It sounded like clawing fingers.

I looked up, staring into the blackness outside.

Suddenly, the blue light of the heart monitor flickered.

The steady beeping sound slowed, then gave a long, high-pitched whine as the power died.

The room plunged into absolute darkness.

“What happened?” Dr. Sullivan asked, his chair scraping against the hardwood floor.

“The backup generator should have kicked in instantly,” Giovanni’s voice called out from the hallway.

A second later, the beams of two flashlights cut through the dark.

Giovanni strode into the room, his face pale in the artificial light.

He was holding a heavy tactical flashlight in one hand and his Beretta in the other.

“The main power line was cut,” he said, his voice tense.

“The generator shed has been breached.”

The security panel on the wall near the door began to beep a low, warning tone.

A single red light was flashing on the keypad.

“Zone four,” Giovanni said, looking at the display.

“The southern gate.”

“They are on the property.”

I stood up, my heart instantly freezing in my chest.