Chapter 6 - Rain and Red Plaster
The heavy steel door swung wide, letting in a rush of cold, damp night air and the steady drumming of a heavy downpour outside. Chloe stumbled backward out of the mortuary lab and into the narrow, shadows-drenched alleyway behind the dental clinic. Puddles reflected the sickly yellow glow of a distant streetlamp, rippling as large raindrops struck the asphalt. Behind her, Dr. Harrison lunged through the doorway, his white lab coat billowing, the gleaming scalpel in his grip catching the dim light.
"Chloe, stop this foolishness!" Dr. Harrison's voice echoed off the brick walls, sharp and demanding. "The rain will ruin the exterior compounds!"
Chloe didn't look back. Her sneakers slapped frantically against the wet pavement as she ran toward the front of the building, where the delivery van sat with its engine idling quietly in the dark. Her left hand was still jammed deep into her jacket pocket, clutching the bloody red dental mold so tightly that her fingers ached.
From inside the lab, Leo let out a desperate shout. "Chloe! Don't leave me in here!"
Hearing Leo’s cry, Chloe paused for a fraction of a second near the corner of the brick wall. Her chest heaved with ragged breaths. She couldn't just abandon him to Dr. Harrison’s instruments. But as she glanced back toward the open doorway, she saw her father stepping out into the alley, his eyes locked on her with terrifying intensity. He wasn't chasing her with blind rage; he was hunting with the cold, deliberate patience of a surgeon.
"You can't escape your own foundation, Chloe," Dr. Harrison called out, his voice cutting effortlessly through the sound of the falling rain. "Every choice you've made, every breath you take, is built on the structure I provided for you."
"I'm not your patient!" Chloe screamed back, her voice cracking with raw emotion. She pulled her hand out of her pocket, and for a split second, the bloody red dental mold flashed crimson in the dim light before she dropped it into a deep puddle near the brick wall. The red plaster sank instantly into the murky water, hidden from view.
Dr. Harrison stopped in his tracks, his eyes darting down to the puddle where the mold had vanished. A dark, dangerous shadow crossed his face. That specific mold was the key—the original cast he had used to archive his first masterpiece. Without it, the entire chronological record of his underground lab was incomplete.
"You foolish girl," the doctor whispered, his composure finally fracturing completely. He surged forward with sudden, terrifying speed, abandoning all pretense of clinical calm.
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Inside the mortuary lab, Leo threw all his weight against the stainless steel autopsy table, using his concrete-encased hands as a heavy mallet to smash the locking mechanism of a supply cabinet on the wall. With a resounding crash, the glass shattered, spilling scalpels, gauze, and a heavy pair of metal bolt cutters onto the tiled floor.
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