“So, who’s going to die today?” Evril sighs out. The door to the observation room swings shut behind her with a metallic clang. The locks click back into place a moment later. She pulls out a chair and takes a seat next to Aaron.

He glances at her briefly before turning his attention back to the monitors. “That is so not funny.”

She shrugs and scoops a large spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

He lets out a frustrated breath as he rolls his eyes.

“What?”

“How can you eat right now?”

“Because I’m hungry, and it’s breakfast.” She shovels another generous spoonful into her mouth.

Aaron pushes back from the monitors and stands up. “Oh, I feel like I’m gonna be sick.”

Evril snorts. “Don’t be such a big baby.”

Aaron turns his back to the monitors innan effort to not fall over. He takes the opportunity to stretch out his sore muscles. He keeps his gaze down as he reaches back around for his coffee mug. “They all slept through the night for the most part. Only Emmy was really restless, but she’s been pretty quiet for the past couple hours.” He’s halfway out the door when Evril corrects him.

“16.”

He turns back to her. “What?” Movement on the monitirs catches his attention. Subject 7 is up and walking around. He forces himself to focus on Evril.

“It’s subject 16, not Emmy. 16. You’d do well to remember that.”

“Right.” He turns back to the door and swipes his badge. The locks give way and with a hard tug he pulls the heavy metal open.

“Get some sleep. You need to take good care of yourself.”

Aaron slips through the opening without a response and lets the door swing shut behind him.

Evril continues with her breakfast as she turns her attention to the monitors. Besides the aimless circles number 7 is turning in his room, there isn’t much movement from any of the remaining subjects… yet.

Of the initial twenty, only five subjects remain—from this batch anyway. She’s heard rumours. Allegedly, there are more being observed somewhere else in the facility, or in a different facility entirely is more likely. She’s never seen anyone here who wasn’t working on their project. And this project—this batch she’s helping to keep an eye on—they aren’t the first.

There were more that came before, they just didn’t survive. The fact that there are five in this round is promising, or so she’s told.

She doesn’t know how true any of that is.

For her money, it’s all just talk. The kind of scary stories that get passed around when your research facility is underneath an estate out in the middle of nowhere and you’re looking to scare the new recruits.

She sweeps through the monitors again for signs of movement. 7 is still pacing. The other four appear to still be sleeping as well, which is odd if Aaron was telling her the truth. If they all slept through the night they should be up by now. Unless Aaron wasn’t telling the truth.

Evril lets out a sigh.

He’s been different lately, like he’s been having second thoughts. She wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t given her the full report. He’s just lucky she’s the one after him for shift replacement. If anyone else found out—

If anyone found out _she knew—_

Things would get very bad, very fast.

She sees movements out of the corner of her eye. 16’s bed covers are overturned. There’s no sign of her in the bed or anywhere else in the room.

When did that happen?

She swaps through the different camera angles in her room, hoping to find her just hiding under the bed. She’s not there. Evril shuffles through the cameras again.

“Shit.”

She looks through the other cameras in the other test subjects rooms. They’re all up and moving.

7 pounds on the door to his room.

5 has fistfuls of her own hair that she’s tugging on. They had just gotten her to grow her hair back out too.

4 is backed into a tight little ball in the corner. He’s rocking himself back and forth.

13 is screaming and throwing things.

Alarms begin to go off throughout the facility. They’re accompanied by flashing red lights. The four subjects on the monitors go still.

Evril swipes the walkie-talkie off the desk as she shoots out of the chair. She scans her badge and heaves the door open as fast as she can and slips out into the hallway. People rush past her, hurrying off in both directions. She can’t make out any particulars of what any of them are saying. She supposes that doesn’t matter. She clips the walkie-talkie to her hip and sets of toward Dr. Auldrein’s office.

A squadron dressed in all black and carrying machine guns charges past her. Scientists and lab technicians flaten themselves against the wall to let them pass. That’s definitely interesting. Evril keeps her gaze trained on them until they disappear around the corner. Everyone else looks just as confused as she feels.

She walks backwards down the hallway, staring at the spot the soldiers disappeared until the last possible second. When she’s confronted with a corner of her own, she turns around and keeps moving. She sticks close to the wall to avoid getting trampled by lab assisstants, doctors and even more security that rush past her. Everyone speaks in raised voices to be heard over the alarm. She hurries along until she reaches the door to the lab. “Dr. Auldrein—“

She stops when she realizes she is confronted with an empty room. She groans in frustration. It figures. With all the alarms going off and everyone rushing around why would he have been in the lab? She lets out another groan. “Aaron, what did you do?”

Evril yanks the door open and heads back into the hallway. How did things get so complicated so fast?

She stalks off back in the direction she came. If everyone was going that way when she left the monitor room then any answers she’s looking for are sure to be that way.

The hallways are startlingly emoty in comparison to what they were moments before. Only a few stray scientists duck into and out of offices. The pandemonium of just a few minutes ago seemingly wiped from the record. Only one door in the hallway is propped open. Evril can’t help glancing into as she passes. She comes to a halt from what she sees inside.

Sitting on the lab table in the center of the room is a black backpack. Aaron hurries around, throwing clothes, papers, files, notebooks and whatever else he can find into the bag. Sitting in the dim corner of the room—fiddling with her and looking like she’s moments away from shoving strands of it into her mouth—is Subject 16.

The muscles in Evril’s jaw go tense as she stands their taking in the scene. She steps into the doorway and is surprised to find her voice steady when she speaks. “You’re going somewhere in a hurry.”

Aaron stills. Evril can see 16’s eyes snap to her face but she resolutely keeps her gaze fixed on Aaron. He refuses to look at her. He waits and so does she. He looks like he could bolt, but she’s blocking his only exit. He shifts his weight to his back foot and glances at 16.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Aaron sighs. He walks with slumped shoulders to the table and stuffs the papers he’s holding into the backpack.

“What in the actual fucking hell do you think you’re doing Aaron?”

“Doing about what?” He zips up the backpack and slings in over his shoulders.

Evril scoffs. “You’re really gonna play dumb with me right now? With all the alarms and the lights going off, and her sitting right there in the corner of the room!” She jams a finger in 16’s direction. The girl flinches. “Like I can’t fucking see her with my own two eyes!”

“Shh!” Aaron rushes towards her. Evril plants herself in the doorframe, but he’s not making a run for it. He grabs her by her shoulder and pulls her into the room. He looks up and down the empty hallway before shutting the three of them inside the office. “Someone’s gonna hear you.”

“You mean like they haven’t heard—or _seen_ you—break her out. How did you manage that trick with the cameras by the way? And why bother?”

Aaron chuckles. “Don’t tell me you actually want an answer to that. The less you know the better right? Plausible deniability and all that.”

“Don’t do this Aaron.”

He scoffs. “It almost sounds like you care.”

Eveil takes in a deep breath to keep from shouting. “If you do this—if you escape from this facility with her like I _think_ you are going to, they are going to find you and they are _going_ to kill you. _Both_ of you.”

“Thanks for the warning. We’ll be sure to stay safe out there.” He reaches a had back for Subject 16. She flits to his side and wraps both arms around his offered one.

Evril puts a hand on his chest to stop him from leaving. “They are going to get you Aaron. You don’t stand a chance.”

“Well then I guess it’s a good thing we have a head start.” He moves past her and reaches for the doorknob.

Evril’s hand falls to the walkie-talkie at her hip. There’s a soft beep as she holds down the talk button. Aaron turns back from the doorway. Before she has the chance to say anything she’s hit on the back of the head. She feels the briefest sensation of a stinging pain before her eyes fall shut and she falls to the floor.