Se connecter##AUTHOR’S POV The district was crawling with infected. They could hear them moving through the streets, sometimes accompanied by the crash of something falling inside a building. A few had gathered near the entrance to the residential lane, but they were facing away from the group.Logan led them along the wall, past a parked vehicle and through a small gate.The house stood at the end of the lane.Its windows were dark. The front garden was overgrown, and a layer of dust covered the porch. Logan tried the handle.Locked.He searched beneath a flowerpot and found a key.The door opened with a faint creak.They slipped inside and locked it behind them.For the first time in hours, they were somewhere the infected couldn't immediately reach.Claire leaned against the door, struggling to catch her breath. Her legs trembled beneath her. Mason sank onto the floor, while Ethan and Logan checked the windows.“Don't turn on the lights,” Ethan warned. “Not until we know how secure this place
##AUTHOR’S POV The first infected appeared at the end of the road.Claire spotted it just as they rounded the corner. Its head hung at an unnatural angle, one shoulder raised higher than the other. It stood in the middle of the deserted street, swaying slightly as if listening for something.Then another emerged from between two abandoned cars.And another.“Stop,” Ryan whispered.Everyone froze.The infected had not noticed them yet. But the street ahead was crowded with overturned vehicles, broken shopfronts, and dark entrances where more of them could be hiding.Ryan glanced behind them. The route they had taken was no longer safe either. Several infected were stumbling out of the buildings, drawn by the faint sounds of their footsteps.“We need to get through that alley,” Ethan whispered, pointing to a narrow passage between two buildings.They moved cautiously.Claire kept one hand around Mason's wrist while the other supported Noah, whose small body was becoming increasingly di
##AUTHOR’S POV "You're saying she's another consciousness?""I'm saying you don't yet understand what happened.""Then help me understand!"Dr. Nathaniel glanced toward the computer."Your presence here is already a problem. If the security team finds you, they won't ask questions before taking you away."Ethan stepped forward."Then open the door."Dr. Nathaniel looked at him."You're not listening.""We don't need your lecture.""The recovery unit isn't the only group searching for her. Some people here want to recover the original data. Others want to destroy it."Claire's eyes narrowed."Why?""Because the original transfer recordings contain information that was never meant to leave this facility.""Then give them to me.""I can't. Because the copy you are looking for is not the original."Dr. Nathaniel pointed at the monitor."These recordings were edited before they were uploaded to this computer. Some sections were removed. Others were altered."Claire looked at the video fol
##AUTHOR’S POV Ethan stepped between them.Logan moved to the man's other side, gripping the crowbar."Don't move," Ethan warned.The researcher raised both hands."I'm not going to hurt you.""Stay where you are."Instead of calling for security, the man stepped inside and closed the door.Claire's eyes followed his hand as he turned the lock.The click sounded unnaturally loud."Who are you?" she demanded.The man looked at her."You've caused quite a disturbance.""Who are you?"He glanced at the monitor."Someone who knows why the recovery unit has been searching for you since the outbreak began."Claire felt a chill run down her spine."Then tell me."The researcher studied her face for a moment."Not here."Ethan tightened his grip on the crowbar."You're not going anywhere."The man looked at him."Your friend has already entered a restricted facility. If I wanted security here, I would have called them before opening the door.""That doesn't mean we trust you.""It shouldn't.
##AUTHOR’S POV Noah looked up."Are you leaving again?"Claire crouched in front of him."Just for a little while.""Are you coming back?"She hesitated.Then she placed a hand on his shoulder."That's the plan."He didn't look convinced, but he nodded.Claire stood and checked the small flashlight in her bag.She would go with Ethan and Logan. Ryan would remain outside with Noah, Mason and his sister, along with Sam.They waited until nightfall.The research station's perimeter lights came on as the last daylight faded. From their hiding place among the trees, Claire watched the guards change positions.The main entrance remained heavily guarded.Two vehicles entered during the first hour. A patrol moved along the eastern fence, stopping occasionally to inspect the ground.The service building was farther from the entrance, partially hidden behind a row of utility structures.It was their only chance."Ready?" Ethan whispered.Claire nodded.Logan checked the small crowbar tucked be
##AUTHOR’S POV Mason's sister glanced at Claire, then at Ethan."Exactly?"Claire nodded."She had my face. My body. Everything."Ethan brought out his phone and opened the photographs."Look."The first few images showed the transport vehicle and its containers. The final photograph was taken just before the guards led the girl away.It was distant and slightly blurred, but the face was visible.Ryan stared at it."That can't be right.""I know.""Are you sure it wasn't someone who looked similar?"Claire shook her head."There's no mistake."Ethan enlarged the image."The resemblance is exact."Logan leaned closer."Then who is she?"Claire looked at the photograph.She had asked herself the same question.But the more she thought about it, the more frightening the possibilities became.If that girl was the original Madison, then what had happened to her consciousness?If she was a duplicate, why had the research station created another body identical to the one Claire inhabited?A







