They hid in a place the city had forgotten.
An old maglev station buried beneath layers of newer infrastructure.
No neon.
No ads.
Just concrete, rust, and silence.
Ari sealed the entrance and activated a signal jammer.
The world outside disappeared.
Only echoes remained.
Leo sat against the wall, breathing slowly.
The blue glow beneath his skin faded to a faint pulse.
Ari knelt in front of him.
"You're burning yourself alive every time you use that," she said.
He looked at his hands.
"They built me to."
Silence stretched.
Rain dripped from the ceiling.
Finally, he spoke.
"You wanted to know what I was."
Ari nodded.
He closed his eyes.
And began.
---
"I was twelve when they took me.
They said it was a scholarship.
A chance to join something important.
My parents cried when I left.
They were proud."
His voice was steady.
But his hands trembled.
"They took me to a white building outside the city.
No windows.
No signs.
Just guards and silence."
He swallowed.
"They told me I was special.
That my brain adapted faster than others.
That I could help change the world."
Ari felt something cold settle in her chest.
"They gave me injections.
Nanotech.
Neural expansion.
Memory acceleration."
He touched his temple.
"It hurt.
A lot."
---
"They showed us simulations.
Wars.
Diseases.
Economic collapse.
They said humanity needed something better.
Something faster.
Something controllable."
He laughed softly.
"No one likes being called controllable.
So they used words like optimized."
Ari clenched her fists.
"How many of you were there?"
"Thirty."
He paused.
"Seven survived."
Ari's breath caught.
"Seven?"
"That's why I'm Subject 07."
---
"They trained us inside simulations.
Days felt like years.
They taught us to control systems.
Predict human behavior.
Override digital reality."
His eyes opened.
They were distant.
"I saw cities burn that never existed.
I watched people die that were never real.
After a while… I couldn't tell the difference."
Ari whispered, "That's torture."
He nodded.
"But worse came later."
---
"They started erasing things."
Ari leaned forward.
"What things?"
"Feelings."
Her throat tightened.
"They said emotions slowed processing.
Fear.
Love.
Anger.
Hope."
He looked at her.
"They removed my memory of my mother first.
I didn't even notice.
One day… I just couldn't remember her face."
Ari felt her eyes burn.
"They said it was progress."
---
"I escaped when I realized they planned to erase the rest.
Not just feelings.
Identity."
He stood slowly.
"I didn't want to be a machine that thinks it's human.
I wanted to stay human that's a little broken."
Ari stood with him.
"You are human," she said.
He smiled sadly.
"For now."
---
Silence returned.
Heavy.
Real.
Ari reached out and took his hand.
His skin was warm.
Still human.
"I won't let them take that from you," she said.
He looked at her.
Something flickered behind his eyes.
Not code.
Not light.
Emotion.
Hope.
"I think that's why you scare them," he said.
"Not me."
She frowned.
"Why me?"
"Because you chose to care."
---
Above them, the city roared.
But down here…
Two people stood quietly.
In a world that tried to erase one of them.
End of Chapter 4