The Road to the Facility

The drive south was endless. Jessica sat in the passenger seat, eyes scanning the empty stretch of dirt road ahead. The Patagonia landscape stretched on for miles—vast, untamed, desolate. Mountains loomed in the distance, their peaks dusted with snow, a stark contrast to the dry earth beneath them. The vehicle’s tires crunched over gravel, the only sound aside from the occasional gust of wind rattling through the valley.

Leanna drove, fingers tight around the wheel, her focus unwavering. Kevin and Hannah sat in the back, half-listening to Olivia, who had her laptop propped on her knees. Every so often, Olivia would mutter something about satellite imagery or Vanguard’s last-known transactions, but Jessica had stopped processing it.

Something felt off. Santiago’s information had been too easy. They had followed his lead without hesitation. Were they being played?

******************************

An hour later, Jessica spotted the makeshift roadblock ahead. A military-style Humvee sat on the side of the road, manned by four men in black tactical gear, not Argentine army. Private security.

Leanna slowed the car, exhaling sharply. "This isn’t good."

"Stay calm," Olivia muttered. "Fake IDs ready. Let me do the talking."

They rolled up to the checkpoint, stopping as one of the guards, tall, with a Vanguard patch on his shoulder, approached the driver’s side. His hand rested casually on his rifle.

Leanna rolled down the window. "Problem, officer?"

The man studied her, then glanced at the others. "Documents."

Leanna passed them over. The guard flipped through the IDs, glancing back at them. "You’re far from any tourist sites. What brings you out here?"

"Hiking," Olivia answered smoothly. "We’re looking for remote trails."

The guard smirked. "You don’t look like hikers."

Jessica tensed. She could feel Kevin shifting in the back seat, ready to do something reckless.

"We’re photographers too," Olivia added, forcing a laugh. "Nature shots. You know—mountains, lakes, llamas."

The guard stared at her for a long moment. Then, slowly, he handed the IDs back.

"Trail’s closed ahead. Recent landslide. Turn around."

"Right," Leanna said, shifting the car into reverse. "Thanks for the warning."

The guard stepped back, tapping his rifle against his boot. They pulled away, the checkpoint shrinking in the rearview mirror. No one spoke until they were out of sight.

Then Jessica muttered, "They knew we were coming."

******************************

Back at a quiet roadside stop, Olivia worked furiously on her laptop. "The main road is out," she said, scrolling through satellite maps. "But there’s an old logging route that runs through the valley. It hasn’t been used in years, but it should get us close."

Leanna frowned. "If it hasn’t been used in years, can we even drive through it?"

"Maybe not all the way," Olivia admitted. "But it’s either that or we turn back."

Jessica exhaled. "Let’s do it."

******************************

Two hours later, they reached the coordinates Santiago had given them. But it wasn’t a lab. It wasn’t even active. The structure stood in ruins, an old outpost, long since abandoned. Concrete walls cracked and overgrown. Barbed wire fences rusted and sagging. A relic from another era, forgotten by time.

"Are you kidding me?" Kevin muttered. "He sent us here for this?"

Jessica stepped out of the car, gravel crunching beneath her boots. Her pulse pounded in her ears. Something was wrong.

She pushed open the rusted metal gate and walked inside. Dust hung in the air, stirred by the wind. The interior was bare—old desks, shattered windows, the remnants of equipment long since stripped away. But something stood out. In the center of the room, half-buried beneath debris, was a file cabinet.

Jessica knelt, brushing away the dust. She forced open the top drawer, coughing as she pulled out a stack of faded papers.

Olivia leaned over her shoulder. "What is this?"

Jessica squinted at the text. Handwritten notes. Names. Dates.

Leanna exhaled sharply. "This isn’t research. It’s a log."

Jessica flipped through the pages, her breath catching when she saw a familiar phrase scrawled in red ink:

‘Subject Status: Active.’

******************************

A sharp sound echoed outside. Jessica froze. The sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway. She looked up just as a red laser flickered across the wall as the sniper took aim.

"MOVE!" she hissed.

Leanna grabbed Olivia’s wrist, pulling her toward the door. Kevin and Hannah followed. Jessica barely had time to snatch the logbook before bullets tore through the windows.

They ran. The SUV was parked a hundred feet away. Too far. Jessica threw herself behind the broken wall, Leanna landing beside her. "They knew we’d come here."

"Santiago set us up," Olivia breathed. "Or he didn’t know this was a trap."

Kevin peeked over the wall. "Three—maybe four shooters."

Jessica gritted her teeth. "We need to get out of here. Now."

The air crackled with gunfire. No way back to the car. They had to run.

"Through the ravine," Leanna whispered. "We can lose them in the rocks."

Jessica nodded. Then they ran for their lives.