Evo

Chapter Seven: My Father

Mika could not move.

His father was standing in front of him.

Alive.

After twelve years of believing he was dead.

Mika had imagined this moment many times.

He had imagined running toward him.

He had imagined asking why he left.

He had imagined punching him.

He had imagined crying.

He had never imagined standing there and feeling nothing.

Adrian looked at him.

"Mika."

"Don't."

His father stopped.

Mika pointed at him.

"You don't get to say my name like nothing happened."

Adrian lowered his hand.

"I know."

"You knew I was alive?"

"Yes."

"Did you ever come back?"

"No."

"Did you watch me?"

"From a distance."

Mika laughed.

It came out bitter.

"From a distance."

Adrian looked down.

"I had to."

"You had to?"

Mika stepped closer.

"My mother cried every night when she thought I was asleep."

Adrian said nothing.

"She told me you were dead."

"I asked her to."

"Why?"

"Because dead men aren't hunted."

Mika shook his head.

"You left us."

"I left you alive."

"That's not the same thing."

Adrian looked at him.

"No. It isn't."

For the first time, Mika saw regret on his father's face.

Then Cain walked forward.

"We don't have time for family problems."

Mika turned.

"Stay out of this."

Cain smiled.

"Good. You're angry."

Mika ignored him.

He looked back at Adrian.

"What is Helix?"

Adrian glanced toward the forest.

"The beginning."

"Beginning of what?"

"The Evos."

Noah stepped forward.

"You said the first Evos weren't born."

Adrian looked at him.

"They weren't."

Mika stared.

"Then who made them?"

Adrian took a breath.

"Humans."

Silence.

Mika felt a strange pressure in his chest.

"Humans created Evos?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"To survive."

Adrian walked toward an old vehicle hidden between the trees.

"Thirty years ago, scientists discovered that the human body was reaching its limit. Diseases were becoming harder to treat. Human cells were breaking down faster. We were looking for a way to repair ourselves."

He opened the vehicle door.

"We found something else."

Mika followed.

"What?"

"A genetic sequence that could force human cells to adapt."

"From where?"

Adrian looked at him.

"That is the part nobody understands."

He started the engine.

"The sequence didn't belong to any known human gene."

Mara climbed into the front.

Daniel followed.

Mika sat in the back with Noah.

Cain stayed outside.

Adrian looked at him.

"Are you coming?"

Cain smiled.

"I'll follow."

The vehicle moved through the forest.

Mika stared at his father through the mirror.

"Why did they call me Subject Zero?"

Adrian's hands tightened around the steering wheel.

"Because you were the first successful result."

Mika felt sick.

"Result?"

"Project Zero wasn't about giving people powers."

"Then what was it about?"

"Creating a human body capable of surviving the genetic sequence."

"And I survived."

Adrian nodded.

"You didn't just survive it."

He looked at Mika through the mirror.

"You changed it."

Mika didn't understand.

"What does that mean?"

"Your body adapted in a way we never predicted."

"How?"

"You don't have one ability."

Mika looked at his hands.

"What do I have?"

Adrian was quiet.

"Potential."

Mika frowned.

"That's not an answer."

"It is."

"No, it isn't."

Adrian sighed.

"Most Evos have limits. Their abilities come from a particular part of the altered gene. Fire. Strength. Telepathy. Speed. Energy manipulation."

He looked at Mika.

"You don't have a fixed ability."

Mika said nothing.

"Your body learns."

The words stayed in Mika's head.

"Every time you're attacked, your body changes."

Mika remembered the bullet.

Cain.

The artificial Evo.

Everything.

"So I become stronger?"

"Not exactly."

"What then?"

"You become better suited to whatever is trying to kill you."

Mika stared at him.

"That's insane."

"Yes."

Adrian looked ahead.

"That's why they are afraid of you."

The vehicle entered a tunnel.

The darkness swallowed them.

Lights appeared along the walls.

Old.

Flickering.

Mika looked around.

"What is this?"

"Helix."

The tunnel opened into a huge underground facility.

Mika stared through the windshield.

Buildings stood beneath the ground.

Glass chambers.

Laboratories.

Metal walkways.

People moved behind windows.

Some were wearing white coats.

Others were armed.

"This place is supposed to be destroyed."

"It was."

Mika looked at Adrian.

"Then why is it here?"

"Because I rebuilt it."

Mika stared at him.

"You run this place?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Adrian parked.

"Because someone has to keep them from repeating the same mistake."

Mika stepped out.

"You're doing the same thing."

Adrian looked at him.

"No."

He pointed toward the glass chambers.

"Look."

Mika walked closer.

Inside one chamber was a young boy.

Maybe ten years old.

He was sleeping.

Wires covered his body.

