PART 15
“Dad.”
The knife remained pointed at Daniel.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The fourth Daniel stood at the end of the corridor.
He looked exactly like him.
Same height.
Same face.
Same voice.
But there was something different in his eyes.
He looked peaceful.
Almost relieved.
Daniel stared at him.
“Put the knife down.”
The fourth Daniel smiled.
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because you already know what happens if I do.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
The fourth Daniel tilted his head.
“You know.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve never seen you before.”
The fourth Daniel laughed.
“You’ve seen me every time you’ve looked in a mirror.”
Daniel felt a chill.
“What’s your name?”
The man smiled.
“Daniel.”
“Your number.”
“004.”
Daniel glanced at the monitor.
SUBJECT 004.
“Why are you trying to kill Silas?”
The fourth Daniel looked at the boy.
“I don’t want to.”
Silas stepped backward.
“Then don’t.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
The fourth Daniel looked at Daniel.
“Because you made me.”
Daniel froze.
“What?”
“You made me to do what you couldn’t.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I never made you.”
“You did.”
“When?”
The fourth Daniel lifted the knife.
“Three hours ago.”
Daniel stared at the clock.
The countdown continued.
03:11:08
Daniel’s heart pounded.
“That hasn’t happened yet.”
The fourth Daniel smiled.
“For you.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
The fourth Daniel pointed at the clock.
“For me, it already happened.”
Silence.
Leah whispered:
“He’s from the future.”
Everyone turned toward her.
The fourth Daniel smiled.
“Smart girl.”
Daniel stared.
“How far?”
“Three hours.”
Daniel looked at the countdown.
“You came from three hours in the future?”
“Yes.”
“To kill Silas?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
The fourth Daniel’s smile disappeared.
“Because if I don’t…”
He looked at Silas.
“…everyone dies.”
Silas began crying.
“No.”
The fourth Daniel stepped forward.
“You know I’m right.”
Silas shook his head.
“You promised.”
Daniel looked at Silas.
“Promised what?”
The boy said nothing.
Daniel grabbed his shoulders.
“Silas.”
The boy looked up.
“What did you promise him?”
Silas whispered:
“I promised I wouldn’t remember.”
Daniel’s face went cold.
“Remember what?”
Silas looked at the fourth Daniel.
“My first death.”
The corridor went silent.
Daniel stared.
“Your first death?”
Silas nodded.
“I’ve died before.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“How many times?”
Silas closed his eyes.
“I don’t know.”
The fourth Daniel answered:
“Forty-seven.”
Daniel stared at him.
“What?”
“Forty-seven times.”
Leah covered her mouth.
Claire whispered:
“No…”
Daniel looked at Silas.
“You’ve been dying?”
The boy nodded.
“Every time the House resets.”
Daniel looked toward the walls.
“The House resets?”
The fourth Daniel nodded.
“Every time you fail.”
Daniel stared.
“Fail at what?”
The fourth Daniel pointed at him.
“Choosing.”
Daniel’s heart sank.
“Choosing between me and Silas?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
The fourth Daniel’s voice became quieter.
“Choosing whether humanity survives.”
Daniel looked at Claire.
She was crying.
“You knew.”
Claire nodded.
“I knew about the resets.”
“How many?”
“Not forty-seven.”
“Then how many?”
Claire looked down.
“Forty-six.”
Daniel froze.
“So this is the forty-seventh?”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked at the fourth Daniel.
“Then why do I remember none of them?”
“Because you always reset yourself.”
Daniel touched his head.
“How?”
The fourth Daniel pointed toward the black mark behind Daniel’s ear.
“That.”
Daniel touched it.
The mark burned.
He screamed.
A memory appeared.
A room.
Silas.
A knife.
Daniel standing over him.
Blood on the floor.
Silas whispering:
“It’s okay, Dad.”
Daniel pulled his hand away.
“No.”
Another memory.
Silas lying in a hospital bed.
Daniel crying.
Another.
Silas disappearing.
Another.
Silas dying.
Another.
Daniel killing him.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Forty-seven times.
Daniel dropped to his knees.
“No…”
Silas knelt beside him.
“Dad.”
Daniel looked at him.
“I’m sorry.”
Silas shook his head.
“You didn’t know.”
“I did it.”
“You didn’t know.”
“I did it forty-seven times.”
“You always tried to save everyone.”
Daniel looked at him.
“And you?”
Silas smiled sadly.
“I always chose you.”
Daniel hugged him.
The fourth Daniel lowered the knife.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then the House spoke.
Not through the speakers.
Through the walls.
