Code Red
626 Words
Rain finally came, and it didn’t come softly. It thundered across the city like a warning. Inside the hospital, Elara moved like a ghost through the halls. Her badge now gave her access to the sublevel, thanks to a favor she pulled with the chief of tech. She needed answers.
Down in the archives, she found three years’ worth of files untouched by digital scanning. Paper. Ink. Vulnerable.
She went for the logs from six months ago—the day Lucian was first admitted under a fake name.
Anthony M. Rivera – GSW – trauma code black
There it was. The fake name Lucian used. But it wasn’t her signature on the intake.
It was Dr. Lennox’s.
The same ghost who now walked the hospital halls without a face.
She scanned for the nurse. There it was again: Zeller.
Two people who had touched both Donnelly and Lucian.
One missing.
The other? A phantom.
She snapped photos. Stuffed the files back. She was halfway to the elevator when the lights flickered.
Then: Lockdown activated.
The doors sealed with a groan. A siren blared.
> "Code Red. Unauthorized personnel in sublevel. All security report immediately."
Elara’s breath caught. This wasn’t coincidence.
She backed into the shadows just as the elevator doors opened and two guards stepped out. But they weren’t hospital guards.
They were dressed like contractors.
One had a weapon.
She ducked into the supply closet and texted Lucian: They’re here. Sublevel. Armed.
No reply.
Her fingers hovered over 911. But something told her it wouldn’t help. The people upstairs? They already knew.
---
A noise. Footsteps. Slow. Deliberate.
A keycard swipe at the door.
Elara looked around. No exit.
The closet door swung open.
But it wasn’t a guard.
It was Lucian. Bruised. Bleeding. Again.
"Come on. Now."
They ran. Through the emergency stairwell. Up four floors. Into pediatrics, where Lucian pulled open a janitor’s locker and shoved her inside.
He climbed in beside her. Two people crammed into a space made for mops and chemicals.
His breath was hot on her neck.
"You didn’t answer my text," she whispered.
"Had to knock out someone first."
"You’re bleeding."
"I’m breathing. Let’s call that even."
She pressed against him. Not because she wanted to. But because she had no room.
But her heart didn’t understand that.
Neither did his.
---
The chase ended two hours later when the building returned to normal. Code Red lifted. Security swept and found no "intruder."
But someone had tried to erase a file from the archives. They failed. Elara had already backed it up.
The file? Donnelly’s intake.
Zeller.
Lennox.
And one more name:
Tomas Moretti — Lucian’s brother.
---
Later, in her car, Lucian sat beside her.
"Tomas is running a side war," he said. "He wants control. He’s using the hospital to cover up who pulled the trigger on me."
"Why here? Why not just kill you clean?"
Lucian looked at her, tired and worn.
"Because he didn’t just want me dead. He wanted the world to believe I disappeared."
She stared at the rain hitting the windshield.
"And me? Where do I fit into this?"
Lucian leaned closer.
"You’re the only thing they didn’t account for. And that makes you dangerous."
He touched her hand. Gently. Not as a warning this time—but as a plea.
"Stay close, Elara. Or we both bleed out."
---
🩸 Is Lucian really protecting Elara… or is she just his pawn?
🧠 Who do you think signed the hit on her? FBI, Mafia, or someone inside the hospital?
💣 And let’s be real: were you holding your breath in that janitor’s closet too, or just me? 😳
💬 Drop your thoughts below. Which scene hit hardest? Who's your current suspect?
- Writer
