Chapter 3 - SHADOWS IN THE ICU
BZZZZT.
The emergency lights kicked in, casting a sickly, amber glow across the hospital corridor. The hum of the backup generators buzzed through the walls like a swarm of angry hornets.
"What happened to the power?" Dr. Vance muttered, stepping toward the nurse's station. "The main line shouldn't drop like that."
Before the doctor could reach the phone, a muffled sound echoed from down the hall.
CLICK.
It was the distinct sound of a heavy fire door latching shut.
Buddy didn't hesitate. He burst down the corridor like a bullet, his paws slipping on the polished linoleum floors.
"BUDDY! NO!" Ethan yelled, chasing after the dog.
Clara ran right behind him. They rounded the corner just in time to see a tall figure dressed in medical scrubs slipping out of Henry’s ICU room. The figure was wearing a surgical mask, but their eyes—cold, sharp, and reptilian—were instantly recognizable.
It wasn't Father Thomas.
It was a woman.
"HEY! STOP!" Ethan screamed.
The woman didn't run. She turned slowly, holding a large syringe filled with a milky white fluid. She threw a heavy metal crash cart into Ethan’s path, sending medical supplies, glass vials, and monitors shattering across the floor.
Ethan tripped over the cart, crashing hard into the wall.
Buddy sprang over the debris, clearing the overturned cart in a single leap. He locked his jaws onto the woman’s lab coat, ripping the fabric with violent force.
"Get off me, you filthy beast!" the woman hissed. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a small, high-voltage stun gun.
CRACKLE!
A bright blue arc of electricity struck Buddy’s shoulder. The old dog yelped in agony, his legs buckling beneath him as the electrical shock coursed through his body. He hit the floor, twitching, but his eyes never stopped glaring at the intruder.
"Buddy!" Clara shrieked.
The woman turned and sprinted toward the emergency stairwell, shoving open the heavy door and disappearing into the darkness of the service stairs.
Ethan scrambled to his feet, checking on the dog first. Buddy was panting heavily, struggling to stand, but his spirit was unbroken. "Go... check on Henry!" Ethan gasped, pushing himself up to chase the intruder.
Clara rushed into Henry’s room.
The heart monitor was screaming a flat, solid tone—EEEEEEEEEE.
"NURSE! DOCTOR! HELP!" Clara screamed hysterically.
The IV bag attached to Henry’s arm had been tampered with. A dark, murky liquid was slowly draining through the tube into his vein.
Dr. Vance sprinted into the room, tearing the needle out of Henry’s arm instantly and throwing the tainted line to the floor. "He's going into cardiac arrest! Get the crash cart! Defibrillator, NOW!"
Clara backed into the corner, weeping hysterically, her hands pressed against her ears as the medical team swarmed the room.
CHARGE TO 200. CLEAR!
THUMP.
Henry’s body violently arched off the bed, then slammed back down.
NO PULSE. CHARGE TO 300! CLEAR!
THUMP.
Buddy stumbled into the room, leaning his head heavy against Clara’s leg, whining softly. The dog looked at his dying master, his eyes filled with an almost human expression of despair.
BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...
The continuous tone broke. A fragile, erratic pulse appeared back on the green screen.
"We got him back," Dr. Vance breathed, wiping sweat from his forehead. "We got him back. But whoever that woman was... she just tried to inject him with potassium chloride. A lethal dose."
Ethan burst back into the room, out of breath, his face dark with rage. "She got away through the parking garage. A black SUV was waiting for her."
"Ethan," Clara wept. "Who are these people? Why would Father Thomas and some stranger want a quiet, retired hunter like Henry dead?"
Ethan walked over to the IV pole and picked up the small plastic tag that had fallen off the woman's coat during her struggle with Buddy.
It wasn't a doctor's ID.
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It was a security badge from Aegis Dynamics—a massive, multi-billion-dollar energy corporation that had been trying to buy up land in the county for the past three years.
And right beneath the logo was a name: Dr. Evelyn Reed – Chief Chemist.
