Birthday Surprise

Alex kicked the car door furiously as blue lines spread up his arms. "Let me out!" he shouted, his voice breaking with fear.

Reed smiled casually from the driver's seat. "The activation is proceeding faster than I expected. Excellent."

Through the back window, Alex could no longer see Ethan or the robot Liam. The car turned suddenly onto the main road, throwing Alex against the door.

"What's in that box?" Alex asked, pointing to the device with the countdown timer.

"Insurance," Reed answered. "In case your friends try to follow us."

The timer showed 9:42 and counting down. Less than ten minutes before whatever Reed had planned would happen.

"Where are you taking me?" Alex tried to keep his voice steady despite the burning feeling spreading through his body.

"Home," Reed said simply. "Where you were created."

Alex's mind raced. He needed to flee, warn his friends, find Sophia and the real Liam. But the car doors were locked, and his body felt increasingly like it belonged to someone else.

Suddenly, Reed's phone rang. He looked at it with annoyance before answering. "Yes?"

Alex could hear a frantic voice on the other end but couldn't make out the words.

Reed's face darkened. "What do you mean 'he escaped'? Find him immediately!"

Hope surged through Alex. Had Ethan gotten away from the robot Liam? Or was it Sophia who had escaped? Maybe even the real Liam?

Reed finished the call and turned to Alex with narrowed eyes. "Your friends are proving to be quite troublesome."

Before Alex could react, the car swerved violently. Through the windshield, Alex saw headlights bearing down on them – another car had rammed them from the side.

The hit sent Reed's car spinning. Alex was thrown against the window, his head hitting the glass hard. Everything went black.

"Alex! Wake up! Please wake up!"

The voice seemed to come from far away. Alex strained to open his eyes. His head throbbed, and the blue lines were still visible on his skin, though they were fainter now.

He was lying on something soft. Not in the car anymore. As his vision cleared, he saw Jasmine's worried face above him.

"He's awake!" she called over her shoulder.

"Jasmine?" Alex croaked. "What happened? Where's Reed?"

"Gone," came Emily's voice from somewhere nearby. "We crashed into his car. When the airbags went off, we pulled you out, but Reed ran away before we could catch him."

Alex tried to sit up and realized he was on a couch in Professor Chen's cabin. "How did you find me?"

"Ethan," Jasmine explained. "He escaped from the robot Liam and called us. We tracked your phone's location."

"Where is Ethan?" Alex looked around but didn't see him.

Jasmine and Emily exchanged looks. "He went after Reed," Emily said quietly. "We couldn't stop him."

Fear gripped Alex's heart. "Alone? That's suicide!"

"Professor Chen went with him," Jasmine assured him. "They're trying to find where Reed is keeping Sophia and the real Liam."

Alex struggled to his feet despite the girls' protests. "We have to help them."

"You're in no condition to—" Emily began.

"I don't care!" Alex cut her off. "Reed did something to me, and I need answers. Plus, I'm not letting Ethan face that maniac alone."

After some argument, they decided to let Alex come along if he rode in the back seat and rested. As they prepared to leave, Alex noticed the date on Jasmine's phone.

"Wait," he said, confusion washing over him. "Is today really October 17th?"

Jasmine nodded, looking confused by his question.

"That's my birthday," Alex said quietly. "I'm twenty-one today."

"Oh, Alex..." Emily's voice was soft with pity.

Alex laughed bitterly. "Some birthday, huh? Finding out I'm a clone, being kidnapped, and now this." He pointed to the faint blue lines still visible on his skin.

Jasmine put her hand on his shoulder. "We're going to fix this. All of it."

As they drove through the night, Alex thought about birthdays past. His folks always made a big deal of it – cake, presents, special dinner. Were those real memories, or manufactured ones? Was anything in his life actually real?

His phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number: Happy Birthday, Alex. Your gift is ready. -E

"It's from Ethan!" Alex showed the others. "Can you track it?"

Emily took his phone and worked her tech magic. "It's coming from... the science building on campus."

"That's where Reed's main office is," Jasmine said.

