“Don’t move a muscle, kid,” the voice demands.

  Oscar and Jacob slowly turn around to face Tao. A large figure stands over Tao holding a pistol to his head. A familiar mask rests on their face, revealing a pair of blue eyes.

  “Which one of you was it?” His voice breaks, shaking under the weight of his own words. “Which one of you killed Mitch?!”

  “Who's Mitch? I don’t know anyone named Mitch,” Tao says, his hands trembling. I could use the bat, but the person would probably pull the trigger faster than I could move.

  “Liar. One of you cracked his skull open and left him like a dog in the main room,” the voice stammered.

  Suddenly, it all made sense.

  Oscar and Tao knee immediately as they both locked eyes, knowing of the truth. The person they had ambushed must be who they were talking about.

  “I left him by himself, thinking he'd be joining me soon. And now he's—” the gunman’s voice broke off, turning into a sudden rage.

  “And look who we have here as well. The traitor!” the voice announced.

  “Nice to see you again, Gabe. I thought you would have fizzled out by now,” Jacob taunted. Probably not a great idea.

  “Funny. So it's between you—” he pressed the barrel of the gun on Tao's head. “—and you.” He pointed the gun at Oscar.

  “Yanseh said to leave you alive, so I'll enjoy breaking you down instead,” Gabe menacingly said.

  “Move.” He pointed to Jacob as he threw a set of keys that were each color coded.

  “Use the blue key and walk through the door,” Gabe demanded.

  The keys clattered against the floor, skidding to a stop near Jacob’s feet. The sound echoed throughout the hallway in the tense silence.

  Jacob didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. If he’s learnt anything by being among these monsters, it is that they will go to great lengths to get what they want.

  “Pick. Them. Up.” Gabe’s voice was quieter now, but somehow even more nerve-wracking.

  Jacob slowly bent down to his knees and took the keys, inserting the blue one into the keyhole. The pair of double doors swung open immediately without having to turn the knob.

  The Observation Room was now open, but not one head turned to look at them. The people at the typewriters kept writing without breaking a sweat. The people forming the papers into files kept on working as the entire room seemed unbothered by their presence.

  Gabe forced Tao to stand up and pushed him inside along with Oscar and Jacob, taking the bat in the process. The air was thick with the rhythmic clicking of keys.

  “Sit,” Gabe said, shoving the trio into a set of chairs aligned along the wall next to the doors.

  Tao stumbled toward the empty chair, his heartbeat hammering in his chest. Oscar and Tao sat next to him, their movements tense.

  Tao took in the room again, noticing something that he hadn't before. Each of the people that sat on the typewriter had a peculiar tattoo beneath their left ear. Observers.

  Their eyes were glassy and focused. Their posture was unnatural as they hunched over the typewriters, their fingers flying over the keys.

  Tao tried to narrow his eyes at one of the typewriters. The closest one was clearly visible as he inspected it.

  The words on the pages were not random.

  They were documenting this exact moment.

  Gabe forces the prisoners into chairs. Tao begins scanning the room once again. Oscar shifts nervously in the chair, avoiding eye contact. Jacob remains still, just watching.

  Tao’s breathing quickened. He moved his gaze to the Observer typing the words. Their finger’s kept moving, but his eyes…his eyes didn’t so much as move or blink.

  Oscar leaned closer towards Tao, his voice low. “Dude…are you seeing this?”

  “Yeah,” Tao responded, swallowing hard.

  Jacob let out a dry, humorless chuckle. “I told you guys. They record everything.”

  Gabe stepped forward and slammed a heavy file onto a desk in front of the trio.

  “Here, since I’m sure you’re so curious about her. Go ahead.”

  Tao’s hands shook as he moved closer to the file. He slowly turned the page reading the name at the top of the page. Lucy Morales.

  He rapidly skimmed the document, his heartbeat slamming against his ribs.

  Subject Status: Processing

  Genetic Probability: High

  Purpose: Candidate Replacement

  Tao felt sick. Just what were they doing to his sister?

  Processing. At least that meant they hadn’t done anything yet.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  There was still time. No matter, I will get to her.

  Tao’s hands gripped the paper so hard it nearly tore.

  “Woah there, kid. I still need these.” Gabe said, snatching the file back from Tao and slipping it into a cabinet.

  Tao felt as if his heart had just been ripped from his body. He saw as all the information on Lucy disappeared behind a metal cabinet.

  Oscar sat back, putting both of his hands over his eyes. “Jesus…what does ‘Candidate Replacement’ even mean?”

  Jacob’s mouth tightened. “She’s probably replacing Sarah. And if her genetic probability is high, then it’s likely she’s the closest thing they’ve had to a ‘perfect Vessel’.”

  Gabe’s expression didn’t change. “She’s where she needs to be. However, you brats caused a whole lot more trouble than we intended.”

