Chapter 10 - Six MinutesI hated impossible choices.
I'd spent my entire military career making them.
Usually, someone died.
That was the truth nobody put in recruitment brochures.
You didn't become a hero.
You became the person who decided who didn't make it home.
My mother looked at me.
“Leave me.”
“No.”
“You have to.”
“No.”
Daniel shouted:
“Elena!”
I turned.
Three doors.
One led to the escape tunnel.
One led to the medical chamber.
One led to the central command room.
The command room controlled the island's evacuation system.
My grandmother was inside.
The women were in the medical wing.
My mother was trapped in the command section.
Ethan looked at me.
“You can't save all of them.”
I smiled.
“That's what everyone keeps telling me.”
I grabbed a keycard.
“Which is why everyone keeps underestimating me.”
I ran.
Daniel followed.
Lauren led the other women toward the escape tunnel.
Ethan stayed behind.
I stopped.
“Where are you going?”
“To finish what I started.”
He kissed my forehead.
It wasn't romantic.
It was a goodbye.
I realized then that he didn't expect to survive.
I ran faster.
The command room was sealed.
I used an emergency override.
Inside, my grandmother stood beside the control panel.
She was holding a pistol.
“You chose badly.”
I stared at her.
“I chose everyone.”
She fired.
I ducked.
The bullet struck the glass.
I rushed forward.
She was faster than she looked.
She fought like someone who had spent decades training.
We moved through the room.
Strike.
Block.
Counter.
She was stronger.
I was younger.
She smiled.
“You have my blood.”
“No.”
I drove her into the wall.
“I have my own.”
She stumbled.
The countdown showed two minutes.
“Give me the master key.”
“No.”
“Then everyone dies.”
She smiled.
“You still don't understand.”
She pressed a button.
The screens displayed live footage.
A submarine beneath the island.
Nuclear warheads.
The entire facility wasn't merely going to explode.
It was going to disappear.
I looked at her.
“What did you build?”
“A reset.”
“For what?”
“For the world.”
She looked almost peaceful.
“Blackfall was only the prototype.”
Then she revealed the final truth.
The system had already been deployed.
Across the world.
Hundreds of sleeper identities.
Government officials.
Business leaders.
Military officers.
Journalists.
Even children.
People who had been replaced.
People who didn't know they were replacements.
The world had already changed.
I felt the floor move.
One minute.
The command room door opened.
Ethan stood there.
Bleeding.
“Go.”
I looked at him.
“What happened?”
“Your grandmother happened.”
He pointed to the control panel.
“I can stop the launch.”
“But?”
He smiled sadly.
“I have to stay.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Elena.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“You asked me what marriage means.”
“I don't remember asking.”
“You will.”
He took my hand.
“For the first time in my life…”
He whispered.
“I don't want to follow orders.”
He turned toward the control room.
The countdown reached thirty seconds.
He shoved me through the door.
I fell into the corridor.
The door slammed.
“Ethan!”
He locked it from inside.
I screamed.
May you like
The countdown hit zero.
The island exploded.
