Chapter 6 - the tunnel beneath St. Matthew’s
The elevator descended far longer than any hospital basement should allow.
Rodrigo held Victoria against his chest while she trembled. He whispered that he was there, that no one would take her, and that she had done nothing wrong.
Officer Reed watched him.
Nothing in the father’s behavior resembled the man described in Principal Hall’s report.
Cole stood near the control panel, staring at the glowing letters NR.
“My son is down there.”
“What is his name?” Ms. Clara asked.
“Ethan.”
She opened the red notebook.
Ethan Cole appeared on page seventeen.
AGE AT ENTRY: 9.
STATUS: PHASE TWO.
CURRENT AGE: 11.
“Phase two,” Ms. Clara said. “Victoria was scheduled for the same thing.”
Cole looked at his partner.
“We get the children first.”
“We get everyone we can,” Reed replied.
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened onto a narrow concrete tunnel illuminated by blue floor lights. A small electric transport cart waited on the track.
A sign read:
NORTH RIDGE PEDIATRIC RESEARCH ANNEX.
AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.
Dr. Warren examined Victoria.
“We cannot travel far without stabilizing her.”
Amanda opened her medical bag.
“The patch suppresses the device’s release cycle. Rodrigo, do you have another?”
He removed a sealed patch from his wallet.
Cole reached for it.
Amanda stopped him.
“It is legitimate.”
She checked the dose and applied it to Victoria’s abdomen, away from the implant site.
Within minutes, the girl’s breathing eased.
Rodrigo kissed her forehead.
Ms. Clara watched the tenderness between them and felt anger rise. The school had transformed a frightened child’s words into an accusation while the true abusers hid behind medical authority.
Reed took the front seat of the cart.
“No weapons except ours. Stay behind us.”
The vehicle moved into the tunnel.
Security cameras tracked them.
Dr. Vale’s voice returned through hidden speakers.
“Rodrigo Harper, you have been extremely persistent.”
Rodrigo looked upward.
“You murdered Samuel Grayson.”
“Dr. Grayson became emotional.”
“He tried to save the children.”
“He compromised years of research.”
“You call torture research?”
“Children experience fear every day. We merely measured its architecture.”
Victoria covered her ears.
Rodrigo shouted, “Stop talking.”
Vale continued.
“Your wife understood the importance of our work.”
Rodrigo became still.
“My wife never worked for you.”
“Maria Harper designed the original delivery system.”
The cart slowed as Reed approached a security gate.
Rodrigo’s face had turned white.
“My wife was a biomedical engineer. She developed insulin micro-reservoirs.”
“Which we adapted.”
“She would never approve experiments on children.”
“She did not know the final application.”
Rodrigo’s voice broke.
“She died before Victoria’s surgery.”
“Yes.”
The single word contained a confession.
Rodrigo stood so suddenly that the cart rocked.
“You killed her.”
“Maria discovered the school recruitment program. She intended to contact federal regulators.”
Cole looked at Rodrigo.
“How did she die?”
“Hit-and-run,” Rodrigo whispered.
Vale corrected him.
“Vehicle redirection.”
Ms. Clara felt sick.
The gate opened automatically.
Beyond it stood rows of abandoned patient rooms. Toys remained on shelves. Tiny handprints decorated the walls.
Renee whispered, “How many children?”
Amanda looked at the notebook.
“Thirty-six from Oak Valley. Possibly more from other schools.”
They passed a glass observation room.
A teenage boy sat inside wearing headphones.
Cole slammed the cart brake.
“Ethan!”
The boy looked up.
His expression did not change.
Cole ran to the glass.
“Ethan, it’s Dad.”
Ethan watched him as though he were a stranger.
A speaker inside the room activated.
“Identify emotional trigger,” a computerized voice ordered.
Ethan replied flatly.
“Father. Guilt. Unreliable attachment.”
Cole struck the glass.
“No. Ethan, listen to me.”
The boy’s eyes flickered.
For one second, something human returned.
Then a red light flashed above the room.
Ethan screamed and fell from the chair.
Cole fired at the lock.
Reed grabbed his weapon arm.
“You could hit him.”
“They’re hurting him!”
Amanda found a manual release panel.
The code required six digits.
Victoria lifted her head from Rodrigo’s shoulder.
“Three, one, four, one, five, nine.”
Everyone looked at her.
“How do you know?” Ms. Clara asked.
“The singing room.”
Amanda entered the numbers.
The door opened.
Cole rushed inside and tore the headphones from his son.
Ethan’s body shook.
“Dad?”
Cole dropped to his knees.
“I’m here.”
The reunion lasted only seconds.
The ceiling shutters began closing.
Dr. Vale’s voice echoed through the wing.
“Emotional contamination confirmed. Purge Ward C.”
Amanda looked at the wall display.
A gas-release countdown began.
01:00.
“Move!” Reed shouted.
They pulled Ethan onto the cart.
As they accelerated toward the next gate, doors along the corridor opened.
Children emerged from the rooms.
Some were Victoria’s age.
Others were teenagers.
All wore gray uniforms.
They stood silently in the path.
Ms. Clara counted at least twenty.
A girl near the front raised her hand.
“Victoria Harper must remain.”
Rodrigo held his daughter tighter.
“Why?”
The children answered together.
May you like
“Because she carries the final memory.”
👉 The imprisoned children claimed Victoria held a “final memory,” suggesting the secret inside her mind was even more valuable than the device hidden in her body.
