“Where are they taking her?” I asked Vance.

“The secure medical wing,” he said. “Beneath the main estate.”

“Is Clara there?” I asked.

“Yes,” he whispered. “She is in the incubator room on sublevel two.”

I grabbed Vance by the collar of his lab coat.

“You are going to show me the way,” I said.

I shoved him toward the office door.

We stepped out into the cold, concrete corridor.

The air smelled of bleach and damp plaster.

The distant thunder rumbled again, shaking the concrete under my feet.

We walked quickly down the hallway.

My eyes scanned every corner for movement.

“The service elevator is at the end of this hall,” Vance said.

Suddenly, a loud metallic screech echoed through the corridor.

Above us, the emergency red lights began to spin.

A mechanical voice boomed over the speakers.

“Security breach in Sector Four. Initiating level-three lockdown.”

“What is that?” I asked, stopping.

“They are sealing the sectors,” Vance said.

At the far end of the hallway, a massive steel door began to slide down.

It hit the floor with a heavy thud, sealing the elevator bank.