The drive through the night was quiet—too quiet. Jay kept one hand on the wheel and the other tightly gripping Lena's. Neither of them spoke much, but their silence spoke volumes.
Lena stared out the window, the glow of distant towns flashing by. Her mind raced with questions, but one wouldn't stop circling:
Why couldn't they erase me?
She turned to Jay. "You said I'm the one they couldn't erase. What does that mean?"
Jay's jaw tensed. "I don't know everything. But when they took me... they tried to wipe any emotional attachments. Especially you."
He glanced at her. "But no matter what they did, your name kept coming back. In dreams. In drawings. On paper. On walls. I even carved it into my arm once... before they caught me again."
Lena's breath caught. "Jay..."
"They couldn't delete you," he said softly. "Because you were part of who I am. That's why they started watching you. To understand *why*."
Lena shook her head slowly. "So I'm... dangerous to them."
"No." Jay gave a faint smile. "You're proof they can fail."
They reached a run-down motel off an empty highway. The air smelled like rust and old rain. Jay booked a room with cash, always careful, always alert.
Inside, Lena collapsed onto the bed. "Do you think we'll ever stop running?"
Jay sat beside her. "Maybe not. But we'll stop being afraid."
A knock startled them both.
Jay rushed to the door and checked the peephole. A young woman stood outside, trembling, holding a tattered notebook.
He opened it just a crack.
"Are you Jay?" she asked in a whisper.
He nodded slowly. "Who are you?"
She looked behind her, paranoid. "My name's Alina. I was in the program too. I remembered after they erased my son."
Lena's heart sank.
Jay let her in, and she handed him the notebook. Pages filled with diagrams, names, addresses, memories. "I've been tracking the others who survived. But they're disappearing again."
She pointed to a circled name. "Caleb. You were right. He's in Nevada. But he's not safe."
Jay leaned forward. "Why?"
Alina's voice dropped. "Because they're using him as bait."
Silence.
Lena clutched the edge of the bed. "So if we go after him…"
"They'll be waiting," Alina finished.
Jay closed the notebook. "Then we go smart."
That night, Lena stood by the window, watching headlights roll down the dark highway. Jay was asleep, his face finally at peace. Alina scribbled notes at the table, tireless.
Lena stepped outside for air. The stars were out, but the sky felt heavy.
She pulled the letter from Jay—the one that started all of this—from her coat pocket. She read it one more time.
Don't trust anyone. Not even those closest to you.
A sudden noise snapped her attention.
Footsteps.
She turned.
In the darkness, a figure stood near the motel's vending machine. The same gray coat. The same motionless stance.
Her voice trembled. "Jay?"
No response.
She took a cautious step forward.
The figure slowly raised an arm—and pointed directly at her.
Then, it collapsed.
Lena screamed.
Jay and Alina rushed out. Jay reached the figure first and rolled it over.
It wasn't Jay.
It wasn't anyone she knew.
But in the figure's cold hand was a phone.
On the screen was a video.
Jay. In a lab. Hooked to machines. Wires on his head.
A technician leaned in.
"We're ready to reboot Subject 8."