Chapter 7 - Blood on the SnowThe storm reached a terrifying crescendo as Ethan and the she-wolf sprinted toward the edge of Blackwood Lake. The four pups were strapped securely against Ethan’s chest inside his padded hunting coat, kept warm by his body heat.
The lake was unrecognizable. Huge plumes of steam rose from massive cracks in the ice, where giant drainage pipes poked out from the shoreline, spewing boiling water into the freezing lake.
At the center of the lake stood an old, abandoned pump house—the secret surface entrance to Facility 09.
Dozens of armed men were loading crates into a massive cargo helicopter parked on the reinforced helipad nearby. Standing near the edge of the pump house, wearing a heavy fur coat, was Sheriff Thomas Hayes, holding a remote detonator in his gloved hand.
"Set the charges!" Hayes shouted over the roar of the wind. "Once the charges blow, the whole lake ceiling collapses! The facility, the girl, and all the records go to the bottom forever!"
Ethan slipped through the shadows of the tree line, his rifle aimed directly at Hayes’s chest.
"HAYES!" Ethan’s voice boomed across the ice, cutting through the blizzard like thunder.
The sheriff froze. The guards swung their weapons toward the woods.
Ethan stepped out onto the ice, his eyes burning with lethal intent. Beside him walked the giant she-wolf, her lips pulled back in a terrifying snarl, exposing canine teeth glistening with saliva.
"Ethan..." Hayes stammered, a fake smile spreading across his face as he backed away toward the helicopter. "You shouldn't be here, old friend. You were supposed to stay in your cabin and play the sad widower."
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"Where is my daughter, Thomas?" Ethan asked, his voice deathly calm.
"She died three years ago, Ethan! You need to accept that!" Hayes sneered, reaching for the button on the detonator. "And now, you're going to join her!"
