Evelyn hadn't slept.
Or perhaps she had. She remembered closing her eyes, losing track of time, and waking with her heart pounding because she'd dreamed of fire. Whether that counted as sleep was another question.
The room hadn't changed. White walls. A narrow bed. A locked door.
The metal cuffs around her wrists had become familiar in a way she desperately wished they hadn't. Every movement reminded her of them. Every time she tried to turn over, the chains pulled against the bedframe.
She'd spent what felt like hours staring at the ceiling. Waiting. That was the worst part.
Not knowing when they would come back. Not knowing what they'd do next.
Her body was perfectly healthy. There wasn't a single injury left from the experiments. But every time she closed her eyes, she remembered the testing room.
The needle. The electricity. Catherine's fire.
Especially the fire.
Evelyn pulled her knees closer to her chest.
Please.
She wasn't sure who she was begging anymore.
Just leave me alone.
A sound came from the door. Metal scraping against metal.
Evelyn went rigid. The lock turned.
"No," she whispered.
The door opened. Two guards entered. Neither was someone she recognized.
"Up," the first said.
Evelyn stared at him. For a moment, she couldn't make herself move.
The second guard approached the bed.
"Come on. We haven't got all day."
"No."
The word came out so quietly that she wasn't sure he'd heard it.
He reached for her restraints. Evelyn pulled back instinctively.
"Please."
The guard paused.
"Don't make this difficult."
She wanted to tell him that she wasn't trying to make anything difficult. She wanted to explain that she couldn't do it again.
She couldn't lie on that table. Couldn't feel another needle entering her arm. Couldn't watch someone prepare to kill her while discussing measurements and observations.
But the words wouldn't come.
The guard unlocked the cuffs. For one absurd moment, Evelyn felt relief.
Then he caught her arm and pulled her upright. Her feet touched the floor.
"Let's go."
She stood between them, trembling.
"Are you taking me back?"
Neither answered.
"Please. I don't want—"
"Walk."
The first guard opened the door. Evelyn looked at the corridor beyond it.
She knew where they were taking her. Of course she did.
There was only one reason anyone came to collect her now.
She took a step. Then another. Her legs moved because the guards made them move.
Somewhere inside her, a small, desperate part of her mind kept insisting that she should fight.
Run. Scream. Do something.
But she'd tried fighting before. It hadn't helped.
And she was so tired.
The corridors were quiet. That surprised her.
After everything that had happened, some part of Evelyn expected Northstar's facility to feel different. Darker, perhaps. More obviously monstrous.
Instead, the lights were bright, the floors were clean, and a woman carrying a stack of folders stepped aside to let them pass.
The woman barely glanced at Evelyn.
A man in a white coat stood near a vending machine, drinking coffee while speaking into his phone. Someone laughed behind a closed door.
Ordinary people. Having an ordinary morning.
While Evelyn was being taken somewhere to die.
Again.
She stared at the back of the guard walking ahead of her.
Maybe they won't.
The thought appeared suddenly.
Maybe they'd learned enough. Maybe Catherine had decided the experiments were finished. Maybe they were taking her somewhere else.
She knew how ridiculous it was. But hope didn't seem to care.
It kept appearing, even when she didn't want it.
They turned a corner. Evelyn recognized the corridor immediately.
Her stomach dropped.
"No."
The guard beside her tightened his grip.
"Keep moving."
"Please."
She could see the door ahead. The testing room.
"No, no, please."
Her breathing quickened.
"I can't do it again."
Neither guard slowed down. Evelyn stumbled.
"Please! I've done everything you wanted!"
The first guard opened the door.
"I told you everything!"
They pushed her inside.
The room looked exactly as she remembered.
The examination bed stood beneath the overhead lights. Monitors waited beside it, their screens displaying lines and numbers Evelyn didn't understand.
A tray of instruments rested against one wall. Dr. Ashcroft stood near a workstation, reviewing something on a tablet. Two researchers were preparing equipment.
And Catherine Reed was standing beside the observation window.
Evelyn stopped. For one terrible moment, she couldn't look away from her.
Catherine wore a dark jacket over a pale blouse. Her hair was neatly arranged, and she appeared entirely composed.
There was nothing about her that suggested she'd burned someone alive. Nothing that suggested she'd heard Evelyn screaming her name.
Catherine glanced up.
"Good morning, Evelyn."
Evelyn stared at her.
Good morning?
She almost laughed. Instead, she felt sick.
