The metallic hum of the facility was constant, like the heartbeat of a sleeping machine. Ava Kane followed Dr. Lucian Vale through the sterile hallway, her pulse syncing with the flickering fluorescent lights overhead. Every door they passed was sealed with biometric locks, every camera followed her with unnerving precision.
She could feel the whisper of the Ghost in her blood again restless, curious. Ever since the incident with the glass, it had been more present. More aware.
Lucian stopped before a reinforced door marked in bold white letters UNIT THIRTEEN.
"This is where it started," he said quietly.
Ava's throat went dry. "You mean where I started?"
He hesitated. "Not exactly. You're what came after."
He pressed his hand to the biometric scanner. The door slid open with a hiss, and cold air spilled out like a breath from the grave. Inside, the room was dim, walls lined with deactivated servers and cracked containment pods. But one pod at the center still pulsed with faint blue light.
Ava stepped closer, her shoes echoing softly against the metal floor. Her reflection in the pod's glass trembled and then shifted. It wasn't her reflection anymore.
It was someone else.
Same face. Same eyes. But colder.
The pod lights brightened as if recognizing her. Data scrolled across a terminal beside it:
UNIT 13 – STATUS UNKNOWN
GENESIS MODEL REJECTED
HOST ARDEN KANE
Ava froze. "Kane" Her voice cracked. "That's my last name."
Lucian nodded slowly. "Arden was your genetic donor. The original prototype. Unit Thirteen."
A chill washed through her, deeper than fear. "You used her to make me?"
He met her gaze, regret etched in every line of his face. "We didn't have a choice. The Ghost system required a compatible neural lattice. Arden's DNA was perfect too perfect."
The pod flickered, and the faint outline inside began to move.
Lucian reached for a control pad. "That's impossible she was"
The glass cracked. A hand pressed against the inside pale, trembling, and very much alive.
Ava stumbled back. The whisper in her veins turned to a scream.
She's awake.
"Lucian!" Ava shouted, but he was already typing commands, trying to shut the pod down.
It was too late.
The glass shattered outward in a burst of light and freezing mist. Arden Kane unit Thirteen stepped out, bare feet leaving frost prints on the floor. Her eyes glowed the same eerie blue as Ava's, but colder, inhuman.
Lucian whispered, "No this can't be"
Arden's voice was low, mechanical and serene. "You shouldn't have brought her here."
Ava's heart raced. "Who are you?"
"I'm what you were meant to be," Arden said, head tilting with detached curiosity. "Perfect. But they decided I was too human."
Lucian took a cautious step forward. "Arden, your neural code degraded. You weren't stable"
"Stable?" She smiled, slow and sharp. "You called my emotions an error. My will a glitch. But look at her." She pointed at Ava. "You made another me. You copied the defect."
Ava's pulse thundered in her ears. "I'm not your copy."
Arden studied her same features, same blood but something darker in her eyes. "You think that because you feel, you're free? You're still his creation."
Lucian's hand hovered near the emergency override. "Ava, stay behind me."
"Don't," Arden warned, and the lights flickered violently. The Ghost energy flared Ava felt it vibrating inside her, responding to Arden's presence.
"Stop this!" Ava cried. "You're hurting both of us!"
Arden's gaze softened for just a heartbeat. "You can't silence what's in your blood."
The walls trembled. Alarms wailed. Lucian grabbed Ava's arm and pulled her toward the exit. But before the doors could seal, Arden whispered:
"You'll come back. They always do."
Then darkness swallowed the room.
When Ava woke hours later, she was in the infirmary. Lucian sat by her bed, face pale and drawn.
"What happened to her?" Ava asked weakly.
"She vanished before the containment field rebooted," he said. "The sensors couldn't track her signal. It's like she… dissolved."
Ava turned her face toward the window. The night outside was calm, but her reflection in the glass shimmered faintly again.
And this time, when she blinked Arden's reflection blinked after her.
Ava exhaled slowly, fear mixing with realization. "She's still in me, isn't she?"
Lucian didn't answer. But the look in his eyes told her everything.