Hatched

Chapter Thirty

July 1st, 2021

2230 hours

It took a moment for Robyn's eyes to adjust to the nearly complete darkness. The first few feet of the hall she'd felt along the wall with her hand, blinking blindly as her vision slowly focused. There were red security lights every couple of yards, nevertheless, she fought hard to keep her breathing steady, as the cold chill seeping through her body threatened to upend her sanity.

It was deathly quiet in the corridor, and she took a few hesitant steps, glancing back at the indiscernible camera in the corner. Shepp was watching, and he had her back.

This semisweet reassurance forced her to gather enough gumption to tepidly continue. Her footsteps fell softly on the floor. She clung to the wall, as if the cold metal would keep her firmly grounded. The pounding of her heart was loud in her ears, magnified by the absolute silence of the hall.

"Turn left at the next junction." Shepp's voice crackled over the earpiece.

Robyn squinted her eyes, watching her shaking hands in the darkness, her fingers pale. She could barely see her own limbs, let alone the corridor before her. A rattling breath sucked into her lungs as she inhaled, as if she were extracting courage from the air around her. Body still wrought with nerves, she steeled them and rounded the indicated corner.

"Good." Shepp's voice was encouraging in her ear. "Go straight. You'll have to pass the cafeteria and take another right when the hall hits a dead end."

Robyn nodded, then mentally laughed for making such an idiotic gesture: Shepp couldn't see that in the dark. She had no idea how he managed to keep visualization of her, but she didn't dare ask for fear she would give away her position.

She continued, her legs trembled less and less as her courage building back up.

Soon she was nearing the small mess hall. At this hour, it seemed most of the roughnecks had retired for the evening, since they had to wake early for their shifts. Voices echoed lightly through the canteen and into the hall, causing Robyn to tense. She paused some ways off, straining to hear anything that might indicate if it was safe to pass.

She picked up snippets of conversation: there were two men, maybe three? She thought they said something about getting another round.

The unmistakable clink of bottles indicated she was correct, and she eased slowly down the far wall, crouched, hoping against hope she blended into the darkness. Her eyes trained on the doorway the entire time she slinked past the room, praying that they wouldn't be able to see her.

Several burly looking men were still there, though they had their backs to her, gazes fixed on a television screen that was playing reruns of a sporting event. Hoping the light from the television didn't illuminate her too much as she slinked past, Robyn held in an anxious breath, only letting out a sigh once she was a safe distance away.

Immediately in front of her was the next turn. She took it and frowned. Shuffling noises issued somewhere in front of her, and through the dimness, as she crept forward, the outline of a body emerged from the shadows.

Her muscles froze on instinct, splaying her to the wall like a swatted insect. Her breath suddenly seemed loud to her, an obscene rasping that would surely give her away.

The figure seemed to not notice: the person was busy cursing lowly under their breath as they fiddled with the smooth siding of the corridor. Their hands fumbled, then grasped at the corners of an unseen object. The silhouette pulled on the section of wall, revealing a hidden panel. Faint light from a keypad illuminated the person's face: the doctor.