Chapter 10 - My Brother's WarningI chased him.
Branches tore at my coat.
"Daniel!"
No response.
I reached the clearing.
Empty.
No footprints.
No vehicle.
Nothing.
Except a small metal box lying beneath a tree.
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph of our childhood.
Daniel and me beside our mother.
On the back:
I'M SORRY I LEFT YOU.
Then another line beneath it.
I HAD TO SAVE THE FIRST CHILD.
I stared at the words.
Noah appeared behind me.
"You saw him."
I turned.
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"Not to trust you."
Noah's expression didn't change.
"I expected that."
"Why?"
"Because Daniel thinks I'm dead."
My pulse stopped.
"What?"
Noah stepped closer.
"The boy you saw with Claire isn't Noah."
I looked toward the house.
"What?"
He smiled sadly.
"They know exactly what I look like."
I drew my weapon.
"Who are you?"
His face changed.
Not fear.
Sadness.
"Your brother's first warning was never about me."
He reached behind his neck.
Pulled away a thin piece of skin.
A mask.
A synthetic face peeled back.
Underneath was someone else.
A stranger.
A man in his thirties.
"The real Noah is with Daniel."
I nearly dropped my gun.
"Then who are you?"
"Subject 23."
I stared.
He pulled up his sleeve.
Numbers had been tattooed into his skin.
"I was trained to replace him."
"Why?"
"Because Noah knew too much."
"Where is he?"
"Under Blackwater."
I remembered Vance's final words.
Blackwater.
The man handed me a card.
Coordinates.
"Go alone."
"Why?"
"Because everyone around you is compromised."
"What about Bennett?"
"Don't trust him."
I stepped back.
"Bennett saved my life."
"He saved your life because he's afraid of what they'll do if you die before finding Daniel."
I wanted to believe it was a lie.
Then my radio crackled.
Bennett's voice.
"Jack, report your location."
I answered.
"Forest perimeter."
Static.
Then silence.
The stranger looked at me.
"That wasn't Bennett."
My stomach dropped.
The voice came again.
"Jack, put down your weapon."
Same voice.
But different rhythm.
A recording.
I ran.
Back at the vehicle, Bennett was bleeding.
Two officers were dead.
He was holding his side.
"Where's Evan?"
"Safe."
He looked relieved.
"Noah?"
"Not Noah."
He swallowed.
"Then who?"
"Subject 23."
Bennett stared.
"You found it."
"You knew."
"Not everything."
"Tell me."
He pulled a folded document from inside his jacket.
"Your brother contacted me seven years ago."
I froze.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because he made me promise."
"About what?"
"About the second child."
I stared.
"Evan?"
Bennett shook his head.
"The first child."
"Noah?"
"No."
He handed me the document.
At the top was a name.
ELIAS MILLER.
My father's name.
Under it:
SUBJECT 00.
I looked at Bennett.
"What am I looking at?"
He whispered:
"Your family wasn't chosen nine years ago."
"It started with your father."
The forest suddenly felt much colder.
"And Daniel didn't discover Meridian."
Bennett's voice dropped.
"He inherited it."
I stared at him.
"My father was never a victim."
"Who was he?"
Bennett looked away.
"The man who built the first facility."
Then a gunshot rang out.
Bennett dropped to his knees.
May you like
And from the darkness came Daniel's voice.
"You finally know."
