Chapter 33
The Fall Below the Archive
Daniel fell through the floor and vanished.
Claire dropped to her knees, but the opening had sealed. A circle of clean concrete replaced the broken tile.
Tess shouted his name.
The system answered with a recording of Daniel saying, “I choose the version that can be forgiven.”
Lucy grabbed Claire's shoulder. “Do not answer.”
“He is below us.”
“That is what it wants you to believe.”
The copy crouched beside the sealed floor. She pressed her palm to the concrete.
“There is water.”
“How do you know?” Claire asked.
“I remember falling.”
“When?”
“The first time they moved me.”
Eli opened a cabinet beneath the mirror and removed a metal lever. He inserted it into the wall.
“The school has three levels,” he said. “The last one is not on the map.”
He pulled.
The cabinet wall rotated, revealing a stairwell.
Below, Daniel shouted.
Claire started down.
The stairs were narrow and wet. The walls carried names carved into the concrete. Some were dates. Some were only initials. At the bottom, a flooded chamber held three metal platforms.
Daniel stood on the center platform, surrounded by water.
Across from him stood the suited Daniel model.
“He is not real,” Tess said.
“Neither am I,” the model answered.
Daniel pointed his weapon. “Tell me where Rowan is.”
“You gave her away.”
“I did not.”
“You signed the settlement.”
“To protect her.”
“You signed three times.”
The water rose around his knees.
Claire stepped onto the nearest platform. “What happened at 4:17?”
The model looked at her.
“The original opened the door. The witness entered. The transfer began.”
“Who was transferred?”
“The person who asked to be forgiven.”
Daniel's platform dropped.
The water reached his chest.
The copy crossed to the center platform and held out her hand.
“Ask him the question he refused.”
Claire looked at Daniel. “Who did you choose?”
Daniel's face broke.
“Elise.”
The water stopped rising.
The suited model disappeared.
On the far wall, a door opened onto the lake.
Inside the doorway stood a woman with Mara's face.
She held Rowan's blue pencil.
“Now,” Mara said, “we can begin.”