The Sister from the Pod
1176 Words
The young woman stood in the doorway of the cabin, shivering in the cold morning air.
She was maybe twenty years old, with dark hair and sharp eyes that mirrored Hope's. Same stubborn chin. Same wary expression.
James stared at her from the porch of the main house.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Faith. I'm Hope's sister. Your daughter."
James walked down the steps, across the yard.
"I don't have another daughter."
"You do. Morrison created us in pairs. Hope and Faith. Two sides of the same coin. He wanted to see which one would be stronger."
"Where have you been?"
"In a pod. For twenty years. Someone activated me last week."
"Who?"
"I don't know. They were gone when I woke up."
---
Faith pulled her jacket tighter.
"I've been walking ever since. Following the signal. The one Morrison implanted in all his clones."
"What signal?"
"A homing beacon. It leads us here. To you."
James felt cold.
"Morrison planned this. Even after death."
"Morrison planned for everything."
Hope appeared in the doorway of the main house.
"Dad? Who is this?"
James looked at his daughter. At the stranger.
"Hope, meet Faith. Your sister."
---
Hope walked down the steps, her face pale.
"I don't have a sister."
"You do. Morrison created us together. We were born from the same pod."
Faith stepped closer.
"I've been watching you for years. Through the cameras Morrison planted. I know everything about you."
"That's creepy."
"It's survival."
Hope looked at James.
"Is she telling the truth?"
"She seems to be."
Hope studied Faith.
"Why are you here?"
"To meet my family. To find a home. To be human."
"Morrison's clones don't want to be human. They want to serve."
"Morrison is dead. I'm free."
---
James led them inside.
Evelyn was in the kitchen, making coffee.
"James? Who is this?"
"Faith. Hope's sister. Another clone."
Evelyn set down the coffee pot.
"How many more are there?"
"I don't know. But we need to find out."
Steven was already working. "I'm scanning for similar genetic markers. There could be dozens."
"Dozens of clones?"
"Of Morrison's direct descendants. He was obsessed with legacy."
James sat down heavily.
"We need to find them before someone else does."
"Who else?"
"The people who activated Faith. They're still out there."
---
Faith sat at the table, quiet, watchful.
Hope sat across from her.
"Tell me about your life."
"I don't have a life. I have memories. Implanted. Fake. I don't know what's real."
"Neither do I. Not always."
Faith looked at her.
"You have a family. A home. People who love you."
"Yes."
"I want that."
"Then stay. Build it."
"What if I fail?"
"Then you try again."
Faith smiled. It was the first time James had seen her smile.
---
Weeks passed.
Faith settled into a cabin on the edge of the property.
She helped in the garden, worked in the clinic, played with the children.
Chloe was fascinated.
"Another sister?"
"Another sister."
"That's cool. I have a lot of sisters."
"You can never have too many."
Faith taught Chloe how to draw. How to paint. How to see the world differently.
James watched, cautious.
"You're staring," Evelyn said.
"I'm watching."
"Same thing."
"Not the same."
---
Steven found more signals.
"There are at least twelve more pods. Scattered across the globe. Europe. Asia. South America."
"Morrison's children?"
"His legacy. He wanted to create a new race. His race."
"We need to find them. Before the people who activated Faith do."
"The people who activated Faith are already ahead of us. They've been activating pods for weeks. We've identified at least four more active signals."
James stood up.
"Then we go. Now."
---
They left the next morning.
James, David, Harper, and Faith flew to Europe.
The first signal was in Poland. Hidden beneath an old church.
They approached at night.
"Guards at the entrance," David said. "Six of them."
James raised his rifle. "We do this quiet."
They moved.
The guards fell silently.
The door. Steven sent the code.
Inside, a single pod. Empty.
"They're gone," Faith said.
"Where?"
"The signal moved. East. Toward Russia."
They chased the signal across Europe.
Each facility was the same. Pods opened. Empty.
Someone was always one step ahead.
---
Finally, in Siberia, they caught up.
A facility hidden beneath the ice.
Guards at the entrance. More than before.
"We need to move fast," David said.
James nodded.
They fought their way inside.
Pods lined the walls. Dozens of them.
And in the center, a woman.
Young. Dark hair. Sharp eyes.
Another clone.
"Faith. You brought company."
"Lily. You're awake."
"I've been awake for months. Waiting for you."
Faith stepped forward.
"Why didn't you contact me?"
"Because I wasn't sure you could be trusted."
"Trusted by whom?"
"By us. The new generation. Morrison's true heirs."
Lily raised her hand.
Clones emerged from the shadows. Dozens of them.
"We're not here to fight," James said.
"Then why are you here?"
"To offer you a choice. Come to the sanctuary. Live in peace."
"Peace is boring."
Lily smiled.
"We want to build something new. Something greater. A world without the weakness of emotion."
"You're talking about slavery."
"I'm talking about evolution."
---
Lily raised her hand.
The clones advanced.
James fired. David fired. Harper fired.
Clones fell. More took their place.
Faith fought her way toward Lily.
They struggled.
Faith pinned her.
"Call them off."
"Never."
"Then you die with them."
Lily's eyes glazed over. Poison. Same as the others.
Faith stepped back.
"She's dead."
James looked at the clones. They had stopped, confused.
"Who are we?" one of them asked.
"You're free," James said. "Come with us. We'll help you."
The clones looked at each other.
Then they followed.
---
They returned to the sanctuary.
The new clones were scared, confused, but willing to learn.
Faith helped them adjust. Told them stories. Showed them how to be human.
Hope watched from a distance.
"She's good at this."
"She's had practice."
"She's had you."
James put his arm around Hope.
"She's had herself. She's stronger than she knows."
---
Months passed.
The sanctuary grew.
More clones arrived. More Subjects were freed.
James stepped back, letting others lead.
He spent his days with his family.
Chloe started college. Lily became a teacher. Emma performed her symphony. Grace published her third novel.
Rebecca started first grade.
Hope became a leading researcher in memory restoration.
Faith became her assistant.
James watched from the porch, content.
Evelyn sat beside him.
"Are you happy?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Really?"
"Really."
She leaned against him.
"So am I."
---
His phone didn't buzz.
No messages. No threats.
Just peace.
"Evelyn."
"Yes?"
"Let's go inside. It's getting cold."
They walked into the warm light of the ranch house.
The door closed behind them.
---
In the darkness outside, Faith stood at the edge of the forest.
She watched the house for a long moment.
Then she turned and walked back to her cabin.
The past was dead.
The future was bright.
She was home.
- Writer
