Chapter 119 - 120: Hope in Despair

Chapter 119: Chapter 120: Hope in Despair

Chapter 120: Hope in Despair

Heather clutched her head as she struggled to explain what had been happening. "It isn’t really a voice speaking to me. It feels more like a direction constantly pulling at my mind, like a compass that won’t stop pointing toward the same place." Her breathing quickened as she added that the sensation had become stronger every day, leaving her terrified that eventually she would lose control and simply start walking toward whatever was calling her.

"I stopped going outside and locked myself in my room, but that didn’t help," Heather continued, gripping Axel Vance’s arm with both hands. "I used the contact information you gave me, found Clarice, and begged her to bring me here because I didn’t know where else to go. Please help me, Axel. I feel like something inside me is taking over."

Axel steadied her and guided her onto a nearby stool. His mind was already racing through everything they knew about the Church of Science, but one detail mattered more than the rest. "When did the changes start?"

Heather closed her eyes and tried to remember. "The morning after that big explosion near the docks. I saw it on the news, went to sleep, and when I woke up the next day I could tell something about me was different." Her face grew even paler as she realized the timing herself.

Axel exchanged a look with Dr. Seth Brundle, who had stopped pretending not to listen. The answer was obvious enough that neither man needed to say it aloud. Whatever had happened in Heather’s body was almost certainly connected to the Church of Science.

The dock incident had been publicly dismissed as an industrial accident to avoid creating panic, and Chief Woody had accepted the explanation without pressing Axel for details. Axel still suspected there were unofficial channels linking parts of local law enforcement with Jigsaw’s network, but he had no proof and no time to chase that question now. Heather’s condition was far more urgent.

Seth abandoned the equipment on his workbench and circled Heather with open scientific fascination. "This is extraordinary. The change isn’t just increasing strength or resilience; it’s restructuring her entire body while somehow improving outward symmetry at the same time." His excitement faded slightly as he looked toward Axel and asked, "Do you think they’re already using a version of this process elsewhere?"

Axel understood what he meant. If the Church of Science had developed useful byproducts from its enhancement program, it could potentially have traded those results for protection, resources, or influence. He shook his head before Seth could keep theorizing. "Later. Right now we figure out what’s happening to Heather."

The pieces began connecting quickly in Axel’s mind. The Church of Science had experimented with altering the human body for years, and Leatherface’s family had been both followers and test subjects within that system. Since Heather was related to that bloodline, it was entirely possible that something dormant had been planted in her biology long before she ever knew the cult existed.

Recent losses might have forced the Church of Science to activate whatever hidden program it had been preparing. Barlow’s death, the cannery raid, and the collapse of several cult operations could have convinced the organization that secrecy no longer mattered as much as recovering every usable asset. Heather might simply have been one of those assets without ever knowing it.

Her changing body fit that theory disturbingly well. Something inside her seemed to be pushing her toward a predetermined physical state, while the sensation in her mind behaved less like a genuine voice and more like a recall command. If the pressure eventually overwhelmed her ability to resist, she might walk willingly into the cult’s hands without understanding why.

Axel felt a chill at that thought. If Heather carried something like this inside her, there was no reason to assume she was the only one. The Church of Science could have planted dozens of similar dormant subjects throughout Miami over the years.

Heather looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Can you make it stop? I don’t want to wake up one day and realize I’m not myself anymore." Her fear drained the remaining excitement from Seth’s expression, while Lionel quietly set aside what he had been working on.

The basement became unusually silent. Whatever the Church of Science had placed inside Heather seemed to operate deeper than ordinary conditioning, touching both the body and mind in ways none of them fully understood. She could fight the compulsion for now, but nobody knew how long willpower alone would remain enough.

Axel finally asked the question that mattered most. "Where is it trying to make you go?" Heather flinched at once, then slowly answered, "Miami Central Medical Center."

Nobody looked surprised.

The syringe recovered after Barlow’s death had already pointed toward the medical complex, and Heather’s compulsion made the connection much harder to dismiss. Axel leaned forward and asked, "Can you tell where inside the complex it’s pulling you? A specific building, lower level, research wing?"

Heather shook her head and pressed both hands against her temples. "Not from here. It’s too vague, but I think if I get closer, the direction will become stronger." Her voice trembled as though even admitting that possibility frightened her.

"That’s enough," Axel said.

He looked toward Seth and Clarice, and the seriousness on his face shifted into something colder. They had spent days staring at a massive medical complex without knowing which part concealed the Church of Science, and forcing their way through it blindly would only endanger innocent people while giving the cult time to react. Now they had something much better than guesswork.

"We have a guide."

The meaning hit Seth immediately. Heather’s condition was dangerous, but the same compulsion threatening to drag her into the Church of Science could lead Axel directly toward its hidden facility. What had looked like another disaster had suddenly become the first genuine path into the organization’s core.

Seth’s exhausted eyes brightened. "So instead of searching the entire complex, we let the signal narrow it down for us." Axel nodded, already thinking several steps ahead.

"We move tomorrow night," Axel said. "Seth, gather whatever general architectural information you can find and help me understand the medical center well enough that we don’t wander around blindly. Keep the plan simple, because I’m not interested in turning a hospital full of civilians into a battlefield."

Seth grinned and immediately returned to the workbench. "That I can work with." Axel then turned toward Clarice.

"Contact Jigsaw’s people," he said. "Tell them we have a strong lead on the Church of Science’s Miami base and we’re moving tomorrow night. Whether they support us or stay out of the way is their decision."

Clarice nodded without argument. "Understood." She left the basement to make contact privately, while Axel turned his attention back toward Heather.

The transformation had given her a striking appearance, but right now all Axel saw was someone terrified of losing control of her own mind. The pull inside her could intensify without warning, and leaving her alone somewhere else would be too dangerous. "You’re staying here until this is finished," he told her. "Don’t go anywhere without telling me."

Heather hesitated, then nodded. His tone left little room for discussion, but the certainty behind it seemed to ease some of the panic in her eyes. For the first time since arriving, she looked as though she believed somebody might actually know what to do next.

With the immediate situation settled, Axel returned to preparing for the following night. He checked the enchanted shotgun, gathered the compatible supernatural ammunition Seth and Lionel had produced, and headed toward the backyard for another controlled test. Heather followed after a moment and remained near the doorway, watching silently.

Axel raised the Blood Jade-enhanced shotgun toward an empty section of ground well away from the house. The red patterns along the antique weapon awakened as Psionic Power flowed through them, and the special round responded immediately to the supernatural resonance. A moment later, the shot erupted with a thunderous supernatural blast that tore into the empty ground and sent dirt and smoke rolling outward.

Heather stared at the aftermath, then looked back at Axel. The fear in her eyes did not disappear completely, but something else appeared beside it now. Whatever waited beneath Miami Central Medical Center suddenly seemed a little less unstoppable.

Axel ignored her reaction and focused on the system panel that appeared before him.

[Psionic Shooting EXP: 560/1000]

He gave a satisfied nod. "Very good."

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