Under the thin layer of dirt was a metal hatch, sealed with bolts and coated in rust. It looked old—far older than the modern facility built above it. Eleanor’s hands trembled as she wiped away the grime. There were markings, faded but still visible: “U.S. Research Division — Property of Project Eden.”

She called Warden Clara immediately. Within minutes, a team of officers surrounded the area, floodlights illuminating the cold concrete. When they finally forced the hatch open, a heavy smell of chemicals and damp air rose from below.

A narrow staircase descended into darkness. Clara hesitated only for a second before ordering two guards to go down with flashlights. What they found beneath stopped them in their tracks.

Rows of medical equipment. Vials. Old computers. And in the center—a large glass chamber, still humming faintly with power. Inside it were storage units labeled with sequences of numbers, each ending with three letters: “E.V.A.”

“EVA?” Clara asked. Eleanor’s voice shook as she replied, “It stands for Embryonic Viability Advancement. It’s… a fertility experiment.”

Documents scattered across a nearby desk confirmed it. Decades earlier, before the prison was built, the site had been part of a secret government genetics program, shut down after public outrage. The facility had been repurposed as a prison—but the underground lab was never fully decommissioned.

One file, dated over twenty years ago, revealed the most chilling detail: the project aimed to create self-sustaining fertilization — embryos that could develop without male DNA. It was experimental, dangerous, and officially “terminated.”

But somehow… the system had reactivated.

The power source was still running on backup energy. The air vents above the chamber connected directly to the infirmary, where Eleanor had been treating the pregnant inmates. Tiny airborne particles had likely spread through the system — carrying remnants of the experiment.

When Eleanor realized what that meant, she whispered, “They were never touched. The facility did this to them.”

Warden Clara ordered the chamber sealed and the prison evacuated immediately. But that night, as the lockdown alarms echoed through Blackridge, the power flickered… and from deep below, a faint mechanical hum started up again.

Some secrets were never meant to be buried.