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CHAPTER 10 THE FIRST CHANGE
publish date:
2026-10-03 19:29:3402:56:47
The numbers continued falling.
Lena couldn't look away.
Neither could Ethan.
The small device sat on the basement floor, its red display glowing against the darkness.
02:56:32
"What happens when it reaches zero?" Ethan asked.
"I don't know."
"You've never seen this before?"
"No."
He studied her face.
She wasn't lying.
For the first time since they met, Ethan seemed to understand something important.
Lena wasn't controlling the future.
She was chasing it.
And the future was running faster.
Ethan picked up the device.
The countdown continued.
02:55:58
"Can we shut it off?"
"I don't know."
He examined the casing.
"No obvious switch."
"Break it."
He looked at her.
"Are you sure?"
"If it's dangerous, yes."
Ethan placed the device on the floor and struck it against the stone.
The casing cracked.
The screen flickered.
Then went completely black.
Silence.
Lena released a breath.
"Did it work?"
Ethan crouched.
"Maybe."
A second later, the screen turned back on.
02:55:41
Lena stared.
"It restarted."
"No."
Ethan picked it up.
"It never stopped."
The countdown was continuing.
Whatever the device was connected to existed somewhere else.
A server.
A computer.
A network.
Something.
Ethan stood.
"Come upstairs."
They returned to the main room.
Ethan opened his laptop.
"I want every network connection around this property."
Lena looked through the window.
"Can you find the person outside?"
"Not if they're using something sophisticated."
"Try."
He did.
For several minutes, nothing appeared.
Then a small notification appeared.
UNKNOWN NETWORK DETECTED.
Ethan clicked it.
A location appeared.
Lena leaned closer.
"That's impossible."
"What?"
"The signal is coming from inside the property."
Ethan looked around the room.
"Where?"
The location changed.
BASEMENT.
They looked at each other.
They had already searched the basement.
Ethan went back downstairs.
Lena followed.
The signal grew stronger.
They reached the old storage room.
Nothing.
Then Lena noticed the wall.
One section looked different.
She touched it.
The silver light appeared.
A faint vibration passed through the stone.
Ethan immediately stepped closer.
"Move."
He examined the wall.
Then found a hidden latch.
A section opened.
Behind it was a narrow compartment.
Inside sat an old metal box.
Ethan pulled it out.
Lena stared.
"That's been here for years."
"Apparently."
He opened it.
Inside was an old notebook.
Several photographs.
And a small black drive.
Lena reached for the notebook.
Ethan stopped her.
"Wait."
He examined the cover.
There was writing on it.
PROJECT AURORA
Lena felt the strange warmth return to her palm.
"What is Aurora?"
"I don't know."
He opened the notebook.
The first pages contained scientific notes.
Most were too technical for Lena to understand.
But one sentence immediately caught her attention.
Memory transfer remains theoretically possible under extreme neurological conditions.
Her breathing stopped.
"Ethan."
He read the sentence.
His expression changed.
Another page.
Subject retention after biological termination remains unconfirmed.
Lena stepped backward.
"No."
Ethan turned the page.
A handwritten date appeared.
May 15, 2026.
The exact day Lena had died.
She stared at it.
Her mind went blank.
"That's impossible."
Ethan looked at her.
"You said you died on May 15."
"Yes."
"This project has your date."
"But I wasn't part of any project."
He continued reading.
Then stopped.
A name was written beneath the date.
L.C.
Lena's initials.
She couldn't breathe.
Ethan looked at her.
"Lena..."
She shook her head.
"No."
Another page.
This time, there was a sentence written in red ink.
If Subject L.C. returns, containment protocol begins immediately.
The room seemed to shrink around her.
"Someone expected me to come back."
Ethan closed the notebook.
"We're leaving."
"Where?"
"Somewhere safer."
"There's nowhere safe."
He looked at her.
"Then we'll make somewhere safe."
The words brought her back.
She looked at the black drive.
"What about that?"
Ethan picked it up.
"We take it."
A loud crack suddenly came from upstairs.
Both froze.
Someone had entered the lodge.
Ethan switched off the flashlight.
Footsteps moved across the floor above them.
Slow.
Careful.
Whoever it was knew the building.
Lena's breathing became shallow.
Ethan motioned for her to stay behind him.
The footsteps stopped.
Then a voice came from upstairs.
"Lena."
She froze.
Nobody should know her name.
The voice spoke again.
"You were never supposed to remember."
Ethan's expression hardened.
He whispered, "Do you know that voice?"
Lena shook her head.
"No."
The footsteps began descending.
One step.
Then another.
The countdown continued.
02:41:17
Ethan looked toward the basement entrance.
Lena's palm began glowing.
The silver light became brighter than before.
And suddenly, another memory struck her.
Not from the apocalypse.
Not from her previous life.
From somewhere she had never been.
A laboratory.
White walls.
Machines.
A woman standing behind glass.
And Lena—lying unconscious on a table.
A voice said:
"Begin the memory restoration."
Lena opened her eyes.
She was back in the basement.
Ethan was staring at her.
"What happened?"
She looked toward the stairs.
Her face had gone pale.
"I remember something."
"What?"
She swallowed.
"I've been here before."
The footsteps stopped above them.
Then the voice spoke again.
"Yes, Lena."
A pause.
"You have."
The countdown changed.
02:40:00
And the basement door slowly opened.
To be continued....
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Reborn before the apocalypse Chapter 30 — THE THING BEHIND THE SEVENTH DOOR
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Reborn before the apocalypse Chapter 29 — THE ANCHOR
The machines screamed.Not an alarm. A scream - a high, electronic shriek of a thousand hard drives spinning up at once, so loud Lena could barely hear her own thoughts. She pressed her hands over her ears.Seven versions of her stood around the chamber, each frozen beneath a different beam of white light that had come from nowhere. Trapped. Like specimens.And Ethan stood at the center. Alone.His eyes were silver.Not glowing bright like Daniel's had. Not normal brown either. Just... silver enough to make Lena's heart stop dead in her chest. A thin ring of silver around his pupils, spreading."Ethan?" Her voice was small under the screaming.He didn't answer. He just stared straight ahead, at nothing.Daniel stepped forward quickly and put a hand out to stop her."Don't touch him."Lena turned on him sharply, panic making her angry. "What did you do to him? What did you do?!""Nothing," Daniel said, his face pale in the white light."Then why is he like this? Why does he look like—
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"I remember everything."Daniel's voice echoed through the enormous underground chamber, bouncing off metal and concrete and a thousand dead machines.Lena stared at him, her hand still clutching Ethan's.The seven figures remained motionless behind their open doors far below. Seven versions of her. Seven identical faces staring up at the platform. Seven silver marks glowing faintly in the dark, like eyes.Ethan slowly raised his weapon, his arm tight against Lena, pointing it straight at Daniel's chest."Daniel, stay where you are. Don't come any closer."Daniel ignored him completely.His silver eyes remained locked on Lena, and there was something terrible in them - pity and fear and guilt all at once."You shouldn't have come this far, Lena," he said quietly. "You were supposed to stop at Version Seven. Eight was never meant to wake up."Lena stepped forward, even though Ethan tried to hold her back. "You said you remembered everything.""I do.""Then tell me the truth," she said,
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