The Alarm

The alarm shrieked, a physical blow that shattered the standoff. Red strobes pulsed against the stainless steel of the morgue, turning Arthur’s burned face into a grotesque, flickering mask.

"You triggered it," Elena shouted over the din.

"I didn't have to," Arthur yelled back, leaning heavily against the wall. "The glass you broke upstairs. The system rebooted. You're sealed in."

The heavy metal door to the hallway began to slide shut, driven by a pneumatic arm.

"Go!" Thomas gasped, pushing himself off Sebastian’s shoulder. "I can't... I can't run."

"We're not leaving you," Elena said, grabbing his arm.

"Yes, you are," Sebastian said.

He shoved Thomas toward the back of the room, behind the wall of freezers. Then he grabbed Elena’s wrist with a strength she didn't know he possessed and dragged her toward the closing door.

They slipped through the gap just as the metal slab slammed home, locking Arthur, the Director, and Thomas inside the bio-hazard lab.

"Thomas!" Elena screamed, pounding on the steel.

"He's safe for now," Sebastian said, pulling her away. "Arthur needs him. He needs a hostage. Run."

They sprinted down the concrete corridor. The elevator was dead, the panel flashing *LOCKDOWN*.

"The stairs," Sebastian shouted. "At the end of the hall."

They ran. Elena’s lungs burned. The gun felt like a lead weight in her pocket.

They burst into the stairwell. Footsteps thundered above them. Flashlight beams cut through the mesh of the railings.

"Down," Sebastian whispered. "Not up."

"Down goes deeper," Elena hissed.

"Down goes to the drainage outflow," Sebastian said. "It empties into the creek."

They descended. The air grew damp, smelling of rot and sewage. At the bottom landing, a heavy grate blocked the tunnel.

Sebastian fell to his knees. He clawed at the bolts. They were rusted, fused by time and damp.

"It won't open," Elena said, panic rising in her throat.

"It has to." Sebastian picked up a discarded length of pipe. He jammed it into the grate and threw his weight against it.

Metal screeched. The grate popped loose.

"Go," Sebastian said.

"Come on."

He shook his head. He stood up, blocking the stairwell. Above them, the boots were louder. Men were shouting orders.

"I can't go," he said. "I'm too slow. They'll catch us both."

"I am not leaving you."

"You have to," Sebastian said. "You have to save the children."

He reached into the pocket of his torn hospital gown. He pulled out a crumpled, dirty piece of paper. It looked like a page torn from a book.

He shoved it into her hand.

"What is this?"

"The map," he said. "The one I drew on the wall. But this... this is the key."

"Sebastian—"

"Run!" he screamed, shoving her into the tunnel.

He turned and ran back up the stairs, straight toward the shouting men. "I'm here! Come and get me!"

Elena scrambled through the pipe. The water was freezing, rushing over her boots. She crawled, scraping her hands on the concrete, until she saw moonlight.

She tumbled out into the creek bed. The forest loomed above her, a wall of black pine.

She scrambled up the bank. She could hear them behind her. Men shouting. Radios crackling.

She reached the perimeter wall. It was twelve feet of stone.

She found a foothold in the rough mortar. She pulled herself up, her fingers bleeding.

She reached the top.

Below her, in the facility grounds, floodlights swept the yard.

And then she heard it.

The deep, guttural baying of hounds.

She threw herself over the edge, dropping into the free air just as the dogs barked.