The Nullmen

The tunnel beneath the city was cold, wet, and full of static. Every step Lena took felt heavier than the last. The air didn’t smell like dirt or mold. It smelled like something burnt and electric, like wires that had melted a long time ago.

She held the reset device in her hand. The red light blinked every few seconds, slower now, like a heartbeat that was getting weaker.

Mira walked in front of her, quiet. She didn’t say where they were going. She just kept moving deeper, her flashlight bouncing against wet metal walls. Nothing about this place felt like it should exist. It didn’t even feel like it was built. It felt like it was printed, like the world had made a fake version of itself down here.

Then Mira stopped.

In front of them was a solid door with no handle, no keypad, just a metal plate the size of a hand.

Mira placed her palm against it and whispered something.

“CBAP seventeen fourteen.”

The metal rippled like liquid and disappeared.

They stepped inside.

The room was covered in mirrors. Every wall, the floor, even the ceiling. But when Lena looked into them, she didn’t see her reflection.

Only Mira’s.

Lena blinked, moved her hand, turned around. Nothing. Her body didn’t exist in the mirror.

She felt sick. Confused.

“Why can’t I see myself?” she asked.

Mira didn’t answer right away. She opened a wall panel and pulled out a black case. Inside were folders, broken hard drives, and an old ID badge.

Dr. K. Hesse. Systems Neurology. CBAP.

Lena took the badge, heart racing.

“I saw that name before,” she said. “In the collapse files.”

Mira nodded. “He’s the one who designed the brain structure for The Program. He believed if you changed a person’s memories slowly, they wouldn’t notice. Their life would keep going. They would think everything was normal.”

She handed Lena a photograph.

It was blurry, old. A lab. A white room. A girl sat in a chair, wires in her scalp, eyes wide open but completely empty.

Below the photo were the words: Test-17A. Subject: Lena M.

Lena stared at the picture, barely breathing.

That was her.

She dropped the photo and backed out of the room. Her mind was spinning. She saw flashes again. Wires. Blue lights. Needles. A door closing. Someone screaming. A woman’s voice calling her name underwater.

She stepped into the hallway, and that’s when she heard it.

A clicking sound.

Not footsteps. Not breathing.

A soft, sharp click like bones tapping against tile.

She turned and saw him.

Tall. Pale. Wearing a dark coat. Not blinking.

His eyes were black. Not empty, but full. Too full.

He was bleeding from the side of his neck.

But the blood was moving upward.

She couldn’t move.

Mira appeared behind her, whispering fast.

“That’s a Nullman. If it sees that you’re remembering, it’ll reset you. Or worse.”

The figure stared at Lena and tilted his head. He didn’t speak with his mouth. His voice came straight into her mind.

“You are not supposed to be here.”

Lena tried to run, but her legs wouldn’t move. The hallway felt thick, like the air had turned into glue. The lights above her weren’t flickering. They were fading.

Then the strangest thing happened.

The Nullman reached into his coat and pulled something out. But it wasn’t an object.

It was a memory.

He held it in front of her like a floating video. And she saw it. Herself. As a child, riding a train, laughing. But then she looked across the seat.

There was another girl.

Another version of herself. Same face. Same age.

She looked normal. But something was off. Her eyes were too calm.

Two Lenas.

The memory snapped like glass and disappeared.

Lena screamed.

Everything went black.

When she opened her eyes, she was inside a glass room. No doors. Bright lights.