The engine purred steadily as Levi guided her car along the deserted highway toward Helanore. The laboratory was miles behind her now, swallowed by darkness, its burning ruins fading into the night. The only sound inside the car was the rhythmic hum of the tires against the asphalt.
Aleah slept soundlessly in the back seat, her frail body curled beneath a blanket Levi had taken from the emergency kit. Levi had moved her there earlier. She lay motionless, breathing shallowly, her head tilted slightly toward the window as the car sped along the deserted highway.
Levi kept her focus on the road ahead, but her eyes kept flicking up to the rearview mirror. Aleah's reflection appeared faint and fragile beneath the dim interior light, her small body moving with each rise and fall of her breath, occasionally shifting whenever the car passed over uneven pavement. The communicator clipped to the dashboard crackled to life.
"Levi."
"I'm here," Levi answered quietly, careful not to disturb the sleeping girl.
A brief silence followed.
"Did you get what we came for?"
Levi glanced at the drive resting in the cup holder.
"Every file related to Project H."
A quiet sigh of relief came from the other end.
"Good."
"Have you had a chance to read any of it?" Kraig asked.
"No," Levi replied. "I only confirmed the archive was complete before copying it. There wasn't enough time to go through the details."
"So we still don't know what Project H actually is."
"Not yet."
The headlights carved a narrow path through the darkness as the highway stretched endlessly before her.
"Anything unexpected?" Kraig asked.
Levi was silent for a moment.
"I had to improvise."
"What happened?"
"There was a girl still inside the facility."
A brief pause.
"...You brought her with you?"
"I wasn't leaving her there."
Kraig didn't question the decision.
"I'll prepare a room at Helanore."
"She'll need medical attention," Levi said, glancing briefly at the sleeping girl. Faint bruises still marked her arms despite the first aid Levi had managed to give her. "She was in bad shape."
"I'll have everything ready before you arrive. How old is she?"
Levi's eyes drifted to the mirror.
"Maybe nine or ten."
"...Too young."
"Yeah."
Silence settled between them once more.
The engine filled the empty space, its steady hum blending with the distant rush of wind outside. Levi watched Aleah's reflection in the mirror. Even asleep, the girl's brow remained faintly furrowed, as though whatever nightmare she'd escaped refused to let go.
Finally, Kraig spoke.
"Did she tell you anything?"
"Only fragments."
"What kind of fragments?"
"She kept repeating one name."
Levi tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
"'Subject H.'"
The communicator went silent.
"...That's all?"
"She also said they were looking for someone."
"Who?"
"I don't know." Levi shook her head. "She passed out before she could explain."
"That confirms one thing," Kraig said quietly.
"What?"
"Project H isn't over."
Levi's eyes narrowed.
"You think there are other facilities?"
"I think we've only seen one piece of it. We'll find out from those files. I'll be waiting for you in Helanore."
Nearly an hour later, the dark silhouette of Helanore emerged from the coastline. Nestled against the cliffs overlooking the sea, the estate stood quiet beneath the night sky. Warm lights glowed from its windows, a stark contrast to the inferno Levi had left behind. As the gates slowly opened, she glanced one last time at the rearview mirror. Aleah was still asleep, unaware that her life had already begun to change.
Before the car had fully stopped, the front door opened.
Kia hurried down the stone steps with a medical bag already slung over her shoulder.
"There you are."
Levi stepped out and opened the rear door.
Aleah remained asleep, barely stirring as the cold night air drifted into the cabin. Kia frowned the moment she saw the girl's condition.
"...She's younger than I expected."
"And worse."
Levi carefully lifted Aleah from the back seat. The girl let out a faint groan but never opened her eyes. Kia's expression hardened as she noticed the bruises covering Aleah's wrists and arms.
"What happened to her?"
"I don't know the whole story."
Levi adjusted the blanket around the unconscious girl.
"But whatever they did..." she said quietly, "it wasn't an experiment anyone should survive."
Kia nodded. "I'll take care of her."
"Call me if anything changes."
"You know I will."
Levi watched as Kia disappeared upstairs with Aleah before finally allowing herself a slow breath. The mission wasn't over yet.
Levi walked through the silent corridors toward the eastern wing of Helanore. The lights inside her office were already on.
Kraig stood beside the conference table, arms folded, while Elda sat in front of a workstation unlike any ordinary computer. Multiple monitors surrounded her, each displaying streams of encrypted code and shifting algorithms. Thick bundles of fiber-optic cables disappeared into a compact server beneath the desk, its cooling fans humming steadily.
"You made it," Kraig said.
Levi reached into her jacket and placed the drive on the table.
"This is everything I copied from the laboratory."
Elda picked up the drive but made no attempt to plug it into the nearest computer.
Instead, she set it beside the workstation and turned to Levi.
"You did the right thing by not opening it."
Levi frowned.
"I wasn't going to risk corrupting the files."
"It's not only the files I'm worried about."
Elda rested a hand on the specialized terminal.
"This drive isn't ordinary storage. It's designed with a layered security protocol. If you connect it to a standard computer, it won't simply deny access. It reports our access."
She tapped one of the monitors, bringing up a diagram of the drive's security architecture.
"The moment it's plugged into an unauthorized computer, it sends a signal back to its creator. Whoever created this archive would immediately know someone was trying to access it. They could trace the connection, identify the device, and potentially pinpoint our location."
Levi watched the monitors flicker to life as lines of encrypted code streamed across the screens.
"How long do you need?"
Elda didn't look away from the display.
"If everything goes smoothly, about an hour."
Levi nodded. "Call me the moment you get through."
"I will."
Leaving Elda to her work, Levi turned and headed toward the door. Footsteps followed behind her.
She glanced over her shoulder.
"Why are you following me?"
Kraig slipped his hands into his pockets.
"I'm curious."
"About what?"
"The human who convinced you to bring her home."
Levi raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound like I'm some cold-blooded monster, cous."
Kraig gave a small shrug.
"Aren't we all, to some extent?"
Levi let out a quiet scoff. "Speak for yourself."
The two walked through Helanore's quiet corridors until they reached the medical wing. Soft light spilled from beneath one of the doors.
Levi knocked lightly before stepping inside.
Kia was standing beside the bed, reviewing several scans displayed on a tablet. She looked up as they entered.
"How is she?" Levi asked.
Kia set the tablet aside and glanced at the unconscious girl.
"Stable."
Levi exhaled quietly.
"But..." Kia continued, "she's severely malnourished and dehydrated. Her body is covered in bruises, most of them days or even weeks old. There are dozens of needle marks on both arms, along with old scars that never healed properly."
Kraig's expression darkened. "They experimented on her."
Kia gently adjusted the blanket over Aleah. "I've treated the external injuries, but the physical wounds aren't what concern me."
Levi frowned. "What do you mean?"
"While I was treating her, every unexpected sound made her tense, even when she was unconscious." Kia's voice softened. "That's not a physical response. It's trauma."
Silence settled over the room.
Aleah remained asleep, her breathing shallow but steady.
"Will she recover?" Levi finally asked.
Kia looked at the sleeping girl for a long moment. "Her body will." She paused before adding, "I'm not sure about everything else."
Levi's gaze lingered on Aleah. Even in sleep, the girl looked as though she was bracing for something that wasn't there anymore.
Behind them, Kraig remained unusually quiet, his gaze lingering on Aleah.