Page 62 of Anders
Etta didn’t break stride.Instead, she reached deep within herself, calling on the training the Chimera Program had embedded in her mind—training that, ironically, would now help her escape them.
Authorization Sierra-Seven-Delta-Nine,she said, the code extracted from a memory fragment that surfaced.Priority transfer to Medical Wing C.
The guard hesitated, his hand still on his weapon.I don’t have notification of any transfers.
Obviously,Etta said, her tone clipped and authoritative despite the fear churning in her stomach.That’s why it’s classified, Officer.She stepped closer, letting her partially shifted appearance add weight to her words.Do you really want to be the one who delayed a Chimera asset transfer?I’m sure Dr.Mercer would love to explain the protocols to you again.
The threat did its work.The guard’s face paled slightly, and he stepped aside, keying in a code to open the security gate.My apologies, ma’am.Proceed to checkpoint two.
Etta nodded crisply, maintaining her facade of authority as she passed through the gate.The moment she was out of sight, she let out a shaky breath.One down, two to go.
Following her intuition—or perhaps some memory she couldn’t quite pull to the surface—she turned at the next intersection, her pace quickening as alarms suddenly blared to life around her.
Attention all personnel,a mechanical voice announced over the facility’s PA system.Security breach in Medical Wing A.Asset E5 has escaped containment.All security teams to response positions.This is not a drill.
So much for the element of surprise, Etta thought grimly, breaking into a run.
Her partially shifted form gave her enhanced speed and strength, but it also made her conspicuous—a half-wolf woman racing through the corridors of a high-security facility was hardly inconspicuous.
She reached the second checkpoint just as two guards moved to lock it down.Acting on instinct rather than any plan, Etta launched herself forward, using her momentum to slide beneath their attempted grab.Her claws scrabbled against the polished floor as she regained her footing on the other side, barely clearing the gate before it slammed shut.
The guards shouted, drawing their weapons, but Etta was already around the corner and out of sight.Her heart pounded in her chest, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she navigated the facility’s labyrinthine corridors, moving through turns and intersections with an instinctive certainty that transcended conscious thought.
She was headed toward safety, toward freedom.
Until she wasn’t.
The corridor ahead ended in a massive security door—the third checkpoint, she realized.Unlike the others, this one was a reinforced barrier designed to separate the facility’s interior from the outside world.
No simple bluff or quick dash would get her through this.
And worse, the sound of booted feet was growing louder behind her.Security teams closing in, cutting off her escape route.
Trapped.
Panic threatened to overwhelm her, but Etta fought it down, forcing herself to think.
The Chimera Program had trained her to analyze, to find solutions where none seemed to exist.More importantly, her own innate intelligence and courage—the qualities that had survived despite their attempts to erase her—gave her strength now.
The security door required both a key card and a code.Neither of which she had.
There had to be another way.
Etta’s gaze darted around the corridor, searching for anything she could use.Her enhanced vision picked out details a human might miss—the slight discoloration in the wall panel near the floor, the faint scent of fresh air from somewhere beyond her sight.
A maintenance passage.
Moving quickly, she knelt and pressed against the panel.It gave slightly, revealing an access tunnel barely large enough for a person to crawl through.Some kind of emergency bypass for the security systems, perhaps, or simply a practical necessity for the facility’s mechanical operations.
Either way, it was her only option.
The sound of approaching guards grew louder.Etta squeezed herself into the narrow passage, pulling the panel closed behind her just as the security team rounded the corner.
The tunnel was dark and confining, triggering a claustrophobic panic that she ruthlessly suppressed.
Keep moving.She pulled herself forward through the darkness.The passage sloped upward, then branched.
Without hesitation, Etta took the right fork, still following her instincts.
