Ellie eyed the cold coffee on Connor’s desk in disgust. There was nothing worse than cold coffee, she decided. Taking a sip of her fresh brew, she relished in the taste as the steaming hot liquid poured over her tongue.

  “A new batch of subjects has arrived,” she remarked, getting Connor’s attention. He looked up from his monitor and turned around to face her.

  “Another one? Aren’t they coming too often tely? It’s only a matter of time before that many missing people get fgged.”

  “I agree the turnaround is a tad short, but our experiments have been killing them too fast tely. Now that Ava’s given us some leeway to perform some of our riskier experiments, she needs to keep up with the demand for fresh bodies to experiment on.”

  Connor frowned. “Are they all dying that quickly?” Connor hardly noticed the differences between test subjects now. When all they did was die too soon, there was no point in remembering. Their faces a blur in his memory. They’d gone through so many it hardly mattered by this point. His moral hang-ups he had about killing people had long since vanished after Ellie had talked some sense into him after they’d stuffed Adrian in a pod.

  “They are, which is why there are new ones,” Ellie confirmed. “It’s a shame we still haven’t been allowed to perform the real experiments on them. I have a feeling that those ones are going to be a success.”

  Connor rolled his eyes. “That’s what you said st time.” He picked up his mug, took a sip of the cold coffee and grimaced. “You got me cold coffee?” he asked, setting the mug back down on his desk.

  “No, I got you perfectly hot coffee. You just left it there for so long it got cold,” Ellie said, rolling her eyes. “We need to figure out what we’re going to do with our newest subjects.”

  Connor hummed. “I say we go through with what we want to do for once, without getting Ava’s permission.”

  Ellie’s eyes widened. “Since when do you not care about getting permission?”

  “I’m tired of spending years of my life doing fruitless experiments when I know we could be making real progress. We’re the head researchers, we should have the authority to implement our own experiments as we see fit. It’s not like we’re worried about killing people. That excuse might have worked years ago, but not anymore. We’re too far in to care about the individual.”

  “What do you suggest we do then?”

  “Do you remember the blood transfusion experiment we did with Subject Eight all those years ago? I took some samples of his blood and froze them. That experiment turned out to be a success. I want to try it again with these new people.”

  “Didn’t that kill everybody but the one person?”

  “It did, but all we need is one success. If we can get that, then we have something viable to study to progress our research. One person needs to live. That’s it. We’ve already proven that it’s possible.”

  “And if I remember correctly, it was only a partial success. We never had the time to fully explore the differences before he was stuffed in a pod alongside subject eight.”

  “Who cares? It’s a result. A positive result. Something we’ve been denied for years now. We can ask Ava one st time, but I say that we go ahead with it regardless of what she says. Those blood samples aren’t going to stay good forever, and it would be a waste to let them expire.”

  Ellie chewed her lip. “I don’t know,” she said hesitantly.” We’ve still got some time before the samples expire, so I don’t think we need to rush our experiments. Besides, we only have a limited supply of the blood. We’re going to have to be very careful about how much we use on each person.”

  “I was thinking of introducing the blood into their systems in far smaller quantities than we did in our original experiment. It should also slow down their deaths long enough for us to actually understand what’s happening.”

  “Won’t that prolong their suffering?”

  Connor shrugged. “I don’t know. We never tried using smaller concentrations the st time around.” He stood up, giving one st disappointed gnce towards his coffee before exiting the office. Ellie followed, mug in hand.

  “You want to go see Ava now?” she asked. Connor started walking towards the elevator. Ellie hurried to catch up to the man’s long strides, careful not to spill her coffee. She paused to take a sip before scurrying after Connor.

  “Yes. I’d like to know how much time we have to prepare our experiments before we’re expected to begin working with the new test subjects. I’ve already got some ideas for what I want to do; it’s something I’ve been thinking about for quite a while now.”

  The pair continued towards the elevator in silence. Ellie pushed the button to call for it and they waited patiently for it to arrive. Faint shouts followed by a rather loud staccato echoed from further down the hall. Connor and Ellie looked at each other.

  “Do you hear that?” Ellie asked, cocking her head. “It sounds like gunshots.”

  “Did the subjects try to escape again?” Connor asked.

