FAZER LOGIN##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
##AUTHOR’S POV For a moment, she forgot where she was.The noise of the distant road faded. The guards, the fence, the security cameras—all of it seemed to disappear.There was another Madison standing inside the research station.Another girl with the same face.The same face as the body Claire was currently inhabiting.She blinked. The figure remained."No..."Ethan turned toward her."What?"Claire couldn't answer.Her hands had begun to tremble. She stared through the fence, unable to look away.The girl inside the compound was not wearing a mask. Her face was fully visible now, illuminated by the security lights.It was not a resemblance.It was Madison.The same person. Or someone who looked exactly like her.Ethan followed her gaze.His expression changed."Claire?"She gripped the edge of the drainage ditch."That's me."He looked at her, then back toward the compound."What?""That's my face."Ethan stared at the figure. For several seconds, he said nothing. Then he looked a
##AUTHOR’S POV The father tried to stand, but his broken leg gave way. He crashed against the table, knocking over the containers.The older child screamed.Ethan grabbed the younger boy from behind, trying to pull him away. The child twisted violently, snapping at his arm."He's infected!" Ryan shouted.Claire rushed toward the mother, but the woman was already bleeding. The child's teeth had torn through her clothing."Don't touch him!" Ethan yelled.The boy threw his head backward and struck Ethan's face.Ethan lost his grip.The child turned toward the nearest movement.Noah.Claire grabbed him and shoved him behind her."Run!"The older child was still screaming, trapped between the fallen table and his father. Ryan pulled her free while Logan dragged the injured man away from the doorway.The mother struggled to sit up, one hand pressed against her shoulder."Please!" she cried. "Don't leave us!"Claire froze for half a second.Then the younger child sprang toward them again.H
##AUTHOR’S POV He was in his forties, perhaps older. His face was unshaven, and sweat glistened across his forehead. One leg was stretched awkwardly in front of him, supported by a makeshift splint."We're not looking for trouble," Claire said."Then keep walking.""We need water."The man glanced at the children behind her. His expression changed slightly."How many of you?""Seven."He hesitated before opening the door wider."Come in. But don't make noise."The restaurant was dim and smelled of stale food. Tables had been pushed against the windows, and a collection of plastic containers stood near the kitchen entrance.A woman was sitting on the floor with two children.The younger child looked no older than six. The older one was perhaps nine. Both were unusually quiet, watching the newcomers with wide eyes.The woman immediately pulled them closer."Who are they?" she whispered."Just people passing through," the man replied.Claire noticed the way he shifted his injured leg."
##AUTHOR’S POV They turned toward the far end of the tunnel, fighting against the sudden current.The water struck their bodies with increasing force. Loose debris swept past them, banging against the walls. Claire stumbled when her foot caught on something beneath the surface.Ethan grabbed her arm."Keep going!""Where's the exit?""According to the map, ahead!"They pushed forward.The water reached their chests.Noah began struggling to keep his head above the surface. Claire lifted him, holding him against her as she fought to move.Mason's sister was crying."Don't let go of me!" she shouted to her brother."I won't!"Logan reached the next bend and raised his flashlight."There!"A narrow metal ladder was fixed to the wall beneath a faded emergency sign. Its upper end disappeared through a circular opening in the ceiling.Ryan pushed forward first.He climbed onto the lowest rung and tested it. The metal shook but held."One at a time! Get up!"Ethan helped Mason's sister reac
##AUTHOR’S POV "Someone really didn't want anybody using this passage." Ethan said. "Can you open it?" Claire asked."Not with my bare hands."Ryan dropped his bag and began searching through the tools they'd collected from the maintenance station. He found a heavy wrench, a short crowbar and a rusted hammer."These might work."Logan took the crowbar."Then let's stop talking."They started with the welds. Logan forced the crowbar into a gap while Ethan struck the metal with the hammer. Each blow rang through the quiet road, sending a metallic echo into the tunnel beyond.Claire kept watch.Noah stood beside her, his small hand gripping the strap of her bag. Mason and his sister remained a few steps behind them. The boy had barely spoken since their escape from the water-treatment plant.The first weld finally snapped. Then the second.It took several more minutes before the metal plate loosened enough for Ryan and Logan to pull it away from the entrance.A rush of stale air escape







