Chapter 18 - No More Numbers

Clara's hands shook so badly she almost missed the next command.

“It's a false choice,” Elena said over a speaker Victoria had patched into the emergency line. “I wrote that safeguard. It was never meant to make you sacrifice anyone.”

Voss looked up sharply. “Elena?”

“Yes,” she said. “Still alive. You should have checked your paperwork.”

Victoria guided Clara through the original emergency menu while June held the second station. They didn't need to surrender blood or sign away their lives. They needed to stay conscious and refuse the destructive sequence together.

“Eighty seconds,” June said.

At the medical wall, staff started preparing the cylinders for transport. Evelyn stood beside the oxygen controls, holding the failing mechanism in place with both hands.

“Sixty seconds.”

Voss lunged for June. Marcus caught him. They hit the floor, struggling, until two state troopers pushed through the door and pulled Voss away. His screams followed him into the corridor.

Clara kept her eyes on June. “Stay with me.”

“I'm here.”

The blue light under Clara's skin flared, painful and bright. She saw a memory of herself at seven, waiting for a birthday cake at an empty table. Across from her, June was crying now, but her hand remained steady on the panel.

“Thirty seconds.”

Clara and June confirmed the last command together.

The town map turned gray. MUNICIPAL RELEASE CANCELLED. Beneath it: PURGE HALTED. PATIENT SUPPORT RESTORED.

For a moment nobody spoke. Then Victoria started sobbing. The medics cheered. Somewhere above them, the estate's emergency siren finally stopped.

A tremendous crash shook the laboratory. The old drainage wall, weakened when the oak collapsed, split open. Water poured across the lower walkway.

June backed away from her station. The floor grate folded beneath her feet.

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“CLARA!” she screamed.

Then the girl vanished into the black water.