Riley
The voices wouldn't stop.
They'd been quiet for a while. After the facility. After the killing. After Marlow's face stopped being a face. There was silence. Peace. Nothing.
But now they were back.
Louder than ever.
Monster.
Freak.
You killed us.
You enjoyed it.
Hannah is dead because of you.
You didn't save her.
You didn't even try.
I pressed my hands against my ears. Didn't help. The voices were inside. Behind my eyes. In my blood. Everywhere.
"Stop," I whispered.
Empty.
Broken.
Wrong.
You were always wrong.
"I said stop."
Vessel is waiting.
Vessel wants to come out.
Vessel wants to kill again.
Let us out.
Let us out.
LET US OUT.
I stood up.
Sasha was asleep against the wall. Her hand was on her bow. Her chest rose and fell. Slow. Peaceful.
I looked at her. At the scar on her jaw. At the way her lips were slightly parted.
She was the only one who stayed.
The only one who looked at me like I wasn't a monster.
But she was wrong.
I was a monster.
And monsters hurt the people they love.
I turned. Walked toward the door. Didn't look back.
---
The forest was dark.
The moon was thin. The trees were black shapes against the darker sky. The ground was wet. My bare feet left prints in the mud.
I didn't know where I was going. Didn't care. Just needed to get away. From the voices. From the kids. From Sasha.
From myself.
The trees closed in around me. Branches scratched my face. Thorns cut my arms. I didn't feel any of it.
Run.
Keep running.
Don't stop.
Don't look back.
I ran until my legs gave out. Collapsed against a tree. My chest was heaving. My throat was raw. My eyes were burning.
Hannah's face flashed in my mind.
Goodbye, Riley.
I love you.
You're my sister.
You're the only family I ever had.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."
The forest didn't answer.
---
Sasha
I woke up alone.
The wall was cold. The floor was hard. Riley wasn't there.
I sat up. Looked around. The kids were still asleep. Curled in balls. Clutching each other. Dreaming of whatever kids dream about in a place like this.
But Riley's spot was empty.
"No."
I stood up. Walked to the door. Looked out. The corridor was empty. The facility was dark. The only light came from emergency bulbs flickering in the distance.
"Riley?"
No answer.
I walked back to the kids. Shook Marcus awake. His eyes opened. Blinked. Focused on my face.
"What?"
"Riley's gone."
He sat up. Looked at her spot. His face didn't change. But something in his eyes shifted.
"Good."
"What?"
"She's dangerous, Sasha. You saw what she did. You saw her hands. Her eyes. She's not one of us anymore."
"She saved us."
"She murdered people. Dozens of people. And she enjoyed it."
"You don't know that."
"I saw her smile, Sasha. When the Stalkers were killing Allen's camp. She was smiling."
I didn't have an answer for that.
---
Marcus stood up. Walked to the center of the room. Started waking the others.
"Get up. All of you."
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Riley is out there. Alone. Weak. This is our chance."
"Chance for what?"
He turned to look at me. His face was hard. His eyes were cold.
"To finish it. Before she comes back. Before she hurts more of us."
"She's not going to hurt us—"
"She killed Marlow. She killed the guards. She tore people apart with her bare hands. You think we're special? You think she won't turn on us when she gets bored?"
The others were awake now. Listening. Their faces were pale. Their eyes were wide.
"Marcus is right," a girl said. The one with the sling. Her name was Nora. "I saw her. After the lab. Her eyes were black. Her nails were like claws. She's not Riley anymore."
"She's Riley," I said. "She's just... changing. The experiments did that to her. It's not her fault—"
"I don't care whose fault it is." Marcus picked up a piece of scrap metal. A pipe. Heavy. Rusted. "I care about surviving. And I'm not surviving with a monster in the same room."
The others followed him.
One by one. They picked up weapons. Scrap metal. Broken chairs. Glass shards. Whatever they could find.
Nora looked at me. Her face was sorry but not sorry enough.
