“Because Mathias never actually admitted to his friends that his father beats him. But he did voice his concern about what might happen to his little brother.”

“But the killer could have just murdered the father and freed them both.”

Teresa looked at the fading darkness outside the window. Just a little longer until she could go out to look for the child and a killer who now was, in her mind, the first entry in a long list of victims.

“He’s changed his modus operandi drastically,” she said. “The sight of the baby must have awakened something in him. Perhaps there are still traces of his peers from the institute somewhere in his subconscious. He can remember them crying. He can remember the nights they spent together, listening to each other’s breathing.”

Teresa took off her glasses and immediately stuck one of the temples in her mouth to tensely chew away at.

“He can remember his first life, now,” she said. “And he wants it back.”

-60-

-60-

20 September 1993

It is with great regret that I must conclude the time has come to terminate this experiment.

I believe this to be the case because in the current circumstances, I am no longer able to guarantee my own safety. I am referring, primarily, to the survival of the Alpha. My most extraordinary discovery is also the thing that might put my life at risk, a fact that fills me with great sorrow.

The subject has lived beyond my most optimistic predictions for his lifespan, and I now find myself in an increasingly difficult position with regards to managing his captivity.

I ask myself what would happen if he were to become fully aware of my presence and the conditions I raised him in. It is a question I do not wish to find out the answer to.

As for subject Omega, though he does not constitute a problem, he has now outlived his usefulness.

The solution lies in their next meal.

-61-

-61-