The cabin smelled like mildew and regret. Lena ducked under a low-hanging branch, her boots squelching through mud, Maria limping beside her. The three clones from the bridge lingered in the doorway—tall, their blue veins glowing like neon tattoos, eyes sharp as broken glass.
"7B," the one with short black hair said, her voice low. "You look… different. Weaker."
Lena froze. "Who are you?"
"7D," the woman replied, tilting her head. "We're the ones who didn't let the code eat us. Yet."
Maria nudged Lena, her whisper hoarse: "They're not with Blackwood. Their veins… they're stable. No spreading."
7D stepped forward, her gaze locking on Lena's arm. "Your code's moving fast. She's almost a puppet, like Rick. But you—you're still fighting. That's why they want you dead."
"Who's 'they'?" Lena asked, but her arms answered first. The blue veins itched, hot under her skin, crawling toward her throat. She scrubbed at them, but it only made it worse.
"Blackwood," 7D said, like it was obvious. "They own these woods. The cabin? It's one of their 'safe houses.' For clones who… break."
Lena's stomach dropped. "You mean… like 7A?"
7D's face hardened. "7A's alive. Trapped. They're using her to power the code. That's why you need to hurry—before they drain her completely."
Maria snorted. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one whose brain's turning into soup."
7D ignored her. "Inside. There's a map. And a way to shut down the code. But you gotta move—Blackwood's drones are on the way. They track the code's signal."
Lena hesitated. The cabin's windows were dark, but she could see shapes moving inside—more clones. Some sat slumped against walls, their eyes blank. Others paced, muttering to themselves. One hugged a teddy bear, its fur matted with something dark.
"This place… it's a prison," Lena said.
7D nodded. "But it's also a weapon. The code's strongest here. That's why they keep the 'broken' clones here—to feed the system."
Maria grabbed Lena's hand. "We don't have a choice. If 7A's alive, we need to find her."
Lena took a deep breath, stepping into the cabin. The air inside was colder, her breath fogging. The walls were covered in mirrors—cracked, smudged, some missing entirely. In each reflection, she saw a different version of herself: some with blue veins, some without, some screaming, some smiling.
"Creepy," Maria muttered.
A voice came from the back room. "7B."
Lena froze. It sounded like 7A.
"Over here," the voice said, weaker now. "Hurry."
Maria nudged her forward. They followed the sound, weaving through broken furniture and piles of old clothes. Behind a collapsed bookshelf, they found her.
7A.
She was strapped to a chair, her arms and legs bound with glowing blue straps—the same material as Lena's lab coat back in the future. Her hair was matted, her face bruised, but her eyes were alive. When she saw Lena, she smiled.
"Lena," she whispered. "You made it."
Lena's throat tightened. "7A… it's really you."
7A's smile faded. "Don't get too happy. They're watching. The mirrors—they're cameras. Every move you make, Blackwood sees it."
Lena glanced around. Sure enough, the cracks in the mirrors glittered with tiny lenses.
"Sit," 7A said, nodding to a stool across from her. "We don't have much time. The code's in your arms, right? The blue veins?"
Lena nodded. "It's eating my brain. I can't… I can't think straight."
7A winced. "That's the 'upload.' They're stealing your memories. Your fears, your dreams, your name. Soon, you'll forget you're Lena Voss. You'll forget me. And then… you'll become one of them."
Maria crouched beside the chair. "How do we stop it?"
7A glanced at the straps. "These? They're powered by the code. If we cut them, the system will trigger an alarm. Blackwood's hunters will swarm here in minutes."
Lena's arms burned worse. "Then what do we do?"
7A leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper. "The USB drive. In your pocket. It's not just evidence. It's a key. To the core server. If we plug it in here—" She nodded to a rusted outlet on the wall, "—it'll overload the system. Shut down the code. Free all of us."
"But—" Lena touched the drive, "—Maria said destroying it would break the connection. What if—"
"Destroying it is a lie," 7A snapped. "Blackwood wants you to think that. The code's not in the drive. It's in you. The drive's just a map. To the server. To the truth."
Maria frowned. "What truth?"
7A's eyes hardened. "The truth about who started this. About why we're clones. And why Blackwood will kill anyone to keep it a secret."
A crash echoed from outside.
"Drones," 7D said, leaning in the doorway. "Two of 'em. They've got heat sensors. We gotta move—now."
7A yanked at her straps. "Plug in the drive first. Please."
Lena hesitated. Her arms felt like they were on fire, the blue veins now at her collarbone. She could feel her thoughts slipping—memories fading. Her mom's face, her first day of school, the way the coffee shop smelled like cinnamon… all blurring.
"Lena," 7A pleaded. "Do it for me. For all of us."
Maria grabbed the drive from Lena's pocket. "I'll do it. You hold her."
She sprinted to the outlet, plugging in the drive. A high-pitched whine filled the room, and the mirrors flickered. The blue straps on 7A's arms glowed brighter, then snapped.
7A fell forward, gasping. "It's working. The code's weakening."
Outside, the drones roared.
7D grabbed Lena's hand. "We need to go. Now."
Lena looked at 7A, who was already struggling to stand. "What about you?"
7A smiled. "I'll hold them off. Buy you time. Go find the core server. Shut it all down."
Maria hesitated. "I'm not leaving you—"
"Go!" 7A yelled. "Live. That's the point of all this. Live."
The drones smashed through the windows, their rotors slicing the air. 7D dragged Lena toward the back door, Maria close behind. Lena glanced back—one drone fired, a beam of red light hitting 7A's shoulder. She screamed, but didn't fall.
"7A!" Lena yelled.
"I SAID GO!" 7A shouted.
They burst out the back door, into the rain. The forest loomed, dark and endless. Behind them, the cabin blazed—7A had set it on fire. The drones circled, but the flames were too bright, too hot.
Lena's arms still burned, but the code's whispers had quieted. For now.
Maria panted. "She's… she's a hero."
7D nodded. "She's not the only one. There are others. 7C, 7E… they're out there. Fighting. Just like her."
Lena wiped rain from her face. "So what now? We just… keep running?"
7D grinned, her blue veins glowing faintly, but steady. "Nah. We fight back."
She pointed to the horizon. In the distance, a tower rose—taller than anything Lena had ever seen, its top glowing with a sickly green light.
"That's the core server," 7D said. "The heart of the code. And we're gonna burn it to the ground."
Lena stared at the tower, her heart racing. Somewhere inside, 7A was fighting. Somewhere, the truth waited.
And for the first time since she'd found that box under the floorboards, Lena didn't feel like a victim.
She felt like a weapon.
One that was just getting started.