Chapter 3

A concussive boom rocked the building. Lieutenant Sebastian Stone ducked as debris filtered down from the ceiling. He rose cautiously, looking around. Red emergency lights began to whirl. “What the—?”

He ran to the side door of Lab One and pulled it open. It looked like the aftermath of a hurricane— debris and dust still settling as Axel Ashton staggered across the floor, seemingly in a daze. Stone knew two techs manned the lab. Where was the other man? Squeezing his shoulder mic, he shouted. “Command, this is Stone at QL-one. Something went wrong! We’ve had some sort of explosion. I need back up, now!”

“Roger that.” Hank in dispatch responded. “We’re on our way, Lieutenant.”

“Roger.” From the doorway, Stone looked over the trashed-out lab. “Where’s Callahan, Ashton?”

He didn’t respond. The man must be in shock, or deaf from the explosion. Stone knew all too well how that felt. Behind him, running footsteps approached and he turned back to the hall. “Frank!”

“Yes sir. What happened?” Frank Gonzales panted as he ran up to his commander.

“I’m not sure. I’m guessing something exploded. We need to get those men out of there.”

“Right.” Frank glanced back. “I left my post, sir.”

Stone stepped into the lab. “Axel!”

He didn’t turn or act like he heard a word. Stone spoke over his shoulder to the guard. “Frank, get back to your post and—”

Stone glanced back into the lab and his heart stuttered. A huge shadow moved through the fog toward the back wall. Chills ran up his arms and across his neck. “What in hell’s name?”

He jerked back. “Contact Dr. Karole Crossan in medical!” He didn’t trust his own eyes. “Get outta here, Gonzales! Tell the men to use extreme caution but get here as fast as they can.”

“You got it. You alright?” Frank looked worried.

“Yes. Now, go!”

Frank trotted away, speaking on his shoulder mic as he ran. “Yeah, we need a medic in QL-one ... Call Dr. Crossan ... No, you idiot, Karole Crossan, the medical doctor!”

His voice faded down the series of hallways.

Chatter grew in the stairwell, and Stone knew it would be the evacuating personnel from the Ops Center. He shook off the shudder still running through him. Help Axel or evacuate all these people? “This way folks. Walk calmly. Form up in the garden for now.”

He waved them through the security station. The mass of people from the other labs soon crowded the small entry control point. Stone held the gate open and continued to wave people through. “Take your time. Let’s not hurt anybody. Stay calm, folks.”

Rick Sharp, Hank, and Sarge pushed through the exiting throng.

Sarge stopped in front of his commander. “What do we have?”

“Sarge, Hank, get in there.” Stone pointed at Lab One’s door. “You’ve got two men in there. Make sure they get out safe, and be aware ... never mind, just be alert and get Ashton and Callahan out of there. Medical is on her way.”

“Right.” The two guards entered the Lab.

“Sharp, help me with crowd control. These people are panicky and I’m worried someone’s going to get hurt.”

“Okay.” Rick looked over Stone’s shoulder. A mass of people bottlenecked the Entry Control Point. The stout guard climbed onto the security desk. “Okay folks, no hurry! Take it easy. Come on through. That’s it.”

Sarge walked out the door with Axel’s arm draped across his shoulder.

“Where’s Zeke?” Stone felt a knot of dread in the pit of his stomach. “Where’s the other man?”

“Hank’s still looking for him. There’s a lot of ... trash.” Sarge looked pale. “Where’s all the fog and that sweet smell coming from?”

“Unknown.” Stone turned back to crowd control. “Look, Axel, you need to get out of the building.”

Axel hesitated, looking across the stream of faces. He nodded, stood solidly on his own, and hurried down the hall.

Hank slammed open the door to the Lab. “Sir, I can’t find anybody else!”

Stone’s eyes darted around the hall. “Well, what happened to Callahan? I saw two men enter that lab. You mean to tell me only one came out?”

“Yes sir.”

“And there’s no body?” The pit in his stomach yawned deeper. “How can that be?”