Chapter 9 - The Facility Under the Water
The elevator descended for nearly a minute.
When it stopped, the doors opened onto a corridor made of polished steel.
Water pressed against thick observation windows on both sides.
They were beneath Lake Armitage.
Adrian struggled to remain conscious.
Emily tore a strip from the dining room tablecloth and pressed it against his wound.
Sophie watched from several feet away.
She did not cry.
Her stillness frightened Emily more than panic would have.
Vale touched a panel beside the corridor.
“Security will reach us soon.”
Adrian aimed his pistol at her.
“Then shut it down.”
“You know I cannot.”
“You built this place.”
“I designed the medical systems. Meridian controls security.”
Emily looked at Sophie.
“What have they done to her?”
Vale’s face became unreadable.
“She has undergone preparation.”
“What does that mean?”
Sophie answered.
“They taught me how to forget.”
Emily felt something break inside her.
She moved toward the girl slowly.
“My name is Emily.”
“I know.”
“You called yourself Anna.”
“That is the name they gave me.”
“Do you remember another one?”
Sophie looked toward Adrian.
“He told me my real name last week.”
Emily glanced at her father.
“You spoke to her?”
“I have been inside Meridian for sixteen years,” Adrian said. “I stayed close to protect both of you.”
“You protected us by letting them experiment on her?”
Adrian lowered his eyes.
“I prevented worse things.”
“That is what cowards say when they serve monsters.”
The corridor doors opened.
Four guards appeared.
Adrian fired first.
Vale pulled Sophie behind a support column. Emily seized a medical cart and slammed it into the nearest guard’s knees. She took his sidearm as he fell.
Gunfire flashed in the narrow corridor.
Adrian was struck again.
Emily shot the final guard and ran to him.
Blood covered his abdomen.
“I can’t stop this here,” she said.
“You don’t need to.”
He handed her the remote control.
“Level Seven. Core archive.”
“What is there?”
“The original Meridian directory.”
“You said it was inside my memory.”
“It is incomplete without you. Your memory contains the access sequence.”
Vale approached.
“The procedure can extract it.”
Emily aimed the gun at her.
“You will not touch Sophie.”
“Then Meridian will.”
A siren sounded.
Mechanical locks engaged throughout the corridor.
Vale looked toward the ceiling.
“They know Adrian has turned.”
“Where is the procedure room?” Emily asked.
“Level Nine.”
“We’re going to Level Seven.”
Adrian shook his head.
“You need Sophie.”
“No.”
“She is already connected to the system. Her neural signature opens the core.”
Emily looked at the girl.
Sophie’s face remained calm, but her hands were shaking.
“I won’t force her.”
Sophie stepped forward.
“I’ll do it.”
Emily crouched in front of her.
“You do not have to.”
“They will keep hunting us.”
“You are a child.”
“I know what they did.”
Her voice trembled.
“I remember the other children.”
Vale looked away.
Emily touched Sophie’s hand.
“What other children?”
“There are twenty-three of us.”
The young attacker at the cemetery had called Emily Mother.
Not because he believed she had given birth to him.
Because she was the original subject.
The template.
Vale spoke quietly.
“Meridian used genetic material from E-17 and M-04 to create a second generation.”
Micah’s voice came through Emily’s hidden earpiece.
The signal was weak but clear.
“Emily, can you hear me?”
She touched the transmitter.
“Yes.”
“We found a service shaft. Daniel and I are coming down.”
“There are children here.”
A pause.
“How many?”
“Twenty-three.”
Micah breathed out slowly.
“Where is Sophie?”
“With me.”
“Is she…”
“Yes.”
Silence followed.
Then Micah said, “Get her out.”
“We need to reach Level Seven.”
Adrian coughed blood.
“There is a maintenance lift at the end of the corridor.”
Emily helped him stand.
They moved through the facility while security alarms pulsed.
Behind several reinforced doors, children sat in white rooms.
Some were infants.
Others were teenagers.
All wore wristbands bearing numbers.
Sophie stopped at one window.
A boy inside touched the glass.
His wristband read E-22.
“He’s my brother,” Sophie said.
Emily turned toward Vale.
“How many are biologically ours?”
“All of them.”
The words nearly brought Emily to her knees.
Vale continued.
“Different combinations. Different stages. But the original genetic foundation came from you and Micah.”
Adrian leaned against the wall.
“Meridian did not create children.”
He looked at Emily.
“They created an army that could carry secrets no computer could safely store.”
The lift arrived.
Before they could enter, a screen activated above the doors.
A man appeared on the display.
He wore a dark suit and a silver Meridian pin.
“Good evening, Elise.”
Emily recognized him.
Vice President Nathan Caldwell.
A man who had visited St. Catherine’s Hospital twice for charity events.
May you like
A man considered likely to become the next President of the United States.
“The country thanks you for your service,” Caldwell said. “Now bring Sophie to Level Nine.”
