Chapter 8: The Forgotten Experiment

Aria stared at the frozen laptop screen long after the video had ended.

"Original Subject: Unknown."

"Status: Missing."

The words refused to leave her mind.

"That girl... she looked exactly like me."

"How is that possible?"

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she replayed the recording for the fifth time.

This time she paused every frame.

Professor Holloway.

The laboratory.

The strange silver helmets.

The terrified teenagers.

Nothing looked staged.

Everything appeared horrifyingly real.

One frame caught her attention.

A whiteboard hanging behind the professor.

Most of the writing was blurry, but one phrase remained readable.

"Project Phoenix."

"Phoenix..." Aria whispered.

"Rebirth."

"That's what phoenixes symbolize."

Her heartbeat quickened.

"Was this experiment about reincarnation?"

She quickly copied the video onto her own flash drive before removing the memory card.

Just as she closed the laptop, her phone vibrated.

Unknown Number.

She hesitated.

Then answered.

"Hello?"

Silence.

Only slow breathing.

"Who's this?"

A distorted voice finally spoke.

"You shouldn't have opened Locker 214."

Aria's body froze.

"Who are you?"

"They're watching you now."

"Who?"

"Run."

The call disconnected.

Immediately afterward, every light inside the house went out.

"Not again..."

Outside, thunder rolled across the sky despite the afternoon sun.

A storm had appeared from nowhere.

Through the living room window, Aria noticed a black sedan parked across the street.

Its windows were tinted.

The engine remained running.

Someone was inside.

Watching.

"No..."

Her instincts screamed at her to move.

She rushed upstairs and looked through another window.

The car was still there.

After nearly ten minutes, it finally drove away.

But the feeling of being watched remained.

That evening, Aria visited the local public library.

She searched every newspaper archive available.

St. Helena Academy.

Professor Holloway.

Project Phoenix.

Nothing.

It was as though someone had erased every official record.

"Excuse me," an elderly librarian said softly.

"Looking for something specific?"

"An old school," Aria replied.

"St. Helena Academy."

The woman's smile instantly disappeared.

"You shouldn't ask about that place."

"Why not?"

The librarian glanced around before lowering her voice.

"Some histories are buried for a reason."

"People who kept digging... disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Several journalists. Two police officers."

"Even one history professor."

"No one ever found them."

A cold chill ran down Aria's spine.

"Who made them disappear?"

The librarian slowly shook her head.

"Nobody knows."

"But every few years someone starts asking questions."

"Then they simply... vanish."

She gently placed an old library card on the table.

"If you truly want answers... visit this address."

"Someone there has been waiting for you."

Aria looked down.

The card contained only an address written in blue ink.

"Ashcroft Retirement Home."

"Room 312."

"Ask for Evelyn Carter."

"Who is she?"

"The last surviving teacher from St. Helena Academy."

"If anyone remembers Project Phoenix... it's her."

The next morning, Aria made the trip alone.

Ashcroft Retirement Home stood on the edge of town.

The building was quiet.

Almost unnaturally so.

Room 312's door was slightly open.

Inside sat an elderly woman in a wheelchair staring through the window.

"Mrs. Carter?"

The woman slowly turned.

The moment their eyes met, tears filled hers.

"You're alive..." she whispered.

"I knew one of you survived."

"Do you know me?" Aria asked.

"Not this version of you."

Mrs. Carter smiled sadly.

"But I knew the first one."

"The first...?"

"Come closer."

Aria obeyed.

The old teacher reached into her bedside drawer and removed a faded class photograph.

"This was my final graduating class before the academy burned down."

Aria carefully examined the picture.

She immediately recognized Clara.

She recognized Eleanor as a teenager.

Then...

Her breathing stopped.

Standing in the center of the front row was another girl.

She looked exactly like Aria.

Same eyes.

Same smile.

Same face.

"Who is she?"

Mrs. Carter answered quietly.

"Her name was Elise Harper."

"She was the brightest student I'd ever taught."

"She disappeared the night of the fire."

"Everyone believed she died."

"But there was never a body."

Aria felt dizzy.

"How can she look exactly like me?"

"Because..."

Mrs. Carter hesitated.

"You are her."

"No..."

"That's impossible."

"I was born twelve years later."

"Were you?"

The old teacher opened another envelope.

Inside was Elise's birth certificate.

Next to it...

A DNA report.

"Professor Holloway performed illegal human cloning experiments before he began transferring memories."

"Elise was his first successful subject."

"Project Phoenix wasn't about memories."

"It was about creating perfect replacements."

"Replacement..."

Aria repeated weakly.

"You're saying I'm... a clone?"

"I don't know what you are anymore."

"But I know one thing."

"You were never supposed to wake up."

Suddenly...

The fire alarm inside the retirement home began blaring.

Nurses shouted in the hallway.

Smoke poured beneath the bedroom door.

"Fire!"

"Everyone evacuate!"

Mrs. Carter's face turned pale.

"They're here," she whispered.

"They've finally found me."

"Who has?"

Before she could answer, the bedroom window exploded inward.

Glass scattered across the floor.

A masked figure dressed entirely in black climbed silently into the room.

He held a silenced pistol.

Without hesitation...

He pointed it directly at Aria.