When The Rain Fall

The storm outside raged as Mia, Liam, Jonah, and Isla sat in the dimly lit apartment, the weight of Isla's words pressing down on them.

"Graves was just the beginning. There's something bigger. And it's coming for all of us."

Jonah ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. "We barely survived Graves. If there's something worse out there, we need to know what we're up against."

Isla's fingers trembled around the mug of tea Mia had given her. Her eyes, still haunted by what she had seen, darted toward Liam. "I don't remember everything yet. But I know one thing for sure—Graves wasn't working alone."

Liam leaned forward. "Then who was pulling the strings?"

Isla hesitated. "I… I saw a symbol."

She grabbed a napkin and sketched it quickly—a black circle with three interlocking lines running through it.

Mia's breath caught. "I've seen that before."

Evelyn, who had been silent until now, paled. "So have I."

All eyes turned to her.

Jonah narrowed his gaze. "What do you know, Ev?"

She hesitated before speaking. "That symbol belongs to an organization called The Hollow Veil."

A tense silence filled the room.

Liam broke it. "The Hollow Veil? Who the hell are they?"

Evelyn's voice was grim. "They operate in the shadows. Even within Whitmore, we only heard whispers about them. They don't just control experiments like Project Echo… they control information, power, entire governments. If they're after Isla, it means she's more important than we realized."

Mia swallowed hard. "What do they want?"

Isla's voice was barely audible. "To end the world as we know it."

Evelyn pulled out a small USB drive from her pocket. "Before we raided Site 9, I hacked into Graves' personal files. This drive has everything he was working on."

Jonah grabbed his laptop, plugging the drive in. A single encrypted file popped up.

Liam exhaled. "Can you crack it?"

Jonah smirked. "Do you even have to ask?"

His fingers flew over the keyboard. Lines of code scrolled past. Then, suddenly—

A folder opened.

Mia leaned in, heart pounding. "What is it?"

Inside were dozens of documents. Some labeled 'Subject: Isla Sinclair', others with names they didn't recognize. But one file stood out.

PROJECT SERAPH – PHASE 2

Liam clicked on it. A grainy video loaded.

A man appeared on screen. Dr. Graves.

His voice was eerily calm.

"Project Echo was only the beginning. Isla Sinclair is proof that our enhancements can push the human mind beyond time and space. But her abilities remain unstable."

He stepped aside, revealing a large containment chamber.

Inside it… was another person.

Their face was obscured by wires and machinery, their body motionless.

Mia's stomach twisted. "Who is that?"

Graves continued.

"While Isla was a success, she was not the first. Subject Zero was our original prototype. Unlike Isla, Subject Zero fully merged with the Seraph Protocol."

The camera zoomed in, and a pair of glowing blue eyes flickered open.

A voice—distorted, but eerily familiar—spoke one word.

"Mia."

Mia's blood ran cold.

She staggered back. "No… No, that's not possible."

Jonah looked between her and the screen. "Mia, what the hell is going on?"

She shook her head, her mind racing. "I don't know. I don't remember."

Isla grabbed her wrist. "That's because they took your memories. Just like they tried to do to me."

Mia's breath came fast. She looked back at the screen, at the person trapped in that machine.

Liam's voice was tight. "If this 'Subject Zero' is still alive, then we're not just fighting a shadow organization. We're fighting something we don't understand."

Evelyn spoke carefully. "There's only one way to get answers."

Jonah nodded. "We find Subject Zero."

Mia's hands curled into fists. "And we end The Hollow Veil."

Isla's voice was barely above a whisper. "Before they end us."

And in the distance, thunder rumbled again.