Chapter 11 - The Last Page of the Final List
The gunshot echoed through the nursery.
Kenneth collapsed onto his side.
For one terrible second, nobody moved.
Then the room exploded into chaos.
Justin dragged me behind an overturned crib. Detective Harris fired toward the doorway. Daniel Mercer pulled two of the children to the floor while his tactical officers formed a shield around them. The Silver Crest agents returned fire from the opposite side of the nursery.
Bullets shattered toys, mirrors, and painted wooden panels.
The children never screamed.
That disturbed me more than the gunfire.
Twelve little girls with my face stood perfectly still among the destruction. They watched the adults fight as if they had seen it many times before.
Kenneth lay only a few feet away. Blood spread beneath him. The black notebook rested near my shoes.
FINAL LIST.
His final warning repeated inside my head.
You can't let them read the last page.
I crawled toward him. Justin caught my arm.
"Sabrina, no!"
"He'll die."
"So will you."
Another bullet tore through the crib above us. Splinters rained across my shoulders. I pulled free and lunged forward.
Kenneth's eyes were open, but unfocused. I pressed my hands against the wound in his chest.
"Stay with me."
He gave a faint, painful laugh. "You always say that."
"Who shot you?"
His gaze moved weakly toward the ceiling. A tiny black lens was embedded inside the smoke detector. Someone had fired remotely. The shooter wasn't in the room. The entire battle had been a distraction.
Kenneth grabbed my wrist. "The notebook..."
"I have it."
"No. Don't open it here."
"Why?"
"They can see through every camera."
"Who can?"
"The person who made the list."
He whispered, "The last name isn't a victim."
A female voice announced family evaluation. The wall opened to reveal an observation room. A woman in white with my exact face entered. The children lowered their heads.
"Good evening, Sarah."
She called Charles Father and said she had never been born. She demanded the Final List in exchange for saving Kenneth.
I opened it. The names included doctors, judges, bankers, handlers, Justin, Maya, Kenneth, Charles, Evelyn, Daniel, and Elias Harris. Kenneth was listed as Embedded Spouse, assigned to maintain emotional proximity to Subject 001.
The last sealed page named DR. HELENA VALE, PRIMARY AUTHOR, ACTIVE.
Helena's voice came through the speakers. Maya appeared on a surgical table with a metal case chained to her wrist. Another Kenneth lay in a second room.
The wounded Kenneth and the second Kenneth each claimed the other was a replacement. The woman in white announced Stage Seven: Spousal Identification.
May you like
Two syringes appeared, SAVE and TERMINATE. I rejected the forced choice, injected SAVE into the wounded Kenneth, and drove TERMINATE into the control panel. Sparks exploded. Doors opened. The children screamed.
Helena laughed beyond the walls.
