Chapter 14
Chapter 14: Inside the Hive
The rain was pouring in sheets as Ellen’s unmarked van pulled up to the service entrance of the Vanguard Facility. We were dressed in the sterile blue scrubs of environmental cleaning staff, carrying heavy plastic bins filled with industrial disinfectant.
My heart was in my throat as we approached the security checkpoint. A guard with a assault rifle stepped out of the booth, scanning our keycards. The scanner beeped green.
"Sanitation crew for Sector 4," Ellen said, her voice perfectly calm, entirely professional.
The guard looked at her, then glanced at me. I forced my hands to stop shaking, keeping my head down, focusing on the heavy plastic bin in my arms. After a agonizing five seconds, he waved us through.
The heavy steel doors shut behind us with a pneumatic hiss. The interior of the facility was blindingly white, sterile, and silent, save for the hum of massive air filtration systems. It looked exactly like the corporate videos for Synthex, but colder. Devoid of humanity.
We navigated the labyrinth of corridors until we reached the subterranean level—Sector 4. Through a reinforced glass viewing window, my eyes finally found what I had been searching for.
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Sophie was sitting in the middle of a massive, circular white room. She was strapped into a complex, high-tech pediatric chair, her head surrounded by a halo of glowing blue sensors. Vials of the milky-white chemical were feeding into an IV line in her arm.
And standing right next to her, adjusting the digital display with a smug, self-satisfied smile, was Mark.
