CHAPTER 16: THE LOCKED FILE
1228 Words
SELENE POV
The med bay was too quiet.
Selene couldn’t sleep.
Every time she shut her eyes, she saw blue mist. The mist from the broken vial. The night of the raid.
The glass broke in her pocket. The blue liquid touched her cut lip. Her cut finger. It burned for one second. Then it was gone.
She told herself: “The DNA is gone. I broke the vial. It’s over.”
But her ears felt sharper now. Too sharp.
She could hear the machine beeping down the hall. Three beeps. Pause. Three beeps.
She could hear a nurse whispering on floor two. “Another coffee.”
She could hear her own blood moving. Soft. Fast. Wrong.
At 2 AM she got up. Legs shaky. The floor felt cold under her feet.
Dr. Vant said she had to rest 48 hours. No lab. No work. No files.
But the quiet was loud. Louder than noise.
She walked to the admin room. The door had a blue scanner. Red light. Locked.
“Restricted access, little Thorne,” the voice said.
She turned around fast. Heart jumped.
Dr. Vant stood there. Black shirt. Sleeves rolled up. No lab coat. He looked tired. Dark circles under his gray eyes.
“You should be in bed,” he said. Not angry. Just tired. Like he’d been watching her door all night.
“Kade said 48 hours no lab work,” Selene said. She held the wall to stay steady. “He didn’t say I can’t walk.”
Dr. Vant’s mouth moved a little. Not a smile. Almost a smile. “Walking to admin files at 2 AM isn’t walking. It’s breaking rules.”
“Then stop me,” she said. Her voice shook but she didn’t look away. “Take my key card. Send me to desk duty. But don’t tell me I’m safe when my hearing keeps changing.”
He moved closer and leaned down till his face was just a few centimeters from hers.
Selene could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks "stupid girl" she thought to herself, even with the DNA fighting to take over her,it couldn't change how she felt for this man. Even his cold walls couldn't change a thing.
Dr. Vant’s gray eyes went still. Cold. “Step back from the door.”
“No,” Selene said. She put her hand on the scanner. It stayed red. “I need to see the raid report. I need to know what the DNA was.”
“You know what it was,” Dr. Vant said. Standing straight, he didn’t move closer. “Illegal DNA. From the leopard project. It broke in your pocket.”
“It broke,” Selene said. “But some got on my blood. I felt it burn. I felt it go in.”
Dr. Vant looked at her for 10 seconds. One. Two. Three. All the way to ten.
Then he sighed. A real sigh. Like he was tired of fighting her.
He put his hand on the scanner next to hers. His hand was warm. Not touching her. Just close.
The door light turned green. Click.
The door opened with a hiss.
Selene stared at him. “You’re not supposed to help me.”
“I’m not helping,” Dr. Vant said. He walked in first. His boots were quiet on the steel floor. “You get 60 seconds. Then I lock your access for 3 days. Desk duty. No lab. That’s my call.”
“So you’re restricting me,” she said. She followed him in. The room was cold. Rows of steel cabinets. Each one locked.
“I’m keeping you safe,” he said. He didn’t look at her. He pulled out a thin file from cabinet 7. Red stamp on top: CONFIDENTIAL. RAID REPORT.
He put it on the metal table. “60 seconds. Then I say I opened it. You go back to bed.”
Selene opened it with shaky hands. One page. A lab photo. The vial breaking in slow shots. Blue mist in the air. Her blood on the floor.
Under the photo, Dr. Vant wrote: `Blue liquid touched blood. DNA entered body through cuts. Subject: Selene Thorne. Effects: Unknown.`
Her breath stopped. The words blurred.
“Unknown effects?” she whispered. “You knew? You knew the moment it happened?”
Dr. Vant didn’t answer. He just watched her. His face showed nothing. But his hands were tight at his sides.
Footsteps in the hall. Heavy boots. Three pairs. Security coming fast.
Dr. Vant’s watch beeped once. A small red light blinked. Message on screen: `Motion in admin. Guards sent. 20 seconds.`
He didn’t move. He closed the file slow. Click.
“Time’s up,” he said.
“Who wrote ‘unknown effects’?” Selene asked. Her voice was small now. “You knew all along and you didn’t tell me.”
“Because you were scared enough already,” Dr. Vant said. He locked the cabinet with a code. Beep. Beep. Beep. “And because I don’t know what happens next either. No one does.”
Red lights flashed in the hall. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Dr. Vant stepped in front of her. Shoulders wide. Blocking the door. Blocking the guards.
“It was my call,” he said, loud enough for the cameras. “I opened it for medical review. Put the restriction on me, not her. I’ll stay in my office till morning.”
“They’ll punish you,” Selene said. “Kade will ban you from the lab."
“Let him,” Dr. Vant said. He didn’t turn around. He scanned the door open. Green light. “Run. Now.”
Selene paused. One second. Two seconds. Her heart beat in her throat.
Then she ran.
Behind her, Dr. Vant’s voice, flat and calm for the mics: “Log it under my name. She stays clean.”
The door closed behind her with a hiss.
Selene didn’t look back. She pressed her hand to her chest. Her heart beat fast. Too fast. Too clear.
She could hear the guards’ boots from far away now. Left hall. Right hall.
The DNA wasn’t gone. It was inside her. Living. Growing fast.
She ran faster.
---
*[VANT POV - CUT]*
His office. Gray walls. One chair. One desk.
Dr. Vant sat at his desk. Hands steady.
Security video played on loop on his screen: him opening the door for Selene. His hand on the scanner. His back blocking the door.
Kade’s message popped up. Red text. `3 day restriction. Office only. Meeting 6 AM. No lab access.`
Dr. Vant pressed two fingers to his wrist. His heartbeat was steady. 60 beats. Calm.
Hers would be fast now. 120. Maybe 130.
He closed his eyes for one second.
She thought the DNA failed. It didn’t.
The leopard DNA was inside her blood now. Growing. Learning her body. Messing with her mind. It controls her if she doesn't learn to control it first.
And if the Council found out what illegal DNA was doing to a human... they would come for her. Fast. Hard. No mercy.
He opened his eyes. Gray and hard. Like steel.
If they wanted Selene, they’d have to go through him first.
He picked up a pen. Wrote on a small paper: `Effects: Unknown. Keep it that way.`
Then he burned it.
- Writer
