The air was colder in Sector C.
Not the kind of cold that came from faulty generators or underground isolation. This chill crept under Ava's skin like a warning—unnatural, sharp, wrong.
She followed Kaela down the dim corridor, where the lights flickered erratically, casting long shadows that danced like ghosts on the metallic walls. The security alert pulsed red at every door they passed.
"This sector was sealed," Kaela muttered, her voice taut, gun drawn. "Whatever's inside wasn't supposed to wake up."
Ava's heart pounded. She remembered the files—Project Echo, failed clones, genetic aberrations that mimicked human appearance but were programmed weapons. Experiments Kaela wasn't supposed to know about.
Kaela stopped in front of an armored observation door. Inside, the reinforced glass was fogged with condensation—and something else.
A smear of blood.
"I'll go first," Kaela said, voice low.
Ava touched her arm. "Kaela... what if one of them is you?"
Kaela looked at her for a beat. There was no fear in her eyes—only resolve, and something far sadder.
"Then I'll finally know what they turned me into."
She stepped forward, inputting the override code. The metal door hissed open slowly with a guttural groan. Ava's flashlight flicked on—and the beam struck a figure curled in the corner of the cell.
Small. Female. Trembling.
The girl looked up.
Ava gasped.
She had Kaela's face.
But younger. Pale. Hollow-eyed. Her skin was littered with faint blue lines that pulsed softly, like static under glass.
Kaela froze, breath caught.
The girl stood shakily, eyes wide with confusion, terror… and recognition.
"Are you real?" she whispered. "Or are you another simulation?"
Ava stepped forward cautiously. "Who are you?"
The girl looked at Kaela. "I'm her," she said, voice shaking. "The part they deleted."
Kaela's body recoiled like she'd been hit. "No... That's not possible."
But Ava saw it now—every detail. The same bone structure. The same scar above the left brow.
A clone?
Or something worse?
"They called me Kaela-0," the girl whispered. "The first version. The one who remembered everything."
Suddenly, the power surged.
The lights died.
And from deeper within Sector C, another voice echoed.
A male voice.
"You've opened the wrong door."
Kaela turned instantly, weapon raised. But it was too late.
From the dark, a shape lunged.
Glass shattered.
And everything went black.