Chapter 6 - THE BUILDING WITH NO PATIENTSThe Cross Institute stood outside the city.
It was an old building surrounded by trees.
The sign had been removed years ago.
But the black bird symbol remained above the entrance.
James, Dr. Vell, Anna, and Eli stood outside.
No one spoke.
Eli was trembling.
James noticed.
“You don't have to go in.”
Eli looked at him.
“Yes, I do.”
“Why?”
“Because Lily did.”
They entered through a side door.
The building appeared abandoned.
Dust covered the floors.
The lights did not work.
But the power had not been completely shut off.
Dr. Vell found old records.
James found a locked office.
Eli walked ahead.
He knew the way.
They reached a long corridor.
At the end was a metal door.
Eli stopped.
“That one.”
James looked at him.
“What is inside?”
“The babies.”
They opened the door.
The room was filled with photographs.
Hundreds.
Maybe thousands.
Pictures of children.
Newborns.
Infants.
Toddlers.
Every photograph had a number.
No names.
No families.
Only numbers.
Anna covered her mouth.
“What is this?”
Dr. Vell walked toward the wall.
He saw a photograph.
A baby.
The name beneath it:
CASE 0047.
The date was six months ago.
James stared.
The baby looked familiar.
He stepped closer.
Then his blood went cold.
The baby was Oliver.
James turned.
“Why is my son here?”
Nobody answered.
Dr. Vell looked at the date.
The photograph had been taken before Oliver was born.
James stared.
That was impossible.
Then Eli pointed at another photograph.
A little girl.
Lily.
Her picture was marked:
CASE 0031.
Beneath it was another note.
FAILED TRANSFER.
James felt sick.
“Transfer?”
Dr. Vell looked at the other files.
“Memory transfer.”
Anna turned toward him.
“What?”
Dr. Vell opened the file.
The research described a theory.
A child could be exposed to neurological patterns.
Memory.
Reflex.
Recognition.
The scientists believed certain biological markers could allow memories to be transferred between people.
It was unproven.
Illegal.
And dangerous.
Lily had been one of the first subjects.
Oliver was supposed to be another.
James stared.
“Why my son?”
Dr. Vell looked at the photograph.
Because Oliver had not been chosen randomly.
His father had been chosen first.
James felt cold.
“What do you mean?”
Dr. Vell turned the file around.
At the bottom was a photograph of James.
Taken years earlier.
Before Oliver was born.
The file contained his medical history.
His genetic profile.
His family history.
James stared.
Someone had been studying him.
For years.
Then Eli whispered:
“There's another room.”
They followed him.
Behind a false wall was a small chamber.
Inside was a single table.
On the table lay an old tape recorder.
Dr. Vell pressed play.
A woman's voice filled the room.
Lily's mother.
“If anyone finds this, my daughter was not sick.”
James froze.
The voice continued.
“They told me Lily had a rare disease.”
A pause.
“But I saw what they did.”
Dr. Vell looked at Eli.
The recording continued.
“They took blood.”
“Photographs.”
“Memory tests.”
“And when I asked questions, they told me to be grateful.”
The voice began to shake.
“Lily remembered things she had never seen.”
Then the recording stopped.
A second voice began.
Adrian Cross.
Calm.
Cold.
“Case 31 is unstable.”
A man asked:
“What about the brother?”
Adrian answered:
“The brother is useful.”
Eli stopped breathing.
James looked at him.
The recording continued.
“He has a stronger response.”
The room became silent.
Eli whispered:
“They were talking about me.”
Dr. Vell stared at the recorder.
The voice of Adrian Cross came again.
“Keep the boy alive.”
James stepped backward.
Why?
Why would Adrian Cross want Eli alive?
Then the final sentence played.
“His connection to Case 47 may be the key.”
Case 47.
Oliver.
Eli's sister.
Oliver.
May you like
The two children were connected.
And someone had planned it long before they ever met.
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