The alarm didn't scream.
It whispered.
A low, distorted hum crawled through the underground facility, vibrating the walls like the building itself was afraid to speak too loudly.
Alex felt it before he heard it.
The air changed.
Chris stopped mid-step.Mia's fingers tightened around the strap of her bag.Lina—who had been quiet for too long—finally looked up.
"What… is that?" Mia asked.
Alex didn't answer.
Because the symbol on the far wall had just lit up.
A black triangle, split down the middle by a red line.
Alex's heart sank.
"That's not a normal alert," Chris said. "That's—"
"—a priority seal breach," Lina finished.
Everyone looked at her.
She swallowed. "My uncle used to work in systems. He showed me once. This alarm only activates when someone enters a zone that shouldn't exist."
The hum deepened.
Then the lights went out.
Total darkness.
For three seconds, nobody moved.
Then—
Emergency lights snapped on, bathing the corridor in a dim blue glow.
And that's when Alex saw it.
A figure standing at the end of the hall.
Not running.Not hiding.
Just… waiting.
Tall. Calm. Hands in pockets.
Chris whispered, "Please tell me you're seeing that too."
Alex's throat felt dry. "Yeah."
The figure took one step forward.
The sound echoed far too loudly.
"Alex."
The voice was familiar.
Painfully familiar.
Alex's breath hitched.
"No," he muttered. "That's not possible."
The figure stepped into the light.
Same eyes.Same jawline.Same scar near the eyebrow that Alex got when he was ten.
Chris turned slowly. "Bro… why does he look like—"
"—my brother," Alex said.
Silence slammed into the room.
Lina's face drained of color.
"But you said your brother—"
"—was gone," Alex finished. "Not dead. Just… gone."
The brother smiled.
Not warm.Not cruel.
Controlled.
"So that's how you tell the story now?" he said. "Interesting."
Mia took a step back. "Alex… he doesn't feel right."
Alex agreed.
Because this wasn't a reunion.
This was a confrontation that had been waiting for years.
"You shouldn't be here," Alex said.
His brother tilted his head. "Neither should you. Yet here we are. WANPM really does pull people in, doesn't it?"
Chris snapped, "Hold up. You know about WANPM?"
The brother's smile widened just a little.
"I helped design the first layer."
That hit harder than a punch.
Alex clenched his fists. "Then you're the reason people disappear."
The smile faded.
"No," his brother said quietly. "I'm the reason they don't all die."
The floor trembled.
Somewhere deep below them, something massive shifted.
Lina whispered, "Alex… sensors are spiking. Like… everything just woke up."
The brother stepped aside, revealing a massive door behind him.
It was already opening.
Inside—rows of suspended pods, glowing faintly.
Some empty.
Some not.
And one pod—
had Alex's name on it.
Chris stared. "Nah. Nah nah nah. That's messed up."
Alex felt dizzy.
"You planned this," Alex said.
His brother met his eyes. "I prepared for you."
The alarm stopped.
The silence returned.
Then the brother spoke one final sentence—
"Next time we meet, Alex… you won't be allowed to choose."
The lights cut out again.
And when they came back—
he was gone.
But the pod with Alex's name?
Still glowing.
And slowly—
unlocking.
END OF EPISODE 8