Daniel raised his weapon.
The man inside the chamber smiled.
The smile was wrong.
Too calm.
Too familiar.
"Very good, Marcus."
Marcus whispered:
"Who are you?"
The man answered:
"Subject 07."
Daniel fired.
The bullet shattered the glass.
Subject 07 disappeared into smoke.
When the smoke cleared, the chamber was empty.
Marcus stared.
"Where did he go?"
Daniel looked around.
A speaker clicked on.
Subject 07's voice filled the room.
"Find the original."
Marcus looked at Laura.
"The original what?"
The voice answered:
"The original Marcus."
The servers flashed.
A photograph appeared.
A child.
Ten years old.
Standing beside a woman.
The child had Marcus's face.
Underneath was a name.
JULIAN REED.
Marcus stopped breathing.
"That's..."
Laura whispered:
"Your brother."
Marcus stared at the image.
"My brother died when I was twelve."
Daniel looked horrified.
"Marcus..."
A new line appeared beneath the photograph.
STATUS: ALIVE.
Marcus's hands began shaking.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A man's voice whispered:
"Marcus."
He recognized it immediately.
His own voice.
"Your brother is waiting for you."
The call ended.
Outside the room, heavy footsteps approached.
Daniel raised his gun.
The doors began to unlock.
One after another.
And Marcus realized something terrifying.
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The footsteps were not coming toward them.
They were coming from every direction.
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