Chapter 14: The Facility in the Jungle
The first light of dawn filtered through the stained-glass windows of the abandoned church.
No one had slept.
Mateo sat on the front pew with Sofía curled against his chest while Camila rested in Dalia's arms. Lucía spent the night copying every file from Gabriel's laptop onto three encrypted flash drives.
Arturo spread Adrian Voss's map across the altar.
"The facility is here," he said, pointing to a clearing hidden deep inside the Yucatán jungle. "There are no public roads leading to it anymore."
"There must be another way in," Mateo said.
"There is."
Everyone turned.
Arturo traced a faded blue line through the forest.
"An old maintenance tunnel built when the place was still a military communications station."
Lucía looked up.
"If it's still intact, it may bypass the main security gates."
Mateo folded the map.
"Then that's how we're going in."
Three hours later, they left Cancún in an aging delivery van Arturo had borrowed from a trusted friend.
The city slowly disappeared behind them.
Modern highways gave way to narrow roads.
Then gravel.
Finally, nothing but dirt paths swallowed by dense jungle.
The farther they drove, the quieter the world became.
Towering ceiba trees blocked the sunlight.
Vines hung from branches like thick ropes.
The air was heavy with humidity and the constant chorus of insects.
No signs.
No houses.
No cell service.
Only wilderness.
After another hour, Arturo stopped the van.
"We walk from here."
They covered the vehicle with camouflage netting and continued on foot.
Mateo carried Sofía while Dalia held Camila's hand.
The little girls didn't complain.
They walked quietly, almost as if they already knew where they were going.
Lucía noticed it first.
"They haven't asked a single question."
Mateo looked down.
Sofía's eyes were fixed straight ahead.
"Sweetheart?"
She answered without looking at him.
"We're close."
A chill ran through him.
"How do you know?"
She simply pointed through the trees.
"There."
The jungle opened into a narrow clearing.
Hidden beneath tangled vines stood a rusted steel hatch built into the ground.
Arturo brushed away years of dirt and leaves.
"This is the maintenance tunnel."
The heavy door groaned as they pulled it open.
A staircase disappeared into darkness.
Cold air drifted upward.
Lucía switched on a flashlight.
"Let's go."
The tunnel stretched for hundreds of yards beneath the jungle.
Concrete walls dripped with moisture.
Old electrical cables hung from the ceiling.
Every footstep echoed through the darkness.
Eventually they reached a massive steel door.
Its faded warning sign read:
AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
The electronic lock had long since stopped working.
Together, Mateo and Arturo forced it open.
The door creaked inward.
Beyond it lay a brightly lit corridor.
The contrast was startling.
Someone had restored power.
The walls looked freshly painted.
Security cameras silently tracked the hallway.
"They're still using this place," Lucía whispered.
No sooner had she spoken than soft music drifted through hidden speakers.
A calm female voice echoed overhead.
"Welcome, Subjects Seven and Nine."
Everyone froze.
The voice continued.
"Your arrival has been anticipated."
Dalia stared at the ceiling.
"It knows they're here."
Mateo tightened his grip on Sofía.
"We're leaving."
He turned toward the tunnel—
The steel door slammed shut behind them.
A heavy locking mechanism engaged with a deafening clang.
Lucía rushed to the handle.
"It won't open!"
Red emergency lights flashed throughout the corridor.
Then the calm voice returned.
"Please proceed to Observation Chamber One."
"No," Mateo shouted.
"We're not going anywhere!"
Silence.
Then—
Every security door ahead unlocked simultaneously.
One after another.
As if inviting them forward.
Sofía gently tugged on Mateo's sleeve.
"Daddy."
"What is it?"
"We have to keep going."
"No."
"She's waiting."
Mateo looked into his daughter's eyes.
For a moment...
They didn't seem like the eyes of a frightened little girl.
They looked focused.
Determined.
As though she remembered something he never could.
Against every instinct, he followed the corridor.
It ended in a circular room surrounded by thick glass walls.
Rows of abandoned medical equipment sat untouched beneath layers of dust.
In the center of the room stood a single chair facing a large observation window.
Behind the glass...
Someone was sitting perfectly still.
Long dark hair covered her face.
She wore a simple white dress.
She couldn't have been older than sixteen.
At the sound of the opening door, the girl slowly lifted her head.
Her eyes met Sofía's.
Then Camila's.
A faint smile spread across her face.
"I knew you'd come," she said softly.
Mateo stepped in front of the twins.
"Who are you?"
The girl stood.
"My name is Eva."
The room fell silent.
She walked closer to the glass.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Eva placed her hand against the window.
Sofía instinctively raised her own tiny hand and placed it on the opposite side.
The glass separated them by only a few inches.
Eva smiled sadly.
"I've been waiting for my sisters."
Mateo's heart nearly stopped.
"Sisters?"
Eva nodded.
"We were never supposed to be separated."
Before anyone could ask another question, alarms suddenly blared throughout the underground facility.
A mechanical voice replaced the calm one.
SECURITY BREACH DETECTED.
BOARD MEMBERS ARRIVING.
Lucía looked toward the far end of the corridor.
Heavy blast doors were opening.
Dozens of footsteps echoed through the facility.
May you like
The Helix Board had arrived.
And they were coming for Eva...
