Chapter 2

2

Looking at the complex control panel, I tapped into my memory and slammed the emergency button.

There was no dial tone. Silence.

I pressed it again and again, but nothing happened.

I began to doubt my memory. Then I noticed the terrifying truth: the entire console had been disconnected from the power supply.

Looking underneath, my blood ran cold.

The wires had been clean-cut. No one was ever going to answer.

I had eight minutes before the blackout. My mind went blank, but I forced myself to move toward the backup emergency pull-cord.

That was supposed to be on an independent circuit. It couldn't be sabotaged from the outside.

Still, there was no response.

The security office, which was supposed to be manned 24/7, was deathly quiet.

The lab's digital clock ticked down. Three minutes had passed.

Only five minutes left.

Was I really going to die here again?

No! I refused to accept this fate!

The memory of my lungs burning and my vision fading haunted me. I took deep breaths, forcing myself to calm down.

Wait!

The radio! There was an old-school handheld radio somewhere in here!

Where was it?

I hadn't been in this lab for months. The equipment had been shifted around as the staff changed.

I couldn't remember where they kept the portable units.

But it was the only hope for me and my baby. I began tearing through cabinets and drawers.

Seconds bled into minutes. The radio was nowhere to be found.

In my haste, I slipped and fell hard onto the floor.

A sharp pain shot through my abdomen. As I tried to push myself up, my hand brushed against something slick and greasy.

I sniffed it. Palm oil.

Palm oil is highly flammable.

In my previous life, the floor hadn't been covered in grease.

A shiver of pure terror ran down my spine. Someone wanted a fire, not just a leak.

I tried to stand, but the pain in my belly intensified. It felt like a heavy weight was pulling me down.

Then, I felt a gush of warm fluid between my legs.

My water had broken.

My baby was coming now, of all times.

And I was trapped in a death trap.

I couldn't even protect myself, let alone a newborn.

The contractions hit me like a sledgehammer. I was trapped in a cycle of agony.

The clock on the wall was mocking me.

Three minutes.

Thirty seconds.

Ten.

Snap!

The lights died. The lab went pitch black.