CASSANDRA'S POV~
I should’ve been ready.
I thought I was.
But nothing… absolutely nothing—could’ve prepared me for what I saw when I cracked open that lab door.
The stench hit me first. Not bleach. Not sterile air. Something darker. Rotting. Old. It clawed down my throat, made my stomach twist. I didn’t step inside. I didn’t have to.
The shadows moved even in the artificial light.
Stacy.
She was strapped to something that looked like it belonged in a prison more than a hospital. IVs lined her tiny arms. Her chest barely rose. She looked so pale… so small. Her hair matted to her forehead. Her mouth parted like she was mid-scream, but no sound came.
And that was when it hit me.
The silence. Not peaceful. Not calm.
Empty. Wrong. It felt dead.
Something terrible was happening in t
