Episode 4
The fluorescent light buzzed overhead, casting a cold glow across the Observation Room.
Iris stared at the note in her hand.
> "Room 308. Storage. Loose panel behind sink. You'll find help there."
Every inch of her body still throbbed from the injection, but her mind had sharpened with rage.
She had to get out. Tonight.
She studied the camera in the corner. A faint red light blinked steadily. Watching. Always watching.
They think I'm broken.
Let them.
She tore her blanket into strips, rolled them into earplugs, and stuck them into her ears before slipping into the bathroom inside the observation chamber. She whispered, "Please, let there be a vent."
There was.
Barely a foot wide, hidden beneath the sink.
She pried at the screws with the metal clip from her IV line. Her hands shook. Time crawled.
The screws gave in.
She pushed the panel aside and stared into the narrow darkness beyond. The shaft reeked of dust and rust—but it was freedom.
She squeezed in, crawling like a rat through the shadows, scraping her knees and elbows raw. Each inch forward echoed her heartbeat: Isolde. Truth. Escape. Survive.
---
Room 308
She emerged behind an old janitor's closet—marked Storage 308.
The air was damp and stale. Paint peeled off the walls. Broken mop handles and rusted supply carts lay scattered.
She found the sink.
Her fingers scrambled over the tiles behind it—then paused on a panel that was just slightly loose.
She pried it off and reached inside.
A flashlight. A folded map. A burner phone.
And a journal.
Her name was on the cover.
"Iris Vale — Project NIGHTSHADE Log"
Her hands trembled as she flipped it open.
> Entry #1
They told me this was for healing. For memory recovery. I believed them. Alec said he loved me…
> Entry #3
The injections—they hurt. I forget hours. Days. And when I ask, he smiles and says, "You're safe." But I never feel safe.
> Entry #6
Isolde warned me. She found out what Alec was doing—how he was using us. Mind control, emotional suppression, identity resets. She said we weren't patients. We were prototypes.
> Entry #10
They took her. I heard her scream. And then… silence.
Iris dropped the book, nausea rising in her throat.
She wrote this. Before they wiped her memory.
Before they turned her into the blank slate Alec could manipulate.
Everything Alec said was a lie.
The folder in the records room… the journal… the locked ward… it all pointed to the same terrifying truth.
She was part of a behavioral reconditioning experiment.
And Isolde had died trying to stop it.
---
The burner phone vibrated suddenly.
One message appeared on the screen.
> "Turn off the camera in Hall C. Then run. – N"
Nina. It had to be.
The map showed Hall C leading to a side door.
She took a deep breath, pocketed the map, the journal, and flashlight, and headed toward her next goal.
---
Hall C
It was quieter here. Fewer cameras. Flickering bulbs and old metal walls made it feel like an abandoned wing of the facility.
She reached the security panel marked CAMERA CONTROL.
Three switches.
She turned off the one labeled C-HALL EAST.
The red blinking light above the hallway dimmed and went dark.
Now.
She sprinted.
Feet pounding on the cold tile floor, breath ragged. Every second was borrowed.
She reached the steel exit at the end of the hall and yanked the handle—
Locked.
Panic surged.
Then—footsteps.
Nina appeared, breathless, eyes wide.
"Iris," she whispered. "Come. Hurry. There's a maintenance tunnel this way."
Nina pushed a rusted shelf aside to reveal a narrow staircase going underground.
"You risked everything to help me?" Iris asked.
"You were never supposed to be part of this. I joined to be a nurse, not an accomplice to murder."
They descended into darkness.
---
Underground Tunnels
It was like another world—old hospital wings turned to storage and secrecy.
They passed broken wheelchairs, flickering bulbs, and strange symbols scratched into the walls.
Then Iris saw it.
A door with a red X painted across it.
"What's in there?" she asked.
Nina hesitated. "The Lab. The original one. Where NIGHTSHADE started."
Iris pushed the door open.
And stopped breathing.
---
Inside the Lab
Tanks. Glass tanks filled with liquid.
And inside… bodies.
Some still. Some twitching.
Wires connected their skulls. Machines beeped quietly.
A clipboard read:
> Test Subject: IV-2
Status: Conscious Suppression — Phase IV
Memory Reset: 93%
Aggression Level: Moderate
Iris stumbled back.
Nina caught her. "You were next. They were preparing you for Phase IV. Complete identity reprogramming."
"They were going to erase me," Iris whispered. "Kill who I am."
"Yes."
A sound echoed from above.
Footsteps.
Dozens.
"They know," Nina said. "You have to go. Take the tunnel. It leads outside. I'll stall them."
"No—come with me."
Nina shook her head. "They'll catch us both. But if I stay… I can buy you minutes."
Tears stung Iris's eyes. "Why are you helping me?"
"Because Isolde saved me once," Nina said softly. "Now I'm repaying that debt."
She shoved a USB drive into Iris's hand. "The full research logs. Go. Expose them."
And then Nina turned and ran toward the footsteps.
Iris ran the other way.
---
Freedom
She burst out of the tunnel into the forest behind the facility. Cold air slapped her face. Birds cried in the distance.
She didn't stop running until her legs gave out.
She collapsed near a tree and gasped for breath.
She was out.
But she wasn't safe.
Not yet.
Alec would come for her.
He always did.
But this time…
She'd be ready.
🌟 Dear Readers! 🌟
If you enjoyed this chapter, please don't forget to like, comment, and add to your collection.
It won't even take a minute, but your support means the world to me.
And please don't forget to vote with your Power Stones!
Thank you so much for your kindness and support. 💖