Chapter 20: SHADOWS IN THE MIRROR
Tuesday – 12:42 P.M. | Western Shelter – Underground Lab Wing
Rain hammered the surface above, masking every echo of the safehouse buried deep beneath the ruins of an old subway station. The world outside argued over truth and lies. Inside, Rick stared into a mirror — not to fix his appearance, but to search his eyes for something real.
Echo stood behind him, arms folded, watching.
"You don't recognize yourself," the boy said.
Rick didn't turn.
"I don't know if I ever did."
1:13 P.M. | Lab Console – Memory Archives Accessed
Kael and Ava worked silently over fragmented files pulled from Eden Terminal's drive — data logs, testing sequences, psychological scans.
Suddenly, a file decrypted.
"M-Sequence: Prototype Chronology"
Ava froze as the logs scrolled.
> Subject 00: Created 11 months before Subject 01 (Rick Fyer). DNA match: 99.97%.
> Behavioral anomaly: compassion beyond expected range. Emotional depth untraceable to original.
> Conclusion: Subject 00 believed himself to be the original.
1:55 P.M. | Medical Bay
Rick sat on the edge of a cot, hands clenched, face unreadable.
Ava entered.
"We found something."
She hesitated, holding the tablet.
"The records say Echo… was created before you."
Rick didn't flinch.
Didn't speak.
Kael entered behind her, eyes wide.
"You might not be the original."
Silence.
Then Rick chuckled, dark and dry.
"Doesn't change anything."
2:30 P.M. | Garden Level (Underground Conservatory)
Echo walked slowly through the moss-covered chamber. He touched a vine.
Rick approached behind him.
"You knew."
"I suspected." Echo looked at him.
"But I wanted to know who I was — not just what I was made from."
Rick leaned against a wall.
"Then tell me. If I'm the clone… what am I?"
Echo smiled.
"You're the one who chose to fight. That's what makes you real."
Flashback Fragment – Eden Terminal Archives (Private Session)
> [Footage: Young Echo, around 13, sits in a therapy room.]
Therapist: "Do you know who you are?"
Echo: "I'm not sure yet. But I think the real Rick… wouldn't stop trying to protect people."
3:40 P.M. | Hollow Bridge Internal Server Room
Director Widow stood silently as holograms flickered around her. The Eden Terminal breach had gone viral. Public protests sparked globally. Mistrust festered.
Clone Rick had disappeared.
Her perfect story — unraveling.
General Haxon approached.
"If you can't control them, we terminate the entire program."
Widow's jaw tensed.
"No. I'll deal with them myself."
4:15 P.M. | Shelter – Strategy Table
Rick, Ava, Kael, and Echo gathered.
Ava pointed at a map.
"Widow's moving. Fast. We have 72 hours before she wipes every remaining piece of evidence."
Kael flipped a switch, displaying a 3D rendering of Hollow Bridge's Core Command.
"We breach the mainframe. Broadcast everything. Memory logs, AI transcripts, failed subjects — all of it."
Echo looked up.
"They'll come for us."
Rick smirked.
"Let them."
Final Scene – Mirror Again
Rick returned to the mirror.
This time, Echo stood beside him.
They looked at each other — same eyes, same scars, same past.
But one difference.
Rick placed a hand on Echo's shoulder.
"Whether I'm the first or the hundredth… I know who I am now."
Echo nodded.
"Then let's show the world."