Chapter 18 - The Third Child
Nobody spoke.
The forgotten station suddenly felt colder.
Elena slowly took the document from Marta.
"No..."
"They told me one baby died."
Victor carefully read the record.
"Female."
"Time of birth: 02:18."
"Status..."
He stopped reading.
Henrik looked over his shoulder.
"What?"
Victor swallowed.
"'Transferred to Foundation Program.'"
Marta looked toward Mira.
"You knew?"
Mira shook her head.
"I thought there were only two of us."
Robert examined the folder more closely.
Every page had been signed by the same person.
Doctor Vale.
Sofia quietly laughed.
"He never throws anything away."
Another page slipped from the folder.
It showed three newborn footprints.
Blue.
Red.
Gold.
Marta's heart pounded.
"The gold bracelet..."
Elena covered her mouth.
"I remember arguing about the colors."
"They insisted on gold."
"Why?"
No one answered.
Suddenly every light inside the train went out.
Darkness swallowed the station.
Only the emergency flashlights remained.
Then footsteps echoed from inside the empty railcars.
Slow.
Measured.
One after another.
Robert raised his flashlight.
The beam revealed nothing.
Another step.
Closer.
Henrik whispered,
"We're not alone."
A little girl's voice drifted through the darkness.
"Marta..."
It wasn't Mira.
It wasn't the recording.
It was someone else.
The flashlight flickered.
A child stepped into the narrow beam.
She looked almost identical to Marta and Mira.
Except for one difference.
Her eyes were golden.
Exactly like the bracelet in the photograph.
She smiled.
"You finally came."
Marta couldn't breathe.
"Who are you?"
The girl answered softly.
"I've been waiting underground longer than either of you."
She reached into her pocket.
Holding the third key.
"The vault cannot be opened with one key."
She looked at Marta.
"Or even two."
Then she turned toward the tunnel leading to Warehouse 19.
"But Doctor Vale already knows that."
Without another word...
May you like
She disappeared into the darkness.
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