We tiptoe down the length of the corridor, our footsteps soundless against the marble floors. I fill in the blanks for Lola on the way, relaying in detail both my escape and subsequent return.

We talk fast, speaking so quietly that only another engineered can hear. "We'll probably be caught any minute," Lola says under her breath. "There are cameras everywhere."

I turn to look at her without slowing down. "We looped some of the security cameras. All they'll be able to see is an empty hallway."

We take one final turn and the corridor ends at a large metal door. I lift the small hatch on the wall beside it, revealing a familiar keypad.

"Damn it," Lola says before slapping the wall. "I don't have the code."

I smile slightly. "You don't need it for this one." I turn to the pad, positioning my mouth near the microphone. "Dr. Wells," I say, imitating Dr. Wells' voice perfectly, and the lock clicks slightly as it releases.

I step inside and find the switch plate, turning it on. After a second or two, the ceiling light gives a lackluster flicker, casting the room in a fluorescent yellow glow.

We both shield our eyes before opening them to disappointment. The facility is empty, the incubator I'd expected Asia to be sleeping in turned off for the night.

"Maybe they already put her back in the enclosure," Lola suggests, though her anxious expression defies the easiness in her voice.

"Maybe," I say, looking around. In the middle of the room is a white medical bed, a sheet half-pulled over what I know deep inside must be another dead girl.

"What is that?" Lola asks, following my gaze.

I stay rooted to the spot, praying it's not Asia beneath it. I inch forward until I'm towering above it, wrapping my hand around the edge of the sheet. After a second or two, I lower it.

Her eyes appear first, brown and lifeless, followed by a small, petite nose and–it isn't Asia. Relief floods through me as I yank off the sheet, exposing the girl beneath it.

A gasp works its way up the back of my throat. She's one of the missing girls from the news–Megan Cartwright, if I remember correctly. She's been kidnapped by Marine World for being genetically engineered and now mutilated, just like the last.

I swallow back the bile in my throat and turn to Lola. "They're killing us with these botched experiments, and for what?"

Her eyes sweep over the lifeless body, filled with fear. "Better if we don't focus on the why and instead focus on getting the hell out of here." She moves towards the nearest table and grabs a syringe, stuffing it into her pocket. "Let's go."

My feet don't move as I study the machines. I'd grown up fearing these testing machines, and standing so close to them has my heart pounding faster.

The temperature cube sits in the corner, sterile and ominous. Beside it, a metal tray is balanced on the table, filled with half a dozen tools. I move towards it and pick up the clipboard, briefly scanning the scruffy black writing.

My stomach wrenches as I turn to Lola. "These are embryos," I say, picking up a test tube. "This is how we were made, Lola."

Reece had been wrong when he'd said we were the last of them. Marine World still have viable embryos, which means their exploitation of engineered humans is far from over.

"You mean to say we come from one of those?" Lola asks, peering over my shoulder. I nod, the test tube feeling heavy in my fingers. "But how?"

I think back to what Reece had told me that day in the night enclosure. "I'm not exactly sure how it works," I admit, "but these embryos are implanted into the mother, somehow."

Lola's face pales as she examines the rest of them. "Well, your friend's not here. We need to get out of here before somebody catches us."

I shake my head, waving the test tube in front of her face. "Do you really want these babies to grow up the same way we did?" I ask. "To be auctioned off to the highest bidder? Who knows what happens to us once we're sold?"

She nods and we grab as many of the test tubes as we can, stuffing them into my backpack. By the time we turn to face the door, it it's too late. Footsteps already sound in the corridor, causing us to freeze.

"Quick," I say, pointing to the testing cube. "Get inside."

Lola's face pales. "No, I can't," she says, her body stiffening. "I can't go in there. I hate it."

"You have to or we're dead," I hiss, grabbing her hand. I throw open the door, allowing Lola to slide across the bench before I pull the door shut behind us.

The footsteps get louder until the facility door swings open, and we both hold our breath. I grab Lola's hand in an attempt to reassure her, but she barely notices. Her eyes are squeezed shut and her mouth is quickly moving, as though she's reciting some kind of mantra. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, trying to quiet my breathing.

"I didn't leave that open," a woman says, but the door to the cube somewhat muffles her voice. I bite at my lip at our stupid mistake; we left the cabinets open.

The sound of clacking heels gets further away, and I imagine her hovering before the test tube incubator, examining the empty slots. "They're gone," she says, her voice sounding panicked. "Somebody's taken them, Roy." Her voice is unmistakable this time: Dr. Wells.

There is a slight shuffling noise directly outside of the cube, and Lola grabs my hand even harder. "This is why I said we need more security cameras," a man says.

"You don't put cameras in a place you're trying to keep secret," Dr Wells snaps back. "Whoever did this could have only done it in the last hour."

"I'll call it in," the man says. "If they're still here, we'll get 'em. What do you want me to do if I find the test tubes?"

"They'll no longer be viable," Dr Wells says. "Make sure you destroy them."

I freeze in position. As soon as the guard radios in, this whole place will be on high alert, making escape impossible. I stand up, ignoring Lola tugging on my arm, and throw open the door with my gun raised at the guard.

Dr Wells quickly spins on her heel. "Aura?" Her blue eyes blink back at me, like I'm the last person she ever expected to see. I don't exactly blame her; I suppose only a fool would come back to a place like this.

"Nice to see you again," I say, my voice shaking slightly.

She is wearing a black dress that hugs every curve, revealing a layer of pudge around her hips. The room spins as I try to focus on her features. I didn't know how I would feel if I ever saw Dr. Wells again, but now here I am, and I've never felt so terrified.

Hey guys, thank you for sticking with this book for so long. I'd stopped updating for a while because I thought no one was really reading this anymore, so it's been so nice to read your comments and realize you're still enjoying this book! I'm hoping to get all of the chapters out as soon as possible ❤️