The cold metal doors of the Murkoff facility slam shut, locking the reagents into another nightmarish trial. The Scent of Blood and Gasoline The air in the abandoned orphanage is thick with dust, old blood, and the heavy scent of copper. Somewhere down the hallway, the erratic ticking of a broken clock blends with the distant, wet coughing of a Variant. Gabriel is trembling so hard his teeth click together. He is only fifteen, and the heavy, night-vision goggles strapped to his face feel like a lead weight pressing into his skull. His battery indicator is already flashing a critical, dying red. Cassidy crouches right next to him behind a rusted metal desk. Her drifter clothes have been replaced by the standard, stained Murkoff denim scrubs, but her dreadlocks and sharp, observant eyes are exactly the same. She keeps one hand firmly on Gabriel’s shoulder, anchoring him to the floor. "Deep breaths, kiddo," Cassidy whispers, her voice a low, raspy comforting scratch against the silence. "Just look at me, not the shadows. Look at my face. We're getting out of this room. I promise ya." "I can't," Gabriel chokes out, tears blurring his vision underneath the heavy lenses. "The guy with the camera... he's right outside. I heard him laughing. Cassidy, I want to go home." "I know, Gabe. I know," she murmurs, squeezing his shoulder. "But home is on the other side of these psycho tests. We just gotta play their game for a little bit longer." The Separation A loud crash echoes from the western corridor. Footsteps—heavy, dragging, and metallic—begin rushing toward their position. "Hide!" Cassidy hisses, shoving Gabriel underneath the deep hollow of the desk just as a spotlight cuts through the cracked window. Across the courtyard, through the shatterproof glass of the upper catwalk, Ingrid and Hannah are trying to clear the path. Ingrid is frantically cranking a manual valve to release the electrified gas blocking the main exit, her knuckles white and bleeding. "Hannah! Hold the door!" Ingrid yells, her usual stoic composure cracking under the pressure. "The valve is jammed with rust!" Hannah leans her full weight against the heavy barricade, her boots sliding in the grime on the floor. On the other side, something massive is throwing its body against the wood, splintering the frame. "I'm holding it!" Hannah barks back, her breath coming in ragged gasps. "But we're running out of time! Where the hell are Cassidy and the kid?!" The Choice Back in the room, the roaming Variant smashes a lead pipe against the lockers, searching for the source of the noise. Gabriel pulls his knees tightly to his chest, clamping his hands over his mouth to muffle his sobbing. His night-vision battery officially dies, plunging him into absolute, terrifying darkness. Cassidy looks at the door, then down at the terrified teenager beneath the desk. She grips a brick she found on the floor.