  Tao balled up his hands into a fist, his nails digging into his hands. They were treating Lucy, my sister, like an object.

  “What the hell does that mean?” Tao growled, his voice low.

  Gabe titled his head. “It means you shouldn’t have come here. It would be pointless to stop what’s going to happen.”

  Tao was on the verge of snapping. He could feel it—his entire body was shaking, and his breath came in irregular patterns. They were wasting time. Every second spent in this room was another second Lucy could be further in danger.

  Jacob, still slouched in his chair, finally spoke up. “I know my fate, but you guys clearly kept me alive. What happens next?”

  Gabe exhaled sharply. “That depends. We could either release all three of you and watch you as you pointlessly go to the police or—” He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers.

  Immediately, every single Observer in the room stopped typing.

  The silence was suffocating. The only noise came from the patients groaning while the doctors stood motionless.

  Everyone, but the innocents had stopped moving.

  Tao felt a chill crawl down his spine as, in perfect unison, the Observers turned their heads toward them.

  Their eyes were blank. Empty. Too still. Not one blinked.

  Oscar let out a shaky breath. “Oh, hell no.”

  One Observer, a woman with graying hair and sunken cheeks, slowly stood. Her chair scraped against the floor, the sound jolting Jacob up from his chair.

  “What the hell is this?…I’ve never seen this,” he muttered under his breath.

  The woman’s voice was flat. Emotionless. “Do you wish to report a failure?”

  Gabe rubbed his head, clearly exhausted. “Yeah, yeah. New report. One dead observer. One traitor. Two intruders.”

  The woman finally blinked once. “Understood.”

  She turned, walking back towards her desk at the back of the room and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. Within seconds, her fingers began flying over the keys.

  Tao shivered. “What happens when they report a failure?”

  Gabe smirked. “Well there’s a couple of options, but it always ends with someone cleaning up this mess.”

  Jacob’s eyes darkened. “You mean kill us.”

  Gabe shrugged his shoulders. “I mean…not necessarily. There are other uses for failures. But that’s not up to me.”

  Other uses? What the hell did that mean?

  Gabe sighed. “So now we wait for the response. In the meantime, let’s make sure you don’t get any stupid ideas.”

  Gabe walked up to the closest doctor that was treating a patient with something in their leg. From what Tao could see, a nasty rash covered the entirety of that patient’s left leg. From here it seemed like the rash was pulsating, but maybe Tao was now really going crazy.

  Gabe whispered something in the doctor’s ear, and he received three sets of thick rope. He returned to the trio and gestured towards Tao. “Hands out.”

  Tao didn’t move, and instead simply shook his head.

  Gabe let out a sigh, placing the barrel on Tao’s forehead. “I can shoot you now if you prefer. I don’t think they’ll mind if an accident happens up here.”

  Tao bit his tongue, feeling every inch of his body resist against the order. He could feel Oscar’s frantic gaze on him, begging him to not resist.

  With a shaky exhale, Tao extended his arms forward.

  “Good boy,” Gabe taunted as he precisely wrapped the rope tightly around Tao’s wrists.

  As soon as he ties Tao’s wrists, he leans in close. “Look at you. All that fight to save your sister…and you still ended up like this.”

  After that, Gabe straightens up and moves over to Oscar.

  When he finally reached Jacob, he smirked. “Might as well shoot me. I’m headed down there anyway.”

  Gabe punched him hard across the face.

  Jacob grunted, spitting blood onto the floor. He wore a smile. “Kinky.”

  Gabe glared, but didn’t respond. He simply wrapped the rope around his wrists as well. He turned to the Observer still typing at the desk.

  “How long?”

  The woman’s finger didn’t slow. “Report processing…Stand by.”

  Gabe groaned. “Man, it’s annoying when they say that.”

  Tao was panicking inside. He looked around the room, desperately searching for anything useful.

  His eyes landed on the metal filing cabinets.

  If Lucy’s file was in there, what else could there be?

  He glanced at Jacob, who was still recovering from everything he had endured. Tao tilted his chin slightly toward the cabinets.

  Jacob blinked once. He understood.

  Oscar caught on next. He was probably the most scared.

  They had one chance.

  The moment something distracted Gabe, they’d move.

  But before they could act—

  A loud ping echoed throughout the room.

  The woman stopped typing.

  She lifted the paper from the typewriter, turned, and handed it to Gabe.

  “Thank you very much,” he said as he laid eyes on the paper.

  Gabe’s eyes narrowed. His jaw locked.

  Tao felt his stomach erupt.

  Gabe folded the paper and shoved it into his coat. He turned back to the three of them, clearly trying to hide his smile.

  “Well,” he muttered, “you guys have the worst luck of all time.”

  “Looks like you’re being sent to The Cells. A fate worse than death.”