Chapter 8 - The Ticking Smart Hub
A faint, high-pitched beep began to emit from the smart home control panel mounted near the kitchen archway. Beep. Beep. Beep. The green LED light circling the unit flickered erratically before shifting to a harsh, warning amber.
Officer Vance rushed across the hallway, pressing his palm against the plastic casing of the panel. "Can we override it? Is there a master reset code?"
"Only if you have Leo's biometric scan," Sarah said grimly, helping Clara shift her weight onto the sterile blankets she had spread across the floor. "And since he's currently cutting off his own fingerprints to throw the feds off his trail at a rest stop down south, that's not going to happen."
Clara grabbed Sarah’s wrist with surprising strength, her face contorted in pain. "Sarah... make him stop. Please. My babies... they're coming too fast."
"I've got you, Clara. Breathe with me," Sarah instructed calmly, sliding her hands beneath Clara's back to support her arching frame. "Martha, grab those wire cutters from my bag. The control panel is hardwired to the basement breaker. If you cut the main relay, we buy ourselves twenty minutes."
Martha hesitated for a split second, looking down at the heavy metal cutters before glancing at the glowing amber light on the wall. For a woman who had spent the last hour acting as an indifferent observer, the sudden shift in stakes seemed to catch her off guard.
"If I cut the wrong wire, the house locks down permanently," Martha warned, her voice losing its icy edge for the first time.
"If you don't cut it, we all suffocate in this hallway before the first baby takes a breath," Officer Vance barked, drawing his service weapon and aiming it directly at the plastic casing of the control panel. "Move, Martha!"
Martha didn't argue further. She dropped to her knees beneath the panel, lifting the plastic faceplate with the nail file she still held in her hand. A tangle of red, blue, and black wires hissed softly as the electrical current surged through them.
Clara screamed out as the second wave of transition hit, her fingers digging deep into Sarah's denim jacket. "They're here! Sarah, I can feel them!"
"Push, Clara! Push!" Sarah urged, her face mere inches from Clara's, blocking out the sound of the beeping panel and the ticking clock.
May you like
Martha gripped the wire cutters, her hand steady despite her age, and lined the steel jaws up against a thick, pulsing bundle of red wires just as the amber light turned a solid, terrifying red.
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