**Chapter 35: The Multiverse's Deadly Reckoning**

As if on cue, two masked individuals emerged from the shadows, their faces obscured by black hoods that cast a dark silhouette against the dimly lit room. The air seemed to thicken with an eerie presence, and Alex and Sophia felt a creeping sense of dread as the figures approached them from behind. Dr. Thompson's eyes widened in horror, his face frozen in a mixture of fear and helplessness, as he tried to intervene but found his voice caught in his throat. The two masked individuals moved with an unnerving calmness, their steps deliberate and calculated, as if they were following a script that only they could see. Alex and Sophia tried to turn around, but it was too late. The figures reached out and grasped them, their grip like a vice that seemed to crush the life out of them. Dr. Thompson's eyes were fixed on the scene unfolding before him, his mind racing with the implications of what he was witnessing. He tried to scream, to warn Alex and Sophia, but his voice was trapped in his throat, unable to escape. The figures began to drag Alex and Sophia away, their movements swift and efficient, as if they had rehearsed this moment countless times. As the figures pulled Alex and Sophia deeper into the shadows, Dr. Thompson's eyes followed them, his mind reeling with the horror of what he was seeing. The room seemed to grow darker, the shadows deepening into an abyss that seemed to swallow everything in its path. The air was heavy with the scent of death, and Dr. Thompson's heart was racing with a sense of impending doom. And then, it happened. The masked individuals produced knives, their blades glinting in the dim light like shards of glass. Alex and Sophia's eyes went wide with terror as the figures raised their hands, and in a swift, merciless motion, they slit their throats. The sound of their own deaths was like a scream that was trapped in Dr. Thompson's mind, a haunting echo that seemed to reverberate through every cell of his body. The life drained from Alex and Sophia's bodies, their eyes frozen in a permanent stare as their bodies crumpled to the ground. The masked individuals stood over them, their chests heaving with exertion, as if they had just completed a twisted ritual. The room was silent, the only sound the soft drip of blood on the floor, a rhythmic beat that seemed to pulse with a malevolent life of its own. The killers quickly departed, leaving Dr. Thompson staring at the lifeless bodies of Alex and Sophia. His mind reeled with shock and grief, but he knew he had to act. He quickly took out his phone and snapped pictures of the bodies, the images seared into his mind like a branding iron. The sight of their lifeless bodies was like a punch to the gut, a cruel reminder of the reality that he was facing. With shaking hands, he sent the photos to the living counterparts of Alex and Sophia, his fingers flying across the screen as he typed out a desperate message. "They're dead. The multiverse is killing them. You have to be careful. They're coming for you too." The words seemed to spill out of his phone like a warning from the depths of hell itself. As he hit send, Dr. Thompson couldn't help but wonder if he had just condemned the other versions of Alex and Sophia to a similar fate. Had he just sealed their doom, or had he given them a chance to escape the multiverse's deadly games? The thought sent a shiver down his spine, and he knew that he had to keep fighting, to find a way to stop the multiverse's deadly reckoning before it was too late.