Catherine turned to Dr. Ashcroft.
"Are we ready?"
"Almost. We still need to calibrate the secondary monitoring equipment."
"How long?"
"Ten minutes, perhaps fifteen."
Catherine checked something on her phone.
"Very well. I'll be back."
She walked toward the door. Evelyn watched her approach.
For one brief, irrational second, she wanted to grab Catherine's sleeve. Beg her. Ask her why. Ask whether any of it had been real.
The food. The promises. The gentle voice.
But Catherine passed her without stopping. The door closed behind her.
Evelyn stood motionless.
"All right," Dr. Ashcroft said. "Let's get her positioned."
The guards guided Evelyn toward the bed.
"No."
Her voice was barely audible.
One of the researchers looked up.
"She's resisting?"
"Not much," a guard replied.
Evelyn tried to step backward.
"Please."
The guard caught her elbow.
"Onto the bed."
She looked at the mattress. At the restraints hanging from its sides.
Her heart hammered.
"No. Please, I don't—"
"Sit."
She sat. Not because she wanted to. Because the alternative was being forced down again.
And she couldn't bear that.
The guards helped her lie back. A wide strap was pulled across her waist. Then another across her upper body.
Evelyn flinched when someone touched her wrist.
"Hold still."
She stared at the ceiling.
The restraint closed around her right wrist. Then her left. Thick leather straps, secured with metal buckles beneath the sides of the bed.
One researcher moved to her feet. Evelyn heard the familiar sound of straps being tightened.
Her breathing grew shallow.
Not again.
She closed her eyes.
Maybe it would be quick. Maybe they wouldn't use fire. Maybe—
A heavy thud interrupted her thoughts.
It came from somewhere beyond the room. Not particularly loud. More like something enormous had been dropped on the floor.
Evelyn opened her eyes. One of the researchers looked toward the door.
Dr. Ashcroft glanced up from her tablet.
"Probably maintenance."
The researcher frowned.
"That didn't sound like maintenance."
A second impact followed. This one was louder.
The floor trembled beneath the bed. A metal instrument rattled against its tray.
Everyone stopped moving. Evelyn stared at the ceiling.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then someone said, "What the hell?"
The lights flickered. Once. Twice.
A distant alarm began to sound. Dr. Ashcroft lowered her tablet.
"What's going on?"
One of the guards pressed a finger against his earpiece.
"Control, this is Medical Three. We're hearing disturbances. Confirm status."
Static crackled faintly. He frowned.
"Control?"
The other guard moved toward the door.
"Maybe there's been an accident."
Then a third impact struck the building. This one was different.
Evelyn felt it through the bed. A deep, violent concussion that made the overhead lights sway.
Somewhere outside, glass shattered. A researcher swore.
The alarm changed. Its slow warning tone became a rapid, repeating siren.
A voice sounded over the facility's speakers.
"Security alert. All personnel, follow emergency procedures. Security alert."
The guard with the earpiece went very still.
"What?"
He listened. Then his expression changed.
"Understood."
He turned toward the others.
"We've got an attack."
Dr. Ashcroft stared at him.
"An attack?"
"Unknown hostiles. Multiple breaches reported."
One of the researchers looked toward the observation window.
"Here? Inside the facility?"
"I don't know."
The guard moved to the door.
"All nonessential personnel are to evacuate the lower section immediately."
Dr. Ashcroft hesitated.
"What about the experiment?"
"Experiment's cancelled."
Evelyn stared at him.
Cancelled.
The word barely registered.
One of the researchers was already gathering equipment. Another rushed toward the door.
The guard spoke sharply into his earpiece.
"Medical Three withdrawing. Two research staff, one physician, and—"
He stopped. His eyes shifted toward Evelyn.
For the first time since entering the room, someone seemed to remember she was there.
"What about the subject?"
Dr. Ashcroft looked at the bed. Evelyn looked back at her.
For one impossible moment, she thought the doctor might help her.
Undo the straps. Tell her to run.
Instead, the other guard said, "We take her with us."
The first guard nodded.
"Agreed. Director Reed wants the subject secured. We're not leaving her here."
Dr. Ashcroft looked toward the bed.
"The restraints—"
"Leave them. We're moving the whole table."
One of the researchers hesitated.
"Is that thing even mobile?"
The guard crouched beside the examination bed. A metallic click sounded beneath it.
The bed shifted slightly.
"Apparently."
