Page 113 of Wicked Little Nightmare

A sudden whirring sound had us all tensing. Kyle's voice cut through the silence, sharp and urgent.

"Drone! Everyone, hide! Now!"

We scrambled for cover, ducking into a darkened alcove. I pressed myself against the wall, Cam's solid presence at my back. As the drone buzzed past, I found myself holding my breath, every muscle coiled tight.

When it finally passed, Kyle pulled out some fancy gadget, scanning for heat signatures.

"Looks clear," he muttered, fiddling with the device. "But those cameras are still active. See that one in the corner? Must be on a different system in case of power failure. Can’t imagine anyone wanting to let this shit get out, so it would make sense. Guess it was an upgrade from the systems I could see. Give me a sec."

I watched him work, my mind racing.What the fuck is this place?

As Kyle disabled the cameras, putting them on a loop, I grabbed and then squeezed Cam’s hand. The question hung between us: How far were we willing to go to see this through? Growing babies in bags was pretty fucking out there. The small,almost non-existent maternal part of me wanted to save them. They were just babies.But what the fuck would I do with, like, fifteen infants?

I tore my gaze away from Cam, forcing myself to focus on the task at hand. The experimental equipment scattered around the room made my skin crawl — not that I'd ever admit it. Sleek metal contraptions with sharp edges and cold, clinical designs. Damn special kind of sick fucks to come up with this shit.

"Well, well, well," I said, keeping my voice light despite the churning in my gut. "Looks like we've stumbled into a mad scientist's wet dream."

I snatched up a file from a nearby desk, flipping it open. My eyes widened as I scanned the contents, my practiced smirk faltering for a split second.

"Jesus fucking Christ. Kyle and Sarah were right," I muttered, unable to keep the shock from my voice. "They're not just breeding kids. They're... enhancing them. Genetic modifications, hormone treatments, cognitive rewiring. It's a whole damn assembly line of custom-built child soldiers. They… they’ve been growing them in ‘grow bags’ in order to hand pick their genetic material. These aren’t even babies… they’re… pieces of DNA spliced together."

My fingers tightened on the file, crumpling the edges. For a fleeting moment, I wondered if I'd been through something similar. Is that why I was the way I was? Is that why I don’t remember ever having a family? I shook off the thought, burying it deep. No time for that shit now.

"Hey, guys," I called out to Cam and Kyle who were looking at one of the bag babies with curiosity. To hide my irritation at this growing bromance, I forced a teasing lilt into my voice. "Any sign of our girl, Janine in this clusterfuck?"

"Nothing yet," Kyle replied, his voice tight as he turned and started to rifle through a cabinet. "But there's gotta be arelocation log somewhere. The map said this was the central laboratory, which means most everything will be kept here."

I nodded before turning back to my filing cabinet, slowly pulling out files. Some were labelled with a different letter. Some had numerous numbers, like Rose’s brand. There were four with single number, single letter identifiers, and then two folders labelled X and Y with nothing in them.

“Ugh, mother fuck—”

As if on cue, Cam's voice cut through my rising anger. "Found it," he said, holding up a thick binder labeled 'Relocation Schedule.'

I was at his side in an instant, peering over his shoulder as he flipped through the pages. My eyes narrowed as I spotted a familiar name.

"There," I breathed, tapping the page. "Janine Almine. Transferred to... fuck me, they've got her in some place called 'The Crucible.' What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

A chill ran down my spine as I read the details. Whatever this 'Crucible' was, it didn't sound like a fucking day spa. I glanced at Cam, seeing my own unease reflected in his eyes. Another buzz sounded nearby.

"We need to move," I said quietly, all pretense of playfulness gone from my voice. "Something tells me that we don't want to stick around long enough to find out what happens if we get caught here."

The air grew heavy with tension as we all hastily shoved documents into our bags. My skin prickled, that familiar sensation of danger closing in. I caught Cam's attention, and he nodded, holding a finger up by his side to indicate to wait. His jaw was set, muscles taut beneath his shirt. He felt it too.

"We need to bounce," I hissed, my voice barely above a whisper. "Like, five minutes ago."

Kyle was still fiddling with some computer, his fingers flying over the keys. I wanted to grab him by the collar and drag his ass out of there, but something held me back. Probably the fact that he was three times my weight and could throw me into the ceiling like a ragdoll.

"Almost done," he muttered, sweat beading on his forehead.

I paced the room, my nerves singing with each step. Every shadow seemed to hide a threat, every distant sound a harbinger of discovery. Cam stood by the door, his massive frame blocking most of the view into the hallway. His presence was reassuring, but even he couldn't fight off an entire security team if we got caught.

Just as I was about to lose my shit and start dragging people out by their hair, a sharp beep cut through the silence. Kyle's head snapped up; eyes narrowed on Sarah.

"Fuck," he breathed. "We triggered something. Fuck, fuck, I just need ten more seconds, and I’ll have their entire hard drive on my phone.” He looked towards Cam who was now watching out the windows, gun drawn.

The lights above us flickered ominously, casting eerie shadows across the sterile walls. My heart leapt into my throat, adrenaline surging through my veins.

"Time to go," I snarled, grabbing Kyle by the arm just as a small beep sounded, yanking his arm hard enough that he had no choice, but to let go of the keyboard.

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