CHAPTER 14: SUBJECT ZERO
The steel door opened inch by inch.
Nobody moved.
A deep mechanical hum filled the corridor.
Ethan stood in front of the girls, shielding them with his body.
“Who is Subject Zero?”
Evelyn stared into the darkness.
“The first.”
Daniel raised his weapon.
“The first what?”
“The first child.”
Emma's face went pale.
“That’s impossible.”
Evelyn looked at her.
“You knew.”
“I knew about the project.”
“You knew about me.”
“I thought you were dead.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“You thought I was Subject Zero.”
Ethan looked between them.
“Someone explain.”
Evelyn pointed toward the opening door.
“Subject Zero wasn't created by Halcyon.”
“Then who created her?”
“My mother.”
Ethan froze.
“Our mother?”
Evelyn nodded.
“She was the first child born with the complete genetic sequence.”
Ethan stared.
“Then why did they need the other children?”
“Because the sequence disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
“After I was born, the doctors discovered something.”
Evelyn took a breath.
“My body could repair damaged DNA.”
Ethan frowned.
“That sounds impossible.”
“It shouldn't have been.”
“What happened?”
“They tried to reproduce it.”
“And failed.”
“Thirty-five times.”
Ethan looked at Lily, Claire, and Anna.
“And these children?”
“Seven successful fragments.”
Ethan's voice dropped.
“So the seven children aren't copies.”
“No.”
“They're pieces.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Pieces of me.”
The steel door opened completely.
A woman stepped out.
She looked about thirty.
Long dark hair.
Pale skin.
A thin scar ran from her temple to her jaw.
She wore a simple white hospital gown.
Ethan stared.
She looked familiar.
Not like Emma.
Not like Vanessa.
Like himself.
The woman stopped.
Her eyes moved from Ethan to Evelyn.
Then to Lily.
Claire.
Anna.
She smiled.
“Hello.”
Ethan whispered:
“Who are you?”
The woman looked at him.
“My name is Eve.”
Evelyn stepped forward.
“No.”
Eve smiled.
“You remember me.”
Evelyn's face tightened.
“You're dead.”
“I was.”
“How?”
“Your mother tried to kill me.”
Ethan looked at Emma.
“Who is she?”
Emma couldn't answer.
Eve spoke instead.
“She is your aunt.”
Ethan froze.
“My aunt?”
Eve nodded.
“Your mother's younger sister.”
Daniel lowered his weapon.
“This family tree is becoming ridiculous.”
Nobody laughed.
Eve walked toward the children.
Lily stepped backward.
Ethan immediately blocked her.
“Don't touch her.”
Eve stopped.
“I don't want to hurt her.”
“Then stay away.”
Eve looked at Lily.
“She carries part of me.”
Ethan frowned.
“What?”
“She carries the first fragment.”
Claire looked at Eve.
“And me?”
“The second.”
Anna raised her hand.
“The third?”
Eve nodded.
“Yes.”
Evelyn whispered:
“And the others?”
“Waiting.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Where?”
Eve smiled.
“You're standing in the center of them.”
A hidden door opened.
Beyond it was a massive chamber.
Six glass capsules stood inside.
Ethan stared.
Six children.
Alive.
Sleeping.
Each looked different.
But each had the same distinctive eyes.
Lily stepped forward.
“Are they like me?”
Eve nodded.
“They're your sisters.”
Ethan stared at the capsules.
“How long have they been here?”
“Years.”
“Why keep them alive?”
“Because Richard wanted the archive.”
Ethan frowned.
“You said the archive was a person.”
Eve nodded.
“It is.”
She pointed toward the six children.
“They are the archive.”
Ethan finally understood.
“Their DNA contains the data.”
“Yes.”
“The memories?”
“Not memories.”
“Then what?”
“Identity.”
Ethan stared.
Eve explained:
“Every child carries a genetic key. Together, the keys reconstruct the original database.”
Daniel looked at the capsules.
“And Richard wants access.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Eve's expression became serious.
“Because the archive contains every secret Halcyon ever buried.”
Ethan looked at the children.
“If we release them…”
“Halcyon collapses.”
“And Richard?”
“Goes to prison.”
Ethan nodded.
“Then let's release them.”
Eve looked at him.
“It isn't that simple.”
“Why?”
“Because opening the capsules will erase their memories.”
Ethan stopped.
“They'll survive.”
“Yes.”
“But they won't remember anything.”
Eve nodded.
“Not their names.”
“Not their families?”
“No.”
“Not each other?”
“No.”
Ethan looked at Lily.
“No.”
Eve stepped closer.
“That's the price.”
“There's always another way.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“There isn't.”
Suddenly, the facility shook.
Richard's voice came over the speakers.
“You've found Subject Zero.”
Eve looked upward.
“You're too late.”
Richard laughed.
“No.”
A screen activated.
Richard stood in front of a control panel.
