CHAPTER 5: SUBJECT ZERO FINALLY SPEAKS
Smoke filled the shattered cabin.
Bullets ripped through the wooden walls as everyone scrambled for cover.
The masked soldiers moved with military precision.
One of them pulled Lily behind a ballistic shield.
Another stood between Ethan and Victor, aiming his rifle at both men.
"Nobody moves!"
Victor's face twisted with rage.
"You idiots!"
"I paid you to bring me the girl!"
The commander slowly removed his helmet.
His silver hair and scarred face made Victor suddenly take two steps backward.
"You..."
Victor whispered.
"I watched you die."
The old man smiled.
"You watched the wrong body."
Ethan stared in confusion.
Emma gasped.
"General Hayes..."
The commander nodded.
"I promised I'd come back for you."
Victor reached for his pistol.
General Hayes was faster.
One shot.
Victor's weapon exploded from his hand before he could pull the trigger.
The soldiers surrounded him instantly.
For the first time in his life...
Victor looked afraid.
"What do you want?" he growled.
General Hayes ignored him.
Instead, he turned toward Lily.
Every hardened soldier lowered his weapon.
Every radio fell silent.
The old general slowly knelt before the little girl.
His voice became gentle.
"It's over."
"You don't have to hide anymore."
Lily looked at Emma.
Then at Ethan.
Finally she whispered...
"You found me."
General Hayes smiled sadly.
"We've been looking for you for eight years."
Ethan stepped forward.
"Someone tell me what is happening!"
General Hayes took a deep breath.
"It started twenty-four years ago."
"There wasn't one baby born that night."
"There were twelve."
"They were part of a classified government genetics program."
Ethan felt the ground disappear beneath his feet.
"What program?"
"The program known as..."
SUBJECT ZERO.
The old general looked directly at Lily.
"She isn't dangerous."
"But her DNA is."
Victor suddenly burst into laughter.
"You still don't get it!"
He looked at Ethan with madness in his eyes.
"The DNA isn't valuable because she's special."
"It's valuable because of what's hidden inside it."
Emma's face turned white.
"No..."
"Don't tell him."
Victor ignored her.
"Lily's DNA contains the biometric encryption key to billions of dollars hidden in offshore military accounts."
"Without her genetic code..."
"...no one can access the money."
Ethan stared at Lily in disbelief.
"She's just a child."
Victor smiled.
"Not to the people hunting her."
General Hayes' expression hardened.
"Victor murdered dozens of scientists trying to unlock that code."
"He destroyed families."
"He started wars."
"All for one little girl."
Suddenly—
A soldier shouted from outside.
"Sir!"
"Multiple vehicles approaching!"
General Hayes looked through the broken window.
His face lost all color.
"No..."
"How did they find us so fast?"
Black helicopters appeared over the trees.
Not one.
Not two.
But six.
Each carried the same crimson emblem.
Emma closed her eyes.
"They're here."
Ethan frowned.
"Who?"
Emma whispered only two words.
"The Foundation."
Every soldier around General Hayes immediately snapped into defensive positions.
Several of them actually looked terrified.
One young officer muttered,
"We can't fight them."
General Hayes turned to Ethan and shoved a small metal key into his hand.
"If we die today..."
"...take Lily to Vault 17."
"Never let anyone scan her DNA."
Ethan looked down at the strange key.
Engraved into the metal were four words.
Property of Ethan Carter.
He frowned.
"I've never seen this before."
General Hayes looked him directly in the eyes.
"That's because..."
"...your memories were erased."
Before Ethan could ask another question...
A deafening explosion tore through the cabin.
The floor collapsed beneath Ethan and Lily.
They plunged into darkness together.
As Ethan crashed onto the concrete below, emergency lights suddenly flickered on.
Stretching before him was a massive underground laboratory.
Rows of glass chambers lined the walls.
Inside each chamber...
Was a child.
And every chamber carried the same label.
SUBJECT 001
SUBJECT 014
SUBJECT 026
Until Ethan's eyes reached the final chamber.
It was empty.
The nameplate beneath it read:
SUBJECT 000
LILY CARTER
And scratched across the glass in fresh blood were seven horrifying words:
May you like
"YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO FIND HER."
TO BE CONTINUED...
