Chapter 4

Dr. Rosen's scream shattered the silence over the field.

Professor Patterson arrived with campus security, charging onto the grounds.

"What are you doing! I said no one opens it!"

Ethan strode forward, trying to rip the bolt cutters from a security officer's hands.

"Back off!"

The head of security saw red.

He grabbed Ethan in a takedown and pinned his thrashing body against the scorching concrete.

CLANK.

The U-lock was wrenched apart by the bolt cutters and clattered to the ground.

The security chief yanked the rusted iron bar from the door handle.

Then drove his boot into the door panel.

The iron door flew open.

A wave of stifling heat rushed out—thick with the reek of blood and the sour-sweet stench of decay.

The harsh midday sun poured into the dark storage room.

I was curled in the corner. Drenched in blood.

Like a discarded ragdoll.

Total silence. No screaming. No whispers.

Just the sound of people sucking in their breath.

Dr. Rosen swallowed his horror and half-crawled, half-stumbled inside.

His trembling fingers reached for my neck.

Through his gloves, his fingertips found a pulse—barely there.

One beat. Two. Three.

Like a kite with a fraying string, about to snap completely.

"She's alive!"

Dr. Rosen screamed.

"She's still alive! Call an ambulance! Right now!"

Pinned to the ground, Ethan suddenly went still.

He stared at the lifeless body crumpled in the corner.

Shock written across every inch of his face.

"That's impossible… that's not possible…"

He screamed it like a man breaking apart, wrenching free of the officers' hold.

He scrambled toward me on all fours.

"Sophie! Stop pretending! I give up, okay? You win!"

He frantically scrubbed at the blood on my face with his sleeve.

"Get up! Right now! I'll never lock you in again, I swear!"

Dr. Rosen shoved him away.

"Don't touch her! She has a severe coagulation disorder—she's lost too much blood!"

"One touch could worsen the internal bleeding!"

Chloe, standing nearby, stumbled backward, her face white as death.

She grabbed a teammate's arm, shaking her head wildly.

"It wasn't me! Ethan's the one who locked her in!"

"I didn't do anything! I didn't know!"

Dr. Rosen slowly rose to his feet and looked at Chloe's wretched face.

His stomach lurched.

He snatched up the blood-stained mop handle at his feet.

And slammed it into the ground at Chloe's feet.

"You didn't do anything?"

"When there was blood all over the floor, why did you lie and say it was red ink?"

"The two of you—you animals—you nearly killed her in there!"