"You should come with us."
"No."
"Sasha—"
"She's not a monster. She's my friend. And I'm not going to help you kill her."
Nora nodded. Something in her eyes closed. Like a door shutting.
"Then don't get in our way."
They left. Twelve of them. Marcus at the front. Nora behind him. The others following like sheep.
I watched them go. Watched the door close behind them.
Then I started moving.
---
The guard's body was still in the corridor.
I'd stepped over it a dozen times today. Tried not to look at his face. At the hole in his chest. At the blood that had dried black on the floor.
Now I crouched down. Searched his pockets.
Keys. A granola bar. A photograph of someone who was probably his kid. And a gun.
A pistol. Small. Black. Heavy in my hand.
I checked the magazine. Full. A bullet in the chamber.
I didn't know how to shoot a gun. My dad taught me bows. Not this.
But I'd watched Riley. I'd watched Allen. I'd watched the guards.
Point. Pull the trigger. Don't hesitate.
I could do that.
I took his ID card too. The one on a lanyard around his neck. His face was frozen in the photo. Smiling. Alive.
I didn't look at his real face. Just took the card and stood up and walked away.
---
The laboratory was dark.
The emergency lights were flickering. The machines were silent. The smell was something I'd never forget. Blood. Ozone. Burnt flesh.
I stepped over bodies. Didn't look at them. Didn't need to.
The main computer was still on. The screen was cracked. But the keyboard was intact.
I sat in Marlow's chair. Her blood was still on the armrest. I tried not to think about it.
The ID card worked. The screen flickered. A login screen.
I typed in the name on the card. Dr. Marcus Thorne. The guard's name. Not the scientist's. But the card had clearance.
The desktop opened.
Files. Hundreds of files. Videos. Documents. Experiment logs.
I searched for Riley's name.
---
Riley
I don't know how long I sat there.
Minutes. Hours. The moon moved across the sky. The trees stayed the same.
The voices had quieted. Not gone. Just... tired. Like they'd run out of things to say.
Hannah.
Hannah.
Hannah.
Her name echoed in my skull. A hole where she used to be.
"I should have saved you," I whispered.
No answer.
"I should have fought harder."
Nothing.
"I should have died instead of you."
The forest was silent.
Then I heard footsteps.
---
Sasha
I found it.
A file. Labeled with Riley's name and a number I didn't recognize.
Subject: Riley Voss (ID: 247)
Status: Active
Phase: 4 (Terminated)
Notes: Neural fusion incomplete. Secondary personality (Hannah) deceased. Tertiary personality (Vessel) stable. Host body exhibiting accelerated regeneration, enhanced strength, and anomalous connective tissue density.
Recommendation: Subject is too dangerous for continued experimentation. Termination approved.
Termination approved.
They were going to kill her. Before she broke out. Before she killed them. They'd already decided.
I scrolled down.
Addendum: Subject escaped facility prior to termination. Security footage shows host eliminated 37 personnel before fleeing into the forest. Current location unknown.
Note: Subject exhibits signs of psychological fragmentation. Auditory hallucinations. Guilt complexes. Suicidal ideation.
Recommendation: If located, do not engage. Use extreme force.
Suicidal ideation.
She wanted to die.
I closed the file. Stood up. The gun was heavy in my hand.
"Where are you, Riley?"
The computer hummed. The lights flickered. No answer.
---
Riley
They came out of the trees.
Marcus at the front. Nora behind him. Others I didn't recognize. Ten. Twelve. Maybe more.
They had weapons. Pipes. Broken glass. A piece of rebar.
I didn't move. Didn't stand up. Just sat there. Against the tree. Watching them come.
"There she is," Marcus said.
He stopped a few feet away. The others stopped behind him. Circling. Surrounding me.
"Look at her. Sitting in the dirt. Crying like a baby."
I wasn't crying. But my eyes were wet. Maybe I had been. I didn't remember.
