Chapter 27
Chapter 27 (Eleanor’s POV)
The door clicked shut behind me, and I stood frozen for a moment, the heavy silence wrapping around me.
My heart was beating so loudly I thought it would echo through the room.
I tightened my grip on the flashlight and took a shaky breath.
The smell of old paper and cleaning chemicals filled the air.
It was colder here.
Colder than the rest of the hospital.
Maybe because these were the floors nobody talked about.
Maybe because these were the places they buried the things they didn’t want the world to know.
---
The room stretched out in front of me.
Metal filing cabinets lined the walls.
Old dusty computers sat lifeless on narrow desks.
Stacks of forgotten folders leaned against the far corners.
There were no windows.
No sound.
Just the hum of distant machines through the walls.
I walked forward carefully, my sneakers making soft scuffing noises against the floor.
Every cabinet drawer was labeled with codes and dates, not names.
X-A, X-B, Y-1, Y-2.
I moved from cabinet to cabinet, opening drawers quietly, rifling through the yellowing files.
Most of them made no sense.
Technical terms.
Data charts.
Medical jargon.
My fingers shook as I flipped through the folders.
---
After about fifteen minutes, I found a drawer that made me stop.
Crosslink Subjects — Failure Reports
I stared at the label, my stomach twisting.
Slowly, I pulled it open.
Inside were thick files, all crammed together.
Each one had a code number and a name.
Names of people.
Subjects.
Like me.
Like Alex.
---
I pulled one folder out at random.
My flashlight beam shook a little as I scanned the papers.
Subject 017 — Crosslink Termination.
Result: Emotional collapse. Neural decay within 48 hours of initial memory retrieval. Deceased.
I dropped the file like it burned me.
My breath hitched painfully in my chest.
They had experimented on people.
Real people.
And when it didn’t work...
They let them die.
Like they were nothing more than broken toys.
---
I forced myself to pick up another file.
Subject 021 — Emotional Regression. Severe psychological fractures. Subject deemed irrecoverable. Terminated under Section D guidelines.
Terminated.
The word felt heavy.
Final.
I blinked back tears.
This wasn’t just science.
This was cruelty.
Deliberate.
Calculated.
---
I shoved the files back into the drawer and closed it quickly, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans.
I backed away, heart hammering.
I didn’t want to see any more.
Not right now.
I needed to find something about me.
About Alex.
Something that could help.
Something that could explain why we survived.
If we really did.
---
I moved to another cabinet.
This one was labeled simply: Phase III Candidates.
I yanked it open, scanning the names.
My flashlight stopped on one familiar word.
Hayes, Eleanor
I pulled the folder out carefully, my hands trembling.
Inside were pages and pages of notes.
Observations.
Progress reports.
Recommendations.
And pictures.
Pictures of me.
Sleeping in a hospital bed.
Wires attached to my head.
Doctors in lab coats standing around me.
---
I flipped through the pages quickly, heart racing.
"Subject shows high resistance to memory deletion.
Subject retains emotional memories despite repeated suppression attempts.
Subject experiences Crosslink leakage with Subject 011 (Carter, Alex)."
I gasped softly.
Alex.
They had named him too.
We weren’t just experiments.
We were linked.
Our hearts had refused to forget, even when our minds were forced to.
---
The report continued.
"Recommended action: Complete separation. Relocation. Memory reinforcement. Final evaluation pending."
I frowned.
Separation?
Relocation?
Had they moved Alex somewhere else?
Had they hidden him even further?
The thought made my stomach twist painfully.
---
I dug deeper into the file.
At the very bottom, there was a short handwritten note.
"Monitor Subject Hayes closely. Crosslink intensity increasing. Potential Phase III candidate.
If emotional anchors persist, recommend full erasure."
Full erasure.
I pressed the paper to my chest, breathing hard.
They hadn’t just wanted to erase memories.
They wanted to erase love.
Erase connection.
Erase everything that made us human.
---
A noise outside the door made me freeze.
Footsteps.
Heavy.
Getting closer.
I snapped the flashlight off and ducked behind the nearest filing cabinet, heart racing so fast I thought I would pass out.
The footsteps stopped right outside the door.
I pressed myself tighter into the shadows, barely breathing.
A key scraped in the lock.
The door opened slowly.
---
I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, praying.
Please don’t see me.
Please don’t find me.
Please, please, please.
---
I peeked through a tiny crack between the cabinets.
A man stepped inside.
Not a doctor.
Not a nurse.
Security.
Dressed in black, a walkie-talkie clipped to his belt, a flashlight in his hand.
He swept the beam across the room slowly.
My heart pounded against my ribs painfully.
He walked down the first row of cabinets.
Pausing.
Looking.
I shrank down even further, willing myself to become invisible.
---
Minutes dragged by.
Each second felt like an hour.
I could hear my own blood rushing in my ears.
The guard walked closer.
Closer.
Closer.
He paused near my row.
I held my breath, hands trembling against my knees.
The flashlight beam brushed the edge of the filing cabinet I was hiding behind.
I bit down on my lip to keep from gasping.
---
Then, somewhere down the hall, a loud noise echoed.
A crash.
Metal against tile.
The guard cursed under his breath.
"Great," he muttered, and jogged out of the room, pulling the door closed behind him.
---
I waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Only when I was sure he was really gone did I crawl out from my hiding spot, every muscle in my body aching from fear.
I grabbed the folder with my name on it and stuffed it into my backpack.
My hands were still shaking.
But my mind was sharper than ever.
---
I had proof now.
Proof they lied.
Proof they experimented.
Proof they failed to erase me — to erase us.
---
I slipped back into the hallway, moving quickly but carefully.
No running.
No drawing attention.
Just another staff member.
Just another shadow.
---
When I reached the elevators, I waited until a nurse came through and followed close behind, pretending to check my phone.
The nurse tapped her badge.
The elevator dinged.
I slipped inside, keeping my head down.
Down to the ground floor.
Back to safety.
---
The second I stepped outside the hospital, the sun hit my face like a blessing.
I sagged against the wall, breathing hard.
I had made it.
Barely.
But I had made it.
---
I clutched the backpack tightly to my chest as I walked toward the bus stop.
People passed by me, laughing, talking, living normal lives.
They had no idea what was hidden behind those hospital walls.
No idea what people like me had endured.
No idea what had been stolen.
---
But I knew.
And I wasn’t running anymore.
I was fighting.
---
Somewhere out there, Alex was waiting.
Somewhere out there, the real truth still hid in the shadows.
And I was going to find it.
One step at a time.
One memory at a time.
One heartbeat at a time.
No matter what it cost me.