Chapter 12: The Choice of Three
The alarm continued screaming.
Red lights flashed across the hallway.
The third Ryan stood in front of me.
Still.
Silent.
Like he was waiting for instructions.
Like his entire existence depended on someone else telling him what to do.
“You’re going to kill me?””
I asked.
He looked at me.
“Yes.””
No hesitation.
That scared me more than anger would have.
“Why tell me?””
He paused.
“I don’t know.””
That answer surprised both of us.
A person without feelings shouldn’t be confused.
But he was.
The door behind us shook.
Elias was coming.
The third Ryan looked at the exit.
“Leave.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“You should leave before I complete my programming.””
I stared.
“You can fight it.””
He looked at me.
“No.””
“Why not?””
“Because I was built not to.””
The door cracked.
I stepped closer.
“You’re wrong.””
His eyes narrowed.
“Explain.””
“Because you’re already fighting it.””
He said nothing.
“You were told to kill me.””
“Yes.””
“But you brought me here.””
Silence.
“You warned me.””
Another silence.
“You could have killed me the second I walked in.””
His expression shifted.
Barely.
“But you didn’t.””
The third Ryan looked away.
For a moment, he seemed less like a machine.
More like someone lost.
“I don’t understand.””
I nodded.
“I know.””
The door exploded open.
Elias walked in.
Behind him were armed men.
He looked at us.
Three identical faces.
Three different lives.
“Interesting.””
His smile returned.
“You finally gathered.””
The third Ryan immediately straightened.
The emptiness returned.
“Subject C.””
Elias spoke calmly.
“Execute.””
The third Ryan moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
I barely reacted before he grabbed my arm and pushed me against the wall.
But he stopped.
His hand was inches from my throat.
His eyes changed.
Confusion.
Pain.
Conflict.
Elias frowned.
“What are you waiting for?””
The third Ryan looked at me.
Then at Elias.
“I don’t know.””
Elias’s expression hardened.
“That wasn’t an option.””
The third Ryan released me.
Everyone froze.
Elias stepped forward.
“You were created because they were weak.””
He pointed at us.
“Attachment. Love. Fear.””
His voice became colder.
“You were created without those flaws.””
The third Ryan stared at him.
Then said quietly:
“Then why am I afraid?””
Nobody moved.
Even Elias looked surprised.
The third Ryan touched his own chest.
“Why do I not want to hurt him?””
He looked at me.
“Why do I care?””
Elias’s face changed.
“No.””
The third Ryan looked almost angry now.
Not at me.
At himself.
“I was told I wasn’t a person.””
He looked at Elias.
“But people don’t ask permission to become something else.””
The words hit harder than any weapon.
Elias stepped back.
“You’re malfunctioning.””
“No.””
The third Ryan shook his head.
“I’m changing.””
The room exploded into movement.
Daniel and the original Ryan rushed in from the side.
They had followed me.
Emma and the girls were behind them with Dr. Carter.
Chaos filled the hallway.
But I only saw the third Ryan.
Because he was standing between us and Elias.
Protecting us.
Elias stared at him.
“You were my greatest creation.””
The third Ryan looked at him.
“No.””
He looked toward me.
“His was.””
I didn’t understand.
Then he touched his head.
“My memories.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
He looked at me.
“I have them.””
A terrible realization hit.
“What memories?””
He looked toward Ava.
“The ones they removed.””
Ava stepped forward.
“What?””
The third Ryan’s face softened.
“I remember the day you were born.””
Everyone froze.
The original Ryan stared.
“That’s impossible.””
The third Ryan shook his head.
“No.””
He looked at Ava.
“They copied more than they admitted.””
Ava slowly approached him.
“Do you know my song?””
The third Ryan looked at her.
And quietly began singing.
The same song.
The one Emma used to calm her.
The one only her father knew.
Ava’s eyes filled with tears.
“You’re Daddy too.””
The third Ryan stopped.
That single sentence destroyed the last piece of emptiness in him.
He looked away.
Because he didn’t know how to handle being loved.
Elias stepped forward.
“You see?””
His voice was bitter.
“This is why emotions are dangerous.””
I looked at him.
“No.””
I stepped forward.
“Emotions are why we’re alive.””
For once, Elias had no answer.
Then Dr. Carter picked up a small device from the floor.
A recording.
He pressed play.
Elias’s own voice filled the hallway.
Years earlier.
“We will create a replacement.””
A pause.
Then:
“And if the original survives, eliminate him.””
Everyone looked at Elias.
The proof was there.
The truth.
No more hiding.
Elias backed away.
But before he could run, the original Ryan blocked the door.
Three versions of the same man.
Standing together.
For the first time.
Elias looked at us.
And whispered:
“You don’t even know which one of you is the real Ryan.””
I looked at the two men beside me.
Then at Ava.
At Lily.
At Emma.
And I realized something.
Maybe I had spent too long searching for the answer.
Because the truth was simpler.
I was the man who chose to stay.
The man who loved.
The man who fought.
And then the third Ryan looked at the screen behind Elias.
His face changed.
“What is that?””
Everyone turned.
A final file had appeared.
A file none of us had opened.
The title was:
*RYAN MITCHELL — SUBJECT ZERO*
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And beneath it was one sentence:
*The original was never the first.*
