Trapped inside an abandoned Cold War military asylum by my son-in-law while tens of thousands watch live
👉 Previous decision: You chose to detour downward into the Cold War medical archives ward.
The descent into the duct was steeper, the air growing heavier, thick with the scent of mildew and decaying paper. Arthur coughed, dust clinging to his throat. Julian navigated the camera rig with surprising agility behind him.
They dropped out of the shaft into a wide, subterranean corridor. Fluorescent lights flickered erratically overhead, casting a sickly yellow glow on rows of metal shelving.
“The archives,” Arthur breathed, his voice filled with reverence. He hadn’t been this close to the original files in decades.
He moved quickly, his eyes scanning the labels on the dusty boxes. “1958 patient ledgers… classified medical trials.”
Arthur pulled a thick, leather-bound book from a shelf. The pages were brittle, the ink faded, but the handwritten entries were clear. Names, dates, experimental treatments.
He pointed to a specific page. “They institutionalized whistleblowers. Under false diagnoses. ‘Acute paranoid delusion,’ ‘schizotypal disinterest.’ It was a containment program.”
Julian leaned in, his flashlight beam playing across the archaic script. “This is… barbaric.”
Arthur turned a page, then another. His eyes caught a familiar, looping signature at the bottom of an orderly log. “Look at this. Orderly Julian Kincaid, Senior.”
Julian froze. His gaze dropped to the signature. He pulled off a glove, his bare finger tracing the name.
“My grandfather,” Julian whispered, his face pale in the flickering light. “He was here.”
Arthur looked at Julian, a new understanding dawning. Julian’s grandfather hadn’t just been an orderly; he had been a silent witness, perhaps even an accomplice in passing the crucial files to a young Arthur in 1958.
“He didn’t just work here, Julian,” Arthur said. “He recorded it all. He helped expose it.”
Julian’s hand clenched into a fist. His usual quiet demeanor had evaporated, replaced by a rigid resolve. His grandfather’s legacy was suddenly tied to this dark place.
➡️ Read CHAPTER 8 to continue the story
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