Page 100 of Property of Crypt Keeper
“So much for impressive,” I chuckled.
The cages opened as we made our way out. Not because of the Doctor, though. Because Hack made sure every lock released.
The survivors staggered free. Some cried. Some fled without looking back. Others simply sat where they were, unable to comprehend freedom.
One elderly vampire quietly thanked Boomslang before disappearing into the tunnels.
A wolf shifter with one malformed arm bowed his head.
Another creature—one whose body had been twisted beyond repair—looked at us. Then quietly begged, “Please…”
Dexter knelt beside him.
The creature’s remaining eye filled with tears. In a voice that was raspy with disuse, it added, “I don’t want to hurt anymore.”
Silence. Not a soul made a sound.
Dexter looked at Boomslang, who slowly nodded. With profound gentleness, Dexter rested a hand on the creature’s shoulder. A whisper that I couldn’t make out followed by a flash of divine light that no one fully understood.
Peace settled over the creature’s face. He slowly smiled, then took his final breath.
No one spoke. There wasn’t anything to say.
The laboratory burned behind us as we hurried out. Flames climbed through the shattered windows of the ancient cathedral. Smoke poured from beneath it. The old stone groaned. Then, as we raced toward the tree line, it collapsed.
The ground shook as centuries of secrets buried themselves beneath tons of falling rubble. Reaching the vehicles, we all watched until the last tower disappeared into dust.
“No one’s rebuilding that,” Zeus observed as he rested one arm on the open door of the SUV.
“No,” I quietly agreed. “They aren’t.”
25
Far away, hidden among the cypress trees overlooking the swamp, two figures watched the fire.
Rafael stood with his jaw clenched.
Beside him, the Doctor held a single reinforced case against his chest. His assistant and the armed guards loaded the rest into a van outside the west exit of the facility. The emergency exit.
Notebooks.
Blood.
Slides.
DNA.
His life’s work was in those boxes. He watched the cathedral fall.
Not with anger.
Not with grief.
With fascination.
As if watching one experiment end while already imagining the next.
His fingers rested lightly on the case. A faint smile touched his lips.