RESET INCOMPLETE.
Daniel looked up.
The fourth Daniel’s face changed.
“No.”
The lights flickered.
HOSTS 001, 002, 003, 004: ACTIVE.
Daniel stared.
“You said there were four.”
The fourth Daniel nodded.
“There are.”
“Then why does it say Hosts 001 and 002?”
The fourth Daniel looked frightened.
“I don’t know.”
The screen changed.
HOST 005 DETECTED.
Everyone froze.
Leah whispered:
“Five?”
Daniel stood.
“Where?”
The House answered.
BEHIND YOU.
Daniel turned.
Nothing.
Then he heard breathing.
Slow.
Close.
A hand touched his shoulder.
Daniel spun around.
A woman stood behind him.
He didn’t recognize her.
She looked about forty.
Dark hair.
Pale skin.
A small scar beneath her eye.
She smiled.
“Hello, Daniel.”
Daniel stepped backward.
“Who are you?”
The woman looked at Silas.
Then at the fourth Daniel.
Then at Claire.
“I’m the reason none of you remember.”
Daniel stared.
“What is your name?”
She smiled.
“Evelyn.”
Claire suddenly screamed.
“No.”
Evelyn looked at her.
“Hello, Claire.”
Claire backed away.
“You died.”
Evelyn laughed.
“So did you.”
Daniel looked at Claire.
“What is she talking about?”
Claire shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Evelyn smiled.
“You always say that.”
Daniel stepped toward Evelyn.
“Who are you?”
“I was the first person your mother tried to save.”
“Save from what?”
“Memory.”
Daniel frowned.
Evelyn touched her temple.
“Do you know what happens when a human remembers everything?”
Daniel shook his head.
“They stop being human.”
The fourth Daniel whispered:
“She remembers.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Yes.”
Daniel stared.
“What do you remember?”
Evelyn looked directly at him.
“Your beginning.”
Daniel’s heart pounded.
“Tell me.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because if I tell you now…”
She looked at Silas.
“…he dies.”
Silas stepped backward.
Daniel moved in front of him.
“Then you won’t tell me.”
Evelyn smiled.
“I don’t have to.”
She snapped her fingers.
Every screen changed.
A single image appeared.
Daniel stared at it.
A photograph.
His mother.
Walter.
Arthur.
Claire.
Leah’s mother.
Evelyn.
And one more person.
A man standing in the middle.
Daniel.
But he wasn’t an adult.
He was a child.
And beside him stood another child.
Silas.
Both were holding hands.
Daniel stared.
“This picture…”
Evelyn nodded.
“Was taken before either of you was born.”
Daniel felt dizzy.
“How?”
Evelyn smiled.
“That’s the question.”
The fourth Daniel looked at the photograph.
“I’ve never seen that.”
“You weren’t supposed to.”
Daniel pointed at the image.
“Who took it?”
Evelyn answered:
“You did.”
Daniel froze.
“I was a child.”
“Yes.”
“I wasn’t born yet.”
“Yes.”
“That makes no sense.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Exactly.”
The House began vibrating.
A low hum filled the corridor.
The photograph changed.
Now there was a second image.
A laboratory.
The date:
1961.
Daniel stared.
“That was thirteen years before I was born.”
“Yes.”
Another image.
Each year.
Daniel appeared in every photograph.
Sometimes as a child.
Sometimes as a teenager.
Sometimes as an adult.
Always standing beside Silas.
Daniel whispered:
“How?”
Evelyn answered:
“Because you were never born.”
Daniel stared at her.
The fourth Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“Stop.”
She ignored him.
“You were remembered.”
Daniel shook his head.
“By whom?”
Evelyn looked at him.
“By yourself.”
Daniel couldn’t speak.
Evelyn continued:
“You existed as a memory before you existed as a person.”
Daniel’s mind raced.
“Then who created the memory?”
Evelyn smiled.
“You did.”
“How?”
“That’s why the House exists.”
Daniel looked around.
“You built it?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Evelyn pointed at Silas.
“He did.”
Daniel looked at the boy.
Silas looked terrified.
“No.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Tell him.”
Silas shook his head.
“Tell him what you did before you became a child.”
Silas covered his ears.
“Stop.”
Daniel knelt.
“Silas.”
The boy looked at him.
“Did you build the House?”
“No.”
Evelyn answered:
“Yes.”
Silas began crying.
Daniel looked at him.
“Silas?”
The boy whispered:
“I don’t remember.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Exactly.”
Daniel turned toward her.
“What did he do?”
Evelyn’s voice became quiet.
