The Woman Who Called Me Sister

The woman was screaming.

Not the kind of screaming that came from pain.

It sounded like something inside her had been ripped apart.

“MARA!”

The corridor shook.

Every infected creature beyond the security doors answered her voice, pounding against the metal with enough force to make the hinges groan.

Adrian dragged me backward.

“Move!”

I stumbled, nearly falling over my own feet.

The woman lunged again.

Her fingers stretched toward me, and for one terrifying second, I saw something beneath the ruined skin.

A silver bracelet.

Thin.

Delicate.

Familiar.

My breath caught.

I knew that bracelet.

I had seen it in a photograph once, years ago, tucked inside a box Vivian had refused to let me open.

A photograph of our mother.

My mother had worn that bracelet.

I stared at the woman.

“No.”

Adrian shoved me behind him.

The infected woman slammed into his chest.

He grunted as they hit the wall.

Her teeth snapped inches from his face.

I heard the sound of fabric tearing.

Then blood.

Adrian's blood.

The hunger inside me surged.

My vision blurred.

I could smell it.

Warm.

Fresh.

Alive.

I clenched my fists.

“Get away from him!”

The woman turned.

Her silver eyes settled on me.

Then she smiled.

“You always were protective of him.”

I froze.

“What?”

She tilted her head.

“You don't remember.”

It wasn't a question.

She knew.

She knew I didn't remember.

And somehow, that made everything worse.

Adrian struggled against her grip.

“Mara, get back!”

The woman's fingers tightened around his throat.

His face reddened.

I looked at him.

Then at her.

Then at the black veins crawling across my arm.

The System appeared.

[HOSTILE INSTINCTS: CRITICAL.]

[HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS: 89%.]

[WARNING: UNCONTROLLED EVOLUTION MAY RESULT IN PERMANENT IDENTITY LOSS.]

I swallowed.

I didn't need a computer screen to tell me I was losing control.

I could feel it.

The hunger was no longer a whisper.

It was a command.

Kill.

Feed.

Take what belongs to you.

I stepped forward.

The infected woman watched me.

And something inside her expression changed.

Not fear.

Recognition.

“Mara,” she whispered.

I stopped.

She released Adrian.

He dropped to one knee, coughing.

The woman approached me slowly.

Her hands were trembling.

“I thought you were gone.”

My throat tightened.

“Who are you?”

She stared at me.

Then she reached into the torn pocket of her hospital gown.

And pulled out a small photograph.

It was old.

The edges were worn.

The image showed two little girls standing in front of a birthday cake.

One had dark hair tied into two uneven ponytails.

The other was smaller, wearing a pink dress.

I recognized the smaller girl.

Me.

The older one was Vivian.

I stared at the photograph.

Then at the woman.

My hands began to shake.

“Where did you get that?”

She smiled sadly.

“From our mother.”

My knees nearly gave out.

I looked at Adrian.

He was watching me.

His expression had become something I couldn't read.

I turned back to the woman.

“You're lying.”

She shook her head.

“No.”

“You're a zombie.”

“Yes.”

“You're infected.”

“Yes.”

“You can't be my sister.”

Her smile disappeared.

Then she whispered, “I'm not Vivian.”

The corridor seemed to stop breathing.

I stared at her.

“What?”

She lowered the photograph.

“My name is Elena.”

I felt the blood drain from my face.

Elena.

Our mother's name.

The name Vivian had once told me belonged to a woman who died before I was born.

A woman I had never met.

A woman who supposedly had no connection to our family.

Except I remembered something.

A memory buried beneath the years.

A voice.

A woman's voice.

If anything happens to me, take care of your little sister.

I pressed my hands against my temples.

The memory flickered.

Then vanished.

I stumbled backward.

“No.”

Elena reached for me.

I slapped her hand away.

“Don't touch me!”

She stopped.

Her expression crumpled.

For a moment, she looked almost human.

Almost like someone who had spent years waiting for a child who would never come.

Then the System flashed.

[IDENTITY CONFIRMATION FAILED.]

[SUBJECT: ELENA VOSS.]

[RELATIONSHIP: SEALED.]

[WARNING: MEMORY FRAGMENTATION DETECTED.]

I stared at the screen.

Elena Voss.

My mother.

The woman I had been told died when I was a baby.

The woman whose face I had never remembered.

The woman standing in front of me with blood on her hands and a mouth full of teeth.

My mother was a zombie.

And she had just called me her little sister.

Adrian pulled himself upright.

Blood ran down the side of his neck.

He pressed a hand against the wound.

“Everyone out.”

The soldiers hesitated.

“Sir?”

“Now!”

They rushed toward the stairwell.

