Chapter 5: The Button
Lily screamed.
Her knees buckled.
I caught her before she hit the floor.
“Daddy!””
“I've got you.””
Her body had suddenly gone heavy against mine.
The metal braces around her legs clicked sharply, one after another, like tiny locks snapping into place.
I looked through the glass.
Aaron was still holding the black device.
“Turn it off!””
He stared at Lily.
“She wasn't supposed to remember.””
Detective Mercer slammed her palm against the glass.
“Drop the device!””
Aaron smiled.
“You don't understand what you're looking at.””
“Drop it!””
“You think I'm the one who did this?””
He held up the device.
“This is only the receiver.””
Elias moved beside Mercer.
“Where's the transmitter?””
Aaron's smile disappeared.
“You know exactly where.””
Elias looked toward the floor.
Then the walls.
His eyes stopped on the ceiling.
“The control system.””
Aaron said nothing.
Mercer pointed her weapon through the opening in the security door.
“Put it down.””
Aaron slowly lowered the device.
Then he pressed another button.
Every light in the basement went out.
I heard Lily cry.
“Daddy, my legs!””
“I know.””
I carried her toward the stairs.
The emergency lights flashed red.
Elias grabbed my shoulder.
“Don't carry her.””
“What?””
“Look at her braces.””
I glanced down.
The locking mechanisms were partially closed.
Lily's knees were bent at an unnatural angle.
“If you move her wrong, you could hurt her.””
“Then tell me what to do.””
“Keep her still.””
Mercer shouted toward the therapy room.
“Aaron!””
No response.
She kicked the door.
It didn't open.
Elias dropped to one knee beside Lily.
“Lily, listen carefully.””
She was crying.
“I can't feel my legs.””
“You can.””
She shook her head.
“Not like before.””
“That's because the system is interfering.””
“How do I stop it?””
Elias looked toward the therapy room.
“You have to remember.””
Her eyes widened.
“Remember what?””
“The woman.””
“Emily?””
“Yes.””
Lily's breathing slowed.
“Peppermint.””
Elias nodded.
“What did she tell you?””
Lily squeezed my hand.
“She said there was a way to make the braces unlock.””
“What way?””
“I don't know.””
“Think.””
She closed her eyes.
The basement grew silent.
Then she whispered,
“She said... count backward.””
I frowned.
“From what?””
Lily opened her eyes.
“Ten.””
Elias looked at me.
“That's it.””
“What does that mean?””
“It's probably a manual override.””
Aaron's voice came through the darkness.
“Smart girl.””
My blood ran cold.
His voice came from somewhere above us.
I looked through the glass.
The therapy room was empty.
Aaron was gone.
Mercer immediately turned.
“Everyone move.””
A door slammed behind us.
I spun around.
Aaron stood at the top of the stairs.
He was holding the second screwdriver in one hand.
The gunshot wound I had expected to see wasn't there.
The blood on his face wasn't his.
Mercer's weapon came up.
“Stop.””
Aaron raised his free hand.
“I don't want to hurt anyone.””
“You've got exactly three seconds to put the screwdriver down.””
“Three seconds?””
He laughed softly.
“That's fitting.””
“Down!””
Aaron looked at Lily.
“Lily, do you know why your mother died?””
My heart stopped.
“Don't talk to her.””
Aaron ignored me.
“She died because your father asked too many questions.””
Lily stared at him.
“That's not true.””
Aaron's expression softened.
“She doesn't know.””
I stepped forward.
“Don't you dare.””
“You should have left the past buried, Daniel.””
“What did you do?””
Aaron's jaw tightened.
“I protected a program that saved hundreds of children.””
“By crippling them?””
“No.””
“By controlling them?””
“No.””
“Then tell us what happened!””
Aaron looked at Elias.
“She knows.””
Elias froze.
“What?””
Aaron smiled.
“Your sister knew too.””
Elias took one step forward.
“What did you do to Emily?””
Aaron's expression changed.
For the first time, there was anger in his eyes.
“I didn't do anything to Emily.””
“Liar.””
“She did exactly what Lily is doing now.””
“What does that mean?””
“She remembered.””
The basement seemed to tilt beneath me.
Aaron continued.
“Emily discovered the system wasn't designed to rehabilitate patients.””
“Then what was it designed for?”” Mercer asked.
Aaron stared at Lily.
“To measure obedience.””
Silence.
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Yes.””
He pointed to Lily's braces.
“The system could restrict movement, create artificial weakness, measure muscle response, and record every attempt.””
