The final lock clanged open.
A cold, metallic sound that echoed through the entire Deep Lab.
Lucian stumbled back from the door, eyes wide.
"No—no no no—
B8 is not supposed to open while conscious subjects are present!"
Chandler moved immediately.
"One word: RUN."
Horace planted himself between me and the door,
his entire posture a wall of muscle and instinct.
Rowan latched onto my arm.
"Elle—Elle, don't look, don't look—!"
Sev collapsed to the floor, shaking uncontrollably.
Len crawled under my arms, gripping me with bare, clawing panic.
The Phase Zero children scattered, tiny bodies hiding behind equipment and columns, whimpering.
Elliot—
Elliot moved faster than I had ever seen him move.
He threw himself in front of me, arms spread, stance feral.
His voice cracked into a distorted roar:
"STAY BEHIND ME—
DO NOT LOOK—
DO NOT—"
But the door slid fully open.
A wave of cold air bled out.
Thick.
Chemical.
Wrong.
Even Horace flinched.
Chandler snarled.
Rowan whimpered.
Lucian whispered hoarsely:
"…this smell—
this isn't natural instinct—
this is engineered…"
A shape moved.
Slowly.
Heavy footsteps.
Dragging something across the floor.
Metal scraping.
Rowan buried his face in my shoulder.
"Elle—please, please don't look—"
But I did.
Because something inside me
pulled.
And I saw it.
A silhouette.
Tall.
Too tall for a person.
Broad shoulders.
Long arms.
A distortion in the air around it—
like heat haze,
but cold.
Subject Ten.
Its head tilted slowly toward us.
Toward Elliot.
Toward me.
Lucian's voice trembled.
"Elleanore…
don't breathe it in—
whatever comes off that thing—
it's tailored to you."
Chandler spat:
"What the hell does that mean?!"
Lucian swallowed.
"That means—
Subject Ten was built
to be irresistible
to the one person it was designed to anchor."
Rowan gasped.
"But—
but Elle—
she wasn't here—
they didn't HAVE her—"
Lucian's voice cracked.
"They didn't need her.
They had her biological resonance.
From Elliot."
A horrifying silence followed.
Chandler swore softly.
Horace's grip tightened on the weapon in his hand.
Sev curled at my feet, head pressed against the floor, whispering:
"…no look…
no look… Elle… no…"
Len trembled so violently he couldn't stand.
Elo pressed back into a corner, covering his ears.
All the children hid.
All of them.
Except Elliot.
Who stood in front of me, shaking—but standing.
Subject Ten stepped fully into the room.
It wasn't human.
It wasn't animal.
It was something in between—
a perfect, monstrous experiment
engineered to serve one purpose.
Lucian whispered brokenly:
"Subject Ten was built
to anchor a twin."
My heart froze.
Chandler snapped his head toward Lucian.
"A TWIN?!"
Lucian nodded miserably.
"To Elliot.
But not for Elliot.
For the one Elliot was meant to mirror."
Rowan's breath caught.
"Elle—
they built it
for you."
Subject Ten took another step.
For the first time,
it spoke.
Not in words.
But in a broken, rasping echo—
a voice that didn't belong to it.
"…Elle…"
Rowan sobbed.
"No—
NO—
stop using her name—
STOP—"
Horace moved forward half a step, voice like steel.
"Elleanore.
Stay behind me.
Do not respond to it."
Subject Ten turned its head toward Horace.
And exhaled.
The unnatural scent filled the air.
Chemical.
Synthetic.
Not designed to attract an Alpha.
Designed for me.
My knees went weak.
Rowan screamed.
"Elle—NO—!"
Elliot grabbed my hand violently.
"DON'T LISTEN—
DON'T FOLLOW—
DON'T—"
Subject Ten leaned forward, the air around it rippling.
"…Elle…
come…"
My body tensed—not in desire, not in compulsion—
but in something deeper.
A resonance.
The same wrong resonance as the chamber earlier.
Lucian's voice broke.
"It's using the imprint.
The original anchor's imprint—
the one the Phase Zero children responded to—
the girl who looked like you—
Subject Ten was built to replace her."
Chandler lifted his weapon and snarled.
"I'm done.
I'm DONE.
I'll kill it—"
"No," Horace growled, grabbing Chandler's arm.
"You shoot without a plan and we ALL die."
Rowan clutched my sleeve.
"Elle, don't move—
please—
PLEASE—"
But Elliot pulled me behind him again.
His entire body trembling.
"…Elle…
get back…
GET BACK—"
Subject Ten spread its arms.
Reaching.
Inviting.
Calling.
The Phase Zero children screamed in unison.
Sev pressed his forehead to the floor.
Len hid his face.
Rowan held onto me like he'd drown without it.
Chandler stepped forward with a snarl.
Horace blocked him, voice sharp:
"Do NOT break formation—!"
Lucian's eyes widened as he read the data.
"Elleanore—
Elliot's stabilizing because he's fighting it—
but Subject Ten is reacting to YOU—
your presence is drawing it—
you MUST step back—NOW—!"
But Elliot shook his head violently.
"No—
no—
if she moves—
it'll go after her—
it'll take her—
Elle—
STAY BEHIND ME—"
Subject Ten took another step.
And everything went silent.
Rowan choked out a whisper.
"Elle…
why is it…
looking at you like that…?"
Lucian answered, voice hollow:
"Because it's her anchor.
Created for her.
Waiting for her."
Elliot's voice shattered.
"No—
not her—
not again—
NO—"
Subject Ten exhaled—
and the entire room shifted.
Lucian whispered the final truth:
"Elleanore—
Subject Ten wasn't built to replace Elliot.
It was built
to replace
you."