Chapter 5 - The Hostage Standoff
Smoke hissed violently from the crushed radiator of the ruined pickup truck.
Marcus kicked his jammed door open and stumbled out into the freezing rain, his stolen pistol raised.
Daniel laughed coldly, flanked by half a dozen heavily armed security contractors.
"It is incredibly tragic that my dear brother survived a drowning only to die in a fiery car crash tonight," Daniel mocked.
Marcus ignored him, quickly grabbing the lead mercenary and pressing his gun firmly against the man's temple.
"Tell your men to drop their weapons, or your commander dies right now," Marcus roared fiercely.
The mercenaries hesitated, their laser sights darting between Marcus and their captured leader.
Inside the crushed truck, Clara screamed as another brutal contraction tore completely through her exhausted body.
Martha looked at the keys still dangling in the ignition and made a wildly desperate decision.
She shoved her frail body into the driver's seat and aggressively slammed her foot onto the gas pedal.
The ruined truck violently lurched forward, its metal rims screeching against the wet asphalt.
The heavy vehicle slammed directly into the blockade, crushing the armored SUVs and scattering the terrified mercenaries.
Martha kept driving, forcing the smoking truck down the dark road toward the hidden valley clinic.
Marcus managed to break free during the absolute chaos and sprinted wildly after the escaping truck.
He jumped into the bed of the moving vehicle just as Daniel blindly fired his shotgun into the darkness.
They drove for ten agonizing minutes until the truck finally died right in front of the abandoned clinic.
Marcus and Martha rapidly carried Clara inside, kicking the dusty wooden doors shut and barricading them with heavy furniture.
Clara's vision was swimming with dark spots as she finally collapsed onto an old, rusted medical table.
The pain was so entirely overwhelming that she completely lost consciousness for a few terrifying moments.
When she slowly opened her eyes, a man in a pristine white lab coat was standing calmly over her.
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It was Dr. Vance, the personal and highly corrupt physician employed by Evelyn's family.
He held a syringe full of a cloudy, dangerous liquid directly above Clara's neck.
