Chapter Eight
520 Words
Chapter Eight: The Clock is Ticking
Milo barely felt his legs as he followed Elena down the street.
Someone else was going to vanish.
They didn’t know who. They didn’t know when.
But it was happening soon.
Elena pulled him into a side alley, flipping through her notebook. “There’s a building,” she said. “An abandoned research facility near the industrial district. My brother found blueprints before he disappeared. I think it’s where the scientists did their original experiments.”
Milo’s stomach twisted. “You think they left something behind?”
Elena nodded. “A way to close it.”
Milo exhaled sharply. He looked up at the gray sky, a deep unease curling in his chest. “How do you know we still have time?”
Elena hesitated. “Because… I’ve seen it before.”
Milo turned to her.
She swallowed hard. “The night before my brother vanished, he kept hearing things. Said the whispers were getting clearer. He didn’t sleep. He kept staring at the walls like there was something there.”
Milo’s breath hitched. That sounded exactly like Daniel.
Elena continued, her voice tight. “And then, right before it happened, the lights in our apartment flickered. The air changed. It felt like the whole world was holding its breath.” She swallowed. “Then he was just… gone.”
Milo clenched his fists. “So if Daniel is already hearing voices, then—”
“He doesn’t have much time.”
A cold weight settled in Milo’s chest.
They had to move.
---
Industrial District – 10:37 AM
The old research facility was dead silent.
Broken windows lined the upper floors. Rust covered the metal door. A faded sign read: “HORIZON BIOTECH – RESTRICTED ACCESS”.
Milo exchanged a glance with Elena.
She pulled out a crowbar. “Let’s find out what they were hiding.”
With a sharp crack, the door swung open.
The air inside was stale, thick with dust and something else—something wrong.
They stepped inside.
The walls were lined with papers, peeling and yellowed. Faded diagrams. Notes scribbled in frantic handwriting.
Milo grabbed one and squinted at the words.
"Containment breach… subject unstable… response unpredictable…"
A chill ran through him. “They knew they lost control.”
Elena rifled through a stack of documents. “Whatever they unleashed, they were trying to lock it away.” She pulled out an old photograph.
A group of scientists stood in front of a massive metal door.
It was the same one Daniel saw in his vision.
And in the center of the photograph, a scientist held a black keycard.
Milo’s pulse quickened. “We need to find that key.”
Elena nodded. “If we can close the door, we can stop the vanishings.”
Milo exhaled. For the first time, there was hope.
Then—
A loud buzzing filled the air.
The lights flickered.
And the air turned ice cold.
Elena’s face drained of color.
Milo turned to her, heart hammering. “What is it?”
She took a shaky breath.
“It’s happening again.”
- Writer
