Chapter 63

Mira

The world stood still as we stared up at the building. We stayed in the car for a moment, wondering if a team of security guards was going to come pouring out of the building to accost us.

When we were sure that wasn’t going to happen, we slowly got out of the car and walked to the entrance. Passing the van, I noticed that there were not license plates or identifying tags of any kind. It was an older model, but seemed to be in good shape. It might’ve been sitting there for ten minutes or ten years.

By the time we made it to the front door, it was becoming more clear that we were the only ons on the premises. Lucian was still careful when opening the front door, picking the lock with a skill I guessed he didn’t learn at university.

“My dad gave me a kit when I was really little,” he confided in a whisper as he worked. “Mom never approved, but it comes in handy.”

“Where is he now?” I asked.

“Oh, he’s long gone,” he said somberly.

“I’m so sorry he passed,” I added softly.

“I didn’t say he was dead.”

I furrowed my brow, not quite grasping the mystery but deciding not to push the subject.

A loud click told us the door was unlocked, and Lucian pulled it slowly to allow us to slip inside. He locked the door behind us.

“No need to let any other trespassers in,” he said.

Taking in the dim light of the lobby, we confirmed two things: this was indeed a medical facility, and it was completely abandoned.

My heart sank a bit, not sure what I had been expecting, but still somehow disappointed. The danger of the situation was diminished, but I had hoped we might find something or someone that could answer my questions. Maybe I was just naive.

I checked my phone, the unanswered texts from Dominic glaring at me. There was one blinking bar of cellular service, and I guess most of the building was a dead zone. Whether that was natural or by design, I couldn’t say.

“We can at least take some pictures,” Lucian said, snapping a photo of the dusty reception desk.

An old computer monitor and keyboard sat next to a telephone, both out of date and no signs of being used any time recently.

The overhead lighting is minimal, suggesting there must be a generator somewhere that is still operative. As we start down a main hallway, I pull a small flashlight from my medical kit to help guide our way.

Our self-guided tour is quiet, the soft pad of footsteps providing most of the soundtrack. The layout is what you might expect from a hospital building, but everything feels slightly off. Almost like it was a movie set, decorated to convince an audience of reality with no substance behind it.

There is dust throughout, but some surfaces are clean and the windows are crystal clear. We pass a cafeteria on the first floor, and are surprised that we don’t smell anything bad or discover vermin living in the pantry. There are canned goods and bags of rice, unspoiled, on the shelves.

“It’s like we’ve gone back in time,” I mused.

We spend probably an hour wandering around, taking some photographs or videos or anything interesting. Lucian was quiet, but I could tell by his shoulders that he was on the defensive. I guessed his wolf was near to the surface and ready to take over at any sign of danger.

For once I was glad that someone knew I was wolf less— he would know I couldn’t protect myself if we got into trouble.

We found ourselves in the basement, the air was heavy and stale with a slight metallic tinge. A hallway or doors that led to small rooms with no windows. Each room had a low bed, single chair, and toilet and sink in the corner. The mattresses looked clean, and the fixtures gleamed in the light of my flashlight. I had chills up my spine by the time we had explored the last room in the hall.

“These don’t seem like normal rooms for patients,” I said to Lucian. “No equipment for monitoring, no windows for fresh air and sunlight for mental improvement.”

“They feel like prison cells.”

He was right, and I had just been afraid to say it out loud.

We made our way back up the stairs, and an odd sense of dread took over my senses. My brain was trying to fill-in the gaps about this place, and nothing good was coming to mind.

“Wait,” Lucian said.

He had stopped on a small landing between floors. A door on one side said “Supply Closet,” and judging by the height of the stairwell there was in fact space for a room on the other side. I wondered if there were other doors in other stairwells at this level— was there a secret floor above the basement, just for storage?

My mind stopped racing when I saw what Lucian was staring at: there was light coming from behind the door. We stayed still for a moment, hearing nothing.

Moving slowly, Lucian placed his hand on the knob and turned slowly. The door opened inwards, and we felt almost blinded by the fluorescent lights on the ceilings.

The room was huge, seeming to confirm my theory about a secret floor. This was definitely not a supply closet, but an examination room of some kind.

Mostly empty and sterile, there were a few metal tables smelling of strong cleaning supplies. A panel by the door had unmarked switches of different colors. There was a gentle buzz of power that bounced off the metal walls that formed an octagon shape.

In the center of the room were two identical chairs, outfitted with straps for restraint and able to recline with the push of a button. On the arm rest of one of the chairs was a brownish stain, right about where an elbow might rest.

Upon closer inspection, I recognized it as blood.

A strange guttural sound escaped my mouth, and I was grateful that Lucian was there to place a hand on my shoulder to steady me.

“I think we’ve seen enough,” he said, lifting me slightly and pulling me towards the door.

My eyes fell to the floor next to the chair, and something glinted in the lights. I bent down to pick up a small gold hoop earring. Without thinking, I slipped it into my pocket.

I let Lucian take my hand as he led the way out of the room, back up the stairs, and out to the front entrance. My head felt heavy as we retraced our steps, trying to fill in the missing information about this place.

I had hoped coming here might help me find a way back to my lost wolf, but I only felt more in the dark.

Lucian stopped short, causing me to crash into his back.

He pointed slowly up towards the corner of the ceiling just next to the front door, his hand curling as if his claws were about to come out.

My eyes focused on a small black box hanging from the corner.

It was a camera, and the red blinking light told me it was recording.

Not wasting anymore time, we got out of the building, Lucian doing his best to secure the lock behind us.

We saw our car a short distance away, but nothing else.

The van that had been sitting out front was gone.