Chapter 19 - The List of the Forgotten
Deep beneath the hospital, everyone heard the bells.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Elizabeth began crying.
Margaret closed her eyes.
"It happened..."
Daniel Voss spun toward the ceiling.
"No!"
He grabbed a radio.
"Stop whoever is in the tower!"
Static answered him.
Nothing else.
The guards looked at one another nervously.
Olivia frowned.
"What changes after seven bells?"
Elizabeth looked directly at her.
"The vault unlocks."
Emily turned toward the old steel hatch marked BELL ACCESS.
A heavy metallic sound echoed behind it.
Something enormous had disengaged.
Voss drew a pistol.
"Nobody moves."
The steel hatch slowly opened by itself.
Cold air flowed into the chamber.
Behind the door stood shelves stretching farther than anyone could see.
Thousands...
Perhaps tens of thousands...
Of carefully labeled boxes.
Each box carried one name.
Margaret picked up the nearest.
Inside lay birth certificates.
Medical reports.
Letters.
Photographs.
Personal belongings.
Entire lives.
Olivia whispered,
"These are people..."
Elizabeth nodded.
"The forgotten children."
Emily opened another box.
Inside she found a little girl's red shoe.
A faded teddy bear.
A school notebook.
And a death certificate that had never been officially filed.
Her hands began shaking.
"This is impossible..."
Voss raised his pistol higher.
"Nobody touches another box."
Richard suddenly appeared at the far end of the corridor.
The large iron key still hung from his mouth.
Everyone turned toward him.
Voss smiled.
"There you are."
The administrator slowly aimed his weapon toward the dog.
Margaret stepped between them.
"No."
"Move."
"No."
Richard remained perfectly still.
Not frightened.
Not running.
Simply watching.
Then...
Without warning...
Every light in the underground archive went out simultaneously.
The chamber disappeared into darkness.
May you like
Somewhere inside the blackness...
A child laughed.
