Episode 15 — The First Memory
1845 Words
The words were still glowing on the glass.
FIND YOUR FIRST MEMORY.
I stared at them until my eyes began to burn.
The chamber where the original Evelyn had been was completely empty.
No broken glass.
No open door.
No sign that anyone had been inside.
She had simply disappeared.
“Where did she go?” I whispered.
Nobody answered.
Adrian stepped toward the chamber.
“She couldn't have vanished.”
Elias examined the floor.
“There has to be another exit.”
Sophia shook her head.
“There isn't.”
“Then where is she?”
Sophia looked at me.
“She used the memory passage.”
I frowned.
“What is that?”
“A system Richard created.”
“For what?”
“To move between archived memories.”
I stared at her.
“You're saying she escaped through a memory?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds impossible.”
“So does everything else we've discovered.”
She wasn't wrong.
I looked again at the words.
FIND YOUR FIRST MEMORY.
“What does my first memory have to do with her?”
Sophia hesitated.
“Everything.”
“Then tell me.”
“The first memory is where Elena hid the final key.”
“What key?”
“The key to the original archive.”
I touched my pendant.
“This?”
“No.”
Sophia pointed toward my head.
“The key is a memory.”
I felt a chill.
“How do I find it?”
“You have to remember something from before you can remember.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It will when you see it.”
Adrian looked at Sophia.
“Can you help her?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Sophia walked toward me.
“Close your eyes.”
I did.
“Don't force yourself to remember.”
“What should I do?”
“Think about the first person you ever loved.”
My mind immediately went to Elena.
Then Lily.
Then Adrian.
But something felt wrong.
A voice whispered in my mind.
Not them.
I opened my eyes.
“What was that?”
Sophia looked alarmed.
“What?”
“I heard a voice.”
“Whose?”
“My own.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“What did it say?”
“Not them.”
Sophia's face went pale.
“She found it.”
“Found what?”
“The first memory.”
I closed my eyes again.
The darkness changed.
I saw light.
Bright hospital lights.
I heard a baby crying.
Then a woman's voice.
Elena.
“She can hear us.”
Another voice answered.
Richard.
“She shouldn't be conscious.”
“She is.”
“Then sedate her.”
“No.”
The scene changed.
I was inside a glass room.
But I wasn't older.
I was a baby.
A newborn.
Elena stood beside me.
She was crying.
Richard stood across from her.
“She is the perfect vessel.”
Elena shook her head.
“She is my daughter.”
Richard laughed.
“You don't understand what you've created.”
“I created her to save Evelyn.”
“You created a weapon.”
Elena looked at the baby.
“She will never hurt anyone.”
Richard leaned closer.
“You don't know that.”
The memory faded.
I opened my eyes.
“I was born in the laboratory.”
Sophia nodded.
“Yes.”
“Richard was there.”
“Yes.”
“Elena was there.”
“Yes.”
“And the original Evelyn?”
Sophia looked down.
“She was there too.”
My heart tightened.
“Why?”
“Because she wanted to meet you.”
I closed my eyes.
Another memory appeared.
The original Evelyn was four years old.
She was standing beside Elena.
Elena held the baby.
The little girl looked at me.
“She's tiny.”
Elena smiled.
“She's your sister.”
The girl touched my hand.
“Will she remember me?”
Elena began crying.
“Yes.”
Richard watched from the doorway.
He smiled.
Then he said something that made my blood run cold.
“She will remember everyone.”
The memory disappeared.
I opened my eyes.
“That was it.”
Sophia shook her head.
“No.”
“What do you mean?”
“That wasn't the first memory.”
“Then what was?”
“The moment before you were born.”
I stared at her.
“How can I remember that?”
“Because Richard gave you a memory before you were born.”
Adrian looked confused.
“Why?”
“To test the archive.”
“What memory?”
Sophia looked at me.
“Your mother's voice.”
I closed my eyes.
Nothing.
Then I heard her.
Not Elena.
Another woman.
A woman crying.
“I'm sorry.”
My heart began racing.
“Who are you?”
The voice whispered:
“I'm your mother.”
I opened my eyes.
“Elena.”
Sophia shook her head.
“No.”
I froze.
“Then who?”
“I don't know.”
The voice returned.
“You must remember.”
I closed my eyes.
The memory grew stronger.
I was floating in darkness.
There was no body.
No room.
Only voices.
The woman was speaking.
“Evelyn, if you can hear me…”
I cried.
“I can.”
“You are not what they told you.”
“What am I?”
“A memory.”
I gasped.
The darkness shattered.
I saw Elena.
Richard.
