XEN24

I didn't know where I was, but I could tell this was no playground. Lab equipment I had never seen before, incubators the size of a man.

"What the hell do they do here?" I whispered to myself, trying to take it all in.

I stepped closer to examine one of the machines when a voice rang through unseen speakers.

"Don't touch that," it said calmly.

I withdrew my hand immediately, suddenly not wanting to know what these machines did anymore.

"Who are you people?" I shouted, scanning the room for the source of the voice. "What do you want with us?"

"Us?" the voice echoed. "There were more of you? I only got one. You."

My heart sank. Scott and Maggie—they must've been taken somewhere else.

"Eliana Halladay, am I right?" the voice continued. "It says here you're a PhD student at Cambridge. Not bad. It's sad, though… you won't be able to continue your research."

My stomach tightened. "What do you mean? What research are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me," the voice snapped. "I know about your little experiment—mutation and augmentation procedures, illegal use of laboratory equipment, trespassing on government facilities… and that's just the beginning. For a 21-year-old, I must say, I'm impressed."

I clenched my fists. Whoever this was, they had real intel on me. And that was bad news.

"What have you done to my friends?" I barked, ignoring his taunts.

"I don't know what 'friends' you're talking about, Eliana. You were the only one assigned to me. And I must warn you, I don't have patience for feisty youths. They don't pay me well enough for that." His voice turned colder. "I'd suggest you prepare yourself for interrogation. The detectives aren't so nice."

Detectives. The last people I wanted to deal with right now.

The room fell silent. The voice was gone. But I still felt a chill creeping down my spine.

Then, the doors swung open.

Two men stepped inside, dressed in awkwardly formal attire. One sat across from me, the other remained standing at his side. The one sitting down opened a file, his eyes scanning the pages. Even from where I sat, I could tell that file contained more information about me than I probably knew about myself.

"Miss Halladay," he finally said, breaking the silence. His voice carried the tone of a concerned father, rather than a detective. "You're in a lot of trouble, young lady."

I stayed quiet, watching him.

"I don't know how you and your little crew pulled this off, but I must say... I'm impressed. You have the entire organization after you in a matter of months."

I wasn't interested in his praise. I needed answers.

"What have you done to my friends?" I demanded. "Where did you take them?"

He paused, surprised by my defiance.

"Eliana," he sighed, "if I were you, I'd be more concerned about what awaits you. The last thing you should worry about is your friends. I mean, come on—you don't even know where you are."

I caught a glimpse of his name tag. "Mr. Clinton," I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. "I don't know what you're talking about. You and your men ought to be sued for abducting a sick patient and endangering the lives of others."

He chuckled.

"Endangering the lives of others, you say?" He turned to the man standing beside him. "George, show her the clip."

George walked toward me, holding up a tablet. A surveillance feed played on the screen. I watched as Scott moved in and out of the lab, carrying bags of chemicals.

"This doesn't prove anything," I snapped.

George zoomed in. The footage enhanced, identifying the chemicals in Scott's bag—listing the manufacturers and warehouse locations. The next clip showed a blast wave ripping through the streets, originating from the lab. The explosion blinded the cameras, but the damage was undeniable.

My throat tightened.

"What's wrong?" Clinton taunted. "Cat got your tongue?"

Silence stretched between us.

Minutes passed as he continued his threats, each one more terrifying than the last. I knew he wasn't bluffing.

He stood up, smoothing out his suit.

"Wait," I blurted out, my voice trembling. "What are you going to do to us?"

He glanced at me over his shoulder, smirking. "Don't worry. You'll see."

Before I could process his words, the doors burst open again.

Two heavily armored, bio-netic androids marched in. Their faces were blank. Emotionless.

Cuffs slid out from beneath their wrists.

My breath hitched.

"No. No, no, no…"

I scrambled back, my chair scraping against the floor. My mind screamed at me to run, but my body refused to move.

"This isn't a dream," I whispered in thought, horror sinking in. "This is real."

The androids advanced, their cold, mechanical limbs reaching for me.

"No! No! Get away from me!" I thrashed against them, but they were too strong.

A blinding surge of energy crackled through my body. The last thing I felt was the cold, hard slam of a laser weapon against my face, sending a searing jolt of pain through my skull then in an instant.

Darkness.