Chapter 14 The Echo Protocol

Ethan’s eyes snapped open abruptly, and for a brief moment, he was utterly disoriented.
The air, thick and heavy, carried a pungent scent of decay that assailed his nostrils.
The only sound that reached his ears was the distant, monotonous hum of machinery, a low – pitched drone that seemed to seep into his bones.
He was lying on a cold, hard metal slab.
The touch of the metal against his skin sent a shiver down his spine, and he could feel the chill seeping through his clothes.
In the dimness, the place appeared to be a dark, desolate abandoned laboratory, its walls shadowy and its corners lost in blackness.
His head throbbed painfully, as if a hammer were pounding inside his skull, and his body felt leaden, as if he had been drugged.
Every muscle ached, and the weight on his limbs made it hard to move.
As he tried to sit up, a figure stepped into the dim, flickering light.
The light cast a long, distorted shadow across the room, stretching and writhing like a living thing.
“Luna,” Ethan’s voice emerged hoarse, his throat parched and dry.
But it wasn’t his voice that echoed through the silent room.
It was the voice of the figure standing before her—a perfect replica of himself, down to the last detail.
“She chose to evolve into an experiment, and you chose to remain human,” the voice said, a chilling smirk playing on the lips of the clone.
The smirk seemed to glow in the dim light, sending a cold shiver down Luna’s back.
Luna’s eyes narrowed, her expression a mix of determination and fear.
She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and her hands were slightly damp with sweat.
She held a small, sleek device in her hand, her fingers trembling slightly.
The device felt cold and smooth under her touch, and she could hear the faint whirring of its internal mechanisms.
“Ethan,” she said, her voice steady but strained.
“What’s happening here?”
The clone, or what Ethan now realized was a backup clone, chuckled.
The sound was cold and mirthless, like the cracking of ice.
“I am Experiment 00 – B. I have been programmed with Ethan’s original memories, but my orders were to ensure that the protocol is not disrupted. You can’t stop us, Luna. This is the endgame.”
Torres, the police negotiator, burst into the room.
Her heavy breaths were audible, and her face was as pale as a sheet.
She carried a large, metallic case in her arms, and the clinking of the case’s contents could be heard as she moved.
She set it down on the floor with a dull thud.
The case was marked with the police emblem, but there was something off about it, a subtle distortion that caught Luna’s eye.
The emblem seemed to flicker in the dim light, as if it were not quite real.
“I’ve brought the memory chips,” she said, her voice shaking.
“They might help.” The memory chips were obtained from a secretive research institution.
These chips were crafted using an ancient gene – coding technology, a method that aimed to stabilize the relationship between the genetic chain and consciousness.
Luna’s gaze shifted to the case, and she approached it cautiously.
The air around the case seemed to hum with a strange energy.
She opened it to reveal a chilling sight—hundreds of small, translucent chips, each one containing a tiny, floating flower.
The flower was a gardenia, and the sweet, delicate fragrance filled the air.
Etched into each chip was the inscription “E&L.” Luna’s heart skipped a beat.
“What are these?” she asked, her voice a whisper.
Torres took a deep breath.
“Each chip is a memory anchor. They can prevent the genetic chain from consuming the consciousness. But they’re not enough. We need to find Experiment 09.”
As if on cue, a sudden tremor shook the room violently.
The floor beneath their feet rumbled, and the machinery around them whirred to life with a loud, mechanical screech.
The doors to the laboratory slammed shut with a deafening bang, and the lights flickered wildly, casting eerie, dancing shadows on the walls.
Luna’s mechanical eye, a sleek, golden prosthetic, whirred and beeped as it scanned the room.
The sound was sharp and metallic.
Her eyes widened as she saw something on the display.
“Ethan,” she said, her voice urgent.
“Your heart. The golden particles have formed a complete loop. Dr. Clara’s assistant warned us about this. Your consciousness is being consumed by the original memories.”
00 – B’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.
Memories of him and Ethan, though programmed, flooded his consciousness.
He remembered moments of friendship, of shared experiences, and he began to question his very existence.
Maybe he wasn’t just a cold – blooded clone following orders.
Maybe his purpose was more profound.
With a new sense of determination, he stepped forward, his expression twisted with a mix of anger and sorrow.
“I can help you,” he said, his voice almost human.
“But it will cost you.”
Before Luna could respond, the door to the laboratory burst open once more, and Experiment 09 staggered in.
His body was covered in blood and bruises, and the smell of blood filled the air.
His eyes were wild, and he was breathing heavily, his gasps like the panting of a wounded animal.
He looked at Luna and Ethan, and then at the clone.
“I have the key,” he said, his voice ragged.
“But it will come at a price.”
00 – B’s eyes narrowed, and he suddenly lunged forward, his hands moving with inhuman speed.
In a blur of motion, he tore open his own chest, revealing a pulsating, red – glowing chip.
The light from the chip cast an otherworldly glow on his face, making him look like a demon.
“His memory module contains the termination code,” he said, his voice calm and detached.
“I will trade my existence for the code.”
Luna’s eyes widened in horror as 00 – B pulled the chip out.
The red light seemed to pulse with a life of its own, and the air around them crackled with electricity.
He held it out to Experiment 09, who hesitated for a moment before taking it.