He released the second brake. Evelyn felt the mattress move beneath her.
For one brief, ridiculous moment, she wondered whether they were finally letting her go.
Then the guard spoke into his earpiece.
"Subject secured. Moving to lower containment."
Of course.
They weren't letting her go. They were moving her somewhere else.
The guards positioned themselves at either end of the bed.
"Clear the doorway."
A researcher hurried ahead. The bed began to roll.
Evelyn stared at the ceiling as the examination lights passed out of view. Then the corridor lights appeared above her. One after another.
She could hear people shouting, boots pounding against the floor, the distant wail of the alarm.
Dr. Ashcroft walked beside the bed, speaking urgently into her phone.
"We're relocating the subject now. Yes, she's secured. No, we haven't completed—"
Another impact shook the building. The bed rattled.
"Move faster!" one of the guards shouted.
Evelyn tried to lift her head. The restraints held her down.
"What's happening?"
Nobody answered.
"Who's attacking?"
"Quiet," the guard beside her snapped.
They pushed the bed farther down the corridor.
Evelyn could see only the ceiling. A ventilation grille. A flickering light. A red emergency sign.
Then someone screamed.
"GET DOWN!"
The world exploded.
There was a deafening crack. A flash of light. Then a violent impact that seemed to strike Evelyn from every direction at once.
The bed lurched beneath her. For one terrifying instant, she felt weightless.
She screamed.
The ceiling spun. Something slammed against the side of the examination table.
The bed shot backward. A doorframe flashed past.
Then everything crashed.
Metal shrieked. Glass shattered.
The bed struck something solid, and Evelyn's head snapped sideways.
A terrible cracking sound came from above.
Then the ceiling began to fall.
For a moment, Evelyn couldn't hear anything. A high-pitched ringing filled her ears.
She blinked. Dust drifted through the air.
The ceiling above her was cracked. A light fixture hung at an angle, flickering weakly.
What the fuck just happened?
She tried to sit up. The restraints pulled tight.
Of course. Still strapped down.
Evelyn turned her head.
The examination bed had somehow ended up back inside the laboratory, wedged against an overturned cabinet.
The observation window was shattered. A monitor lay broken on the floor.
The doorway was half buried beneath chunks of concrete and twisted metal. Dust hung so thickly in the air that she could barely see the corridor beyond it.
She couldn't see the guards. Couldn't see Dr. Ashcroft. Couldn't see anyone.
Her head throbbed. Something warm trickled down the side of her face.
She blinked again.
Blood.
She was bleeding.
Evelyn swallowed. For one horrible moment, she wondered whether she'd died.
But no.
She remembered the impact. The pain.
And now she was still here. Still alive.
Her heart hammered.
The ringing in her ears slowly faded. Distant screams emerged beneath it.
Shouting. The alarm. Something heavy collapsing somewhere beyond the room.
Evelyn stared at the rubble.
They aren't here.
She pulled against the restraint around her wrist. It held.
She tried again. Nothing.
The buckles were beneath the bed, beyond her reach.
Evelyn let her head fall back.
A distant scream echoed through the corridor. She flinched.
She had no idea whether it came from a guard or an attacker.
Then she remembered something.
A tiny orange flame. Hovering above her fingertip.
Ember.
Evelyn turned her wrist as far as she could.
Leather. Thick leather. Not steel. Not a chain.
Leather.
Her heart began beating faster.
This might work.
She looked toward the ruined doorway. Nobody came. The alarm continued.
She swallowed.
Ember.
A small flame appeared above her right index finger. Evelyn stared at it.
It was brighter than the one she'd produced before Northstar's experiments. Not much. But enough to make her hopeful.
She twisted her hand, trying to bring the flame against the edge of the restraint.
It was awkward. The strap held her wrist flat against the mattress.
She couldn't reach the buckle. But she could touch the leather.
The flame brushed against it.
Nothing happened.
Evelyn frowned. She pushed harder.
A faint dark mark appeared. Then a thin curl of smoke.
Her breath caught.
"It's working."
She almost didn't dare say it.
The leather began to smolder. A tiny glowing line spread across its surface.
Then the heat reached her skin.
"Ah!"
Evelyn jerked her hand. The flame vanished.
She stared at the strap. The blackened patch was still there. So was the pain in her wrist.
She looked down. A small red mark had appeared beneath the leather.
Her stomach tightened.
No. Not again.
She couldn't. She couldn't deliberately burn herself after what Catherine had done.
