Chapter 30 · Reset Protocol - Chapter 30: Lucas Remembers the Wrong Life

"Which one's real?" Mark kept his claws between Lucas and the bloodied copy still standing in the doorway.

Lucas didn't answer. He was staring at the other him like he'd seen a ghost.

"I said which one."

"I don't know." Lucas's voice cracked. "I don't—Mark, I don't know."

The copy stepped forward. Blood dripped from his jacket, dark and fresh. "You're the glitch," he said, pointing at Lucas. "I'm the one who got out. I found her."

"Found who?" Vera moved closer to Mark, her hand brushing his arm.

"My daughter." The copy's face twisted. "Emma. She's in tank 47, lower archive. I saw her through the glass."

Lucas flinched like he'd been hit. "That's not—she wasn't in the district when the protocol went live. She was at her mom's place in the north borough."

"Then how do I remember pulling her out of pre-school?" The copy took another step. "How do I remember her asking me why the sky stopped moving?"

Mark's claws twitched. "Erin. Explain."

Erin was still against the wall where he'd shoved her. She wiped blood from her lip. "Backup procedures.