CHAPTER 10 — THE FATHER WHO NEVER DIED
Jonathan couldn't move.
The man stood beneath the emergency lights, holding the same enormous hammer Jonathan had seen at the county fair.
But this wasn't the hammer.
Not really.
It was an old military breaching mallet, scarred from years of use, its steel head scratched and battered.
Jonathan knew it.
He had seen it in his childhood.
He had watched his father carry it through the workshop when he was a boy.
He had watched him use it to break steel locks.
He had once asked why a man needed a hammer that heavy.
His father had smiled.
“Some doors aren't meant to be opened gently.”
Now that same man stood in front of him.
Older.
Scarred.
Alive.
Jonathan whispered,
“Dad?”
Elias looked at him.
“My son.”
Emily stepped backward.
Jonathan immediately moved between them.
“Don't come near her.”
Elias stopped.
“I won't.”
Jonathan's voice hardened.
“You've been alive for twenty-eight years.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me suffer.”
Elias lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
Jonathan clenched his fists.
“Why?”
Elias looked at him.
“Because if you knew I was alive, Atlas would know too.”
“You could have found me.”
“I did.”
Jonathan froze.
“What?”
“I watched you.”
“From where?”
“Everywhere.”
Jonathan's face tightened.
“You watched my entire life?”
Elias nodded.
“I watched you become Henry Carter.”
Jonathan's voice cracked.
“You watched me forget my own mother.”
“I did.”
“You watched me forget you.”
“Yes.”
“And you did nothing?”
Elias looked at him.
“I did everything.”
Jonathan shook his head.
“No.”
He stepped forward.
“You abandoned me.”
Elias didn't defend himself.
“You're right.”
The words hit harder than an argument.
Jonathan stopped.
Elias continued.
“I made the decision.”
“You made me suffer.”
“Yes.”
“You destroyed my life.”
“Yes.”
Jonathan's eyes filled with anger.
“Why?”
Elias looked toward Emily.
“Because I was trying to save hers.”
Emily stared at him.
“You know me?”
Elias smiled sadly.
“I knew you before you were born.”
Jonathan looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Elias walked toward a nearby console.
He placed his hand against it.
The system recognized him.
The screens came alive.
A file appeared.
PROJECT GUARDIAN — FINAL SUBJECT
Jonathan stared.
The photograph was Emily.
But beneath it was another name.
EMILY HAYES.
Jonathan frowned.
“Her last name is Carter.”
Elias shook his head.
“Only on paper.”
Jonathan's jaw tightened.
“You changed her identity too.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Atlas was searching for the Hayes bloodline.”
Jonathan looked at Emily.
“So you hid her.”
“Yes.”
“From Atlas.”
“From everyone.”
Jonathan stared at the screen.
Then he noticed something.
There were two photographs.
One of Emily.
One of him.
Connected by a line.
Then another name appeared.
JONATHAN HAYES — GUARDIAN ZERO.
Jonathan stared.
“What is Guardian Zero?”
Elias turned toward him.
“You.”
“I thought I was JH-01.”
“You were.”
“What changed?”
“You survived.”
Jonathan frowned.
Elias continued.
“The original Guardian program had one purpose.”
“To control Atlas?”
“No.”
“To destroy it.”
Jonathan looked at him.
“Then why did Samuel say I could control the system?”
“Because he was telling the truth.”
Jonathan shook his head.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It does.”
Elias stepped closer.
“Atlas has two layers.”
“Two?”
“The public system.”
“And the hidden system.”
“Yes.”
“The public system can alter identities.”
“What does the hidden system do?”
Elias looked at Emily.
“It decides who deserves an identity.”
Jonathan's expression hardened.
“That's monstrous.”
“It is.”
“And you built it.”
“I helped build it.”
Jonathan stared.
“My grandfather created the first architecture.”
“Your grandfather discovered the technology.”
“Samuel?”
“No.”
Jonathan frowned.
“Then who?”
Elias looked at Emily.
“Your great-grandfather.”
Jonathan's eyes widened.
“How old is this system?”
“Older than Atlas.”
“How much older?”
“Seventy-two years.”
Jonathan stared.
“That means…”
“Yes.”
“It began before I was born.”
“Long before.”
Elias walked toward a large metal table.
He placed the hammer down.
The sound echoed through the room.
Jonathan looked at it.
“You still use that?”
Elias smiled.
“Some things never change.”
Jonathan remembered.
His father teaching him.
A steel door.
A hammer.
“Never swing from your arms,” Elias had said.
“Then how?”
“From your legs.”
Young Jonathan had frowned.
“Why?”