Evelyn looked toward the ruined doorway. The alarm was still sounding.
Footsteps thundered somewhere beyond the rubble. Someone shouted something she couldn't understand.
She closed her eyes.
They're going to come back.
Maybe not immediately. But eventually.
And when they did, they'd put her through another experiment.
Another death. Another visit to that empty darkness.
She opened her eyes.
"No."
Her voice trembled.
"No, I'm not doing that again."
She stared at the strap. Her hand was shaking.
Ember.
The flame returned. She pressed it against the leather.
Smoke rose immediately. The heat spread.
Evelyn gritted her teeth. The strap began to blacken.
Then the burning sensation reached her wrist again.
She gasped. Her body tried to pull away. She forced herself to hold still.
"Come on."
The leather darkened. A tiny orange glow appeared along the edge.
"Come on, come on—"
Pain shot through her wrist.
"Fuck!"
She extinguished the flame. Her eyes watered.
The smell of scorched leather filled the air.
She pulled against the restraint. It held.
Evelyn stared at it.
The damaged section was thinner now. Not much. But enough to see that it was weakening.
She swallowed. Her wrist throbbed.
There was a blister forming beneath the strap.
Undying wasn't going to fix it. Not unless she died.
She didn't want to die. Not ever again. Not if she could help it.
Another distant explosion shook the room. Dust drifted from the ceiling.
Evelyn looked toward the rubble. Then back at the strap.
"Fuck it."
She summoned Ember again.
This time, she held the flame against the same blackened section.
The leather began to burn. The pain came almost immediately.
Evelyn screamed through clenched teeth. Her eyes squeezed shut.
She wanted to stop. Every part of her wanted to stop.
But she kept the flame there. Just a little longer.
The smell grew stronger. Something cracked.
She extinguished the flame and pulled with everything she had.
The strap stretched. For one terrible moment, nothing happened.
Then the burned leather tore.
Evelyn's right hand came free.
She stared at it. For several seconds, she couldn't move.
Her wrist was red and blistered. A strip of burned leather hung loosely from the restraint.
But her hand was free.
"Oh my God."
She lifted it. Turned it. Stared at her fingers.
"Oh my God."
A laugh escaped her. Not because anything was funny. Because she couldn't quite believe it.
She'd done it. She'd actually done something.
Then she remembered the other restraints.
Evelyn reached across her body. The buckle holding her left wrist was easier to reach now.
Her burned fingers fumbled with the fastening. She hissed when the damaged skin brushed against the metal.
"Come on."
The buckle shifted. She pulled the strap loose.
Her left hand came free.
Then the strap across her chest. Her waist. Her ankles.
One by one, the restraints fell away.
Evelyn sat up. The room spun.
She gripped the edge of the bed until it steadied. Her feet touched the floor.
For a moment, she simply sat there.
Free.
Not truly free. Not yet. But no longer strapped to the bed.
She looked toward the doorway. The alarm was still sounding.
Somewhere outside, people were fighting. People were probably dying.
And she had no idea who was winning.
Evelyn slowly stood. Her knees trembled.
She took one step. Then another. Her burned wrist throbbed with every movement.
She stopped beside the examination table and looked back.
The straps hung loosely from its sides. One was blackened and torn.
A faint trail of smoke still rose from the damaged leather.
Evelyn stared at it.
If Catherine came back, she'd see exactly what had happened.
She'd know Evelyn had another skill.
She'd know—
Evelyn shook her head.
It didn't matter. Not if she could get away.
She turned toward the rubble.
The doorway was half blocked by fallen concrete and twisted metal. But there was a gap near the top.
Not large. Maybe large enough.
Evelyn approached carefully. Broken glass crunched beneath her bare feet.
She stopped, looking down.
Of course. She didn't even have shoes.
Her gaze shifted toward the corridor beyond the rubble. Red emergency lights flashed through the dust.
She could hear distant voices. Boots. The alarm. And somewhere farther away, another explosion.
Evelyn placed her uninjured hand against a chunk of concrete. She tested it.
Solid enough.
She looked at the narrow opening above the rubble. She had no idea what waited on the other side.
She didn't know who was attacking Northstar. Didn't know whether they'd kill her if they found her. Didn't even know where the exit was.
But for the first time since Northstar had taken her, nobody was holding her down.
Evelyn swallowed.
Maybe.
She carefully lifted one foot onto the rubble. A thought appeared.
'Maybe I can actually get out of here.'