Z

Later that evening, I barely had a moment of peace before Evelyn's voice cut through the quiet of the apartment.

"Hey, Shin?" she called from the living room.

I glanced up from my desk, already sensing trouble. "What?"

"There's some girl at the door asking for you."

I froze for a second, already knowing who it was. Pushing myself up from my chair, I made my way toward the front door, where Evelyn stood with her arms crossed, eyeing Elie with mild curiosity.

Elie, on the other hand, looked completely at ease, her usual bright expression never wavering as she turned to me. "Oh, good! You're home."

"What are you doing here?" I asked, barely masking my irritation.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow at my tone, glancing between us. "Wow. You really know how to make a guest feel welcome."

Elie only laughed. "I had a feeling you weren't the 'text back' type, so I figured I'd check in on you in person."

I sighed. "I'm fine. You didn't have to do that."

Evelyn snorted. "Wait, you don't text people back? Shocking."

Elie grinned. "Right? He's so mysterious and brooding, it's almost impressive."

I shot Evelyn a look. "Are you enjoying this?"

"Very much," she said, smirking. "So, are you going to introduce me, or do I have to figure out the social dynamics of your life on my own?"

Elie extended a hand before I could say anything. "I'm Elie. Nice to meet you! You must be Evelyn, right?"

Evelyn shook her hand, studying her with a keen eye. "The one and only. And you must be the infamous Elie that Shin pretends to be annoyed by."

Elie gasped dramatically, placing a hand on her chest. "Pretends to be annoyed? That's the best compliment I've gotten all week."

I groaned. "Please don't team up against me."

Evelyn chuckled. "Oh, I like her already."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Great. That's exactly what I need—another person making my life difficult."

Elie leaned in slightly, her voice teasing. "Or making it more interesting."

Evelyn glanced at me with a knowing smirk. "So, what do you want with him, anyway?"

Elie shrugged. "Nothing serious. Just figured he could use some company. You know, keep him from brooding too hard."

Evelyn nodded thoughtfully. "That's a full-time job, you know. I hope you're up for it."

Elie grinned. "Oh, I love a challenge."

I groaned again, rubbing my temples. This was already a disaster. "Are you two done?"

Evelyn and Elie exchanged a glance, and I immediately didn't like whatever silent agreement just passed between them.

"Not even close," Evelyn said with a smirk.

Elie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we've only just begun."

I had a sinking feeling that this wasn't the last time I'd be dealing with the two of them at once. And somehow, that thought was more exhausting than anything else.

The meeting was as boring as I expected. Some mandatory "Welcome to College" nonsense about community building, academic integrity, and time management—all things I already had no interest in. The auditorium was packed with students, most of them either half-asleep or scrolling through their phones.

I sat slouched in my seat, arms crossed, staring blankly at the stage as some administrator droned on about student resources. Evelyn sat to my left, sketching absentmindedly in the notebook she always carried, while Elie was on my right, her foot tapping impatiently against the floor.

"This is painful," she whispered, leaning slightly toward me. "I'd rather be anywhere else."

"For once, we agree on something," I muttered.

Evelyn, not looking up from her sketch, smirked. "Then why don't we do something about it?"

I glanced at her. "Like what? We're trapped here."

Elie's eyes lit up. "Are we, though?" She gestured toward the side doors. "What if we just… left?"

I raised an eyebrow. "You mean sneak out?"

Evelyn finally looked up, her smirk growing. "That's exactly what she means."

I shook my head. "No way. There's probably some rule about staying for the whole thing."

Elie grinned. "Oh, so now you care about rules?"

I exhaled sharply. "I care about not getting dragged into unnecessary trouble."

Evelyn leaned back in her seat. "Think of it as an experiment, Shin. Weren't you just talking about testing your theory on people?"

I frowned. "That's not what I—"

"Come on," Elie cut in. "You're telling me you'd rather sit here and listen to this?" She gestured toward the stage, where a slideshow was now displaying a pie chart about student engagement.

I sighed. They weren't going to let this go. And honestly… they weren't wrong. This was painful.

"Fine," I muttered. "But if we get caught, I'm blaming both of you."

Elie beamed. "Deal."

Without another word, we casually got up from our seats, slipping out the side door when the speaker turned to change slides.

Once in the hallway, Elie let out a victorious whisper. "Freedom."

"Okay," I said, shoving my hands in my pockets. "Now what?"

Evelyn looked around, her gaze settling on a door at the end of the hallway. "We explore."

I sighed. "Of course we do."

We made our way down the hall, stopping in front of an unmarked door. Evelyn tried the handle. Locked.

"Guess that's the end of that," I said, already turning away.

Elie huffed. "Oh, please." She reached up and pushed a ceiling tile aside, revealing a vent. "I've seen this in movies—vents always lead somewhere."

I stared at her. "You cannot be serious."

Evelyn crossed her arms. "You got a better idea?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "This is ridiculous."

And yet, somehow, five minutes later, I found myself crawling through a vent behind them.

When we finally dropped down into a dimly lit room, it was clear we weren't supposed to be there.

Desks lined the walls, each equipped with monitors and keyboards. A soft hum filled the space from the machinery running around us.

Evelyn walked forward, her fingers trailing

along one of the desks. "This isn't a normal classroom."

Elie moved toward a computer, pressing the keyboard. The monitor lit up, revealing a login screen. "Hmm… let's see…"

She clicked around, and to my surprise, the desktop wasn't locked.

That's when we saw it.

