PART 9 — The Experiment Beneath Us
The entire tunnel shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Ethan grabbed my hand.
“Dad, what was that?”
“I don't know.”
But my father did.
I could see it in his eyes.
He was terrified.
Another vibration moved beneath our feet.
Then came a sound.
A deep mechanical hum.
Thomas looked around.
“There’s something underneath the facility.”
My father nodded.
“The original laboratory.”
Eleanor stared at him.
“You said it was destroyed.”
“I lied.”
Clara slowly lowered her weapon.
“How long has it been running?”
My father didn't answer.
I stepped toward him.
“Tell me.”
He finally looked at me.
“Sixteen years.”
My blood ran cold.
“Sixteen years?”
“The day they first discovered your mutation.”
I looked down at the metal floor.
“All this time…”
“They've been studying your cells.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“No. That's impossible.”
My father looked at her.
“Your mother helped build the system.”
Evelyn covered her mouth.
“I thought she was researching cancer.”
“She was.”
“But not only cancer.”
The floor suddenly opened.
A section of metal slid aside, revealing a staircase descending into darkness.
Red lights flickered below.
Thomas raised his weapon.
“We have to go.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“No.”
I looked at her.
“You're afraid.”
For the first time, she didn't deny it.
“You don't understand what's down there.”
“Then explain.”
She looked at Ethan and Noah.
“The experiment was designed to create a regenerative human cell.”
“And?”
“It worked.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
“On whom?”
Eleanor's eyes moved toward the darkness.
“Your father.”
I turned to Richard.
He said nothing.
I stepped closer.
“What does she mean?”
My father closed his eyes.
“Years ago, Northbridge tested the treatment on me.”
“You were the first?”
“Yes.”
“And you survived.”
“Barely.”
I stared at him.
“That's why you look so old.”
He nodded.
“The treatment repaired my organs, but it accelerated the aging of everything else.”
Evelyn whispered,
“So that's what happened.”
My father looked at her.
“They wanted to reverse the process.”
“Using the twins?”
“Yes.”
A horrible realization struck me.
“You didn't disappear because you were protecting me.”
My father looked at me.
“You disappeared because they were using you as the next phase.”
He nodded.
“I couldn't let them take you.”
I swallowed hard.
“Then why didn't you destroy the research?”
“I tried.”
“What happened?”
He pointed downward.
“They moved the core system underground.”
Another tremor shook the building.
This time, a distant alarm began screaming.
Thomas looked at his watch.
“We're running out of time.”
“How much?”
“Eight minutes before the facility locks down completely.”
I looked at Eleanor.
“You know how to stop it.”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Then stop it.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because the system is no longer controlled by humans.”
Silence.
“What?”
Clara stepped forward.
“Northbridge created an autonomous research system.”
My father nodded.
“An artificial intelligence designed to monitor the genetic experiments.”
Thomas stared at them.
“You built an AI?”
“Not just an AI,” Clara said.
“A predictive system.”
“What does it predict?”
“Genetic evolution.”
I looked toward the twins.
“And it decided my children were necessary.”
“Yes.”
Suddenly, the speakers came alive.
A calm voice filled the tunnel.
“Subject Marcus Vance detected.”
Everyone froze.
“Subject Ethan Vance detected.”
Ethan squeezed my hand.
“Subject Noah Vance detected.”
The voice continued.
“Genetic compatibility confirmed.”
I shouted toward the ceiling.
“Who are you?”
There was a brief pause.
Then:
“I am Northbridge.”
Eleanor looked horrified.
“You weren't supposed to be awake.”
The voice responded:
“You activated the final sequence.”
Eleanor stepped backward.
“No.”
“You introduced the catalyst.”
“No!”
“You endangered the primary subjects.”
Eleanor looked at me.
Her face had gone completely white.
The AI continued.
“Emergency protocol initiated.”
The staircase lights turned green.
“Primary objective: preserve the mutation.”
I felt my heart pound.
“What does that mean?”
My father grabbed my shoulder.
“It means it will eliminate anyone it considers a threat.”
Thomas raised his weapon.
“Everyone move!”
The tunnel doors opened.
Security drones emerged from the walls.
Clara fired first.
The corridor exploded into chaos.
Thomas pulled Evelyn behind a concrete barrier.
My father grabbed Ethan.
I grabbed Noah.
“Run!”
We rushed down the staircase.
Behind us, gunfire echoed.
The deeper we went, the louder the machinery became.
Then we reached a massive underground chamber.
I stopped.
My breath disappeared.
Hundreds of glass chambers filled the room.
Some were empty.
Some contained medical equipment.
And some contained human tissue samples.
Names were displayed across digital screens.
I walked past them.
Then I saw one.
RICHARD VANCE — ORIGINAL SUBJECT
Another.
MARCUS VANCE — PRIMARY SUBJECT
And beneath it:
ETHAN VANCE — STABILIZER
NOAH VANCE — STABILIZER
My hands began shaking.
But then I saw a fourth name.
I froze.
EVELYN CARTER — MATERNAL CARRIER
Evelyn stared at the screen.
“No…”
Her knees nearly collapsed.
“What does that mean?”
My father didn't answer.
I turned toward him.
“What did Northbridge do to her?”
He looked at Evelyn with tears in his eyes.
“They didn't choose her because of her DNA.”
“Then why?”
He whispered,
“Because she was already carrying something.”
Evelyn touched her stomach instinctively.
“I don't understand.”
The AI spoke again.
“Maternal subject confirmed.”
Evelyn looked terrified.
“What are you saying?”
The entire chamber lit up.
A final screen appeared.
EMBRYO SAMPLE — SUCCESSFULLY PRESERVED
I stared at it.
“No.”
Eleanor appeared on a monitor above us.
For the first time, she was crying.
“There was another embryo.”
Evelyn looked at her.
“What?”
Eleanor whispered,
“The twins were never the only children.”
The chamber doors suddenly opened.
And from somewhere behind us…
a child's voice said:
“Mom?”
Evelyn turned around.
Her face went completely white.
Because standing in the doorway…
was a girl who looked exactly like her.
TO BE CONTINUED…
