Chapter 2806 Story 2807: The Brother in the Glass

“Brother, you finally came home.”

Ryan Malik stood motionless as his double stepped into the golden light. The stranger had Ryan’s face, his eyes, even the small scar above his left eyebrow. Yet his skin was unnaturally pale, and golden veins pulsed beneath his neck.

Zara aimed her rifle at the newcomer. “One more step, and I shoot!”

The double smiled. “You always hide behind weapons, Ryan. Even when we were children.”

Ryan’s stomach tightened. “I have never met you.”

“Of course you haven’t. They erased me from your memories.”

The laboratory lights flickered. Behind the stranger, shattered glass crunched beneath his bare feet. Every computer screen displayed the same message.

SUBJECT TWO: REUNITED WITH SUBJECT ONE.

Ryan raised his flashlight. “Who are you?”

The double touched his chest. “I was born before you. They called me Adam.”

“Adam?” Ryan whispered.

A forgotten image flashed through Ryan’s mind: a little boy holding his hand beside a hospital bed. A woman crying behind a glass window. His father shouting, “Take Ryan away!”

Ryan clutched his head as the memory vanished.

Adam’s smile widened. “There you are. A little piece of the truth.”

Zara fired.

The bullet struck Adam’s shoulder, but instead of blood, golden liquid spilled from the wound. The flesh closed almost immediately. Adam glanced at the injury, then looked at Zara with quiet disappointment.

“You should not have done that.”

He lifted one hand.

Zara flew backward as if struck by an invisible force, crashing against a console. Ryan lunged toward her, but Adam seized his wrist.

The instant their skin touched, the laboratory disappeared from Ryan’s vision.

He saw a white room filled with scientists. His father stood beside two transparent chambers, each containing a newborn child. One baby cried normally. The other opened golden eyes and stared directly at the watching scientists.

A voice spoke through the memory.

“Only one can carry the signal. The other must become the door.”

Ryan tore himself free, gasping.

“What did they do to us?”

Adam’s expression changed. For the first time, sadness replaced his smile.

“They chose you.”

A warning siren erupted. Red lights swept across the laboratory as heavy locks slammed shut. The computer announced an imminent containment failure.

Captain Hamza’s voice crackled through Ryan’s radio.

“Ryan! Whatever you see down there, do not let the two subjects touch!”

Ryan stared at Adam. “Why?”

“Because,” Hamza continued, his voice breaking, “when the brothers reunite, Subject Zero gains a body.”

A tremendous impact shook the laboratory.

Behind the far wall, something began pounding from the other side.

Adam stepped closer to Ryan and extended his hand.

“Our father is waiting,” he whispered. “And Mother is hungry.”

The wall split down the middle.

Golden light poured through the cracks.

Then a gigantic eye opened in the darkness beyond.