“He saved the first Daniel.”
Daniel stared.
“Who is the first Daniel?”
Evelyn pointed toward the fourth Daniel.
“He is.”
Daniel looked at Subject 004.
The fourth Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“You are.”
“No.”
“You were the first.”
Daniel stared.
“But he’s Subject 004.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Because the House numbered him incorrectly.”
Daniel’s mind raced.
“Then who are 001, 002, and 003?”
Evelyn smiled.
“Pieces.”
Daniel looked at himself.
“003 is me.”
“Yes.”
“Silas is 002?”
“Yes.”
“Then 001?”
Evelyn looked toward the floor.
“Your mother.”
Daniel froze.
“My mother?”
Evelyn nodded.
“Subject 001.”
The room became silent.
Daniel looked at the place where his mother had disappeared.
“She was the first host.”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
Evelyn whispered:
“The consciousness.”
Daniel remembered the woman saying she was only a vessel.
“Then what happened to the consciousness?”
Evelyn looked at Daniel.
“It chose you.”
Daniel felt cold.
“When?”
“Before you were born.”
Daniel shook his head.
“But I wasn’t born.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Exactly.”
The fourth Daniel suddenly stepped forward.
“Enough.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“You’re afraid.”
“Of you?”
“No.”
She smiled.
“Of what he will remember.”
The fourth Daniel looked at Daniel.
“Don’t listen.”
Daniel stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because if you remember the beginning…”
He swallowed.
“…you’ll remember the end.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“What end?”
The fourth Daniel looked at Silas.
“The end where he kills you.”
Silas screamed:
“No!”
The House shook.
Every light turned red.
The countdown changed.
02:59:59
Then—
02:59:58
Daniel stared.
The clock was moving.
But not downward.
It was counting upward.
03:00:00
03:00:01
03:00:02
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“What happened?”
She smiled.
“The future changed.”
The fourth Daniel looked horrified.
“That shouldn’t be possible.”
Evelyn nodded.
“But you changed it.”
Daniel looked confused.
“I did nothing.”
“You chose.”
“Chose what?”
“To protect Silas.”
Evelyn pointed toward the screen.
A new message appeared.
PRIMARY TIMELINE INVALID.
Then:
SECONDARY TIMELINE INITIATED.
Daniel’s heart pounded.
“What does that mean?”
Evelyn whispered:
“The House can’t predict you anymore.”
For the first time, Daniel smiled.
“Good.”
But Evelyn didn’t smile back.
“That’s not good.”
“Why?”
“Because when the House can’t predict you…”
She looked toward the ceiling.
“…it creates something that can.”
A sound echoed from above.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Coming closer.
Everyone looked up.
The ceiling cracked.
Something dropped through.
A man landed in the center of the room.
He stood slowly.
Daniel stared.
The man looked like him.
But older.
Scarred.
His left eye was covered by a black patch.
He looked at Daniel.
Then at Silas.
Then at Evelyn.
Finally, he looked at the fourth Daniel.
“You failed.”
The fourth Daniel lowered his head.
“Yes.”
The man turned toward Daniel.
“Then I’ll do it myself.”
Daniel stepped in front of Silas.
“Who are you?”
The man smiled.
“You really don’t remember me?”
“No.”
“You should.”
“Why?”
The man removed the black patch from his eye.
Daniel saw the scar.
Then he saw the eye.
It was completely black.
The man whispered:
“Because I’m the version of you that survived.”
Daniel stared.
The man continued:
“Not the House.”
“Not the reset.”
“Not the memory.”
“Me.”
Daniel’s voice trembled.
“How?”
The man smiled.
“I killed every other version.”
Daniel looked at the fourth Daniel.
“How many?”
The older man answered:
“Three hundred and twelve.”
Daniel felt sick.
“Why?”
“Because only one Daniel can exist.”
“And you decided it was you?”
“No.”
The man pointed at Silas.
“He did.”
Silas shook his head.
“I didn’t.”
The man smiled.
“You will.”
Silas began crying.
Daniel grabbed his hand.
The older version of Daniel stepped closer.
“You’re making the same mistake again.”
Daniel stared.
“What mistake?”
“Loving him.”
Silas looked up.
The older Daniel continued:
“Every time you choose him…”
He pointed at Silas.
“…the world resets.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Then I’ll break the cycle.”
The older Daniel smiled.
“You already tried.”
“When?”
“Three hundred and twelve times.”
Daniel looked around.
The House seemed to breathe.
Evelyn whispered:
“Daniel…”
He turned.
She was crying.