  “And make it all the way here? I seriously doubt it. What are the odds they escape to this floor?” Another gunshot rang out, followed by a scream that was cut off by another loud bang, noticeably closer this time. The elevator arrived and the doors opened. Before either of them could enter, the saw a figure wearing a white b coat crash into the wall at the end of the hall.

  Sparing no attention to the impact, the figure began sprinting towards the pair. The sound of heavy boots hitting the floor echoed in the distance. “Run!” the man shouted. Ellie noticed that red sptters on his otherwise pristine b coat as a soldier rounder the corner.

  The soldier raised their gun and shot the fleeing researcher three times in the back. Ellie’s eyes widened while Connor stood frozen at the sudden development. Locking eyes with the soldier, Ellie shoved Connor into the elevator and dove in after him. The bullets whizzing by just barely missed Ellie and embedded themselves in the wall.

  Repeatedly hitting the button to close the doors, the pair heard a shout as the soldier sprinted towards them, trying to get to them before the doors closed. Trembling, Ellie fished out her key card and scanned it. The doors shut just as the soldier arrived. Angry banging on the outside of the elevator startled both of them and Ellie prayed that the elevator would start moving before the soldier could open the doors.

  Her wish was granted, and the elevator began descending. “What was that?” Connor breathed shakily. He was fully aware that they had just narrowly escaped death and that it was only Ellie’s quick thinking that he was still alive.

  “I don’t know,” Ellie said, trying to calm her trembling hands. “Did the researcher do something wrong that warrants being killed? Were they trying to leak information?”

  “If that was the case, why did he tell us to run? There would have been no reason for the soldier to shoot at us if they were friendly. Where are we going, anyway? Are we going to be safe there?”

  “We’re going to the restricted section. I scanned the master key card I made a while back. Bonus that almost nobody can follow us down there.”

  “Then what happens? If all of the soldiers have suddenly turned hostile, then we’re trapped down there. I don’t recall seeing any food st we went.”

  “I don’t know! I panicked and picked the safest pce I could think of. Nobody should be able to stop the elevator once it’s on its way to the restricted section. Maybe somebody will come down and save us.”

  Connor shot Ellie a ft look. “Do you really think the soldiers are going to come help when they’re the ones killing people?”

  Ellie shrugged. “Maybe not all of them are in on it, whatever it is that’s going on.” She looked up at the panel above the door and watched the numbers grow. The numbers froze but still the elevator kept moving. It eventually pulled to a stop, far beneath what most people thought was the lowest level of the facility.

  Connor and Ellie tensed when the doors opened, half-expecting to come face to face to the wrong end of a gun. When nobody appeared to harm them, they both let out a sigh of relief and stepped out. “This pce is just as creepy as I remember,” Connor commented.

  “It’s not that bad,” Ellie said as the pair walked further into the room. “I thought you liked the holograms.” They passed by one of the pods, a bnk floating screen next to it. Connor paused, inspecting it.

  “That was before we saw what was hidden behind those doors. I still don’t know what those things were and I’m not sure I ever want to find out.”

  “We never did finish exploring the rooms here,” Ellie mused. “Do you want to go see what’s behind door number three?”

  Connor shook his head. “No,” he said. “Something tells me we’re better off not knowing what’s inside.” They resumed walking, subconsciously making their way towards Ava’s boratory. As they approached, the door opened, startling both of them. Adrenaline coursed through their veins as they waited to see who would emerge and whether they were armed.

  A rather frazzled Ava stepped out, looking out of sorts. Spotting Connor and Ellie, she schooled her expression back to the unreadable one she so often used when interacting with them. “What are you two doing down here?” she asked in a dangerous tone. “For that matter, how did you get here?”

  Connor and Ellie exchanged a nervous gnce. They hadn’t been expecting to meet anybody down here. Connor wilted under Ava’s withering stare. “We used our key cards,” he blurted out. Ellie smacked him on his shoulder. He looked at her apologetically.

  “Your cards shouldn’t grant you access to this level,” Ava pointed out.

  Knowing they were caught, Ellie sighed. “We gave ourselves access and used that to come down here. We were running away from whatever’s happening above us.”

  Ava’s eyes narrowed. “Expin.” Connor and Ellie took turns recounting what had recently transpired. “You expect me to believe that you managed to grant yourselves access to this level during a time of crisis where your death was imminent?”