“Because strength isn't about how much you can lift.”
His father had tapped the hammer.
“It's about knowing where to put it.”
Jonathan looked at the hammer now.
The same lesson.
The same man.
But everything else had changed.
Elias walked toward Emily.
Jonathan blocked him.
Elias stopped.
“I won't touch her.”
“Then tell me why she's here.”
“Because the final archive needs her.”
Jonathan's voice became cold.
“I already opened it.”
“No.”
Elias shook his head.
“You opened the outer archive.”
“What?”
“The real archive is still locked.”
Jonathan looked at the screens.
The system displayed:
LEVEL 13 — ACCESS INCOMPLETE
Elias continued.
“You released the records.”
“But?”
“But you didn't release the people.”
Jonathan stared.
“What people?”
Elias pointed toward the glass chambers.
“Look.”
Jonathan turned.
The chambers began illuminating one by one.
Inside were photographs.
Hundreds.
Then thousands.
Every person Atlas had erased.
Every person Atlas had renamed.
Every person who had been removed from history.
Jonathan's face hardened.
“They're still trapped.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Some are physically alive.”
Jonathan stared.
“And some?”
“Dead.”
“But their identities?”
“Still locked.”
Jonathan looked at Emily.
“What does she have to do with that?”
Elias answered,
“She can release them.”
Emily looked confused.
“How?”
Elias crouched.
“You were born with the final sequence.”
Emily stared.
“I don't understand.”
“You don't need to.”
Jonathan stepped between them again.
“She doesn't do anything until I understand everything.”
Elias looked at his son.
“Good.”
Jonathan frowned.
“Good?”
“You're finally thinking like yourself.”
A sound echoed through the room.
Footsteps.
Jonathan turned.
Thomas emerged from the darkness.
His clothes were torn.
Blood covered one side of his face.
Jonathan rushed toward him.
“Thomas!”
Thomas smiled weakly.
“Miss me?”
“What happened?”
“Samuel.”
Jonathan looked around.
“Where is Amelia?”
Thomas's smile disappeared.
“She was taken.”
Jonathan froze.
“By who?”
“Victor.”
Jonathan's expression hardened.
“When?”
“After the elevator.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
Thomas pulled a small device from his pocket.
“But I found this.”
Jonathan took it.
A red signal blinked.
Elias looked at it.
“That's not a tracker.”
Jonathan frowned.
“What is it?”
“A distress beacon.”
“From Amelia?”
“No.”
Elias looked toward Emily.
“From Victor.”
Jonathan stared.
“Why would Victor send us a distress signal?”
Elias's face darkened.
“Because he's trapped.”
Jonathan looked at him.
“Where?”
Elias pointed toward the floor.
“Below us.”
Jonathan frowned.
“Level fourteen?”
Elias nodded.
“There is no Level Fourteen.”
“That's what Atlas wants you to believe.”
Jonathan looked at the hammer.
“What is down there?”
Elias didn't answer.
“Dad.”
Elias looked at him.
“The first Guardian.”
Jonathan froze.
“You?”
Elias shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at Emily.
“Her.”
Emily stepped backward.
“No.”
Jonathan immediately knelt beside her.
“It's okay.”
Emily shook her head.
“They said there was someone like me.”
Jonathan looked at Elias.
“What does she mean?”
Elias answered,
“There was another child.”
“Another Guardian?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Below.”
“Who is she?”
Elias hesitated.
“Her name is Anna.”
Jonathan stared.
“Who is Anna?”
“Emily's older sister.”
Silence.
Emily looked at Elias.
“I don't have a sister.”
Elias's expression softened.
“You did.”
Jonathan looked at him.
“What happened?”
“She was taken.”
“By Atlas?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Elias whispered,
“By your mother.”
Jonathan's face changed.
“What?”
Elias continued.
“Marianne took Anna because she believed Atlas could never be destroyed.”
Jonathan shook his head.
“My mother would never do that.”
Elias looked at him.
“You don't know your mother.”
Jonathan stared.
“You said she was protecting us.”
“She was.”
“Then why take Anna?”
“Because Anna wasn't like you.”
“How?”
“She wanted Atlas.”
Jonathan went silent.
Elias looked at Emily.
“Anna believed she could control the system.”
“And did she?”
Elias shook his head.
“She became the system.”
Jonathan felt a chill.
“What does that mean?”
Elias pointed downward.
“She is the voice you've been hearing.”
Jonathan froze.
“The voice on the train.”
“Yes.”
“The voice in the facility.”
“Yes.”
“The voice that called me Jonathan.”
Elias nodded.
