Chapter 3 - THE THING INSIDE HEREthan stared at her.
“What?”
Emmie pressed one trembling hand against her ribs.
“They said it was medicine.”
“What did they put in you?”
“I don't know.”
The footsteps behind them stopped.
Ethan turned.
Nothing.
Only trees.
Only darkness.
Only the faint red glow of the countdown reflecting against his watch.
00:08:47
He forced himself to keep moving.
“Can you breathe?”
“Yes.”
“Does anything hurt?”
“My chest.”
“Since when?”
“Since yesterday.”
Ethan tightened his jaw.
He had expected abuse.
Neglect.
A hidden room.
He had not expected this.
They reached an old shed at the edge of the property.
Ethan kicked the door open and carried Emmie inside.
Dust filled the air.
Broken tools hung from the walls.
A rusted tractor sat beneath a tarp.
He lowered Emmie carefully onto an old workbench.
“I need to see the tube.”
“No.”
“Emmie, I won't hurt you.”
“I know.”
“Then let me help.”
She hesitated.
Finally she nodded.
Ethan followed the tubing to the bag.
The liquid inside wasn't labeled.
There was no hospital logo.
No dosage.
No patient information.
Only a small handwritten mark.
A circle crossed by a diagonal line.
The same symbol appeared on the white card.
Ethan pulled out his phone.
Still no signal.
Then his phone buzzed.
A message appeared.
STOP RUNNING.
Ethan stared.
A second message arrived.
THE DEVICE WILL DETECT EVERY CHANGE IN HER HEART RATE.
A third.
PANIC HER, AND YOU SHORTEN THE COUNTDOWN.
Ethan's face went pale.
He looked at Emmie.
“You're being monitored.”
Emmie whispered, “I know.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“They said if I told anyone, everyone would die.”
The shed door creaked.
Ethan turned.
It was empty.
Then he saw something beneath the workbench.
A backpack.
Pink.
Dust-covered.
A cartoon rabbit was stitched onto the front.
Ethan pulled it out.
There was a name written on the strap.
LILA
He opened it.
Inside were clothes.
A broken toy.
A toothbrush.
A hospital wristband.
And a photograph.
Six children stood together.
All under ten.
All wearing identical white medical shirts.
Ethan counted them.
Six.
In the corner of the photograph, someone had written:
PHASE ONE
He flipped it over.
ONLY ONE WILL QUALIFY.
Ethan's stomach twisted.
“What is this place?”
Emmie looked at the photograph.
“That's us.”
He turned toward her.
“You're one of these children?”
“I was the seventh.”
Ethan's breath caught.
“Seventh?”
She nodded.
“They took one away.”
“Who?”
“Lila.”
Ethan looked at the backpack.
“Is she dead?”
Emmie began crying.
“No.”
“Then where is she?”
“She passed.”
“What does that mean?”
Emmie stared at him.
“It means she survived.”
Ethan didn't understand.
“Passed what?”
She whispered:
“The test.”
Before Ethan could answer, the countdown device screamed.
00:06:00
At exactly six minutes remaining, every light on the property turned on.
Then a voice came through a hidden speaker in the shed.
Vivian.
“Ethan.”
He froze.
“Congratulations.”
A pause.
“You've reached the part where you learn why Emmie was chained outside.”
The speaker crackled.
Vivian's voice became softer.
“The chain was never for Emmie.”
Ethan looked down at the floor.
A metal hatch was built into the boards.
He crouched.
Unlocked.
Underneath it was a narrow staircase.
And from below came a child's voice.
Crying.
Then another.
Then another.
Ethan looked at Emmie.
“You said six children.”
Her face went white.
“There are seven now.”
May you like
The countdown continued.
00:05:31
