Page 103 of Girl Lost

“We stick to the plan. If that was Corbin buying us time, we can’t waste it,” she said. “Help might be on the way, but Stryker might not have time. I say we keep moving.”

She studied the girls’ faces. Summer gave a determined nod. Trinity, pale but resolute, did the same.

“Okay, we can’t go back the way we came. The guards went that direction.”

Summer nodded. “Let’s keep moving forward.”

A door at the end of the hall caught Luna’s attention. Unlike the others, it had a small window. “This way.”

She approached with caution and peered through the window. It was a surgical scrub room. They slipped inside. The room was small, almost claustrophobic.

Stainless steel dominated. Long sinks lined one wall, each one equipped with a gooseneck faucet and foot pedals. Dispensers for soap and hand sanitizer were mounted above, their chrome surfaces gleaming under the harsh fluorescent lights overhead.

Luna’s gaze scanned the room. “Let’s find a way out of here.”

She moved to the opposite wall where a door, clad in stainless steel, had a small, rectangular window of reinforced glass set at eye level. The edges were sealed with a thick, black rubber gasket. A red light, small and pulsing, glowed above the frame.

Through another window, she could see into an operating theater.

“Stryker,” she breathed.

Stryker lay on the table, tubes and wires snaking from his body. His eyes were closed, a breathing tube down his throat. A woman in a specialized wheelchair that gave her height was pulling on surgical gloves. Beside her, Dr. Forest was being helped into a surgical gown by Dr. Sheridan.

Her blood ran cold as she saw the array of surgical instruments.

They were about to operate on Stryker.

Without thinking, she burst through the door, Summer and Trinity right behind her.

“Stop!” Luna shouted, her voice echoing in the sterile room. “Don’t touch him!”

Everyone froze. Dr. Forest’s eyes widened in shock, then narrowed.

“What are you doing?” Dr. Sheridan hissed. “This is a sterile environment!”

But Luna wasn’t listening. Her eyes were locked on Stryker’s still form, on the machines. She started for the operating table.

Dr. Forest snatched up a scalpel. His surprise morphed into a cold smile. “Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” His gaze shifted to Summer and Trinity and back to Luna.

She took a step forward, hands raised. “Get away from him. Now.”

Luna felt Summer and Trinity move closer, flanking her. She straightened, drawing strength from their presence.

“It’s over, Forest,” Luna said. “Whatever you’re planning, it stops now.”

The woman in the wheelchair turned, her eyes locking onto Luna’s with an intensity that sent a chill down her spine.

Dr. Forest’s smile didn’t waver. “Oh, I don’t think so,” he said. “In fact, I’d say things are just getting interesting.”

Luna took another step forward, but before she could act, the doors behind them burst open. Two men rushed in, grabbing Summer and Trinity. One wrapped his arm around Summer’s neck, while the other pressed a gun to Trinity’s temple. Dr. Forest’s enforcers.

“No!” Luna cried.

Dr. Forest’s smile widened as he pressed the scalpel against Stryker’s throat. “I wouldn’t move if I were you.”

Luna froze, torn between the girls and her mentor. Her mind raced, seeking a way out of this nightmare.

Dr. Forest’s eyes gleamed with a manic light. “Since we’re all here, why don’t I explain why we’re doing this? It’s time you understood. Then maybe you’ll agree that everything we’re doing here serves a greater purpose.”