The door slammed shut behind us.
Vale's final words echoed in my skull like a warning chime.
"Find the last teacher. Survive."
I turned to Lucian and Ryker. They were already on high alert, scanning every shadow in the room like it might lunge forward and bite.
Lucian: "I don't like riddles."
Ryker: "I like them. Keeps life spicy."
I: "We're not done. Not even close."
---
We left the fifth room and returned to the main corridor. But something had changed.
The air was... colder.
No footsteps echoed.
No buzzing from the electric lights.
And then—thud.
A file dropped from the ceiling. A single, crisp white folder marked:
"Professor Ezra Caelan."
Ryker bent down. "Caelan... Never heard of him."
Lucian's jaw twitched. "I have. They say he trained ghosts. Killers who never leave prints."
I picked up the file and flipped it open.
There was only one photo. A man in a black turtleneck, lean frame, sharp cheekbones, and grey eyes like a frozen lake.
Beneath his name: Status: Terminated.
Except someone had scribbled underneath in red ink—
"He's watching."
---
The lights above flickered.
One by one, the corridor behind us went dark.
Lucian pulled me back. "We're not alone."
Ryker readied his pistol. "Permission to shoot whoever's stalking us?"
I whispered, "No one can kill a ghost."
---
Suddenly, the wall beside us lit up. A hidden screen.
A video began playing.
It was surveillance footage.
Of me.
Training. Sleeping. Talking to Lucian. Rolling my eyes at Ryker.
Thousands of hours, tracked by one lens.
Ryker stepped back. "He's been watching only you."
Lucian's voice was low. "He never left."
---
That's when the voice came.
Smooth. Deep. Calm.
"You've come far, Subject 13-A. But not far enough."
We froze.
The voice echoed through the walls like it was part of the stone.
I called out, "Professor Ezra Caelan?"
He chuckled.
"Call me Ezra. Titles don't matter when you've faked your own death."
Lucian snarled, "Why reveal yourself now?"
"Because she's finally remembering who she is. And it's time for her final exam."
---
Suddenly, gas hissed from the vents.
A sweet, floral scent.
Lucian shoved me toward the exit. "Move!"
But the floor spun beneath my feet. My knees buckled.
Ryker cursed. "It's a paralytic!"
I fought to stay conscious, but Ezra's voice was the last thing I heard:
"Let's see if you can survive the ghosts you helped create."
---
When I woke up, everything was... wrong.
No Lucian.
No Ryker.
Just me.
And him.
Ezra sat on a tall stool across the room, sipping tea like a patient therapist.
He looked even colder in person. Ageless. Bone-sharp.
Ezra: "You're awake. Excellent. Let's talk."
I: "Let my friends go."
Ezra smiled faintly. "They're safe—for now. This isn't about them. This is about you."
---
He stood and walked slowly around me, studying me like a puzzle he'd half-solved.
Ezra: "You've impressed me. You've resisted triggers. Broken programming. Led your own path."
I: "I'm not your project anymore."
Ezra: "Oh, but you are. You always will be. You were created here. I taught you without you even knowing. Every failed mission you had—scripted. Every close call—staged. Every heartbreak—engineered."
My hands curled into fists.
Ezra's eyes gleamed. "And still, you became more."
---
He tossed a file in front of me. I opened it—and saw Lucian's name.
His real name.
His past.
And a note:
"Subject 9-C. Kill order denied."
I froze.
Ezra: "You were supposed to eliminate him after his first failure. But you didn't. Why?"
I glared at him. "Because I'm not a monster like you."
Ezra's expression darkened. "No... you're something far more dangerous."
---
Suddenly, he snapped his fingers.
A wall shifted.
Lucian stepped out—dazed, bleeding slightly, but alive.
He looked at me, then Ezra.
Ezra: "Kill him."
I blinked. "What?"
Ezra: "Pick up the knife. Kill Subject 9-C. Or I end Ryker."
The screen behind him showed Ryker strapped to a chair, unconscious, a blade swinging just inches above his throat.
Lucian didn't flinch. "Do it. I'll take the fall."
I stared at the knife on the table.
Ezra: "Final test, 13-A. Prove loyalty to your programming... or lose everything."
---
My mind spun.
Kill Lucian?
Lose Ryker?
Break the system?
Or fall back into it?
And then I remembered Vale's words.
"She broke the code. And that saved her."
I picked up the knife.
Ezra leaned in, eager.
Lucian closed his eyes.
And I—
Threw it at the camera above Ryker.
Sparks exploded.
The screen shattered.
Ryker was free.
Lucian opened his eyes.
Ezra was silent.
I looked him in the eye. "You taught me well. But you forgot one thing."
Ezra: "What's that?"
I smiled coldly. "I teach myself faster."
---
Ezra lunged at me, faster than I expected.
But Lucian was quicker.
His blade sliced through Ezra's coat.
Ezra dodged back, grinning. "Good. Very good."
He pressed a button on his wrist.
An alarm blared.
Ezra: "We'll meet again. When you're ready to take my place."
Then he vanished into the floor hatch beneath him.
Gone. Like a ghost.
---
Lucian turned to me. "You alright?"
I nodded. "I just met my creator."
Ryker's voice came through the speaker, "And he's a dick."
I laughed breathlessly. "Let's go hunt a ghost."
---
End of Chapter 25