Wednesday – 1:45 P.M. | Kael's Bunker
Kael laid out a series of old experiment profiles.
Each one had a name.
Each one had a face.
Most were marked "DECEASED."
But one — at the top — had a bold red stamp: ACTIVE.
"Subject 1: Mara Wynn."
She looked no older than 17 in the photo.
Beautiful, but unnerving. Her eyes didn't quite match — one was a normal hazel, the other a deep, inky black. As if it wasn't human at all.
Ava whispered, "She looks… empty."
Kael nodded.
"Because they removed her identity. Hollow Bridge didn't just experiment on her — they erased her before they began."
Rick frowned.
"What's her ability?"
Kael's hands trembled.
"Adaptive cognition. Emotional suppression. Neural mirroring. She learns by watching — but not like a person. Like… something ancient pretending to be one."
Flashback – Hollow Bridge Lab, Years Ago
Kael remembered it clearly.
He was locked in an observation chamber with Mara.
No windows. No sounds. No way out.
She stared at him for 6 hours straight. Never blinked. Never spoke.
Then, without warning, she smiled.
Not kindly — but like a machine that had finally solved a puzzle.
"You don't want to escape," she had whispered.
"You want to burn it all down."
Kael had screamed until the walls cracked.
2:10 P.M. | Return to Carter University
Rick, Ava, and Kael returned through the hidden stairwells, loading the data Kael had given them into Ava's system. A floorplan lit up — an off-campus warehouse, registered as a "Cold Storage Facility."
But Kael knew it for what it was.
"That's where they keep her."
Meanwhile – Hollow Bridge HQ | Black Room
Inside a sterile containment cell, Mara sat on the floor. Still as a doll.
Three Hollow Bridge operatives stood behind bulletproof glass.
One typed commands.
> "Initiating Mara Protocol. Full cognitive reboot. Override emotional suppression. Activate pursuit targeting."
Suddenly, Mara twitched.
Her head lifted.
"Target: Rick Fyer."
Her eyes opened fully.
Both were black now.
4:15 P.M. | Ava's Form – System Breach
Ava's laptop blinked.
A message appeared. Uninvited. Uncoded.
No virus. No trace.
Just words.
> "I see you now."
– M
Rick clenched his jaw.
"She's awake."
Kael stood, hands in fists.
"Then we need to move fast. Before she comes looking."
5:22 P.M. | Cold Storage Warehouse
They arrived just before sundown. The place reeked of ammonia and silence.
Kael used an old clearance card. The outer doors slid open with a hiss.
Inside: rows of pods. Cryo-chambers. Half of them broken. Others glowing dimly.
Then Rick saw it — a lone chamber at the end. Broken glass. No subject inside.
"She's already gone."
Suddenly — a blast of static hit their earpieces.
A voice. Distorted. Feminine.
"You're coming to me, Rick. Whether you know it or not."
Then the chamber exploded behind them.
They hit the floor as flame licked the walls.
From the smoke… a figure emerged.
She was barefoot. Wearing a thin white gown.
Eyes like ink. Smile like frost.
"Hello, Rick," she said. "You had me at goodbye."
Final Scene – Fight or Flight
Kael moved to attack — Mara simply tilted her head.
Suddenly, he froze mid-lunge — stuck in place like a statue.
"No," she said. "You don't move unless allow it."
Rick tried to charge, but Mara disappeared — reappeared behind him, whispering:
"You were never just a subject. You were the solution. And I was built to break you."