Chapter 9: The Girl Douglas Buried
Emily couldn't move.
Terrence stepped between her and the girl.
“Stay back.””
The child didn't seem frightened.
She sat perfectly still.
“I know you,” she told Terrence.
“How?””
“Daddy showed me your picture.””
“When?””
“Yesterday.””
Terrence looked at Lena.
“Where's Douglas?””
The girl smiled.
“He's coming.””
Lena reached for her radio.
“Seal the hospital.””
Static.
Nothing.
Again.
Still nothing.
The girl giggled.
“He doesn't like radios.””
Terrence crouched.
“Lily, who brought you here?””
“Dr. Bell.””
Terrence glanced behind him.
Bell was gone.
The conference room was empty.
Emily whispered, “He escaped.””
Terrence ignored it.
“Lily, where is Anna?””
“Upstairs.””
“Is she safe?””
“For now.””
“What does that mean?””
“Daddy needs her.””
“Why?””
The girl looked at him.
“Because she's the last one.””
Terrence felt his stomach tighten.
“The last what?””
“The last child who remembers.””
Emily stepped closer.
“What does she remember?””
Lily looked at her.
“The fire.””
Emily's eyes filled.
“I don't remember.””
“You will.””
“Who are you?””
Lily smiled.
“You used to sing to me.””
Emily's face collapsed.
“No.””
“You sang when I couldn't sleep.””
“I don't remember.””
“You called me Birdie.””
Emily's knees buckled.
Terrence caught her.
“Birdie,” she whispered.
The memory had struck something.
A lullaby.
A tiny hospital room.
A newborn's cry.
A woman with red hair.
Rachel.
Emily gasped.
“I remember.””
Lily watched her.
“I knew you would.””
Terrence turned to Lena.
“Get the child upstairs.””
Lena nodded.
She approached Lily.
The girl suddenly screamed.
“Don't!””
Everyone froze.
“Why?””
“Daddy will hear.””
Terrence looked around.
“How?””
Lily pointed toward the ceiling.
“Cameras.””
Terrence looked up.
A tiny red light blinked above them.
He shot it.
The light shattered.
Every screen in the room went black.
Then a speaker crackled.
Douglas's voice filled the basement.
“You always were too slow, Terrence.””
Terrence shouted.
“Douglas! Where are you?””
“Close.””
“Show yourself.””
“No.””
Emily stepped forward.
“Why did you take my daughter?””
Douglas laughed softly.
“Because you asked me to save her.””
“I asked you to save a baby.””
“And I did.””
“You stole her.””
“I improved her.””
Emily screamed.
“You murdered children!””
“No.””
Douglas's voice became cold.
“I studied them.””
Terrence looked at Lily.
“Why is she alive?””
“Because she was the only successful subject.””
Lily's face went blank.
Terrence felt sick.
“What does successful mean?””
“She remembers everything.””
“Everything?””
“Pain. Fear. Trauma.””
Douglas continued.
“She can experience it without breaking.””
Emily whispered, “You turned my child into an experiment.””
“No.””
Douglas paused.
“I turned your child into proof.””
A door slammed upstairs.
Terrence's radio suddenly came alive.
A nurse screamed.
Then Anna's voice.
“Officer!””
Terrence ran.
They reached the pediatric floor.
Anna was gone.
Charlotte was gone too.
Emily screamed.
“Where are my girls?””
A nurse pointed toward the stairwell.
“Someone took them.””
Terrence saw a small trail of muddy footprints.
Two sets.
One larger.
One smaller.
They led downstairs.
Lena whispered, “Basement.””
Terrence nodded.
They followed.
At the bottom, a metal door stood open.
Beyond it was a tunnel.
Emily stared.
“There was never a basement like this.””
Douglas's voice came from somewhere ahead.
“You've forgotten so much.””
Terrence raised his flashlight.
The tunnel walls were covered with photographs.
Twenty-three children.
Each photo had a name.
Each had a date.
Each had a result.
Some were marked *FAILED*.
Some *TRANSFERRED*.
One was marked *SUCCESS*.
Lily.
At the end of the tunnel, they found a room.
Charlotte stood inside.
Anna beside her.
Douglas behind them.
He held no gun.
He didn't need one.
He held a syringe.
Emily stepped forward.
“Let them go.””
Douglas looked at her.
“You still don't understand.””
“Understand what?””
“The girls aren't the experiment.””
Terrence raised his weapon.
“Put the syringe down.””
Douglas smiled.
“The experiment is you.””
Terrence frowned.
“What?””
Douglas looked at Emily.
“You've been given pieces of the truth.””
Then he looked at Terrence.
“Enough to make you believe you're rescuing them.””
“What did you do?””
Douglas smiled.
“You brought the evidence.””
Terrence's blood ran cold.
“What evidence?””
Douglas held up the pharmacy record.
“Your computer logged into the research database twenty minutes ago.””
Terrence stared.
“I never logged in.””
Douglas smiled wider.
“Your credentials did.””
Lena looked at Terrence.
“I didn't.””
Douglas pressed a button.
A screen descended from the ceiling.
On it was footage from the police station.
Terrence entering the pharmacy code.
Terrence opening the records.
Terrence touching the computer.
Then a second video appeared.
Terrence standing beside Charlotte.
The timestamp was two hours earlier.
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He wasn't there.
But the footage showed