  “We may have snuck down here before,” Connor said sheepishly. “We didn’t do anything bad, I promise! We simply looked around.”

  “You wouldn’t happen to have touched the terminal in the room I just came out of when you were here, did you? I recall it being set to a strange setting one day a little while back.”

  “That may have been us,” Ellie admitted.

  Ava sighed. “Why didn’t you request access like normal people?”

  “Would you have granted it to us?” Ellie challenged.

  “No,” Ava admitted, “but that’s besides the point. The point is that you’ve snuck in here not once, but twice without supervision when you know you shouldn’t be here.”

  “You’re the one hiding things from us!” Ellie accused. “We’re your head researchers, don’t you think we should know what’s happening here? What were all of those animals doing in those pods?” She pointed towards the door that led into the room the bodies were in.

  “What I do down here is none of your business. Your jobs are to replicate the results you got seven years ago, not to question my research.”

  “And what research is that?” Ava remained silent. “Is it the same research that took away our only success nearly seven years ago?”

  “Your successful experiments were always meant to be sent to our benefactors. Anything else we learned from them is simply a bonus. Remember whose facility this is,” Ava said.

  “You’ve never told us who owns the facility! Can’t you see how frustrating it is for our research to be taken away from us by strangers and then be told to replicate it without the proper resources? We originally came here looking for clues to give you the results you wanted. Now, we’re hiding from whatever’s happening. As far as I see, we’ve done nothing wrong. In both instances.”

  From across the room, the elevator doors quietly opened once more and a lone figure stepped out, unnoticed by the others. Ashford scanned the room. Making his way further in, he rounded one of the rge machines and spotted his target. Smiling grimly, he approached. He was going to enjoy this.

  He unslung the rifle strapped to his back, the noise grabbing the group’s attention. Connor and Ellie faced him with panicked expressions. Ava remained calm. “Ashford,” she said, not giving away her displeasure, “my researchers here have informed me that there’s been an incident on the upper levels. What do you know about this?”

  “I’m fully aware of what’s going on. After all, the guards are acting on my orders,” Ashford replied. He took another step closer, and Connor and Ellie stepped back, distancing themselves from Ava.

  “You’ve ordered your guards to murder my researchers?” Ava asked. “Why on Earth would you do that? They’ve done nothing wrong. Do you have any idea how hard competent people are to come by?”

  Ashford chuckled. “Believe me, I know. After all, it took me years to gather enough competent people for this. I’m here to inform you about the change in management.”

  “Ridiculous.” Ava waved him off. “There’s no change in management. Now go order your soldiers to cease their hostilities. Without those researchers, we can’t perform our experiments.”

  “That’s rgely the point. Your time at this facility has come to an end, Ava,” Ashford said grandly. “I’ll take my losses as long as it solidifies my hold over the facility. I can always get more researchers.”

  Ava narrowed her eyes. “You still haven’t expined to me how you intend to take over the facility.”

  “If you die, I’m in charge. It’s as simple as that.” Ashford aimed his gun and pulled the trigger without warning, shooting Ava several times. The sound of bullets striking metal rang loudly, reverberating in the rge room. Ellie let out a shriek and shrunk in on herself, taking a step behind Connor.

  Ava looked at Ashford, unimpressed. Everybody could see the holes in her clothing, yet no blood spilled out. “Is that the best you’ve got?” she asked.

  “How are you not dead?” Ashford asked in disbelief. He aimed again and shot another volley straight in the center of Ava’s chest. He didn’t let up, continuing to shoot her. This time, Ava’s eyes went wide. She looked down at her chest in fear.

  One of the bullets had damaged her power source.

  Ava needed to escape. She needed to repair herself before it was too te. She’d just narrowly avoided death not ten minutes prior. Panic welled up within as she faced her own mortality for the second time. She turned around and ran towards the room she’d just come from. Surprised again, Ashford shot her in the back, hoping to kill her. The bullets struck true, but Ava didn’t slow. The heavy door smmed behind her, and she rushed to lock it, abandoning Connor and Ellie to their fates.

  Ashford looked over towards the wayward pair. His frustration at Ava’s escape was dispyed openly on his face. He knew there was no way he going to be able to open the door she hid behind. It was the one room in the entire facility he had no access to. “Now then,” he said menacingly, “what to do with you?”

  He raised his gun.