The Pyramid Chronicles: Tyche Point (#1)

Chapter Forty: The List

Raveena spent longer than she should have studying the security feeds, trying to figure out which rooms to check and how to get to them. More and more SCI agents appeared in the hallways, which made her even more afraid to go back out.

She flipped to the exterior cameras. Dread washed over her. Helicopters were landing around the building. No, not ordinary helicopters. These were Scorpion's.

The jetchoppers.

The chamber cameras were disheartening, too. Fighting had broken out among the altered. It was difficult to figure out what was happening with all the fire and shouting and flying objects, but Raveena doubted it was good, based on the number of kids running around.

She stood up and moved to the door. She had to get out while she still could. It was only going to get worse.

Still, she peered into rooms as she passed them, hoping that something good could come out of this whole mess. Her hopes lifted when she spotted a counter covered in stacks of folders and notebooks. The room had been a lab at some point, but none of the equipment was left. All that remained were the filing cabinets and their former contents.

Raveena circled the counter, taking in the mess. There wasn't time to go through all of it. She picked up a notebook off the top of a random stack and took a look.

Yikes. Chemical formulas, instructions that used ingredients she couldn't pronounce, and more text she didn't understand. The rest of the notebook looked to be more of the same, so Raveena tossed it aside.

She skimmed five more notebooks and found nothing useful. After that, she started trying file folders. Most contained photos of lab equipment and microscope slides. One folder was entirely photos of the fragment, along with confusing charts and graphs.

Raveena was on the verge of giving up. She picked up another folder and nearly dropped it when she saw the contents.

Photos of children. Children who held flames in their hands, children with vines wrapping around their arms, children whose hair and clothes were ruffled by the wind, despite being indoors.

Most of the kids looked to be anywhere from three to six years old. Some seemed confused, a few delighted, but there was a considerable number who looked alarmed or downright scared.

Raveena picked up the folder that had been directly under the photos. When she opened it, she couldn't help but laugh.

Names. Name after name after name and—oh. Wow.

There were a lot.

Raveena's mouth fell open as she flipped through the folder. Next to every name was a power, and most had numbers next to them. One column of values was labeled 'age,' and the one next to it was 'dosage.'

Doses of what?

The list was also a mix of different handwriting and pen colors. That wasn't surprising—this must have taken forever to put together.

Raveena found her name near the front of the list and took the page out. Her brother's name was scribbled above hers. She folded up the piece of paper and shoved it into the pocket of her pants. With the folder tucked under her arm, she returned to the stack she'd found it on.

The pages in the next folder weren't handwritten, but a printed log with dated entries. Raveena had hardly begun to skim the first page when shouting in the hallway made her jump. The folder slipped from her hands. Loose papers scattered into the air.

Raveena shoved the list of altered into her bag. She'd barely finished zipping it up when the door to the room swung open. A SCI agent entered, gun drawn.

Raveena's blood turned to ice. She fought to lift her shaking arms in the air.

"Stay right there," the agent ordered. He pressed a hand to his ear and spoke into his comm device. "I've got a lone intruder in lab 4B." His gaze moved over the files and notebooks. He walked toward her slowly, keeping the gun up. "Did you take anything?"

Raveena swallowed. "No." She took a step back and bumped into one of the filing cabinets.

The agent circled around the opposite side of the counter, looking over the table as he approached. "We have security cameras. We'll know if you're lying." His gaze flickered to her bag.

Raveena moved her hand back and wrapped it around the edge of the cabinet. "I was looking at them, but I only picked up that one folder that I dropped." She nodded toward the ground.

The agent's eyes moved to the papers littered across the floor. Raveena pulled down the filing cabinet and ran.

She flew out the door and flung it shut as the cabinet crashed to the ground. Her legs carried her faster than she'd ever run before. After a few seconds, she realized she'd gone in the wrong direction. Well, no turning back now. She heard the door open behind her as she reached an intersection. She went right.

Wrong choice. The hallway ended abruptly in a pile of concrete and rebar and pipes where the ceiling had caved in. Cracks stretched out from underneath, spreading along the floor and walls. Raveena barely had a chance to take it in before she was stumbling into the rubble.

She scraped her arm as she went down. She was used to pain, but this was enough to make her cry out.

The agent came around the corner. "Don't move." He kept his gun up as he approached.

Raveena lifted her injured arm. That was a lot of blood. The wound was starting to close, but it would take a minute to fully heal, at least.

"Okay, okay, don't shoot!" She didn't bother hiding her panic. Once her gaze moved back to the weapon, it was impossible for her to tear it away. Fear held her in place.

"Backup's on the way, and then we're going to take you into custody," the agent informed her. "I'm guessing you're one of those altered—ow!"

The gun slipped from his grasp. Raveena yelped in surprise and flung her hand up in front of her face. To her relief, the gun didn't fire.

The agent peeled off his jacket and tossed it aside. He pulled up the black sleeve of his shirt, revealing a nasty gash opening up in his arm. "What the hell?"

Shaking, Raveena held up her own arm, just as the wound finished closing. The only sign that it had ever been there at all was her blood.

While the agent frantically examined his injury, Raveena jumped to her feet. She scooped up the gun and sprinted past him. She had no intention of using it or even the knowledge of how, but she could at least deter anyone else she ran into on the way out of the labs.