flash
The screech of the ambulance siren cut through the Detroit downpour, but the flashing red and blue lights couldn't cut through the digital glare of a dozen glowing smartphone screens. Neighbors leaned over rusted railings, their faces illuminated by screens capturing what they assumed was just another tale of urban neglect. / Chapter 6 / 8

Chapter 6 - THE ST. JUDE FACILITY

The rain had turned to sleet by the time Rachel’s stolen hospital transport smashed through the chain-link perimeter fence of the abandoned industrial park near the river. The sprawling brick complex of St. Jude’s Experimental Therapeutics loomed against the dark skyline like a medieval fortress wrapped in razor wire and security cameras.

In the back seat, Leo had finally stopped crying, sinking into a restless, unnatural slumber. His skin was ice-cold now—a dangerous, unnatural drop in temperature that terrified Rachel more than his fever had.

"We're here, Lily," Rachel said, shifting the car into park behind a rusted cargo container. "Stay down in the footwell. If I don't come back in ten minutes, take the forest trail toward the highway."

"No!" Lily grabbed Rachel’s jacket sleeve with astonishing strength, her eyes glowing faintly in the dashboard light—a subtle, terrifying iridescent shimmer reflecting off her pupils. "Mom is inside the testing vault beneath the central tower. I can feel her heart. It's slowing down."

Rachel stared at the child, a chilling realization washing over her. Lily hadn't just witnessed her brother's medical treatments. She had been subjected to them, too.

They slipped through a rusted service door leading into the sub-basement levels of the facility. The interior was pristine, smelling of ozone, sterile bleach, and liquid nitrogen. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting long, jittery shadows down endless rows of locked containment cells labeled with classified biohazard designations.

As they crept past a massive observation window, Rachel gasped and pressed her hand over her mouth to suppress a scream.

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