The bell chimed once.Then the doors slid apart.
Reyan lifted the bat, his pulse loud in his ears. The hallway beyond the elevator glowed red from the backup lights. Empty.
He took one step forward. The lights flickered.A single metallic case lay in the middle of the floor.
Aarvi whispered, "Don't touch it."
He crouched anyway, checking the edges. No wires, no sound. Just a case, small enough to hold in one hand. He opened it.
Inside was a key card and a folded note.
You want answers, 2 a.m., Pier 17. Come alone.
Reyan stared at the words until they blurred.Pier 17—his father's old dockyard.
Aarvi's voice trembled. "It's a trap."
"I know." He closed the case. "But traps still lead somewhere."
They spent the next hour locking down the apartment. Rain hammered the windows; the city looked like a field of ghosts outside the glass.Aarvi sat on the couch, knees drawn to her chest.
"You shouldn't go," she said softly.
"You think I can wait?" He looked at the phone on the table. The last text still glowed: Round Two begins now."Whatever they started, I need to finish."
Her eyes searched his face. "You've changed. You sound like him."
"Like who?"
"Your father. The night he died, he said the same thing."
That quieted him. For a moment, only the storm spoke.
The clock hit 1:55 a.m.
Reyan pulled on his jacket and slipped the key card into his pocket. Aarvi followed him to the door.
"If I'm not back before sunrise," he said, "leave the city."
She caught his hand. "You think I'll let you go alone again?"
Before he could answer, she stepped into the elevator beside him.No argument left to make.
The ride down felt endless. When the doors opened, the parking level was half-flooded from the rain. Their reflections shimmered on the wet concrete.
Reyan's car started on the first try, but the radio hissed with static. Between the noise, a voice crackled:
"We see you, Subject Rey-01."
Aarvi's head snapped toward him. "They're tracking the car."
He killed the engine. The static died. For a second, the only sound was rain hitting metal.
They ran through the side exit, into the storm.
Pier 17 sat on the edge of the bay, half-abandoned warehouses and the smell of salt and rust.The place hadn't changed since Reyan was a kid; only the lights were gone.
The key card fit the rusted reader by the main gate. The lock clicked open.
A long corridor stretched inside, lined with crates. Water dripped from the ceiling. Somewhere in the dark, a generator hummed.
Reyan's footsteps echoed. Aarvi followed close behind, holding her phone's flashlight low.
At the end of the corridor was a metal door marked R-01 Research.
He turned the handle. It opened.
Inside—computers, dust-covered monitors, and old medical equipment.Aarvi's breath caught. "Reyan… this is a lab."
He approached a console and wiped the dust from a cracked screen. A single folder glowed in the corner:
Project Rebirth – Subject Rey-01
His hand trembled as he opened it.Rows of logs appeared—dates from six years ago, test results, scans of his own body.
The last entry froze him.
Subject revived successfully. Memory suppression complete.
Aarvi read over his shoulder. "Memory suppression…"
She looked at him. "That's why you can't remember the night your father died."
Reyan backed away. "They used me. They used my father's work."
Before he could process it, the door behind them slammed shut.
Red lights flashed.A voice came from the speakers, calm and artificial.
"Welcome back, Subject Rey-01. Initiating phase two."
Aarvi grabbed his arm. "We have to get out!"
He tried the door—it wouldn't budge. A hiss filled the room; smoke began to pour from vents in the ceiling.
Reyan's vision blurred. The same strange hum from the hospital video echoed in his ears.
"Reyan!" Aarvi shouted, but her voice grew distant.
His body convulsed. Light pulsed beneath his skin, faint but real.
The last thing he saw before collapsing was Aarvi banging on the door, her face lit by the red alarm.
He woke to silence.
The smoke was gone. The monitors were off.The door stood open.
Aarvi was nowhere in sight.
On the desk, a single message blinked on a cracked screen:
Phase Two: Separation Complete.
Reyan stumbled to his feet, heart pounding.Outside the warehouse, the storm had ended.Only one sound remained—the faint ring of Aarvi's phone, lying in a puddle, still connected to an open call.
On the other end, a voice whispered:
"You shouldn't have come alone."