Chapter 4 - The Safehouse
The impact with the freezing water was absolutely brutal.
The heavy armored SUV immediately began to sink into the dark, murky depths.
Water quickly rushed in through the bullet cracks in the windshield.
My mother unbuckled her seatbelt and forcefully kicked the passenger door open.
She grabbed my collar and dragged me out into the freezing current.
We swam desperately toward the muddy riverbank under the cover of darkness.
My lungs were burning by the time we finally dragged ourselves out of the water.
We collapsed in the wet mud, shivering uncontrollably in the cold night air.
"We cannot stop moving," my mother gasped, clutching her ribs in pain.
She led me through a dense, overgrown forest on the edge of the city limits.
After an hour of agonizing walking, we reached a rusted metal door built directly into a hillside.
She placed her hand on a hidden biometric scanner disguised as a rock.
The heavy metal door hissed open, revealing a brilliantly lit underground bunker.
The room was filled with computer servers, medical supplies, and racks of high-tech weaponry.
"I built this safehouse twenty years ago just in case they ever found us," she explained.
She tossed me a dry towel and a set of tactical clothing.
I wrapped the towel around my freezing shoulders and walked over to the main desk.
A single, thick manila folder was resting directly in the center of the desk.
The words "PROJECT IRIS" were stamped across the cover in bold red ink.
I slowly opened the file and felt my heart drop into my stomach.
The very first page was a medical birth certificate with my exact date of birth.
There was a blurry photograph of a newborn baby attached to the page.
But the names listed for the mother and father were entirely blacked out.
Instead, the infant was simply labeled as "Subject Zero."
"Mom, what does this mean?" I asked, my voice shaking with dread.
She walked over to me, her eyes filled with deep, profound sorrow.
"It means I am not your biological mother, Sarah," she whispered.
Before I could even process that devastating truth, a loud mechanical alarm began to blare.
May you like
A smooth, electronic voice echoed through the bunker's hidden speakers.
"We have you surrounded, Helen, so please send the girl outside."
