2026-05-21 19:50:26“Tell me something, Ethan… when you look at him, are you seeing your replacement… or your reflection?”
Crowe’s voice echoed through the operations center while the image of the chained man filled the screen. The resemblance was perfect, same eyes, same jawline, same scar near the eyebrow. Ethan felt the room tilt beneath him. Impossible. “No…” he whispered. The unconscious man slowly lifted his head. Even the movement looked identical. Lena stared at the screen in horror. “What the hell is this?” Evelyn’s expression had turned pale. Crowe smiled calmly from the corner of the monitor. “Project Genesis,” he answered. “The future of controlled intelligence.” Gunfire thundered somewhere below the building. The resistance operatives scrambled into defensive positions while alarms screamed across the hidden base. Ethan barely heard any of it, because he was staring at himself. Crowe continued speaking casually. “Your father was brilliant, Ethan. Too brilliant. He believed genetic encryption would protect Blackout Protocol from corrupt governments.” Crowe chuckled softly. “He underestimated ambition.” Ethan clenched his fists. “You cloned me.” “Not exactly.” The chained man suddenly opened his eyes, cold gray eyes, not brown like Ethan’s. Something dark moved behind them, something empty. “He’s an enhanced duplicate built from your genetic framework,” Crowe explained. “Stronger reflexes. Higher pain tolerance. Absolute obedience.” The duplicate stared directly into the camera without blinking, Ethan felt sick. “He’s unstable,” Evelyn said sharply. Crowe smiled wider. “For now.” Another explosion shook the operations center violently, dust rained from the ceiling, one of the analysts shouted, “They’re inside the second perimeter” Evelyn turned instantly toward her operatives. “Seal the eastern corridors” People rushed into motion around her. Lena stepped beside Ethan quietly. “You okay?” “No.” It came out harsher than he intended but how could he be okay? Everything he knew about himself was collapsing. His father built Blackout Protocol. His mother led a resistance movement and somewhere nearby existed another version of him created to replace him completely. Crowe’s voice interrupted again. “You know the funniest part, Ethan?” Ethan glared at the screen. “He volunteered.” Silence slammed through Ethan’s chest. “What?” Crowe tilted his head. “Your duplicate chose this life willingly.” “That’s impossible.” “Is it?” The duplicate on-screen smiled slowly, the expression looked wrong on Ethan’s face, predatory, empty. “Bring him to me,” the duplicate suddenly said. Ethan’s blood froze, even the voice sounded similar. Crowe leaned closer to the camera. “He’s been waiting to meet you.” The transmission suddenly ended, all screens went black, the room fell into tense silence, then Evelyn moved fast. “We leave now.” Ethan turned sharply toward her. “You knew about this?” “Not everything.” “That’s not an answer.” Evelyn grabbed his injured shoulder before he could pull away. Pain exploded through him. “You can hate me later,” she snapped. “Right now Crowe is coming.” As if summoned by her words, automatic gunfire erupted directly outside the operations center. The enemy had reached them, resistance operatives opened fire instantly, screams echoed through the hallways. Lena pulled dual pistols from beneath her jacket. “We’re out of time.” Evelyn nodded toward Noah. “Take Ethan through the lower exit.” “No,” Ethan said immediately. Everyone looked at him. “I’m done running.” Evelyn’s expression hardened. “You think this is bravery? Crowe wants you alive.” “Then let him come get me.” Lena grabbed Ethan’s arm roughly. “This isn’t the time for revenge fantasies.” Ethan yanked free. “You lied to me.” “So did your mother.” Evelyn stepped forward sharply. “I lied to protect you.” “And how’s that working out?” The room shook again, closer this time. An operative stumbled into the center bleeding heavily from the neck. “They breached the west hall” A bullet suddenly tore through his skull, blood exploded across the floor. Everyone ran toward the doorway. A man stood there calmly lowering a silenced pistol. Ethan’s breathing stopped, because the man looked exactly like him. The duplicate. He stepped over the dead operative slowly while gunfire and chaos erupted behind him. The resemblance was horrifying, like staring into a mirror twisted by cruelty. The duplicate’s gray eyes locked onto Ethan instantly, then he smiled. “I finally found you.” Lena fired first. The duplicate moved impossibly fast. He dodged sideways before shooting two resistance guards directly between the eyes. Panic exploded through the operations center. More armed soldiers flooded into the room behind him. Crowe’s forces had arrived. The duplicate kept his attention on Ethan only. “You look disappointed,” he said calmly. Ethan grabbed a rifle from a fallen operative. “What are you supposed to be?” The duplicate tilted his head slightly. “The better version.” Gunfire erupted everywhere. Resistance fighters clashed with Crowe’s soldiers across the operations center while alarms screamed overhead. The duplicate walked through the chaos untouched, bullets narrowly missed him as he advanced toward Ethan with terrifying calmness. Lena fired again, this time the duplicate caught her wrist mid-shot and slammed her hard against a computer station. The impact shattered glass instantly. “Lena” Ethan shouted. The duplicate smiled without looking away from Ethan. “She dies first” Rage exploded inside Ethan. He charged forward and tackled the duplicate violently through the central table. Both men crashed onto the floor trading brutal punches instantly. It felt like fighting himself, same speed, same instincts, same training. The duplicate kneed Ethan’s injured shoulder hard, pain blinded him. Then the duplicate grabbed Ethan by the throat and slammed him against the floor. “You’re weaker than I expected,” he whispered coldly. Ethan struggled desperately as pressure tightened around his neck. Nearby, Evelyn shot two soldiers while screaming orders to evacuate. The entire base was collapsing into chaos. The duplicate leaned closer to Ethan’s face. “Do you want to know why Crowe made me?” Ethan barely breathed beneath the crushing grip. “Because you still have humanity.” The duplicate smiled darkly. “And humanity makes you defective.” Suddenly a gunshot exploded beside them, blood sprayed across Ethan’s face. The duplicate froze, a bullet hole had appeared through his chest, he slowly turned. Noah stood several feet away holding a pistol with both hands. The twelve-year-old boy’s hands trembled slightly but his eyes didn’t. The duplicate stared at the blood spreading across his shirt, then he looked back at Noah and smiled. “You missed the heart.” Before anyone could react, the duplicate grabbed Ethan violently and both of them crashed backward through the shattered glass wall of the operations center.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 6