A single folder on the screen.

Labeled: Z Evo.

A chill ran down my spine.

"What… is that?" I asked.

Evelyn exchanged a glance with Elie.

Only one way to find out.

Elie double-clicked the folder.As soon as Elie clicked on the file, the screen flickered for a moment before the video began playing. The title, "Disaster", appeared in bold white text before fading into the dimly lit image of a laboratory.

A man in a white coat stepped into frame, adjusting his glasses as he addressed the camera. He looked calm—almost too calm.

"My name is Dr. Fatal. Today, we make history."

The camera panned to a large, sterile room, where a group of scientists stood around a single man seated in a reinforced chair. His face was obscured, but one thing was unmistakable—he had no arms.

"This is Subject 09," Dr. Fatal continued, gesturing toward the man. "A prime candidate for the final phase of the Z Evolution project."

Evelyn leaned in closer. "Z Evolution…" she muttered. "What the hell is this?"

I didn't answer. My eyes were locked on the screen.

Dr. Fatal picked up a syringe filled with a glowing blue serum. With precise movements, he injected it directly into Subject 09's neck.

For a moment, nothing happened. The man sat still, his breathing steady. The scientists around him murmured, jotting down notes.

Then, something changed.

His body tensed, muscles convulsing as his breathing became erratic. A sickening crack echoed through the speakers.

We watched in stunned silence as new limbs—perfectly formed, muscular—began growing from the stumps where his arms should have been. The regeneration was rapid, unnatural. It took mere seconds before the man had fully restored limbs.

Elie covered her mouth. "That's… insane.

The scientists in the video looked amazed, some even clapping. Dr. Fatal stepped forward, his voice filled with pride. "As you can see, the serum has successfully repaired lost tissue at an unprecedented rate. This is the future of human evolution."

But the test wasn't over.

Subject 09's breathing grew heavier. His hands trembled, his fingers twitching unnaturally. Then, his entire body tensed, and a guttural growl escaped his throat.

One of the scientists hesitated. "Doctor… something's wrong."

The man jerked violently, his eyes snapping open—pure black, devoid of anything human.

Then, he moved.

Before anyone could react, Subject 09 lunged. With terrifying speed, he grabbed the nearest scientist and threw him across the room like a ragdoll. Blood splattered against the white lab walls.

Screams filled the room as chaos erupted. The remaining scientists tried to run, but they were no match for the monstrous strength of Subject 09. He tore through them with unnatural ease, bones snapping under his grip.

Dr. Fatal had backed against the wall, frantically pressing buttons on a control panel. The security alarms blared, red lights flashing across the screen.

But it was too late.

The last image before the video abruptly cut out was Subject 09 turning toward the camera, blood dripping from his fingers.

Then—black screen.

Silence filled the room.

No one spoke. No one moved.

Finally, Evelyn exhaled, breaking the tense stillness. "What the hell did we just watch?"

Elie's face was pale, her fingers still hovering over the keyboard. "That wasn't just some experiment… that was a massacre."

I forced myself to swallow the unease creeping up my spine. "Z Evolution… this wasn't just some medical breakthrough. This was something else entirely."

Evelyn turned to me, eyes sharp. "We weren't supposed to see this."

Elie nodded slowly. "And now we have to figure out why."

I clenched my fists, my mind racing. This wasn't just some file we stumbled across. This was a secret buried for a reason.

And now… we were a part of it.

The weight of what we had just seen lingered in the room, thick and suffocating. None of us spoke for what felt like an eternity. The only sound was the low hum of the computer, its screen still glowing in the dimly lit space.

Then, suddenly

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

A shrill alarm blared from the computer, snapping us out of our trance. The screen flashed red. Unauthorized Access Detected. System Lockdown Engaged.

Shit Evelyn hissed, stepping back. “Tell me thats not what I think it is.

Elie frantically clicked the mouse, trying to exit out of the file, but the system was frozen. The beeping grew louder.

I gritted my teeth. We need to get out of here. Now.

Evelyn was already moving, heading for the vent we had crawled through. Elie hesitated for a split second before grabbing a flash drive from the desk and stuffing it into her pocket.

Elie, what are you doing? I snapped.

She shot me a look. We just found something insane, Shin. I'm not leaving empty-handed.

No time to argue. Footsteps pounded in the hallway outside.

I didn't think. I just acted. Grabbing Elies wrist, I pulled her toward the vent. Evelyn had already hoisted herself up, disappearing into the shaft.

Come on, come on I muttered, pushing Elie up before scrambling in after her.

We crawled as fast as we could, the alarms still screeching in our ears. Below us, we could hear the sound of doors bursting open, voices shouting.

They know someone was here, Evelyn whispered harshly.

I clenched my jaw. "No kidding."

We reached the other end of the vent, the way we had come in. Evelyn went first, dropping down lightly. Elie followed, her landing not as graceful.

Just as I was about to jump down, the door to the room slammed open.

Through the slits of the vent, I caught a glimpse of a group of men in black tactical gear scanning the room.

We've got a breach, one of them said into a radio. Lock down the exits. No one gets out.

I barely breathed as I slipped down from the vent, landing beside Evelyn and Elie.

This just keeps getting worse, muttered.

Evelyn grabbed my arm, urgency in her voice. "Then let's move"

We darted down the hall, keeping to the shadows, our hearts pounding in sync with the alarm.

This wasn't just a school experiment gone wrong.

We had uncovered something dangerous.

And now, whoever was behind it.

They knew we knew.