Page 73 of Dig Your Grave

The robed man snarled.“Then your mother—”

He stopped short as a new presence slid through the chapel door behind us.My heart leaped, thinking it might be Kate or a detective.Instead, it wasDr.Lansing, wearing a hooded cloak over her lab coat, face grim.She carried a small metal case, reminiscent of those silver syringes.

“Dr.Lansing,” I breathed, shock colliding with relief and fear.“What are you doing here?”

She moved past us, ignoring my question, heading toward the robed man at the front.“It’s time,” she said softly, opening the case.Inside lay two silver syringes filled with a faintly glowing substance.

My stomach churned.The gene therapy formula?

The robed man nodded.“Precisely.We’ll anoint the new generation.No more half-measures.We strengthen those with the Edenvane blood—Captain and Nubia both.Their lineage is key.”

Anubis’ eyes widened in horror.“You’re insane.I’m not letting you inject us with that toxic formula.”

Dr.Lansing’s expression flickered with guilt.“I told you, I didn’t want this.But they forced my hand.They threaten my family if I don’t comply.They want to test the final formula on you two, the ‘ideal subjects.’”

A swirl of betrayal.“You said you’d fix things, Lansing!”

She shook her head helplessly.“The new order is more ruthless than the Dean.They hold all the research data.If I sabotage this, we’re all dead.”

I scanned the group, searching for any sign of my mother.“Where is she?”

The robed man chuckled, flipping open his phone.He displayed a live feed video: my mother, Ambrosia, pacing in a cramped hotel room that looked unfamiliar.Rock sat in the corner, scowling.A watcher loomed behind them.My mother’s expression was terrified as she glanced at the camera.

A sob tore from my throat.“Mom.”

“Agree to the injection,” the robed man said coldly.“Or we end them.And if you resist, we do it by force, anyway.”

Tears blurred my vision.Anubis touched my arm, silently asking if we had any better plan.My mind raced.Could Kate be outside with the cops?Would they burst in?

We hesitated.Dr.Lansing loaded the syringes, voice trembling.“We must do it now, or they’ll kill us all.I’m sorry.”

Just as the robed man grabbed my wrist, a crash echoed at the chapel entrance.The door banged open.Two uniformed police officers burst in, guns drawn, followed by another figure brandishing a phone camera—Kate.

“Police!Drop the syringes!Everyone on the ground!”one officer barked.

Chaos exploded.The robed man snarled, lunging for me, trying to yank me in front of him as a shield.I elbowed him, fueled by desperate adrenaline, and he lost his grip.Anubis tackled another watcher who tried to bolt.Dr.Lansing dropped the syringes, which clattered on the stone floor.

Shots rang out, bullets splintering ancient pews.The masked figures scattered, some returning fire with concealed weapons.My ears rang with the thunder of gunshots in the confined space.Kate ducked behind a pew, filming the altercation.The police advanced cautiously, pinned by the robed group’s positions.

Some watchers near the altar flung themselves through a side door.The lead robed man cursed, scrambling to recover the phone that displayed my mother’s live feed.

I lunged, aiming to grab it.If I could show the cops that video, they’d see Mom’s location.But the robed man whirled, swinging a backhand.Pain burst across my cheek, and I tumbled to the damp stone floor.The phone skittered away.

Anubis roared, tackling him before he could strike me again.They wrestled, fists flying.The phone lay inches from my hand.Gritting my teeth, I scrambled forward, ignoring the surrounding chaos.Another shot ricocheted off a broken pew.Kate cried out, “Watch out!”to someone.

I closed my hand around the phone, rolling to one side.A bullet whizzed overhead, lodging in the altar.Heart pounding, I tapped the phone’s screen, praying it was still streaming.Yes—Ambrosia’s feed stuttered, but it was live.

Struggling upright, I stumbled behind a broken pew for cover.A policeman spotted me, gesturing.“Ma’am, stay down!”

“Officer!”I shouted, waving the phone.“They have my mother hostage.The location might be on this phone.”

The policeman, older with a buzz cut, half-lowered his weapon.“Give it here.”

I slid it across the stone floor.He grabbed it, ducking behind a pew for cover.Another masked figure tried to shoot him, but the policeman’s partner returned fire, striking the figure’s shoulder.A pained scream echoed.

Anubis and the robed man still grappled.The man’s mask fell away, revealing a twisted snarl.“Traitor,” he spat at Anubis.“You had the blood, you could’ve led us.”

Anubis grunted, hooking a punch across the man’s jaw.“I choose my own path,” he growled, voice hoarse.A policeman tackled them both, forcing them apart, guns aimed.

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