The Watcher in the Dark
1746 Words
James's blood turned to ice.
"The lady in the trees? What lady, Chloe?"
"The one with the dark hair. She watches me when I play. She waves at me."
James knelt beside his daughter's bed. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I thought she was your friend. She said she knew you."
"When did you first see her?"
"A long time ago. Before the snow came."
Months ago. Someone had been watching them for months.
James kissed Chloe's forehead. "Thank you for telling me. Now go to sleep. I'll keep you safe."
She nodded, already drowsy.
He walked out of the room and closed the door.
---
Evelyn was in the hallway. "What is it?"
"Someone's been watching the children. A woman. Dark hair. Chloe thought she was my friend."
"I'll wake David."
"No. I'm going to find her myself."
"James—"
"I need to know who she is. And what she wants."
He grabbed a flashlight and walked outside.
The yard was empty. The forest was dark.
He walked to the tree line.
"Show yourself."
Silence.
"I know you're out here. Chloe told me."
A figure stepped out of the shadows.
The woman from his dreams. Young, dark hair, sharp eyes. She wore a long coat and boots.
"James. I've been waiting for you."
"Who are you?"
"My name is Lena. I'm the daughter you never knew about."
---
James stared at her.
"That's impossible."
"Is it? Morrison created clones of everyone else. Why not you?"
"I have no memory of—"
"Because Morrison erased your memories. Of me. Of my mother. Of the life you had before Rebecca."
James felt cold. "My mother?"
"Morrison kidn*pped her. Used her as a surrogate. I was born in a laboratory. Raised by handlers. Programmed to be a weapon."
"What kind of weapon?"
"The kind that kills clones. Morrison wanted someone who could infiltrate the Network if it ever turned against him."
"But the Network is gone."
"Morrison is gone. But his legacy remains. And I'm the only one who knows where the last fragment of his research is hidden."
---
James studied her.
She looked like him. Same eyes. Same jaw.
"Why are you telling me this now?"
"Because I'm tired of hiding. I want a life. A real life. With a family."
"You have a family."
"I have strangers who share my DNA. That's not a family."
She stepped closer.
"I want to live here. On the ranch. With you and Evelyn and the children."
James shook his head. "You can't just appear and demand—"
"I'm not demanding. I'm asking."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Because I'm your daughter. And because I have nowhere else to go."
---
James led her inside.
Evelyn was waiting in the kitchen.
"Who is this?"
"My daughter. Lena."
Evelyn's face went pale. "Morrison created her?"
"She says she was born in a laboratory. Morrison erased my memories of her."
Evelyn looked at Lena. "How do we know she's telling the truth?"
Lena pulled up her sleeve. A scar. A barcode.
"Morrison branded all his experiments. Check your records. You'll find me."
Steven pulled up the archives. A file appeared.
Subject 41. Name: Lena Cole. Status: Active. Location: Unknown.
"It's real," Steven said. "She's Morrison's daughter. James's daughter."
Evelyn sat down heavily.
"I need a minute."
---
Lena sat at the table, waiting.
James sat across from her.
"Tell me about your mother."
"Her name was Anna. She was a scientist. Morrison hired her to work on the cloning project. She didn't know what he was planning until it was too late."
"What happened to her?"
"She tried to escape. Morrison had her killed. I was six years old."
"How did you survive?"
"I was raised by handlers. Trained to be a weapon. But I never forgot my mother. Or the man who killed her."
"Morrison."
"Yes."
"You said you know where the last fragment of his research is hidden."
"In a bank vault in Zurich. He deposited it years ago, before he died. It contains his final formula. The one that could bring him back."
"Bring him back from the dead?"
"His consciousness is stored in a digital archive. The formula can transfer it into a new body. Any body."
James felt cold. "We need to destroy it."
"I can get you into the vault. But I need your help."
"Why?"
"Because the vault is protected by Morrison's people. The same people who raised me. They won't let anyone near it."
"Then we fight our way in."
Lena nodded. "That's what I was hoping you'd say."
---
They left for Zurich the next morning.
James, David, Harper, and Lena flew under false names. Evelyn stayed behind with the children.
The bank was in the old city, hidden behind a nondescript facade.
"The vault is underground. Three levels. Biometric locks. Voice recognition."
"Can you get us in?"
"I have the codes. My handlers gave them to me years ago. They didn't know I'd use them against them."
They entered the bank.
The lobby was quiet. A single guard at the desk.
James took him down silently.
They descended to the basement.
Level one. Level two. Level three.
A steel door. Lena typed the code.
The door opened.
---
Inside, a room. Shelves. Boxes.
And a single safe.
"The research is in there," Lena said.
"How do we open it?"
"Your fingerprint. Morrison programmed it to respond to your DNA."
James placed his hand on the scanner.
