Chapter 10 - THE DOCTORThe man in the white coat did not carry a gun.
He didn't need one.
Four armed guards stood behind him.
Leo recognized the face.
Not from life.
From memory.
A flash.
The white room.
The chair.
The man's hand on his forehead.
“Count backward.”
Leo stared.
“Doctor Hale.”
The man smiled.
“There you are.”
Sarah fired.
The guards returned fire.
Everyone dropped.
Daniel appeared from the corridor.
He threw a smoke grenade.
The archive filled with white smoke.
“MOVE!”
They ran.
Daniel slammed a steel door behind them.
Dr. Hale shouted through the smoke.
“You can't erase what happened!”
Daniel shouted back:
“Neither can you!”
They reached the church nave.
But the main doors were locked.
Marcus appeared from the side entrance.
His shirt was soaked in blood.
“Where is Leo?”
Sarah pointed.
Marcus grabbed the boy.
Leo fought him.
“Let go!”
“We're leaving.”
“Where's Mia?”
Marcus looked behind him.
She was gone.
Leo screamed.
“Mia!”
Sarah spun around.
“Mia!”
Silence.
Marcus looked at Daniel.
“Where is the girl?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I thought she was with you.”
Leo's face turned white.
A speaker crackled above them.
Mia's voice came through.
“Leo.”
He looked up.
“I’m here.”
The voice sounded distant.
“Where?”
“Under the church.”
Leo stared at the floor.
“Mia, stay there!”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“I found Lucy.”
Silence.
Leo's heart hammered.
“Lucy?”
“Yes.”
“She’s alive?”
Mia started crying.
“Yes.”
Sarah looked at Daniel.
“How?”
Mia whispered:
“She was in a glass room.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“What does she look like?”
Mia answered:
“Like Leo.”
Leo stopped breathing.
A door opened somewhere beneath the altar.
A child stepped into view.
Seven years old.
Dark hair.
Pale face.
Same eyes.
Same nose.
Same scar beneath the left eyebrow.
Leo stared.
The girl stared back.
She whispered:
“Brother?”
Leo couldn't move.
Sarah's voice broke.
“Lucy.”
The girl's eyes filled with tears.
Then a gunshot rang out.
Lucy collapsed.
Leo screamed.
Marcus shoved him aside.
Daniel fired toward the balcony.
Dr. Hale stood above them.
He lowered his weapon.
“You found her.”
Sarah ran to Lucy.
She was alive.
Blood spread across her shoulder.
Dr. Hale smiled.
“Excellent.”
Leo stared upward.
“What do you want?”
Hale looked directly at him.
“You.”
“Why?”
“Because you remember everything.”
Leo shook his head.
“I don't.”
Hale smiled.
“You will.”
Then he pressed a button.
The church floor began to move.
Stone panels slid apart.
A hidden elevator descended.
Dr. Hale stepped inside.
Before the doors closed, he said:
“And when you remember the last night, Leo, you will understand why your mother ran.”
The elevator disappeared.
Sarah looked at the blood on the floor.
Leo looked at Lucy.
May you like
Then he whispered:
“Mom ran because of me.”
