Chapter 8 - The Asylum
The black SUV sped through the torrential rain, its tires splashing over deep water puddles.
Sarah drove with fierce concentration, keeping the headlights completely turned off to avoid detection.
Mark sat in the passenger seat, his knuckles white as he gripped the dashboard tightly.
Jax sat in the backseat, assembling a pair of heavy handguns he had retrieved from Sarah’s trunk.
"How long until we reach the asylum?" Mark asked, his voice shaking with intense urgency.
"Five minutes," Sarah replied without taking her eyes off the dark country road.
"The facility was abandoned ten years ago, but Evelyn bought it under a dummy company," she explained.
"She uses it for private, off-the-books medical trials," Sarah added softly.
"She's a monster," Mark said, grinding his teeth in frustration.
"She's worse than a monster," Jax grunted from the back seat, racking the slide of a pistol.
"She wiped out our entire family thirty years ago just to take control of the family land," Jax recalled bitterly.
The SUV turned down a narrow, overgrown dirt driveway surrounded by thick forest trees.
In the distance, the looming silhouette of a vast, gothic brick building appeared against the stormy sky.
Faint yellow lights flickered from the top floor windows of the structure.
Sarah brought the vehicle to a silent stop beneath the dense canopy of trees.
"There are armed guards patrolling the front perimeter," Sarah observed, pointing toward two men in dark uniforms.
"We go through the old basement coal chute around the back," Jax instructed, checking his weapon.
Mark unbuckled his seatbelt and looked up at the top floor window.
He could see a faint shadow moving back and forth behind the frosted glass.
"Lily is up there," Mark whispered, a wave of fierce determination surging through his body.
"Remember, Mark," Sarah warned, grabbing his shoulder firmly.
"Evelyn wants you dead or insane," Sarah said softly.
"She will use Lily as a human shield the moment she sees you," Sarah added.
"I don't care what she tries," Mark declared, his eyes burning with intense resolve.
"I am bringing my daughter home tonight."
The three of them slipped out of the vehicle and moved quietly through the pouring rain toward the rear of the building.
They reached the rusted iron grate leading into the basement basement.
Jax used a heavy crowbar to pry the rusted metal bars apart with a loud screech.
Suddenly, a loud siren began echoing across the entire asylum compound.
Bright red emergency lights flared to life around the building exterior.
A stern voice boomed through the compound's loudspeakers:
"Intruders detected on the perimeter. Initiate Lockdown Protocol immediately."
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Inside the top floor room, a doctor holding a long needle filled with clear liquid turned toward small Lily tied to an operating chair.
"Administer the dose now," Evelyn ordered from the corner of the dark room.