Behind him were several armed men.
And beside him was Ethan's mother.
Ethan's face hardened.
“Mom!”
She looked into the camera.
“Ethan.”
“What are you doing?”
“Finishing what I started.”
Eve stepped forward.
“You betrayed everyone.”
His mother shook her head.
“I saved the family.”
“By sacrificing children?”
“By ensuring humanity survives.”
Ethan shouted:
“Don't use that excuse!”
His mother looked at him.
“You still don't understand.”
“Then explain it!”
She paused.
Then said:
“The genetic sequence isn't a cure.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“It is a weapon.”
Eve's expression changed.
“No.”
His mother continued:
“Whoever possesses the complete sequence can alter human DNA.”
Ethan stared.
“Alter it how?”
“Erase diseases.”
“Or create them.”
Silence.
Emma whispered:
“That's why Richard wanted the archive.”
“No.”
Ethan's mother shook her head.
“Richard wanted the archive for money.”
She looked at Eve.
“I want it for control.”
Eve stepped backward.
“You're insane.”
“I am protecting humanity.”
“You're deciding who deserves to live.”
His mother smiled.
“Someone has to.”
Ethan stared at the screen.
“Mom…”
She looked at him.
“I'm sorry.”
Then she pressed a button.
The six capsules opened.
The children woke.
Every alarm in the facility exploded at once.
The girls screamed.
Lily covered her ears.
Claire collapsed.
Anna cried out.
Eve shouted:
“Stop!”
But it was too late.
The archive was activating.
All seven children began glowing beneath the harsh laboratory lights.
The screens filled with rapidly changing genetic data.
Richard stared at the numbers.
Then he smiled.
“It's working.”
Ethan looked at him through the camera.
“You're going to kill them.”
Richard shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at the data.
“We're going to become gods.”
Ethan grabbed a metal rod.
He smashed the camera.
“Not if I can stop you.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Ethan.”
“What?”
“You can't destroy the system.”
“Why?”
“Because it's already inside them.”
Ethan looked at Lily.
Her eyes were glowing faintly.
“Then how do we stop it?”
Eve walked toward him.
“There is one way.”
“What?”
“Separate the seven.”
“And then?”
“They must each choose.”
“Choose what?”
Eve looked at the children.
“Whether they want to remain human…”
She paused.
“…or become the archive.”
Before Ethan could answer, the facility doors exploded.
Richard's soldiers poured into the chamber.
Gunfire erupted.
Ethan grabbed Lily.
Emma grabbed Claire.
Daniel fired back.
Vanessa pulled Anna behind a machine.
Evelyn rushed toward the control panel.
And then Richard himself entered the room.
He raised his weapon.
“Enough!”
Everyone froze.
Richard looked at Ethan.
“Give me Lily.”
Ethan stepped backward.
“No.”
Richard smiled.
“Then I'll take all seven.”
He raised his weapon toward the children.
Ethan looked at the girls.
Then at Eve.
Then at Evelyn.
He realized there was only one chance.
“Eve.”
She looked at him.
“Do it.”
Eve understood.
She slammed both hands onto the control panel.
The entire facility began shaking.
Richard shouted:
“What are you doing?”
Eve smiled.
“Deleting the archive.”
Richard's face turned white.
“No!”
A countdown appeared.
60 SECONDS.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“What happens when it reaches zero?”
Eve looked at him.
“Everything connected to Halcyon disappears.”
“Records?”
“Yes.”
“Evidence?”
“Yes.”
“The children's identities?”
“Yes.”
Ethan's heart sank.
“Then we lose everything.”
Eve nodded.
“But they survive.”
The countdown began.
59.
Richard screamed:
“Stop her!”
His men rushed forward.
Daniel fired.
Emma pulled the children toward the exit.
Ethan stayed behind.
Richard pointed his weapon at him.
“You're destroying your own family.”
Ethan looked at him.
“No.”
He stepped forward.
“I'm saving it.”
10.
9.
Richard raised his weapon.
8.
Ethan charged.
7.
They collided.
6.
The gun went off.
5.
Ethan fell.
Emma screamed.
“ETHAN!”
4.
Blood spread across Ethan's shirt.
3.
Lily cried:
“Daddy!”
2.
Eve looked at the system.
1.
The entire facility went white.
Then everything went silent.
When Ethan opened his eyes, the laboratory was gone.
The screens were dead.
The capsules were empty.
The children were alive.
But Emma was nowhere to be seen.
Neither was Lily.
Ethan struggled to stand.
“Lily?”
No answer.
“Emma?”
Silence.
Then he heard footsteps behind him.
He turned.
His mother stood there.
Holding Lily.
And smiling.
“You thought you won.”
Ethan stared at her.
She looked down at Lily.
“But you forgot one thing.”
“What?”
She smiled.
May you like
“I'm her mother too.”
Then she disappeared into the darkness.
