Chapter 8 - THE ROOM BELOW THE CHURCHThe basement beneath the church was colder than the woods.
Leo could hear water dripping.
The staircase ended in a narrow corridor.
White paint.
Red door.
His breathing stopped.
He knew this place.
“I've been here.”
Sarah stared at him.
“How?”
Leo touched the wall.
“The number.”
He pointed.
Seven.
Carved into the concrete.
Mia stepped beside him.
“That's where they put us.”
Daniel looked sick.
“How do you remember?”
“I don't know.”
Marcus whispered:
“You were supposed to forget.”
Leo spun around.
“You knew.”
Marcus didn't answer.
“You knew all of it.”
“I knew enough.”
“You knew about Mom.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Leo slapped him.
The sound echoed down the corridor.
Marcus did not react.
Daniel looked away.
Sarah opened the red door.
Inside was a white room.
A chair.
A camera.
A metal table.
And dozens of photographs.
Children.
Leo stepped closer.
There were names written beneath each photograph.
Most had been crossed out.
One photograph showed Mia.
Another showed Leo.
Then he saw the photograph of the little girl from the gas station.
Her name was written underneath.
LUCY VALE.
Leo touched it.
“Who is Lucy?”
Marcus whispered:
“Your twin.”
Leo stepped backward.
“What?”
Mia stared.
“We had another sister?”
Sarah looked at Marcus.
“You never told them?”
Marcus said nothing.
Leo shook his head.
“No.”
Marcus finally spoke.
“She wasn't your sister.”
“Then what?”
“Your mother's daughter.”
Leo's eyes widened.
“That doesn't make sense.”
Marcus looked at Sarah.
“The program took children from families they thought were unstable. Some were tested. Some were trained.”
“For what?” Sarah demanded.
Marcus swallowed.
“For obedience.”
Leo stared at the photographs.
“Lucy escaped?”
“No.”
“She's dead?”
Marcus shook his head.
“We were told she was.”
A sound came from behind the wall.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Leo froze.
Mia grabbed his hand.
Three knocks.
The same pattern.
Sarah searched the wall.
A panel opened.
Inside was a small tape recorder.
Daniel pressed play.
A woman's recorded voice filled the room.
“Subject seven demonstrates persistent memory.”
Leo recognized his mother's voice.
“We cannot continue erasing him.”
The recording crackled.
A man's voice answered:
“Then erase the sister.”
Leo stopped breathing.
Mia whispered:
“No.”
The recording continued.
“Which sister?”
“Lucy.”
Leo covered his mouth.
His mother began crying on the tape.
“No.”
The man's voice became colder.
“If you refuse, both boys disappear.”
Leo looked at Mia.
“Both boys?”
Daniel looked at Marcus.
Marcus lowered his head.
The recording ended.
Then another voice came through the speaker.
Live.
Not recorded.
A woman whispered:
“Leo, don't trust the man beside you.”
Leo slowly turned toward Marcus.
Marcus was holding a gun.
May you like
But it wasn't pointed at the door.
It was pointed at Daniel.
