Chapter 5: Below Zero

“Some truths are buried too deep. Others are buried alive.”

---

Basement – Level -3

🕒 Time: 11:47 PM

The elevator didn’t hum.

It growled.

Amaya gripped the silver keycard like it might bite her. Her other hand hovered near her pocket — where the note was still folded, smudged with ink and fear.

The red numbers descended.

-1

-2

-3

The doors opened with a sound like a hiss.

A gust of cold air slammed into her chest. Sterile. Metallic. Almost surgical.

No guards.

No cameras.

No sound.

Only a corridor — long, grey, lit by overhead lights that flickered in irregular pulses, like a heartbeat trying to stop.

She hesitated.

Then she stepped out.

The elevator slammed shut behind her.

---

Her boots hit the floor like a countdown.

One.

Two.

Three...

The further she walked, the warmer the keycard grew — pulsing faintly in her palm. Almost... alive.

She passed door after door.

Each unmarked. Each sealed.

Each humming faintly — like something inside was breathing.

Then — one door.

Ajar.

The light inside was dim.

She pushed it open with two fingers.

Inside:

A steel chair bolted to the floor.

Restraints — torn apart like paper.

Blood — dry, brown, smeared.

And scrawled across the wall, jagged and hurried, a single word:

LIAR.

Her breath caught in her throat.

She turned to leave—

Static.

A monitor blinked on by itself.

The screen fuzzed… then cleared.

A girl.

Pale. Silent. Staring straight ahead.

Her face was familiar.

Too familiar.

The missing one.

Gone without a trace six months ago. Files sealed. Death unconfirmed.

Amaya had seen her in a photo once.

But here, on the screen, she was alive.

And smiling.

“Hello, shadow.”

---

Amaya’s blood turned to ice.

She stepped closer.

“I knew you’d come.”

Her voice wasn’t hostile.

Just… tired. Tired in a way that made Amaya’s bones ache.

She swallowed. “Who are you?”

The girl tilted her head.

“Wrong question.” “Ask what he told you I was.”

Before Amaya could speak, the girl’s expression darkened.

“You think you're here to replace me?”

“No.”

“You're here to finish what I started.”

The screen glitched.

Black.

Then—

New file opened.

CONFIDENTIAL – SHARMA GROUP ARCHIVES

Project: Lazarus

• Human subjects

• Psychological rewiring

• Shadow Integration Protocol

Status: Terminated

Subject #7 – Status: UNCONFIRMED DECEASED

The photo loaded.

Her.

No name.

Just “REDACTED.”

Her heart pounded.

She turned to leave —

—and slammed into someone.

Arjun.

Silent. Still. Watching.

“You followed me?” she breathed.

He didn’t answer.

She held up the file. “What is this? Who is she?”

His eyes flicked to the screen.

Then to her.

Then:

“I told you not to come alone.”

Her voice cracked. “You gave me the keycard.”

He nodded slowly.

“I told you to come.

I never said I’d let you leave.”

The door behind her slammed shut.

---

Extended Cliffhanger

A second monitor came to life.

This time, it showed her.

Amaya’s profile. Her photo. Her psych data.

Name: AMAYA VERMA

Age: 24

Psych Evaluation: High empathy, high instability under pressure

Integration Readiness: ✅

Labelled:

Subject #8

Status: ACTIVE

Shadow Integration: 76% Complete

She staggered backward. “What is this?”

Arjun stepped closer.

“It’s not about who she was.”

He reached toward her pocket — pulled out the note she thought she had hidden.

“It’s about who you’re becoming.”

She read the bottom of the screen again.

And again.

Trying to breathe.

A final file auto-loaded:

“Protocol Initiation – Subject #8 will begin memory drift by Day 42.”

“Full identity overwrite expected by Day 90.”

A cold realization clawed through her chest:

She hadn’t been sent to investigate.

She had been activated.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***