Page 55 of The Harbinger

We got halfway down the hall when an alarm sounded, and a rush of nurses flooded down her way.

They couldn’t save her.

No one could.

No one left.

No one escaped.

Boris punched the button for the elevator when my phone rang.

“What is it?”

“We have a problem,” Ivan said as a bone-chilling scream pierced the static, making my soul jump from my skin.

I hung up and pocketed my phone, leaving my fist to curl inside my pocket.

Whatever happened, you could taste her terror in the air.

“Mia?” Dmitri asked as the elevator opened, and we stepped inside, Boris walking in last.

“Da.”

“Has her results come in yet?”

I pressed my finger to my lips. “Shh.”

There wasn’t a moment of my time where I hadn’t thought about what I’d do when they revealed her fate. Except this open, festering itch spread throughout my body, propagating doubt with every inconceivable pang.

The brief elevator ride ended with a jolt, and the murmurs of chaos erupted when the doors slid open. We hadn’t been gone long enough for the MRI to take place; the MRI was designed to satiate our thirst for the truth and see the damage inflicted on her brain. It brought me one step closer to solving her enigmatic puzzle.

What had she done?

Twopolitsiyastood outside the door I’d last seen her go through, their dull blue uniforms seeding corruption throughout the room, and three hospital security demanding entry.

Grigoriy stood at the door, blocking them from proceeding.

All heads turned my way as I stepped into the foreboding waiting room, her apple blossom scent still hanging in the air. Or maybe it was my bastardized desire.

“Alexander Ruslanovich, have your man step aside,” the officer with salt and pepper hair said, his hefty belly hanging over his utility belt.

“I’ll handle the situation.” I stepped toward him as Ivan opened the door Grigoriy guarded. “You may leave now.”

“But we must…”

“Youmustleave as I’ve instructed. It’s handled.”

His shoulders sagged as his backup retreated down the hall. “You should catch up.” I rubbed my two fingers together, my hands at my sides.

The officer nodded and shouldered past me. “Get his name,” I said, leaning into Boris.

Boris spun around and followed the officers to the elevator as I turned back to Ivan, who held the door open for me.

“What’s happened?”

Ivan shrugged. “She snapped.”

“Where is she?”