Ava tore through decontamination, the pale blue plastic box gripped tight like a lifeline. Curiosity warred with a gnawing unease as she burst into the lab, the cryptic folder balanced precariously on top. -"Doc, who's the...?"-
But the words died in her throat, choked by the sudden emptiness. Dr. Walsh, who had been brooding in a corner moments ago, was gone. The silence pressed down, heavy and suffocating, replacing the comforting hum of machinery.
Panic gnawed at Ava's heart. She flung the plastic box onto a metallic bench, its contents rattling ominously, and her frantic eyes scanned the sterile room. No movement, no trace of her mentor. Only the oppressive stillness. The thought of something happening to her mentor made her dizzy.
Then, a glint near the microscope caught her eye. A scrap of paper with Dr. Walsh's familiar scrawl. She lunged for it, fingers trembling as she unfolded the note.
'I was summoned to Level 1. Wait for me in my office.', The sentence, scrawled in messy haste, was a relieving indicator that Dr. Walsh wasn't in imminent danger. However, it still sent a shiver down her spine. Summons from the Chancellors were rarely good news. A cold dread settled in Ava's stomach, heavy and metallic like the taste of fear.
- - -
The elevator juddered to a halt on Level 1, the metallic shriek echoing harshly off the sterile walls. Dr. Walsh stepped out, flanked by two burly guards and a grim-faced secretary. Anxiety gnawed at her insides, disguised by the practiced calm of her steady strides. Her skin felt almost clammy, each breath heavy, trapped in the stale air characteristic of the bunker's lowest level.
The secretary, all angles and steel in his uniform, gestured Dr. Walsh towards the interrogation room with a barely concealed shove. The metallic clang of the locked door behind her reverberated in the oppressive silence. -"Sit,"- he barked, the word landing like a slap. The geneticist did as she was told, fearful of the potential consequences if she didn't. -"Chancellor Vance shall be with us shortly."-
The room was sterile and bare, the only furniture a bare concrete table bolted to the wall and a wall-sized mirror staring back at her. Not a mirror, she corrected herself, but a one-way window, her image watched but the watcher unseen. A bitter scoff escaped her lips, the metaphor apt for her situation.
A clipped voice, edged with a sharp British accent, sliced through the silence. -"Blake, who is this?"-
The secretary's intimidating form shifted behind her. -"This is Resident 37, Dr. Evelyn Victoria Walsh. Geneticist. Most likely to be useful in this case, Chancellor Vance."-
-"And why would you bring me a geneticist, of all?"- The unseen Chancellor spat out the words with a disdain that made Dr. Walsh squirm in her seat.
-"She was in the labs at the time of the... Event,"- the secretary replied, his discomfort evident in his stiff posture and tight jaw.
-"Very well, Doctor..."- The hidden figure's voice resumed, laced with icy authority. -"Our security forces intercepted an... An unsettling anomaly within the Curio's maintenance bay. A creature unlike anything we've seen before."-
Dr. Walsh's heart plummeted, panic gnawing at her insides. But revealing her role meant exposing everything. She couldn't risk having the Chancellors know about her role in the manifestation of the anomaly.
-"You will give us answers."-
- - -
The minutes stretched into an uncomfortable eternity. Chancellor Vance's interrogation was a relentless assault, all while Dr. Walsh skillfully parried her occasional accusations of a possible experiment gone wrong. She wove a tapestry of lies, painstakingly crafted to shift the blame. The anomaly, an unwelcome visitor from the icy wasteland beyond, stumbled into their pristine world; not an abomination birthed within their sterile labs. The heavy concrete walls seemed to press in, suffocating under the weight of her deception.
Suddenly, the door burst open, shattering the tense silence. An officer, panic contorting his features, stumbled into the room. -"The anomaly..."- he gasped, his voice ragged. -"Attacked. One dead... Two wounded."-
Chaos erupted. The secretary barked orders, the officer spat frenzied details, and Chancellor Vance's voice cut through the pandemonium. -"You're dismissed, Doctor."- Her words were laced with blood-curdling venom.
The geneticist shot up from her chair and fled the oppressive room with a shaky bow, her steps echoed by the heavy tread of another guard escorting her towards the elevator.
As she stood alone in the rising elevators, back to her lab, Dr. Walsh felt a wave of nausea rise in her throat. Yet again, her disregard for consequences had come at a terrible cost.