Chapter 6 - Infiltration
We slipped through a gap in the perimeter fence where a fallen pine branch had compromised the electric wire. The night air was freezing, smelling of pine needles and damp earth. Every crunch of gravel under our boots felt like a gunshot in the silence.
Vance and his officers moved with military precision, taking out two perimeter guards with suppressed tranquilizer rounds before they could hit their alarm buttons.
We made our way to the low window at the north wing. Vance pulled out a specialized glass-cutting tool and silenced the alarm wire connected to the frame. Within minutes, the heavy metal grate was unbolted, and the window slid open.
I dropped down first into the pitch-black room, landing softly on a cold concrete floor. The air smelled foul—a mixture of bleach, stale food, and antiseptics.
Vance clicked on a low-beam tactical flashlight. The beam swept across a bleak, windowless cell. In the center sat a rusted iron bed frame.
Chained to the frame by his ankle was a man.
He was thin—so thin his collarbones jutted out like sharp knives through his ragged clothes. His hair was long, matted, and grey at the temples. He was curled into a fetal position, shivering uncontrollably.
“Harrison?” I choked out, stepping forward despite Vance’s warning gesture.
The man flinched violently, covering his face with bruised, dirty hands. “Don't hit me,” he rasped, his voice a broken whisper. “I took the medicine... I took it... please...”
“Harrison, it’s me,” I knelt beside him, tears spilling down my cheeks as I pulled his hands away from his face. “It’s Sarah.”
He blinked slowly, his sunken eyes unfocused, clouded by whatever drugs they had been pumping into his system. He stared at my face for several agonizing seconds, his lip trembling.
“Sarah?” he whispered, his voice cracking. “Are... are you dead too? Did she get you?”
“No, Harrison. I’m alive. Chloe is alive. We found the doll.”
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A single tear cut a clean path through the dirt on his cheek. “Chloe... my baby girl... she got it?”
Before I could answer, a loud click echoed from the top of the basement stairs. The heavy steel door swung open, and floodlights instantly illuminated the entire room, blinding us.
