Chapter 2
Leo sat in the back of the unmarked security van, wiping a mixture of rainwater and mud from his stinging forehead. His arms ached from the guards' iron grip, but the physical pain meant nothing compared to the gnawing terror in his chest. Clara was down there. He knew it with every fiber of his being. They had been lab partners at Saint Jude Academy, spending late nights analyzing neurological anomaly data in the school's basement annex. Three nights ago, Clara had ingested a rare plant extract during an unauthorized after-hours botany experiment designed to test induced metabolic torpor.
She hadn't died. Her heart rate had simply plummeted to two beats per minute—a state indistinguishable from death to untrained medical professionals, especially the hurried doctors hired by her wealthy, influential father, Richard Sterling. Leo had tried to explain this to the paramedics, but Sterling's private security had intercepted him, silencing his frantic calls before he could present his research notes.
The van engine rumbled to life, splashing through the cemetery gates. Up front, the two guards spoke in low, hushed tones, their initial anger giving way to unease. Leo stared out the frosted window, his mind racing. He had one copy of Clara's biometric telemetry data safely stored on a waterproof flash drive tucked inside the hem of his ruined grey t-shirt. If he couldn't convince her parents legally, he had to prove it scientifically before the lack of oxygen in the sealed vault caused permanent brain damage.
The vehicle slowed down near a roadside diner just outside the municipal limits. One of the guards turned around, peering through the metal partition.
"Listen, kid," the guard said, his voice softer now that they were away from Sterling's immediate gaze. "Mr. Sterling is a powerful man. You pulled a dangerous stunt back there. Why risk your neck for a girl who was already declared gone by three separate physicians?"
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Leo looked up, his dark eyes burning with absolute clarity. "Because I monitored her neural baseline while she was still breathing. Her cerebral cortex activity hasn't ceased. She is trapped inside her own paralyzed body. If they leave her in that vault for another hour, carbon dioxide poisoning will finish what the extract started."
The guard exchanged a heavy glance with his partner. The second guard pulled his black baseball cap lower over his brow, shifting uncomfortably in the driver's seat. The silence inside the van stretched, heavy with the weight of an impossible choice.
