GHOSTS OF THE PROGRAM
Sunday – 7:15 A.M. | The Mirror Archives
The hum of old servers echoed softly in the chamber. Rick stood alone in the Mirror's data core, reviewing logs that Mara had given him. His hand hovered over a corrupted video file labeled:
"FIREWALL ENTRY – VERA-13 | CLASSIFIED | DO NOT UNLOCK."
But curiosity won.
He played it.
Static buzzed. The image cleared.
A young boy — no older than 7 — sat across from a woman with striking green eyes and a gentle smile.
"Rick, do you remember your friend?" the woman asked.
"Yes," young Rick replied. "The one with the white hair. The boy who always drew dragons."
Rick's heart skipped.
He remembered that boy. He'd always assumed he was imaginary.
But the name flashed on-screen:
"Subject Name: Kian Vale."
"Status: Terminated."
9:00 A.M. | Strategy room – The Mirror
Rick slammed the file on the table. Ava, Echo, Kael, and Mara all turned.
"This kid, Kian Vale. He was there. In the early years. They said he died."
Mara scanned the image.
"He didn't. Look at this."
She tapped a different screen showing satellite surveillance.
"He was spotted two months ago. Near Hollow Lab 9. One of the last active centers."
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"Why would they fake his death?"
Echo whispered, "Maybe because he wasn't a failure. Maybe he was the success."
12:45 P.M. | The Plan
A mission was formed.
Target: Hollow Lab 9
Location: A remote mountainside complex near the Alaskan border.
Rick looked at the map, then at his team.
"I need to know what they did to him. I need to know if I was the only one who got out... or just the only one who forgot."
Ava added, "If he remembers you, it could break him. Or save him."
Mara handed Rick a case. Inside: a neural stabilizer—modified for memory sync.
"If you make contact, use this. It'll let you see what he sees."
Rick stared down at it.
"I just hope he still wants to be found."
4:30 P.M. | Operation: Frozen Veil
The Mirror team flew in by stealth jet, landing far outside the perimeter to avoid detection.
Snow whipped around them like knives. The mountain air was thin, sharp. Echo hacked into the outer surveillance grid.
Kael disarmed the EMP sensors guarding the entrance.
And then, they were in.
The lab was ancient. Long corridors lined with flickering lights. Abandoned medical bays. Oxygen tanks still humming.
Rick moved through it like a ghost—drawn deeper by memories he didn't know he had.
5:30 P.M. | Reunion
They found him in the lowest sector.
Kian Vale.
White-haired. Tall now. Cold eyes that scanned like scanners. Sitting alone, sketching... dragons.
Rick stepped into the room.
Kian didn't look up.
"Took you long enough," he said. "I thought you died."
Rick's voice cracked.
"They told me you did."
Kian finally looked up. His gaze was distant, electric.
"No. They just made sure you forgot me."
Rick stepped closer.
"Why?"
Kian didn't answer. He simply tapped his temple.
"They put the monster here. And now, it's all I hear."
6:15 P.M. | Sync
Rick activated the neural stabilizer. Kian didn't resist.
The connection hit hard.
Rick fell into a torrent of images — labs, screaming, endless training drills. And then… Rick himself, as a child, smiling beside Kian. Holding hands. Laughing.
They were brothers in all but blood.
But then the images shifted—cold scientists, isolation rooms, and a surgical operation labeled "Personality Forking Trial: FYR-KVALE."
Rick pulled out.
"They split your mind."
Kian nodded.
"One half for control. The other... for chaos."
He looked at Rick with something like sadness.
"And now the chaos is winning."
7:30 P.M. | Extraction
The alarms blared. Security reinforcements arrived.
Mara's voice crackled through the comms:
"Get out—now! They're scrambling drones!"
Rick grabbed Kian's arm.
"Come with me."
Kian shook his head. "I'll slow you down. Besides... I don't trust myself anymore."
Rick's voice was firm.
"Then trust me. Like you used to."
A long pause. Then Kian finally stood.
"Fine. But if I snap, you end it. Promise me."
Rick looked him in the eyes.
"You had me at hello."