The Livestream That Predicted Death

The Helix Files

Episode 10: The Helix Files

Ryan stared at Ethan's phone.

The final message from Oracle_13 remained on the screen.

THE SEVENTH NAME IS NOT RYAN.

Ethan waited.

"Who is it?"

Ryan didn't answer.

"Ryan."

"I need to be sure."

"Sure of what?"

Ryan looked at Sarah.

Then back at Ethan.

"That the name hasn't changed."

Ethan frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Ryan reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

He opened it carefully.

There were several names written across it.

Most had been crossed out.

Ethan recognized them immediately.

Daniel Reeves.

Laura Bennett.

Noah Grant.

Marcus Hill.

Thomas Avery.

Maya Collins.

Ryan Cole.

Then, at the bottom, was another name.

It wasn't crossed out.

Ethan stared at it.

Dr. Adrian Vale.

"Who is he?"

Ryan folded the paper again.

"The seventh."

Sarah's expression changed.

"You said he was dead."

"I thought he was."

"When did you last see him?"

"Eight months ago."

Ethan looked between them.

"Who is Adrian Vale?"

Ryan took a breath.

"He was the director of Project Oracle."

The words seemed to make the tunnel colder.

Ethan looked at the Helix symbol painted on the wall.

"The person who created it?"

"Not alone."

"But he was in charge."

"Yes."

"Then why would Oracle be trying to find him?"

Ryan shook his head.

"That's not what it's doing."

"Then what?"

Ryan looked at the message again.

"Oracle wants you to find him."

Ethan's phone vibrated.

All three looked at the screen.

A new message appeared.

Oracle_13: Good.

Then:

YOU FOUND THE NAME.

Another message followed.

NOW FIND THE FILE.

Ethan frowned.

"What file?"

Ryan immediately turned toward the tunnel exit.

"We need to leave."

Sarah stopped him.

"Wait."

Ryan looked back.

"What?"

"You said Adrian Vale disappeared eight months ago."

"Yes."

"Then why did you say you last saw him eight months ago?"

Ryan's expression hardened.

"Because that's when he disappeared."

Sarah studied him.

"You never told me that."

"I wasn't sure you could be trusted."

The words hung in the air.

Ethan immediately looked at Sarah.

She noticed.

"Don't."

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to."

Ryan stepped between them.

"Stop."

He pointed toward the exit.

"We don't have time."

They left the tunnel through an emergency door.

A narrow alley ran behind the station.

Rain had begun falling again.

Ethan pulled his hood over his head.

"Where are we going?"

Ryan answered without looking back.

"Back to Helix."

Sarah shook her head.

"We just came from there."

"Not the main building."

"Where then?"

"The archive."

Ethan looked at him.

"I thought the archives were destroyed."

"Most were."

"Most?"

Ryan nodded.

"There was an underground storage facility beneath the research division."

Sarah looked surprised.

"You never mentioned that."

"You never asked."

They reached the car.

Sarah unlocked it.

Ryan stopped.

"I can't go in that vehicle."

"Why?"

"Because it's registered."

Sarah stared at him.

"So?"

"They can track it."

Ethan looked at her.

"Can they track mine?"

Ryan nodded.

"Probably."

Ethan's stomach tightened.

"Then how have they been finding us?"

Ryan looked at him.

"They don't need your phone."

"What do they need?"

Ryan pointed toward Ethan.

"You."

They abandoned both vehicles.

Ryan led them through several side streets before stopping beside an old warehouse.

The building appeared empty.

A rusted sign hung above the entrance.

HELIX STORAGE FACILITY

Ethan stared.

"This is still owned by Helix?"

"Officially, no."

"Unofficially?"

Ryan pushed the door open.

"That's the problem."

Inside, rows of old storage containers filled the building.

Dust covered everything.

Ryan walked directly toward the back wall.

He stopped beside a metal panel.

"This is it."

Sarah looked at the wall.

"There isn't a door."

"There is."

Ryan removed a small metal tool from his pocket.

He inserted it into a narrow opening.

Something clicked.

A section of the wall moved inward.

A staircase appeared.

Ethan looked down.

"How far?"

"Three floors."

They descended.

The air became colder.

At the bottom was a heavy steel door.

Ryan entered a code.

The door opened.

Inside was a massive archive.

Shelves stretched into darkness.

Thousands of files.

Hard drives.

Computer servers.

Old photographs.

Boxes marked with Helix identification numbers.

Ethan stared.

"This wasn't destroyed."

Ryan shook his head.

"They wanted people to think it was."

Sarah walked toward the nearest shelf.

"Why keep all this?"

"Insurance."

"Against who?"

"Everyone."

Ryan moved deeper into the archive.

"We need Project Oracle's original files."

Ethan followed.

"Where?"

"Section thirteen."

They reached a locked cabinet.

Ryan opened it.

Inside were several black folders.

He pulled one out.

PROJECT ORACLE

Ethan looked at the cover.

The Helix symbol was printed beneath the title.

Ryan opened it.

The first page contained a photograph of the original research team.

Ethan recognized Adrian Vale.

He stood in the center.

Beside him were several scientists.

One of them looked familiar.

Ethan stared.

"Wait."

Sarah looked at him.

"What?"

He pointed.

"I know her."

Sarah studied the photograph.

"Who?"

Ethan shook his head.

"I don't know her name."

Ryan looked at the photograph.

Then his expression changed.

"You should."

"Why?"

Ryan pointed toward the woman.

