Chapter 11 - Subject ZeroDaniel stepped from between the trees.
No mask.
No hood.
Just my brother.
Older.
Thinner.
A scar ran from his temple to his jaw.
But his eyes were the same.
For nine years I had imagined this moment.
I imagined hugging him.
Hitting him.
Screaming.
Instead, I stood frozen.
"Daniel."
He nodded.
"Jack."
I couldn't stop myself.
I punched him.
He didn't fight back.
Again.
He still didn't move.
I grabbed his coat.
"You let me think you were dead."
"I had to."
"You let Mom die believing you were gone."
His eyes filled.
"I know."
"You knew I joined the police."
"I helped you get accepted."
I stared at him.
"You did this?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I needed someone inside."
"You used me."
"I protected you."
I wanted to hate him.
It would have been easier.
But he looked broken.
Not like a criminal.
Like a man carrying a graveyard.
"Tell me everything."
Daniel looked toward Bennett.
"He's dying."
Bennett smiled.
"Still bossy."
Daniel knelt beside him.
"You did good."
Bennett coughed.
"We're even."
Then he died.
I stood.
"Who is Subject Zero?"
Daniel looked at me.
"Our father."
My stomach turned.
"He founded Meridian?"
"He founded the original program."
"Why?"
Daniel stared into the forest.
"After my mother became sick, he became obsessed with the idea that people could be rebuilt."
"Rebuilt?"
"Memories erased. Identities replaced. Loyalty engineered."
"Children."
"Yes."
I felt sick.
"He experimented on us?"
"Not at first."
"What do you mean?"
Daniel's face tightened.
"He tested the program on adults."
"Who?"
"My father."
"Others?"
"Prisoners. Addicts. Missing people."
"And then children."
He nodded.
"Children were easier to shape."
I looked at him.
"Why were you Subject One?"
"Because I volunteered."
I stared.
"Why?"
"To save you."
My anger cracked.
Daniel continued.
"They wanted you next."
"So you took my place."
"Yes."
"Then why did you disappear?"
"Because I discovered the program had changed."
"How?"
"They weren't just replacing identities anymore."
He looked at me.
"They were manufacturing them."
I remembered Claire's words.
"They created Evan's mother."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because they wanted the perfect family."
My skin prickled.
"Explain."
"Families were assembled based on inheritance, wealth, genetics, obedience."
"And Evan?"
"He was an experiment."
"What kind?"
Daniel looked away.
"Free will."
I stared.
"What?"
"They wanted to know whether a child raised inside a controlled identity could still break free."
Evan had.
He had run.
He had found me.
He had remembered.
"That's why they chased him."
Daniel nodded.
"They're afraid of what he'll say."
I asked the question I had been avoiding.
"Where is Noah?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Alive."
"With you?"
"No."
"Where?"
Daniel looked toward the road.
"Under Blackwater."
"You're taking me there."
He shook his head.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because you don't understand what happens when the facility opens."
"Then explain."
Daniel reached into his coat.
He pulled out a small photograph.
Three children stood in front of a steel door.
Noah.
Evan.
And a little girl.
I stared.
"Who is she?"
Daniel whispered:
"Your sister."
I couldn't breathe.
"I don't have a sister."
"You do."
May you like
He looked at me.
"And Meridian has her."