Mika's stomach turned.

"What is that?"

"An Evo."

"Why is he here?"

"Because his power is killing him."

Mika looked at his father.

"You said you were stopping this."

"I am."

"By keeping them here?"

"By keeping them alive."

Mika looked at the other chambers.

There were dozens.

Children.

Adults.

Some looked normal.

Others didn't.

One woman had glowing blue veins running across her neck.

Another man was floating inside a tank.

Mika felt sick.

"How many?"

"Forty-seven."

"Forty-seven Evos?"

"Forty-seven unstable subjects."

Mika turned.

"Subjects?"

Adrian looked at him.

"You want me to call them patients?"

"Yes."

"Fine."

He nodded.

"Patients."

Mika didn't like the way he said it.

A door opened.

A woman walked out.

She had short grey hair and wore a white coat.

Mika recognized her.

"Dr. Voss."

Elena was alive.

Mara raised her gun.

Adrian stopped her.

"Don't."

"She lied to us."

"She lies to everyone."

Elena smiled.

"Adrian."

"You shouldn't be here."

"Neither should your son."

Mika stepped forward.

"What do you know about me?"

Elena looked at him.

"More than your father."

Adrian's face hardened.

"Enough."

"No."

Mika looked between them.

"Tell me."

Elena crossed her arms.

"Your father didn't create Project Zero."

Mika looked at Adrian.

"He joined it."

Adrian didn't deny it.

"He worked for them."

Mika's voice became quieter.

"How long?"

"Three years."

"And you made me?"

Adrian looked away.

"No."

"Then who?"

Elena answered.

"Your mother."

Mika froze.

"No."

"She carried you."

"That's not what I asked."

Elena looked directly at him.

"Your mother volunteered."

Mika shook his head.

"Why?"

"Because the project needed a living human embryo."

Adrian stepped forward.

"Elena."

She ignored him.

"Your mother believed the experiment would save people."

Mika stared at the floor.

His mother had known.

She had chosen this.

She had chosen to bring him into the world.

"Did she know what I would become?"

"No."

Adrian answered this time.

"Nobody did."

Mika looked at him.

"You did this to me."

Adrian shook his head.

"I tried to stop it."

"But you were there."

"Yes."

"Then you were part of it."

Adrian had no answer.

Mika stepped away.

His hands began shaking.

The lights above them flickered.

Mara noticed.

"Mika."

He looked at her.

"I need air."

"There is no air outside."

"Then I need somewhere else."

He walked away.

Nobody stopped him.

He reached the end of the corridor.

A glass door stood there.

Beyond it was another room.

Inside were dozens of photographs.

Evos.

Experiments.

Deaths.

Mika walked closer.

Then he saw one photograph that made his heart stop.

His mother.

She was younger.

Standing beside Adrian.

And between them was a newborn baby.

Mika.

Written beneath the photograph were three words.

SUBJECT ZERO — SUCCESSFUL

Mika touched the glass.

Behind him, Adrian spoke.

"I never wanted you to see that."

Mika turned.

"Did you love me?"

Adrian stopped.

"Yes."

"Then why did you let them do it?"

"I thought I could protect you."

"You failed."

"I know."

Mika's eyes filled with tears.

He wiped them away.

"I don't know who I am anymore."

Adrian stepped closer.

"You're my son."

Mika looked at him.

"Am I?"

Adrian's face tightened.

"Yes."

A siren suddenly screamed through the facility.

Red lights flashed.

Everyone stopped.

A voice came over the speakers.

"Security breach."

Another voice followed.

"Multiple hostile Evos entering Sector Three."

Adrian's expression changed.

"Cain."

Mara raised her weapon.

"How did he find us?"

Adrian looked at Mika.

"Because I brought you here."

The lights went out.

Something slammed into the outer wall.

The entire facility shook.

Glass shattered.

People screamed.

Then a voice echoed through the darkness.

"Mika!"

Cain.

Mika's eyes began glowing.

Adrian looked at him.

"Stay here."

Mika shook his head.

"No."

"Mika."

"I'm done hiding."

He walked toward the sound.

Adrian grabbed his arm.

"You're not ready."

Mika pulled free.

"Then teach me."

His father stared at him.

For a moment, Mika saw the old man who had carried him on his shoulders.

Then Adrian nodded.

"Fine."

He opened a hidden door in the wall.

Inside was a dark room.

Weapons lined the walls.

Machines hummed.

Adrian walked inside.

"Your first lesson."

Mika followed.

"What is it?"

Adrian turned to him.

"Power doesn't make you dangerous."

He looked toward the shaking facility.

"Losing control does."

The door closed behind them.

Outside, Cain entered Helix.

And he wasn't alone.

Hundreds of Evos followed him.