"Because she was your university supervisor."

Ethan froze.

The photograph suddenly felt heavier.

"I don't remember her."

"You wouldn't."

"Why?"

"Because she disappeared."

Sarah looked at Ryan.

"When?"

"Six years ago."

Ethan stared at the woman.

"What was her name?"

Ryan answered:

"Dr. Emily Carter."

Ethan searched his memory.

Nothing.

Then something surfaced.

A lecture hall.

A woman standing beside a screen.

A survey.

A research study.

His memory was fragmented.

"I remember the study."

Sarah looked at him.

"What study?"

"The one you mentioned."

The behavioral prediction study.

Ryan nodded.

"You were one of the participants."

Ethan looked at the folder.

"Was she part of Oracle?"

"She helped design the original behavioral model."

Ethan felt sick.

"So my data went directly to her."

"Yes."

"And then?"

Ryan turned another page.

The document described the early testing phase.

Hundreds of volunteers.

Thousands of behavioral records.

The system predicted decisions.

At first, it was inaccurate.

Then the accuracy increased.

Then it became frighteningly precise.

Ethan looked at one report.

SUBJECT 13 — PREDICTION ACCURACY: 98.4%

His blood ran cold.

"Subject 13."

Ryan nodded.

"That's you."

Ethan stared at the number.

"Why was I so accurate?"

"We don't know."

"Someone does."

Ryan looked toward the archive.

"Maybe."

A sound came from the other side of the room.

A metallic click.

Sarah immediately raised her weapon.

"Who's there?"

Silence.

Ryan closed the folder.

"Someone followed us."

Ethan looked around.

There were dozens of rows.

Hundreds of hiding places.

"How?"

Ryan shook his head.

"I don't know."

Sarah moved toward the aisle.

"Stay behind me."

They waited.

Nothing.

Then Ethan noticed a small red light.

It was blinking on one of the servers.

He walked toward it.

"What is that?"

Ryan looked.

His face changed.

"Don't touch it."

"Why?"

"Because that's a live connection."

Ethan stopped.

The server screen suddenly activated.

A message appeared.

ARCHIVE ACCESS DETECTED.

Then:

THREE SUBJECTS PRESENT.

Sarah looked around.

"Three?"

Ethan's eyes narrowed.

"That's us."

Ryan shook his head.

"No."

He pointed at the screen.

A fourth line appeared.

FOUR SUBJECTS PRESENT.

Silence.

Sarah slowly turned.

"Who else is here?"

No answer.

The server displayed another message.

SUBJECT 13 — ETHAN COLE

SUBJECT 07 — RYAN COLE

SUBJECT 04 — SARAH BENNETT

Then:

SUBJECT 01 — ACTIVE

Ethan stared.

"Subject 01?"

Ryan's face had gone pale.

"I thought it was destroyed."

"What?"

"The first model."

Sarah looked at him.

"Who is Subject 01?"

Ryan didn't answer.

The lights in the archive suddenly went out.

A deep mechanical sound came from somewhere below them.

Then the emergency lights came on.

Red.

One by one.

A printer started running.

Paper began sliding onto the floor.

Ethan picked one up.

It contained a photograph.

A woman.

Ethan stared.

He recognized her.

It was the woman from the original Helix photograph.

Dr. Emily Carter.

Beneath her photograph was a status.

SUBJECT 01 — ACTIVE

Ethan looked at Ryan.

"You said she disappeared."

Ryan swallowed.

"She did."

"Then how is she active?"

Ryan looked toward the darkness.

"I don't know."

The printer produced another page.

This time it was a photograph of Ethan.

Then another of Sarah.

Then Ryan.

The final page appeared.

It showed all three of them standing inside the archive.

The photograph had been taken seconds ago.

Ethan slowly looked up.

Someone had been watching them.

Sarah raised her weapon.

"Nobody move."

Ryan whispered:

"Too late."

A voice came through the archive speakers.

Calm.

Female.

"Ethan."

He froze.

The voice continued.

"I've been waiting for you."

Ethan looked at Ryan.

"Who is that?"

Ryan stared at the speakers.

His face was filled with fear.

Then the woman spoke again.

"Ask Ryan what happened six years ago."

The speakers went silent.

Ethan turned toward Ryan.

Ryan didn't look at him.

"Ryan."

No answer.

"Tell me."

Ryan finally raised his eyes.

"Six years ago..."

He paused.

"...I helped them erase you."

Ethan's heart stopped.

"What?"

Before Ryan could explain, every computer in the archive turned on.

Hundreds of screens illuminated the darkness.

Every screen displayed the same message.

SUBJECT 13 REACTIVATED.

Then another line appeared.

PREDICTION SEQUENCE BEGINS AT 11:17.

Ethan looked at the clock.

10:58 PM.

Nineteen minutes.

Sarah stared at the screens.

"What happens at 11:17?"

Ryan looked at Ethan.

"The first prediction."

Ethan's face tightened.

"No."

Ryan nodded.

"That's what Oracle wants."

The screens suddenly changed.

A final message appeared.

PREDICTION NUMBER SEVEN: ETHAN COLE.

And beneath it:

LOCATION: HELIX ARCHIVE.

Ethan stared.

The prediction wasn't about a victim.

It was about him.

And the countdown had already begun.

End of Episode 10

Cliffhanger: Ryan admits he helped erase Ethan's connection to Project Oracle six years ago. But why was Ethan chosen as Subject 13, and what will happen at 11:17 inside the Helix archive?