“Do it,” 00 – B said, his voice trembling.
“End this.”
Experiment 09 nodded, and he inserted the chip into a slot on the wall.
The machinery around them whirred and hummed, and a low, resonating tone filled the room.
The air seemed to crackle with electricity, and the shadows deepened.
Luna’s heart raced as she watched the sequence unfold.
Ethan’s clone, 00 – B, fell to his knees, his body convulsing.
The red light in the chip dimmed, and his eyes lost their focus.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice barely audible.
Luna’s gaze shifted to Ethan, who was still lying on the slab, his eyes closed.
She reached out to him, her hand trembling.
The touch of his cold skin sent a jolt through her.
“Ethan,” she whispered, her voice filled with a mixture of hope and fear.
“Can you hear me?”
Ethan’s eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, they were his own.
But then, a faint smile played on his lips, and he whispered, “Sorry, sister.”
In the aftermath of the lab’s chaos, Luna and Ethan left the room, their steps heavy with the weight of what had just transpired.
They knew the battle was far from over.
The neon lights of the city flickered like the last gasps of a dying star, casting eerie, elongated shadows over the dark alleyways.
The air was thick with the smell of exhaust and the distant hum of traffic.
Luna and Ethan moved swiftly, their footsteps echoing sharply off the damp, brick walls.
The tension in the air was palpable, like a thick fog that surrounded them.
“We’re close,” Luna whispered, her eyes scanning the surroundings.
She could feel the tension in her muscles, and her ears were attuned to every sound.
Something in the atmosphere, a faint shift in the air, told her they were on the right track.
“I can feel it.”
Ethan, ever the thinker, nodded but said nothing.
His mind was a maelstrom of memories, of the past events that had led him here.
The weight of those memories was almost unbearable, but he pushed them aside, focusing on the task at hand.
They reached a rundown warehouse on the outskirts of the city, the kind of place where the law turned a blind eye.
The building loomed large in the darkness, its walls cracked and peeling.
Luna checked her pistol, a compact but reliable weapon.
The cold metal of the gun felt reassuring in her hand.
She motioned for Ethan to stay back.
She moved forward, her senses on high alert.
The air inside the warehouse was stale and musty, with a faint undertone of oil and machinery.
The faint hum of machinery could be heard in the distance, a low, continuous drone that seemed to vibrate through the floor.
Luna’s heart pounded in her chest as she navigated the twists and turns, her mind piecing together the clues they had gathered.
Ethan lagged behind, his mind drifting to the memories of his past.
He remembered Marcus, his childhood friend, the betrayal, and the sacrifice.
The weight of those memories was a constant reminder of his purpose, of the need to clear his name and stop Marcus once and for all.
Luna’s voice pulled him back to the present.
“Ethan, stay focused. We’re getting close.”
They finally reached a door marked with a series of numbers and symbols.
Luna’s brow furrowed as she examined the lock.
The lock was cold and smooth under her touch, and she could hear the faint clicking of its internal mechanisms.
“This is it. 09 is in here.”
Ethan stepped forward, his hands shaking slightly.
“You’re sure?”
Luna nodded; her eyes gleaming with determination.
“I’m sure. But we need to be careful. Marcus wouldn’t make it easy.”
She picked the lock with practiced ease, and the door creaked open slowly.
The sound was like a groan in the silence.
Inside, they found a room filled with advanced technology.
The air was filled with the faint smell of electronics, and the soft glow of screens illuminated the room.
A single, glass – encased figure stood in the center.
It was 09, Ethan’s backup clone, his eyes closed, but his face serene.
Luna approached the glass, her hand hovering over a control panel.
The panel felt cool under her fingertips, and she could hear the soft beeping of its indicators.
“We need to wake him up. But we have to be careful. Marcus might have tampered with his programming.”
Ethan’s heart was in his throat.
“Do it. We don’t have a choice.”
Luna activated the controls, and the glass hissed open.
The sound was sharp and sudden.
09 slowly opened his eyes, his gaze unfocused at first, but then it sharpened.
His eyes met Luna’s, and a flicker of recognition passed through them.
“Who are you?” 09 asked, his voice robotic but with a hint of humanity.
Luna’s voice was steady.
“My name is Luna. I’m here to help you. Do you remember anything?”
09’s eyes narrowed.
“I remember… fragments. Pieces of a life that isn’t mine. But I feel… different. Like there’s something more inside me.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“I’m Ethan. You’re a clone, a backup of me. We need your help to stop Marcus. He’s behind the missing people, and he’s planning something big.”
09’s eyes widened.
“Marcus? I remember him. He was… different. Cold. Calculating.”
Luna nodded.
“We need to find out what he’s planning. Can you help us?”
09 hesitated, his eyes flickering with a mix of confusion and determination.
“I will. But we need to move fast. Marcus is one step ahead of us, and he won’t stop until he gets what he wants.”
Just as they were about to leave, a voice crackled over a nearby intercom.
The static of the intercom was harsh on their ears.
“You’re too late. The Echo Protocol is already in motion.”
Luna and Ethan exchanged a glance, their hearts sinking.
They knew they were running out of time.
As the neon lights flickered once more, the shadows seemed to close in around them, and the storm they had been dreading was finally upon them.