Holly followed behind the strike squad as they exited the elevator they took down from the Water-plant above. They swiftly moved through the hallways without opposition until a swarm of screaming Gilberts poured into the hall from the other direction. Holly ducked into one of the side corridors as the gun shots rang out. She didn’t know how she felt about hurting the Gilberts and tried not to think too hard about what the strike squad was doing, but she wanted no part in actively hurting them if she could avoid it.

  “Help!” A woman’s voice cried out from one of the rooms ahead.

  Holly rushed in that direction, wondering if she found Kristy already. She opened the door to the room where the voice came from and found and found a woman laying in a hydraulic hospital bed. It was definitely not Kristy. The woman had a manic look in her eyes.

  “Don’t worry, We’re here to rescue you,” Holly said in a slow, comforting way as she gently entered the room and walked closer to the woman.

  The woman’s eyes went wide, darted to a device affixed to the wall and then back to Kristy, “Oh thank you so much! He has me paralyzed, but i’m in so much pain. Please press the release switch on the wall there.”

  “That’s awful,” Holly said as she stepped closer to the woman to try and help her.

  “No, please don’t touch me!” The woman in the bed screamed with clenched eyes, but didn’t move an inch, “If you touch me, it will cause even more pain.”

  Afraid to hurt the woman, Holly stopped dead in her tracks. How many of these sick experiments on innocent people was Chuck running? Holly raised her hands and back up a few steps, “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m special Agent Holly. I’m here to help. What’s your name?”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “My name is Merrin. Thank you Special Agent Holly. Thank you. Do you see that button on the wall right there?” The woman in the bed said while looking at the wall fixture. Only her eyes moved and Holly was beginning to suspect the poor woman was fully paralyzed.

  “Yeah,” Holly said, “You need me to press it?”

  “Please, yes. It’s the release switch. Please I’m in so much pain,” The woman whimpered in a pitiful way.

  Something about this interaction felt off to Holly, but how could it not? She was in a psycho’s lair that kidnapped women and was talking to one of the victims begging to be freed. This was not a situation to feel normal. Holly didn’t take much time to think. Merrin was in pain and Holly wanted to help. She pressed the button and a sharp tone rang out through the room.

  “Thank you,” Merrin said as her eyes closed slowly. They didn’t open again.

  Holly grew concerned that she just pulled the plug on Merrin without realizing it, she stepped closer, “Merrin?”

  A crashing sound to her right startled Holly and she turned with her gun swiftly trained on the sight. She dropped the gun as she saw a monkey of all things, smash out of a glass container on the shelf near the end of the bed and hop onto the floor.

  The monkey looked at Holly then spoke, “I’m sorry for lying to you. Thank you, truly.”

  The monkey dashed off before Holly could respond.

  Lying? Holly looked back at the unresponsive woman on the bed, then she thought about that transforming monster that had spoke before. Pieces started to click. Kristy’s missing husband, the monster who kept showing up at her house.

  Holly stared dumbstruck at the open door where the monkey ran out as she realized that was not just a monkey.

  “Merrin?” Holly said as dashed out the door after her, but Merrin was already gone.

  Higgins rushed up to her from the other end of the hall, “I just saw a monkey run by me. You think it was a test animal?”

  Holly shook her head in disbelief, “I think it was much more than that.”

  if you want to read some of my earlier work, I am also releasing “The 13th Room” on here. It’s already fully written, so it will not get in the way of CX21.