Service dog urgently barks at Pregnant Woman… But when officers Discovered the Reality, it was far too late…

She looked him in the eye, her voice steady despite the chaos. You’re not crazy. You’re connected.

Kane nodded, still shaking. I thought I was losing my mind. No, Marlo said, you’re waking up.

Thatcher and Cassandra provided cover fire from behind a ridge, forcing the remaining R.A.O.N. agents to retreat. For now. When the gunfire stopped, and the snow settled again, the forest fell into a tense, eerie silence.

Kane looked at Marlo, stunned. How did you find me? I didn’t, she said. We found each other.

There was something electric between them now. Not romantic. Not verbal.

Something else, like the feeling of remembering a song you’ve never heard before, but already know by heart. Back at the SUV, Kane sat with his head in his hands, trying to process everything. The files in his backpack matched the data Cassandra had decrypted.

Neural links, genetic sequencing, shared memory networks. He wasn’t just like Marlo. He was built with her, the second viable helix subject.

Cassandra looked at both of them. There were five, she reminded them. You’re two.

Which means three are still out there. And R.A.O.N. won’t stop now. Not after this.

Marlo glanced at Kane. Do you feel it? He nodded. Like static.

Like someone’s trying to speak, but the frequency isn’t tuned yet. That’s them, she said. The others.

Thatcher stepped into the cabin, wiping snow from his coat. We’ve intercepted chatter. R.A.O.N. isn’t regrouping.

They’re preparing for full sweep protocol. They’re going to activate whoever’s left, or eliminate them before we get there. Cassandra stood and looked out the window, where the storm was building again.

This was never about survival. It was about selection. You two were designed to survive this long.

The rest, maybe not. Marlo stood, a quiet fire in her eyes. Then we don’t run anymore.

We find the others. We bring them in. And we end this before they do.

Kane looked at her, surprised. You’re not scared. She smiled, a little broken but still standing.

I am. But fear doesn’t mean stop. She reached for the pocket watch, still ticking steadily.

Fear just means now. They were built to follow. But they chose to end it.

The old facility in the hills of North Carolina looked abandoned, but Marlo could feel it. The signal was still alive. She, Kane, Cassandra, Thatcher and Bishop stood at the rusted entrance, knowing this was it.

Deep below, the last three Helix subjects were awake. No more running. No more hiding.

They descended into the cold tunnels in silence, guided more by instinct than by memory. Inside, they found them. Three others, just like Marlo and Kane, marked, modified, connected.

No fear in their eyes. Just recognition. One of them, a girl, stepped forward.

We’ve seen you in the dark. Kane nodded. We came to shut it down.

In the control room, Cassandra inserted the final drive. This wipes everything. Everywhere.

Marlo looked at her, steady. Do it. When the system went dark, it was like a breath they didn’t know they were holding had finally released.

The servers shut down. The codes vanished. The hum that had followed them their whole lives, gone.

In its place was silence and peace. For the first time, they weren’t assets or subjects. They were simply alive.

Human. Outside, the sun broke over the trees as the facility collapsed behind them. Kane turned to Marlo.

It’s over. She shook her head. No.

It’s just beginning. We end what they started. For everyone like us.

No more secrets. No more control. Just choice.

The one thing Helix had never allowed. As they drove away, Marlo held the pocket watch in her hand, ticking steadily. A voice echoed faintly in her mind.

Her mother’s voice. You weren’t made to obey. You were made to choose.

And as the light touched her face, Marlo closed her eyes. For the first time, she felt free.