They sped toward college, making plans as they drove. The science building would be mostly empty on a Sunday night, but they still needed to be careful. Reed might have more robot guards, and they had no idea what state they'd find Ethan in – or if the text was even really from him.

They parked a block away and approached the building carefully. Alex's watch wasn't vibrating, which meant no robots were close – unless Reed had found a way to mask their signal.

The science building's front door was unlocked, which instantly put them on alert. They moved quietly through the darkened halls, following Emily's directions toward Reed's office.

As they turned the corner to the professor's hallway, they heard voices. Alex indicated for the others to stop and listen.

"—thought you could outsmart me?" Reed's voice echoed from his office. "I created him. I know exactly how he thinks."

"You're wrong." That was Ethan's voice, strained but determined. "You didn't create who Alex is. You just made his body."

Reed laughed. "Such loyalty. But unnecessary. When the activation is complete, he won't remember any of you. He'll only know his purpose."

"And what is that purpose?" Professor Chen's voice asked.

"Immortality," Reed answered simply. "His body is the perfect vessel. Designed to accept my consciousness without rejection."

Alex's blood ran cold. Reed wanted to move his mind into Alex's body? That's what he was made for?

Before he could understand this horror, Jasmine's hand wrapped around his arm. "We need a plan," she whispered.

But Alex's fear was quickly turning to rage. This man had stolen his sister, made fake versions of people he cared about, and now planned to erase Alex's mind and take over his body.

Without waiting for the others, Alex strode forward and pushed the office door open.

Reed, Ethan, and Professor Chen all turned to stare at him. Ethan was tied to a chair, a cut on his forehead bleeding slightly. Chen was standing against the wall, her hands bound in front of her. And Reed sat quietly behind his desk, a gun pointed at Ethan's head.

"Alex, no!" Ethan yelled. "It's a trap!"

"I know," Alex said, stepping fully into the room. "But I'm tired of running."

Reed smiled, that same calm, professor-like smile that had once seemed so trustworthy. "Happy birthday, Alex. I'm glad you could join us for the celebration."

"Where's my sister?" Alex asked. "And Liam?"

"Safe. For now." Reed pointed to the chair opposite his desk. "Please, sit. We have much to discuss before the transfer."

"I'm not letting you put your mind in my body," Alex said strongly.

Reed's smile widened. "You misunderstand. The transfer has already begun."

As if on cue, the blue lines on Alex's skin flared brightly. Pain shot through his body, sending him to his knees.

"What's happening to me?" Alex gasped.

"My consciousness is being uploaded to your neural network," Reed stated. "Those nanobots you saw activating? They're restructuring your brain to receive my mind. In a few hours, your memories will fade, and mine will take their place."

"No!" Ethan fought against his bonds.

Through his pain, Alex saw Jasmine and Emily peek around the doorframe behind Reed. Jasmine held up three fingers, counting down. They had a plan.

Alex needed to keep Reed busy. "If you're going to be me," he said through gritted teeth, "then you should know something important."

"Oh?" Reed looked amused. "And what's that?"

"Today really is my birthday," Alex said. "And my friends always throw me a surprise."

As the last word left his mouth, the lights went out. In the sudden darkness, chaos exploded. Alex heard a crash, a gunshot, and someone yelling.

When emergency lights flickered on seconds later, Reed was gone. Ethan's chair was knocked over, and Professor Chen was untying her hands using a letter opener from Reed's desk.

"Are you okay?" Alex rushed to help Ethan up.

"Fine," Ethan said, feeling his wrists where the ropes had cut in. "But Reed got away."

"Not empty-handed," Emily said grimly from the doorway. "He took Jasmine."

Alex felt the world tilt beneath him. Another friend taken because of him.

"We'll find her," Ethan promised, his hand finding Alex's. "We'll find all of them."

As Alex nodded, resolve replacing his fear, the blue lines on his skin pulsed once more. This time, a voice that wasn't his own whispered in his mind:

Soon you'll be gone, and I'll have everything. Including the one you love.