The safe clicked open.
Inside, a single hard drive.
James took it.
"Destroy it," Lena said.
He smashed it against the wall.
The pieces fell.
"It's done."
"Not yet."
Lena pulled a gun.
"Now you're going to give me the real hard drive."
---
James stared at her.
"The real one?"
"Morrison created a decoy. The real research is in a different location. You know where."
"I don't."
"Liar."
Lena raised the gun.
"I've been playing you from the beginning. The daughter story. The tragic past. All lies."
"Why?"
"Because I want the research. For myself. To build a new Network. One that I control."
"You're insane."
"I'm ambitious."
David raised his rifle. "Put the gun down."
Lena laughed. "You won't shoot. Not with James in the line of fire."
David's finger tightened on the trigger.
"Stop," James said.
"James—"
"Let her go."
Lena backed toward the door.
"This isn't over."
She disappeared into the corridor.
---
They searched the bank.
No sign of Lena.
"She's gone," Harper said.
"We need to find her."
"Where?"
"The real research. She thinks I know where it is. But I don't."
"Then she'll come back. When she realizes you're telling the truth."
James nodded. "Then we'll be ready."
---
They flew home.
The ranch was quiet.
Evelyn was waiting.
"Did you get it?"
"We destroyed the decoy. Lena escaped."
"Lena?"
"Morrison's daughter. My daughter. She's been playing us."
Evelyn's face went pale. "Where is she now?"
"Somewhere in Europe. Planning her next move."
"We need to find her before she finds us."
"I know."
---
Weeks passed.
No sign of Lena.
James began to relax.
Then the dreams returned.
Not nightmares. Warnings.
The research is in the one place you'll never look. Your own home.
He woke up with a start.
"Evelyn. Wake up."
"What?"
"The research. Morrison hid it here. On the ranch."
"That's impossible. We've searched everywhere."
"Not everywhere."
James walked to the basement. Behind the old furnace. The same place they'd found the transmitter.
He pulled out the loose brick.
Behind it, a small box.
He opened it.
Inside, a hard drive.
Morrison's final research.
Hidden under their feet for years.
---
James stared at the drive.
"He was here. In this house. Watching us."
"Morrison?"
"Or one of his people. Someone who had access."
"Who?"
James thought about everyone who had been on the ranch.
Bill. The settlers. Sarah. Kara. Lena.
Any of them could have planted it.
"We'll never know."
"Then we destroy it."
James smashed the drive.
Pieces scattered.
"It's done."
"For real this time?"
"For real."
---
The next morning, Lena appeared at the gate.
She was alone, unarmed.
"I came to apologize."
James met her at the fence.
"Apologize for what? Betraying us?"
"For lying. About the research. About the Network. About everything."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because I have nowhere else to go. The people who raised me want me dead. Morrison's loyalists want me dead. I'm alone."
"You should have thought about that before you pulled a gun on me."
Lena's eyes filled with tears.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
James looked at her. At his daughter's face.
"One chance. Stay here. Help us. Earn our trust."
Lena nodded. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. Trust is earned."
---
She moved into Sarah's old cabin.
The children were wary at first.
But Lena was patient. Kind. She told stories. Played games.
Chloe loved her.
"Daddy, Lena is the best!"
"Be careful, sweetheart. She's still new."
"But she's family."
James looked at Lena, playing with the children.
"Maybe she is."
---
Weeks passed.
No more lies. No more betrayals.
Lena helped around the ranch. Cooked. Cleaned. Repaired fences.
James began to trust her.
One night, he sat on the porch with Evelyn.
"She's changed."
"Or she's hiding her true nature."
"Maybe. But I want to believe in her."
"Believing got us betrayed before."
"I know. But I'm tired of being suspicious."
Evelyn took his hand.
"Then let's give her a chance."
---
The next morning, Lena was gone.
Her cabin was empty. Her belongings were gone.
No note. No message.
Steven tracked her phone. "She's heading west. Toward California."
"Why California?"
"There's an Aether Sciences facility there. Abandoned. Maybe she's looking for something."
"Or someone."
James packed his bag. "I'm going after her."
"Alone?"
"Alone. She trusts me."
"Lena trusts no one."
"Then I'll earn her trust. Again."
---
The drive to California was long.
James tracked Lena to a small town in the desert.
The Aether Sciences facility was on the outskirts, crumbling and abandoned.
Lena was inside, searching through files.
"Looking for something?"
She spun around.
"James. You shouldn't have come."
"You ran. Again."
"I had to."
"Why?"
"Because I found something. Something that changes everything."
She held up a photograph.
A woman. Blonde. Blue eyes.
Rebecca.
"She's alive, James. Morrison didn't kill her. He cloned her. The real Rebecca is in a facility in Nevada. Waiting to be awakened."
- Writer
