Mara burst from the treeline, lungs burning, branches clawing at her arms as she sprinted back toward the farmhouse. Behind her, Twelve's scream still echoed—a sound of pain, rage, and something heartbreakingly betrayed.
But there was no time to think.
Daniel was inside.
Ten was inside.
Evelyn.
Her family.
Please be alive, she prayed.
The farmhouse came into view—dim lantern light flickering through the shattered doorway where Twelve had broken in.
"Mara!" Daniel's voice cracked from inside.
Relief exploded in her chest.
She stumbled up the porch steps, gripping the doorframe as she collapsed into the house.
Daniel limped toward her, eyes wild. Blood stained his shirt where Twelve had thrown him, and he held his side as though holding himself together.
"What happened?" he demanded. "Did it touch you? Did it hurt you?"
Mara grabbed his face with shaking hands.
"No. I'm okay. I'm okay—Daniel, look at me."
But Daniel only scanned her body frantically, his breathing uneven.
"Mara, if that thing fused with you—"
"It didn't!" she snapped. Tears burned her eyes. "I said no."
Daniel pulled her into his arms so suddenly she gasped. He pressed his forehead to hers and whispered:
"Don't do that to me again. Don't run out there alone."
She clutched his shirt, her voice breaking.
"I had to get it away from you."
Daniel pulled back just enough to look into her eyes.
"Mara… everything in this world is trying to take you. I'm not letting it."
Her chest tightened painfully.
But before she could respond—
A phone rang.
A landline.
Old, dusty, hanging crookedly on the wall.
It shouldn't have even had power.
Everyone froze.
The phone rang again.
Evelyn stepped forward slowly, color draining from her face. "No one knows this place exists. It's not wired. It's… impossible."
Daniel raised his weapon. "Don't touch it."
The phone stopped ringing.
A click.
Static.
Then—
"Mara."
Her name.
Spoken by a voice she knew.
Her blood turned to ice.
Voss.
"Get away from the phone!" Daniel barked.
But Mara stepped closer, unable to stop herself.
The voice on the line was calm, confident, dripping with control.
"You've caused quite a mess tonight."
Daniel lunged to rip the cord out of the wall—but the phone kept speaking.
"Twelve is an asset worth millions. And you damaged him."
Mara's voice trembled with fury.
"You sent it after me."
"I activated it," Voss corrected.
"It went after you on its own."
Daniel yelled into the empty air, "You're not getting her back!"
Voss chuckled.
"Daniel Hale. Always the loyal guard dog."
"How's your chest? Still hurting from the Nullifier?"
Daniel froze.
Evelyn whispered, horrified, "He's been tracking your vitals since the blast…"
The phone crackled.
"Mara. I want you to come home."
"Home?" she snarled.
"You tortured Zero. You murdered the others. You BUILT Twelve to replace me—"
"To perfect you," Voss corrected smoothly.
"And he will."
Mara's voice cracked.
"Over my dead body."
Silence.
Then Voss spoke with chilling finality:
"That can be arranged."
The phone line cut out.
The light in the bulb overhead flickered.
Then—
The windows shattered as a floodlight swept the fields outside.
A deep mechanical rumble shook the earth.
Daniel's eyes widened.
"Vehicles. Multiple. Black-ops units."
Evelyn cursed. "They found us!"
Ten clutched Mara's leg, crying softly. "We have to run…"
Mara knelt and held her close.
"We will. I promise."
Daniel grabbed his rifle and slung a backpack over his shoulder.
"We move now. They'll breach in three minutes or less."
Outside, the sound of engines grew louder—
dozens of them, closing in.
Evelyn grabbed her medical case.
Ten grabbed Mara's hand.
Daniel met Mara's eyes.
"This is a crime scene now. They're not rescuers. They're hunters. And they want all of us in body bags."
Mara nodded, fear and fury mixing in her veins.
"Twelve wasn't enough for them. Now they're sending soldiers?"
Daniel's face hardened.
"They're not soldiers."
He loaded his rifle.
"They're extraction teams."
Mara felt Zero materialize behind her, silent and watching.
"Run," Zero whispered.
"Or they will take him first."
Mara swallowed hard.
"Who?"
Zero pointed to Daniel.
"The one you love."
Gunshots erupted outside.
Daniel grabbed Mara's hand.
"MOVE!"
They fled into the night as armed teams swarmed the farmhouse.
Behind them, Subject Twelve—
broken, betrayed, and furious—
rose from the trees like a ghost.
And it followed her.