Chapter 17 - Subject Zero-One
The chamber unlocked with a soft mechanical hiss.
The young woman stepped out slowly, her movements stiff from years inside the small enclosure.
She looked healthy.
Too healthy.
Not a single scar marked her skin.
Not a wrinkle.
Not even the faintest sign of aging.
Daniel instinctively stepped between her and the others.
“Who are you?”
She looked past him.
“My name used to be Emily Harper.”
Michael lowered his weapon.
“You survived.”
Emily nodded.
“They never intended to let me leave.”
Marcus frowned.
“You know Michael?”
Emily smiled sadly.
“He was the only scientist who treated us like children instead of experiments.”
Michael looked away.
“I wasn't brave enough.”
“You came back.”
His shoulders slumped.
“Far too late.”
Emily's eyes drifted toward the clinic where Ethan lay.
“The little boy is changing faster than I did.”
Dr. Carter's voice crackled through Marcus's radio.
“His temperature just reached forty-one degrees.”
Emily immediately turned.
“Then we don't have much time.”
Daniel asked, “What's happening to him?”
“The regeneration process.”
“You mean healing?”
Emily shook her head.
“No.”
She pointed toward the refrigerated containers.
“Our bodies don't simply heal.”
“They rebuild.”
Daniel didn't understand.
Emily quietly rolled up one sleeve.
A thin silver scar ran across her forearm.
Without warning, she picked up a surgical scalpel from a nearby tray and made a shallow cut across the scar.
Laura gasped.
Within seconds…
The wound closed.
Within fifteen seconds…
Not even a mark remained.
Marcus stared in disbelief.
May you like
Emily looked at Daniel.
“That is what they wanted.”
