Page 112 of Wicked Little Nightmare

Kyle's fingers flew across the keys, lines of code reflecting in his eyes. I leaned in close, breathing down his neck. Not because I gave a damn about his hacking, but to watch for any tells, any sign he was about to screw us over. Only nothing happened. Hejust hit some buttons and hit the enter key when he was done, declaring it safe to enter the building.

"Once we're in, we'll have three minutes before the system resets," he murmured. "We need to disable the system from inside in order to prevent the reset. I’ve got the camera feedback on loop, so no issues there. I just need to grab the code to the inner lab doors, and we’re set. Just watch for guards that are out of place and anything that might look like a trap."

I finished with a grin. "Got it, darling. Now less yappin', more hackin'."

The air crackled with tension as Kyle finished the last bit of whatever the fuck he was doing. Once inside, wrong move and we'd be swarmed by guards, our bodies riddled with bullets before we could blink. The thought should have terrified me. Instead, it almost made me feel at peace. At least death would welcome me with open arms.

"We're in," Kyle breathed. "Remember, three minutes to the control panel. Don't fuck this up."

Sarah came to stand behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder, “I love you,” she whispered before he crushed her mouth with a kiss.

“Don’t lag behind. Stay with the group.” He warned her before taking point.

As we slipped into the facility's gaping maw, my fingers curled around my pistol. Kyle might think he was calling the shots, but if push came to shove, I'd paint these walls with his brains without a second thought.

Nothing personal. Just business.

The moment we stepped inside, the facility's atmosphere assaulted my senses. Sterile white walls stretched endlessly, the smell of bodily fluids assaulting my nostril, but there was also something else—something rotten beneath the surface. The fainthum of machinery set my teeth on edge, reminding me of the lab below St. Mary’s Orphanage.

Why the fuck would Janine come here?This looked more like a private medical center than a safe house.

Kyle's hand signals guided us forward, his movements crisp and practiced. I had to admit, the bastard knew what he was doing. My eyes darted between Kyle's back and the security cameras lining the corridors, half-expecting alarms to start blaring at any moment. Sarah walked to the panel on the wall, opening it for Kyle before moving past it, motioning for Rose to walk. Then Kyle got to work, and a small beep indicated he’d done what he’d needed to do.

Step one: check.

Cam's presence at my side was a comforting constant, his towering frame a shield between me and potential danger. I could feel the brutality radiating off him, his muscles tense, ready to spring into action at the slightest provocation.

"Two guards ahead," Kyle whispered, pressing himself against the wall. "Wait for my signal."

I bit back a snarky comment, instead focusing on the steady rhythm of my breathing.In, out. In, out.The familiar calm of incoming violence settled over me like a second skin. As we waited, I wondered what kind of shit went on here. The pristine hallways felt like a façade, hiding horrors I could only imagine. Part of me itched to tear it all down, to expose the rot festering beneath the surface.

Kyle's hand shot up, signaling us to move. We darted across the intersection, our footsteps unnaturally loud in the oppressive silence. My heart pounded in my chest, a mix of fear and exhilaration coursing through my veins.Had they heard us?

"How much further?" I hissed, my patience wearing thin.

Kyle's eyes narrowed. "Almost there. Just keep your shit together, alright?"

I tried to smile but I couldn’t make my lips move upwards. "Oh, don't you worry about me. I'm cool as a cucumber. Just focus on getting us further in without getting caught, yeah?"

Inside, my gut churned with unease. Something about this whole place felt off. It reminded me of some villain’s lair in a movie. Looking at Rose, I could see she was trying her best to put on a brave face as she walked, gun pointing to the ground. She looked cute, for lack of a better word. Definitely not like one of us. Though, she did know how to fight when push came to shove, so I’m sure that feral kitty was just hiding somewhere inside where she couldn’t reach.

We rounded the corner, and the world fell away.

My breath caught in my throat as I took in the nightmarish scene behind the glass in a closed off room. Rows upon rows of glass containment units lined the walls, each one housing a child in various stages of development. Some were barely more than clumps of cells, while others were fully formed infants, their tiny fists pressed against the glass.

"Holy fuck," I whispered, my eyes darting from one horrific sight to the next.

In the center of the room stood a massive, translucent bag filled with fluid. Inside, a fully formed baby floated, umbilical cord still attached. IV lines snaked into the bag, pumping God-knows-what into the poor kid.

My stomach lurched. I'd seen some fucked up shit in my life, but this... this was on another level.

Cam's hand found mine, squeezing tight. His face was flushed, eyes blazing with an untamed fury I rarely saw. Not like this. Not with this level of repulsion.

A choked sob drew my attention. Rose stood frozen; her eyes wide with horror as she stared at the rows of children. Sarah was at her side in an instant, trying to soothe her, a hand on her back stroking up and down in slow motions.

"Stay with me, Rose. We can't help them if we fall apart now. Go to the garden. The garden, Rose, go to it."

I watched as Sarah gently blocked Rose from the worst of it, walking her body in her line of vision, murmuring words of encouragement. Part of me wanted to mock their weakness, but something in Sarah's quiet strength gave me pause. Maybe there was more to her than I'd thought. We kept walking, on high alert for threats. Down the hall we walked, Kyle showing us to where we needed to go to gain entry to the room of horrors, unlocking the door with a code. The door hissed as it opened, and we rushed inside. Sarah sat Rose down and kept talking to her, helping her breathe through her feelings.

---