The automatic door hissed open. A hazmat-suited officer stepped inside, face hidden behind a visor, mask, and protective goggles. Everything about them was crisp and sterile, unlike Anna, who’d just peeled off the first layer of her gear after being dragged out of the room where Patient Zero had nearly killed her.
“Dr. Arendale, we’re here to collect the sample,” one of them said, holding out a gloved hand.
Anna stared at the man’s palm, unmoving. She didn’t flinch, didn’t speak. That vial had nearly cost her her life. Patient Zero wasn’t just a subject, he was a monster. And now they wanted the one thing she’d risked everything to retrieve.
“Doctor Arendale, are you listening?”
The voice snapped her out of it. She looked up, nodded, and handed over the small tube like she was surrende