“Anna.”
Emily looked frightened.
“Is she bad?”
Elias didn't answer.
Jonathan did.
“We don't know.”
Elias looked at him.
“That's the correct answer.”
Suddenly, every monitor switched on.
A woman's face appeared.
Young.
Beautiful.
Dark hair.
Green eyes.
She looked directly at Jonathan.
“Hello, little brother.”
Jonathan froze.
Emily stepped closer to him.
“Who is that?”
Jonathan whispered,
“Anna.”
The woman smiled.
“You took long enough.”
Elias looked at the screen.
“Anna.”
She smiled.
“Father.”
Elias's expression hardened.
“You shouldn't be here.”
Anna laughed.
“You brought him here.”
“You know why.”
“Yes.”
“Then let him go.”
“No.”
Jonathan stepped forward.
“Where is Amelia?”
Anna's smile disappeared.
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“Where all the lost things are kept.”
Jonathan's eyes narrowed.
“Level fourteen.”
“Yes.”
“Take me there.”
“You can't.”
“Why?”
“Because you haven't earned it.”
Jonathan stared.
“What do I have to do?”
Anna smiled.
“Remember.”
“Remember what?”
“The night you killed our father.”
Jonathan's blood ran cold.
Elias looked away.
Jonathan turned toward him.
“You told me I didn't.”
Elias remained silent.
Anna laughed.
“He still doesn't know.”
Jonathan's breathing became heavy.
“What happened that night?”
Anna's voice became quiet.
“You didn't kill him.”
Jonathan stared.
“You killed me.”
Silence.
Emily looked at Jonathan.
Jonathan couldn't breathe.
Anna continued.
“You were supposed to protect me.”
“I don't remember.”
“I know.”
“You changed my memories.”
“No.”
Anna smiled.
“Father did.”
Jonathan looked at Elias.
“Why?”
Elias finally spoke.
“Because you were a child.”
“What did I do?”
Elias closed his eyes.
“You opened the wrong door.”
“What was behind it?”
Anna answered.
“Me.”
The screen went black.
A second later, another message appeared.
LEVEL 14 ACCESS AVAILABLE.
The floor beneath them began opening.
A platform rose from below.
An elevator.
Jonathan looked at Emily.
Then Thomas.
Then Elias.
“I'm going down.”
Elias nodded.
“I know.”
Jonathan stepped onto the platform.
Elias grabbed the hammer.
Jonathan looked at him.
“You're coming?”
Elias smiled.
“I've been waiting twenty-eight years.”
They stepped into the elevator.
Emily held Jonathan's hand.
Thomas stood behind them.
The doors closed.
The elevator descended.
Level 13.
Level 14.
Then—
LEVEL 15.
Jonathan frowned.
“There is a Level Fifteen?”
Elias stared at the display.
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
Elias's face became pale.
“The place where Atlas began.”
The doors opened.
Jonathan stepped out.
The room was enormous.
At the center stood a single glass chamber.
Inside was a woman.
Young.
Motionless.
Jonathan stared.
She looked almost exactly like Emily.
Emily gasped.
“Mom?”
Jonathan froze.
The woman inside the chamber opened her eyes.
But she wasn't Amelia.
She smiled.
Then she spoke.
“Hello, Jonathan.”
Jonathan stared at her.
“Anna?”
The woman shook her head.
“No.”
She placed her hand against the glass.
“My name is Marianne.”
Jonathan's heart stopped.
His mother.
The woman he had just seen upstairs.
But this woman was younger.
Much younger.
And behind her stood another glass chamber.
Inside was a little girl.
A girl about Emily's age.
Jonathan stared.
Emily whispered,
“Who is she?”
The girl opened her eyes.
Then she smiled.
Jonathan stepped closer.
The little girl looked exactly like Emily.
Same eyes.
Same hair.
Same face.
Jonathan's voice disappeared.
Elias whispered behind him,
“That is Anna.”
Jonathan turned.
“Then who is the woman?”
Elias looked at the chamber.
“Your mother.”
Jonathan stared at Marianne.
She smiled.
“Now you understand.”
The lights turned red.
A message appeared:
GUARDIAN TWO AWAKENING.
Emily suddenly grabbed Jonathan's hand.
“Grandpa.”
“Yes?”
She was trembling.
“That's not my sister.”
Jonathan looked at her.
“Then who is she?”
Emily stared through the glass.
Her face went completely white.
“She is me.”
Jonathan froze.
The girl inside the chamber opened her eyes.
And smiled.
The same smile Emily had.
The same voice.
The same face.
May you like
Then she whispered—
“Finally.”