"What do you want, Marcus?"
"You know what I want."
"To kill me."
"To protect the others. You're a danger. To yourself. To everyone. The sooner you're gone, the safer we are."
He took a step closer. The pipe was in his hand. Heavy. Rusted.
"Any last words?"
I looked at him. At his face. His scared, angry, stupid face.
"You can't kill me."
"Watch me."
He raised the pipe.
---
Sasha
I ran.
Out of the lab. Through the corridors. Out of the facility. Into the forest.
The gun was in my hand. The moonlight was thin. The trees were dark.
"Riley!"
No answer.
"Riley, where are you?!"
Branches scratched my face. Thorns cut my arms. I didn't care.
I ran until I heard voices.
---
Marcus
He swung the pipe.
Riley didn't move. Didn't flinch. The pipe hit her shoulder. I heard something crack. Bone. Maybe.
She didn't scream. Didn't make a sound. Just looked at him. Her eyes were empty.
"Again," she said.
He swung again. Harder. The pipe hit her ribs. Another crack.
"Again."
He swung again. Her head snapped to the side. Blood dripped from her lip.
"Again."
He was breathing hard. His hands were shaking. The others were watching. Pale. Scared.
Nora stepped forward. "Marcus—"
"Shut up." He raised the pipe again. "She's not human. She doesn't feel pain. We have to keep going until she stops moving."
He swung.
Riley caught the pipe.
Her hand wrapped around the metal. Stopped it mid-swing. Marcus pulled. Tried to yank it back. It didn't move.
Riley stood up.
She was taller than him. Not really. But in that moment, she seemed taller. Darker. Wrong.
"My turn," she said.
---
Sasha
I broke through the trees just as Riley stood up.
Marcus was in front of her. The pipe was in her hand now. His hand was empty.
The others were backing away. Weapons raised. Hands shaking.
"Riley!"
She didn't look at me. Her eyes were on Marcus.
"You want to kill me?" she said. Her voice was quiet. Flat. "Go ahead. Try."
Marcus stumbled backward. Fell over a root. Landed on the ground. Scrambling. Crawling.
"No—please—"
"You were so brave a minute ago. So strong." She took a step toward him. "What happened?"
"Someone stop her—"
No one moved.
Riley raised the pipe.
---
"Riley!"
I stepped between them. The gun was in my hand. Pointed at the ground.
She looked at me. Her eyes were gray. Empty. But something behind them was hurting.
"Move, Sasha."
"No."
"He was going to kill me."
"I know."
"He was going to kill me and you want me to let him go?"
"I want you to not become what they made you to be."
She stared at me. The pipe was still raised. Her hand was shaking.
"He would have killed you if I didn't—"
"But he didn't. I got here in time."
"Barely."
"Barely counts."
She looked at Marcus. Curled on the ground. Crying. Begging.
Then she looked at me.
The pipe fell from her hand. Hit the ground. Thud.
"I'm so tired," she said.
"I know."
"I'm so tired of fighting. Of killing. Of being this."
"I know."
"I want to stop. I want to go to sleep and never wake up."
"I know."
I stepped closer. Took her hand. The one that had caught the pipe. The one with the dark nails and the too-long fingers.
"But you're not going to do that. Because I won't let you."
She looked at our hands. At hers. At mine.
"Why do you care?"
"Because someone should."
---
Marcus ran.
The others followed. Disappeared into the trees. Didn't look back.
Riley watched them go. Her face was still. Empty.
"They're going to come back," she said.
"Probably."
"With more weapons. More people."
"Probably."
"And next time, they might kill me."
I squeezed her hand.
"Then we'll be ready."
She looked at me. For a second, something flickered in her eyes. Not warmth. Not cold. Something in between.
"You're insane," she said.
"I know."
"Staying with me. Protecting me. Everyone else ran. Everyone else is scared. But you just... stay."
"Someone has to."
She was quiet for a long time.
Then she squeezed my hand back.