“If you get into that car, Ethan… there’s no guarantee you’ll come back alive”Rain hammered the abandoned shipping yard, the storm had intensified since they escaped the collapsing underground facility. Wind whipped across the harbor, rattling loose metal containers and sending sheets of water across the cracked concrete.The black SUV sat silently beneath the storm, its dark exterior reflected flashes of lightning from the sky above, the engine idled softly, waiting, watching, like a predator.Beside it stood the young boy holding an umbrella. He remained completely motionless, not nervous, not afraid, not even curious, just waiting. Something about him felt wrong, not dangerous in the usual way, but controlled, too controlled, the kind of discipline Ethan had only seen in elite operatives.Ethan pressed a hand against his wounded shoulder, pain shot through his body instantly, blood continued seeping through his fingers despite his efforts to slow it.The wound was getting worse,
Chapter 3
“Get off the tracks now, or the train will tear both of you apart”The warning echoed through the underground tunnel just as the roar of the incoming train grew deafening, the sound wasn't merely loud, it was overwhelming.The entire tunnel vibrated beneath Ethan's boots as if an earthquake was tearing through the city above. Red emergency lights flashed across the concrete walls, bathing everything in a blood-colored glow.Ethan and Lena sprinted down the railway tracks. Behind them, armed soldiers flooded into the tunnel. Automatic gunfire erupted continuously.The muzzle flashes lit the darkness like brief lightning strikes. Bullets rebounded off steel rails, sparks exploded beside Ethan's boots, the smell of gunpowder filled the air.“The train” Ethan shouted.“I noticed” Lena yelled back.The headlights ahead grew brighter, much brighter. The darkness was disappearing beneath the approaching wall of light.The train wasn't slowing, if anything, it seemed to be accelerating. The t
Chapter 2
“Don’t fight me unless you want to drown before the bullets reach you”The woman grabbed Ethan’s tactical vest the second panic crossed his face, her grip was surprisingly strong.Dark water spiraled around them while floodlights swept across the river above like giant white blades cutting through the darkness. Helicopters thundered overhead, their rotors sending vibrations through the water.The freezing current pulled at Ethan from every direction, his body screamed for air, his training screamed for survival.Every instinct he possessed told him to break free from the stranger dragging him into the depths, but something stopped him, maybe it was the confidence in her movements, maybe it was the fact that she had warned him, or maybe it was because everyone else currently wanted him dead.The woman never looked at him, her dark eyes remained fixed on the shifting lights above the river while she guided them deeper into the current. Ethan's lungs burned, his chest felt ready to expl
Chapter 1
“Everybody get down, the bridge is coming apart”The scream ripped through the midnight rain seconds before the armored convoy exploded into chaos. The voice was sharp, desperate, and loud enough to cut through the thunder itself.Steel cables snapped above the Blackwater Bridge like gunshots erupted directly above them. One after another, they broke apart with violent cracks that echoed across the storm-dark river below. Cars whirled helplessly across the slick highway as drivers fought to regain control. Tires skidded against wet concrete. Headlights flashed wildly through sheets of rain.Men in tactical gear shouted into radios while bullets tore through shattered windshields. The air filled with smoke, sparks, and the smell of burning metal.At the center of the mania, Ethan Vale stood beside a bleeding senator with a pistol in his hand and betrayal burning in his chest.Three minutes earlier, he still believed he worked for the government, three minutes earlier, everything had
Chapter 10
Chapter Ten “Hold your breath, Ethan… because if we hit the water wrong, every bone in your body will shatter,” the duplicate said, his voice steady but urgent as his grip tightened around Ethan like a vise. They were falling through a storm-slashed night sky, swallowed by wind and chaos. The air tore at them, screaming in their ears like something alive trying to drag them apart. Above, the rooftop they had just escaped erupted in a violent explosion as the missile struck its mark. Fire bloomed outward, lighting the clouds in orange and red, while shattered concrete and twisted metal spun into the air like burning paper pieces. Ethan forced his eyes downward and immediately regretted it. The harbor rushed up to meet them with terrifying speed, dark and endless, like a mouth waiting to swallow them whole. The lights of the city blurred through rain and smoke, making the world feel unreal, like a collapsing dream. “We’re not going to make it” Ethan shouted, his voice crackin
Chapter 9
“Grab his hand, Ethan… or both of you are going to die” Glass exploded as Ethan and the duplicate tore through the shattered wall of the operations center. For a suspended moment there was only the sensation of falling cold wind, swallowing darkness, and the distant scream of alarms fading into the storm. Impact came like a hammer. They hit a lower rooftop hard enough to fracture concrete. Ethan rolled across the rain-slick surface, smashing into a metal ventilation unit. Pain erupted through his injured shoulder like fire. The duplicate landed several meters away and rose at once, still functional, still alive. Rain hammered the rooftop while broken glass fell down like glittering shrapnel from the sky above. Ethan forced himself upright, shaking. The duplicate straightened at the same time. Blood soaked through the chest wound, yet his face remained unchanged, no fear, no hesitation, no humanity. “You should be dead” Ethan said calmly. The duplicate tilted his head.
You may also like
