The hallway to the South Wing was different from the rest of the school. It
was lined with digital screens that usually showed student achievements—
top scorers, cricket trophies, art awards. Now, the screens were flickering
with static.
"Stay close,
" Sloane whispered, her hand gripping Jax's jacket. "Archer's
watching. I can feel the cameras moving."
Sia was shaking as she held her broken tablet, trying to find a signal. "He's
not just watching, Sloane. He's... he's playing with the Archive. He's releasing
'Echoes'."
"What are Echoes?" I asked, clutching my journal.
Before she could answer, the lights turned from red to a soft, warm gold. The
smell of ozone vanished, replaced by the scent of fresh rain and... my mom's
perfume.
41.
"Callie?"
A voice called out from a classroom door up ahead. It sounded exactly like my
best friend from primary school—the one who moved away three years ago.
"Don't look,
" Julian said, his voice cracking. He grabbed my arm, his fingers
digging into my skin. "It's not real, Callie. It's just a file. A memory he stole
from your head."
I looked anyway. In the doorway stood a girl. She looked blurry, like a
photograph that hadn't finished developing. "Callie, why did you stop writing to
me? Don't you remember the treehouse? Don't you remember the promise?"
The "Echo" took a step toward me. My heart screamed at me to run to her, to
apologize, to remember.
"She's a trap,
" Sia hissed. "Archer is using your emotional data to slow you
down. If you touch her, the system will sync with your brain and pull the rest
of your memories
out."
42.
I forced myself to turn away. My eyes blurred with tears, but I kept walking.
But then, the hallway changed for Julian.
The screens around us stopped flickering and showed a video of a young boy
—maybe seven years old—sitting at a piano. He was playing a complex piece,
his tiny fingers flying over the keys. A man stood behind him, looking proud.
"Dad?" Julian whispered.
He stopped walking. The "Genius" who had been so cold and logical suddenly
looked like he was breaking apart. The Echo of his father stepped out of the
screen, holding a gold medal.
"You did it, Julian,
" the Echo said. "100 percent. Perfect score. I'm finally
proud of you."
43.
Julian reached out. His hand was inches away from the blurry figure of his
father.
"Julian, NO!" I yelled, throwing myself between him and the Echo.
I slammed my journal against Julian's chest, right over his heart. "Look at the
ink, Julian! Look at your hand! That's a ghost! Your father isn't here! I'm here!"
Julian's eyes cleared for a second. He looked at the words TRUST CALLIE on his
skin. He looked at the Echo, then back at me. "He never said that,
" Julian
whispered, his voice trembling. "In real life... he never said he was proud.
Archer is lying. He's making the memories 'better' so I'll want to stay in
them."
The Echo of the father distorted, his face twisting into a mask of digital
static before vanishing into the floor.
44.
"Enough games, Archer!" Sloane shouted at the ceiling. "Show yourself!"
The hallway went pitch black. Then, a single spotlight clicked on at the very
end of the corridor.
Archer was standing there. He wasn't a hologram this time. He was real. He
was wearing his perfect school blazer, his hands tucked casually into his
pockets. He looked like he was waiting for a bus, not ending the world.
"You're late,
" Archer said. His voice didn't need a microphone; it was naturall
cold. "I expected you at the boiler room, but I see you've picked up some...
baggage." He glanced at Sia and the empty-eyed Jax.
"Give them back,
" Sloane said, stepping forward. "Give Jax his mind back. Now."
45.
Archer laughed. It was a dry, hollow sound. "Give it back? Sloane, I didn't steal
it. I saved it. Do you know how much clutter the human brain holds? Useless
feelings. Old phone numbers. The names of dead pets."
He took a step toward us. Jax stepped in front of Sloane, his growl low in his
throat.
"I'm cleaning the Archive,
" Archer continued, looking at Julian. "Think about it,
Julian. Without the 'weight' of your past, your brain is a pure machine. I can
make you a god. You won't have to feel pain, or love, or loss. You'll just...
know."
"I don't want to be a god,
" Julian said, his voice steady for the first time. "I
want to be a person. Even if it hurts."
46.
Archer sighed, looking disappointed. "A person. How boring. You'd rather die
for a girl who's going to forget you in six hours than live forever as a
masterpiece?"
He snapped his fingers.
The walls of the hallway began to slide away, revealing that we weren't in a
corridor at all. We were in a massive, circular room filled with thousands of
glass jars. Inside each jar was a glowing, swirling blue light.
"The Archive,
" Sia whispered, her jaw dropping. "Those aren't lights. Those
are... personalities."
"3,000 students,
" Archer said, spreading his arms wide. "All their talents, all
their dreams, stored in hardware. And once the Master Delete finishes, I'll be
the only one with the password."
47.
"Not if we delete you first,
" Jax said.
He didn't wait for a plan. He didn't wait for a signal. The athlete's body—the
one that had spent years sprinting and hitting targets—just moved. He
launched himself at Archer like a cannonball.
But Archer didn't move. He didn't have to.
Two "Assigned" guards stepped out from behind the jars. They moved with
unnatural speed, catching Jax mid-air and slamming him into the ground.
"Jax!" Sloane screamed, trying to run to him, but the other "Assigned"
students surrounded us.
"Don't hurt him,
" Archer said calmly. "He's a valuable physical asset. Just...
keep him quiet."
48.
The "Assigned" guards pressed a glowing blue disc against Jax's neck. He
went limp instantly.
"No!" Sloane fell to her knees, her hands reaching for him through the circle
of guards.
Archer walked over to me. He looked at my journal, his lip curling in disgust.
"Paper. How primitive. You think your little scribbles can compete with a
terabyte of soul?"
He reached out to grab my book, but Julian stepped in the way. Julian didn't
fight with his fists; he fought with his words.
"You're losing, Archer,
" Julian said.
Archer stopped. "Losing? Look around you. I have the school. I have the
Archive. I have your friends."
"But you don't have her,
" Julian said, pointing at me. "And as long as she has
that book, you don't have the full story. You're just a thief. And every thief is
afraid of being caught."
49.
Archer's eyes flashed with genuine rage. For a second, the mask of the
"perfect student" slipped, and I saw the monster underneath.
"Then I'll just have to make sure there's no one left to read it,
" Archer hissed.
He backed away into the shadows of the Archive jars. "The floor is yours,
students. But be careful. The Master Delete just reached 50 percent. Every
minute you spend in this room, a part of you disappears."
He vanished behind a heavy steel door, leaving us surrounded by his "Assigned"
army.
I looked at the group. Jax was unconscious. Sloane was crying. Sia was
terrified. And Julian... Julian was looking at me like I was the only light left in
a world that was going dark.
"We have to get Jax and get out,
" I said, opening my journal to a fresh page.
"Chapter 5 is over. But we're still here. We're still 'Real'."
60.