My hands curled into fists.
“You tortured children.””
Aaron's voice rose.
“We studied neurological recovery.””
“You lied to their parents.””
“Yes.””
The answer came without hesitation.
I stared at him.
He seemed to realize what he'd admitted.
Mercer did too.
“You just confessed.””
Aaron laughed.
“You think a confession matters?””
Mercer moved toward him.
“It matters enough.””
Aaron suddenly threw the screwdriver.
Mercer ducked.
It struck the wall.
Elias lunged forward.
Aaron turned and ran up the stairs.
“Stop!””
I stayed with Lily.
She was crying again.
“My legs still won't move.””
“It's okay.””
“No, Daddy.””
She pointed toward the braces.
“They're locked.””
Elias came running back.
He picked up the screwdriver from the floor.
“Lily.””
She looked at him.
“Count backward.””
“What?””
“Do exactly what Emily taught you.””
Lily nodded.
“Ten.””
Nothing happened.
“Nine.””
The right brace clicked.
“Eight.””
Another click.
“Seven.””
The left knee shifted.
I stared.
“Six.””
The metal loosened.
“Five.””
The pressure released.
“Four.””
Both braces opened.
Lily gasped.
She could move her knees again.
She immediately wrapped both arms around me.
“I can feel them.””
I held her tightly.
Then I heard a faint sound behind the wall.
A low mechanical hum.
Elias turned toward it.
“That's not good.””
“What?””
“The system is still running.””
He looked toward the ceiling.
“If the receiver is off, why is the signal still active?””
Mercer came back down the stairs.
“Aaron's gone.””
“Gone where?””
“There's another exit.””
Elias pointed to a steel panel behind the therapy room.
“There.””
Mercer rushed to it.
She pulled it open.
A narrow tunnel disappeared into darkness.
I followed.
“What is this place?””
Elias ran his fingers along the wall.
“Older than the foundation.””
“How old?””
“Maybe twenty years.””
Mercer shone her light inside.
The tunnel walls were lined with cables.
Some were newer.
Some were covered in dust.
Then Lily whispered,
“Daddy.””
I turned.
She was staring at the wall beside the entrance.
There were children's names scratched into the paint.
Dozens of them.
Some had dates beside them.
Some had a single word.
*FAILED.*
Others said:
*TRANSFERRED.*
One said:
*DECEASED.*
Then Lily pointed lower.
There, written in faded blue marker, was a name I knew.
*EMILY ROSS.*
Underneath it:
*MEMORY RETENTION: POSITIVE.*
Elias stopped breathing.
He touched the name.
“She's alive.””
Mercer looked at him.
“What?””
He pointed to the date.
“That's six years ago.””
“So?””
“There was no death notation.””
I stared at the wall.
“And what does ‘positive’ mean?””
Elias swallowed.
“It means she remembered.””
“Remembered what?””
He looked at Lily.
“The truth.””
A noise came from somewhere deep in the tunnel.
Three knocks.
Then silence.
Three more.
Elias stepped forward.
“Emily?””
Another three knocks.
Lily suddenly spoke.
“That's her.””
I stared at my daughter.
“How do you know?””
She looked frightened.
“She used to knock like that.””
My heart hammered.
We moved into the tunnel.
The air smelled of damp concrete and something medicinal.
After twenty yards, the passage opened into a hidden room.
There was a chair in the center.
Metal restraints.
A camera mounted above it.
On the wall was a large observation window.
Behind the glass were stacks of files.
Hundreds.
Mercer stepped toward them.
“Found the records.””
Elias didn't look at the files.
He was staring at the chair.
There was a fresh chain attached to it.
Still swinging.
Someone had been sitting there moments ago.
“She's here,” he whispered.
A monitor on the wall suddenly turned on.
Static.
Then an image appeared.
A woman sat in a dark room.
Her hair was longer than in the photograph.
Her face thinner.
But the eyes were unmistakable.
Elias stumbled backward.
“Emily.””
The woman looked directly into the camera.
Then she spoke.
“Elias, if you're seeing this, they failed to erase her memory.””
Lily stepped closer.
The woman on the screen continued.
“And if Lily is standing beside you...””
She paused.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“...then your father finally found out what happened to your mother.””
I looked at Lily.
“What?””
The screen flickered.
Emily leaned toward the camera.
“Daniel, don't trust the police.””
Mercer stiffened.
“Why?””
Emily looked directly at her.
“Because one of them is already inside the program.””
May you like
The monitor went black.
And behind us, someone locked the tunnel door.
