Chapter 1 - The Confined BreathThe metallic crash of the pneumatic lock resonated through the concrete corridor like a gunshot. Above the sliding gate, the emergency warning light blinked a sullen, rhythmic crimson, bathing the sterile white cinder blocks in warning hues.
Rachel Vance dropped to her knees, her palms slapping the cold floor. Her breath hitched, catching in the back of her throat. On the other side of the heavy reinforced bars stood Tyler Harris, his athletic frame silhouetted against the bright fluorescent hallway. The camera lens of his smartphone reflected the red flash, aimed squarely at her face.
"Confess to stealing the Dean’s pharmacology exam right now, Rachel," Tyler sneered, his voice dripping with venomous entitlement. "Confess on video, or you spend the night in Isolation Stall 4. Just you and the rabid biter."
Rachel pushed herself up, her fingers trembling against her lab coat where her name was stitched in faded blue thread. Behind her, in the cavernous shadows of the stall, she heard it: the heavy, rhythmic shifting of a half-ton thoroughbred, followed by a sharp, guttural snort.
"Tyler, listen to me," she whispered, her hazel eyes locking onto his. "You don’t know what you’re doing. Goliath isn't just aggressive—he's unstable. Open the latch."
"You cost me my clinical rotation!" Tyler barked, taking a step closer to the iron bars, his grin twisting into something ugly. "You went snooping in Dean Thorne’s office. You took the master copy. Admit it, and I might just hit the release switch before he tears your throat out."
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Rachel swallowed the bile rising in her throat. She looked past his camera, into the cold arrogance in his eyes. "Where is Chloe, Tyler? She was assigned to this stall before she vanished last Friday. What did you do to her?"
Tyler’s smirk flickered for a fraction of a second, replaced by sudden fury. He stepped back, pocketing the phone. "Enjoy your company, Vance."
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