“There’s one thing you still don’t know.”
“What?”
She looked at Silas.
“He isn’t the reason the world resets.”
Daniel frowned.
“Then what is?”
Evelyn pointed at Daniel.
“You are.”
Silence.
Daniel stared at her.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because every time you die…”
She paused.
“…the House brings you back.”
Daniel looked at the older version.
He understood.
“You’re not the survivor.”
The older Daniel smiled.
“No.”
“You’re the House’s backup.”
The smile disappeared.
Daniel continued:
“And you’re not here to kill Silas.”
The older Daniel stepped backward.
“You’re here to kill me.”
Silence.
Evelyn nodded.
“Yes.”
Daniel stared at the older version.
“Why?”
The older version’s face became expressionless.
“Because you’re the only Daniel the House can’t control.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“And if I die?”
The older version smiled.
“The House wins.”
Daniel looked at Silas.
Then Claire.
Then Leah.
Then Evelyn.
Then the thousands of doors.
He finally understood.
The House wasn’t trying to preserve Daniel.
It wasn’t trying to kill Daniel.
It wasn’t even trying to save Silas.
It needed Daniel to make a choice.
The same choice.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Daniel looked at the older version.
“What happens if I refuse?”
The older version’s smile vanished.
“You can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re already dying.”
Daniel froze.
“What?”
The older Daniel pointed toward his chest.
Daniel looked down.
A black mark was spreading across his skin.
From his heart.
Toward his neck.
Toward his arms.
The mark continued spreading.
Evelyn whispered:
“The House has started deleting you.”
Daniel looked at Silas.
“Can it be stopped?”
Evelyn nodded.
“Yes.”
“How?”
She looked toward the final door.
The one marked:
ELIAS.
“Open that door.”
Daniel stared.
“You said it would destroy me.”
Evelyn nodded.
“It might.”
“What happens if it doesn’t?”
She looked at him.
“Then you’ll finally meet the person who started all of this.”
Daniel approached the door.
Silas followed.
Claire grabbed his arm.
“Don’t.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You’ve been afraid of this door for fifty years.”
Claire whispered:
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She looked at Silas.
“Because the person behind it…”
Her voice broke.
“…is the only person who knows how to kill the House.”
Daniel looked at the door.
“Who is it?”
Claire answered:
“Your first mother.”
Daniel froze.
“My first mother?”
Claire nodded.
“Not the woman you called Mom.”
“Then who?”
Claire whispered:
“The woman who gave birth to the memory.”
Daniel touched the handle.
The door began unlocking.
One click.
Two.
Three.
Then the door opened.
Darkness filled the room.
A child’s voice came from inside.
“Daniel.”
Daniel stopped.
He knew that voice.
It was his own.
But younger.
Much younger.
The voice whispered:
“Come in.”
Daniel stepped through.
The door slammed behind him.
Silas screamed from the other side:
“DAD!”
Daniel turned.
The door was gone.
He was alone.
A small room surrounded him.
A child sat on the floor.
The child looked exactly like Daniel.
But younger than ever.
Maybe five years old.
The child looked up.
“You came.”
Daniel knelt.
“Who are you?”
The child smiled.
“You.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“When were you born?”
The child shook his head.
“I wasn’t.”
“Then what are you?”
The child pointed to Daniel’s chest.
“I’m what was left.”
“Left from what?”
The child smiled.
“Your first death.”
Daniel felt cold.
“What happened to me?”
The child stood.
“You remembered everything.”
“And?”
“You couldn’t live with it.”
Daniel stared.
“So I died?”
The child nodded.
“Then what?”
“You made me.”
Daniel whispered:
“Why?”
The child walked toward him.
“Because somebody had to remember.”
Daniel stared into the child’s eyes.
“And what did you remember?”
The child smiled.
“The truth.”
“What truth?”
The child leaned closer.
And whispered:
“Silas was never your son.”
Daniel froze.
The child continued:
“He was your father.”
Daniel’s eyes widened.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“That makes no sense.”
The child smiled.
“It will.”
“How?”
The child pointed behind Daniel.
Daniel turned.
A door had appeared.
Behind it stood Silas.
But Silas was no longer seven.
He was an adult.
Older than Daniel.
He looked exhausted.
He was holding a newborn baby.
Daniel stared.
Silas looked at him.
And said:
“Dad…”
Daniel couldn’t breathe.
Then Silas looked down at the baby.
And whispered:
“It’s time to start again.”
The lights went out.
A newborn began crying.
And somewhere in the darkness—
Daniel heard his own voice say:
“Part sixteen.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
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