Sophia.
And another woman.
The woman looked exactly like me.
But she was younger.
Pregnant.
She was lying on a medical table.
Elena stood beside her.
Richard was holding a syringe.
“What are you doing?” Elena demanded.
“Taking what I need.”
“You promised.”
“I promised nothing.”
The pregnant woman looked at Elena.
“Save my daughter.”
Elena grabbed her hand.
“I will.”
The woman smiled.
Then Richard injected her.
She screamed.
I opened my eyes.
“Who was she?”
Sophia was crying.
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
She shook her head.
“I don't.”
I looked at Adrian.
He was staring at the floor.
“You know.”
He looked up.
“No.”
“You're lying.”
“I swear.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
He didn't answer.
I stepped toward him.
“Adrian.”
He closed his eyes.
“I've seen her.”
My heart stopped.
“Where?”
“In my memories.”
“Who is she?”
“The woman who gave birth to you.”
Sophia covered her mouth.
I could barely breathe.
“Elena didn't give birth to me.”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Adrian looked at me.
“I don't know her name.”
“Where is she?”
“Dead.”
I felt my knees weaken.
“How?”
“Richard killed her.”
“Why?”
“Because she tried to stop him.”
The room became silent.
I thought about the memory.
The pregnant woman.
The syringe.
Elena promising to save her daughter.
Me.
I suddenly understood.
“The original Evelyn wasn't the mother.”
“No.”
“She was my sister.”
“Yes.”
“Then who was the woman?”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Your biological mother.”
I couldn't speak.
A strange warmth moved through my chest.
The pendant began glowing.
Sophia stared at it.
“The memory has opened.”
“What does that mean?”
“The archive has recognized you.”
The walls began moving.
A hidden section opened behind the laboratory.
Inside was a small room.
At the center was a chair.
Beside it sat an old recording device.
I walked toward it.
A label was attached.
FOR EVELYN ONLY.
I pressed the button.
Static filled the room.
Then a woman's voice spoke.
“Evelyn.”
I froze.
It was the woman from my memory.
“If you're hearing this, then I'm already gone.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“My name is Sarah.”
I looked at Adrian.
He stared at the device.
Sarah continued.
“I am your biological mother.”
My heart broke.
“You were created from my memories.”
The room went silent.
“I knew Richard would come for you.”
“I knew he would try to turn you into his weapon.”
“So I made a choice.”
The recording paused.
“I gave Elena everything she needed to hide you.”
“Your memories.”
“Your identity.”
“And your future.”
I touched my chest.
Sarah continued.
“But there is one thing I couldn't give her.”
“The memory of your father.”
Adrian looked at me.
I stopped breathing.
Sarah's voice became softer.
“Your father is alive.”
I whispered:
“Who is he?”
The recording went silent.
Then a photograph appeared on the screen.
A young man.
I stared at it.
I knew him.
Everyone knew him.
Elias.
My heart stopped.
“No.”
Elias stepped backward.
“I didn't know.”
“You're my father?”
His face was filled with shock.
“I swear I didn't know.”
Sophia started crying.
Adrian looked between us.
“How?”
Sarah's recording answered.
“Elias was the only man I trusted.”
I couldn't move.
“My father.”
Elias covered his face.
“I thought you were dead.”
“You knew Sarah?”
“Yes.”
“And you knew about me?”
“No.”
Sarah continued.
“Elias, if you're hearing this, forgive me.”
I looked at him.
He was crying.
Then Sarah said the final words.
“Richard isn't the greatest danger.”
The recording stopped.
A second message appeared.
YOUR FATHER KNOWS WHERE THE ORIGINAL EVELYN WENT.
I turned toward Elias.
“Where is my sister?”
He looked at me.
“I don't know.”
Then the lights flickered.
A phone began ringing.
Everyone froze.
The phone was sitting on the table.
I answered.
A familiar voice whispered:
“Evelyn.”
I knew it immediately.
The original Evelyn.
“I'm sorry I disappeared.”
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere Richard can't reach.”
“Tell me.”
A pause.
“I'm with your mother.”
My heart stopped.
“Sarah?”
“Yes.”
“She isn't dead?”
“No.”
“Where are you?”
The voice became frightened.
“Don't come looking for us.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard found me.”
The call ended.
I looked at everyone.
Then the laboratory doors slammed shut.
A message appeared across every screen.
FIRST MEMORY RECOVERED.
Then another appeared.
SECOND MEMORY: SARAH'S DEATH.
I stared at the words.
My mother was alive.
My sister was with her.
And now the archive was forcing me to remember the night Sarah supposedly died.
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