I remained where I stood.

Elena watched them go.

Then she looked at Adrian.

“You shouldn't have brought her here.”

His expression hardened.

“You shouldn't have come inside.”

She laughed.

It was a horrible sound.

A broken, wet laugh.

“You still think you can protect her?”

Adrian raised his pistol.

“I'm not going to ask again.”

Elena looked at the weapon.

Then at me.

“Do you know what he did?”

I turned toward Adrian.

He said nothing.

Elena stepped closer.

“He took you from me.”

My chest tightened.

“What?”

“He took you when you were little.”

I shook my head.

“No.”

“He told me you were dead.”

Adrian's jaw clenched.

“Elena.”

She ignored him.

“He told me there was nothing left to save.”

My hands trembled.

I looked at Adrian.

He stared at the floor.

And for the first time, I understood why he had looked at me with regret.

He had known my mother.

He had known what happened to me.

And he had lied.

“Is it true?” I whispered.

He didn't answer.

“Adrian.”

His eyes lifted.

“Yes.”

The word hit me harder than the bite.

I stared at him.

“You took me from my mother?”

He closed his eyes.

“I was following orders.”

I laughed.

It sounded like something breaking.

“Of course you were.”

“Mara—”

“Don't.”

He stopped.

I looked at Elena.

She was crying.

Or something close to it.

Dark liquid slipped down her cheeks.

“I waited,” she whispered.

My throat tightened.

“I waited for years.”

I couldn't move.

I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't even think.

My mother had been alive.

My mother had been searching for me.

And I had spent my entire life believing she was dead.

I turned toward Adrian.

“Why?”

He looked at me.

His voice was quiet.

“Because they told me you were dangerous.”

I stared at him.

Then at the woman who had called me sister.

Then at the photograph in her hand.

The world seemed to tilt.

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to hit him.

I wanted to run.

Instead, I stood there, trapped between the man who had taken me and the woman who had been waiting for me.

The System flashed.

[MISSION UPDATE.]

[PRIMARY TARGET: ADRIAN CROSS.]

[NEW CONDITION: SUBJECT HAS REVEALED CLASSIFIED HISTORY.]

[REWARD FOR ELIMINATION: MEMORY RESTORATION.]

I stared at the words.

Memory restoration.

The System was offering me my past.

All I had to do was kill Adrian.

I looked at him.

He stood perfectly still.

He wasn't defending himself.

He wasn't making excuses.

He was waiting.

As though he had expected this moment.

As though he had known I would eventually discover what he'd done.

I took a step toward him.

His eyes followed mine.

“Tell me everything.”

He swallowed.

Then he said, “Not here.”

I laughed bitterly.

“That's your answer?”

“No.”

He looked at Elena.

Then back at me.

“It's a warning.”

The alarm sounded again.

A different one.

Louder.

The entire facility began to shake.

The soldiers rushed back into the corridor.

“Commander!”

Adrian turned.

“What?”

“The outer doors are failing!”

“How many?”

“Hundreds!”

A second soldier appeared behind him.

“Sir, the infected are coordinating!”

I looked at Elena.

She was standing perfectly still.

Her silver eyes had turned toward the ceiling.

Then she smiled.

“They're coming.”

My stomach twisted.

“Who?”

She looked at me.

“All of them.”

The lights flickered.

A deep rumbling sound traveled through the building.

Then the emergency speakers crackled.

A voice emerged.

Not the automated announcement.

Not a soldier.

A man's voice.

Low.

Calm.

Almost amused.

“Adrian Cross.”

The commander froze.

The voice continued.

“You have something that belongs to us.”

Adrian raised his pistol.

“Identify yourself.”

A pause.

Then the voice laughed.

“Ask the girl.”

Every head turned toward me.

I stared at the speakers.

The System appeared.

[UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED.]

[THREAT LEVEL: EXTREME.]

[IDENTIFICATION: HOLLOW KING.]

My blood ran cold.

The voice spoke again.

“Mara Voss.”

I stepped backward.

“Who are you?”

The answer came immediately.

“The one who remembers what you were.”

A loud crash shook the facility.

The steel doors began to bend.

The soldiers raised their weapons.

Adrian grabbed my wrist.

“Move!”

I looked at him.

Then at Elena.

She was staring at the door.

Her mouth opened.

And she whispered something I could barely hear.

“Don't let him take you again.”

The doors burst inward.

The first infected creature came through.

Then another.

Then dozens.

And behind them, walking slowly through the blood and broken metal, was a man wearing a black crown.

His eyes were silver.

His smile was familiar.

He looked directly at me.

Then he bowed.

“Welcome home, little queen.”