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Chapter 43 - Blood Spiral
last update2025-08-16 00:21:36

The hum had been there for three days. Not in the way a faulty light buzzes or a distant machine runs. This was deeper, lower. It was in the bones of Groote Schuur, in the concrete, in the metal beams, in the very air. Siya could feel it in her molars, in the meat of her hands when she pressed them against the walls.

Tonight, it was stronger.

She sat on the cold bench outside Ward E.W., elbows on her knees, trying to steady her breathing. The hallway was almost completely dark, the emergency lights throwing weak red glows over the linoleum. Her skin prickled with sweat despite the cold. The spirals on her forearms, those bruises, had deepened to a bluish black. They throbbed in time with the hum.

At the far end of the corridor, Marks was hunched over a rolling table, poring over decades-old blueprints he’d hauled from the hospital archives. He didn’t look up when he spoke.

“She’s not contained anymore,” he said, voice rasping as though his throat was raw.

Siya swallowed, her mouth dry
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    The hum had been there for three days. Not in the way a faulty light buzzes or a distant machine runs. This was deeper, lower. It was in the bones of Groote Schuur, in the concrete, in the metal beams, in the very air. Siya could feel it in her molars, in the meat of her hands when she pressed them against the walls.Tonight, it was stronger.She sat on the cold bench outside Ward E.W., elbows on her knees, trying to steady her breathing. The hallway was almost completely dark, the emergency lights throwing weak red glows over the linoleum. Her skin prickled with sweat despite the cold. The spirals on her forearms, those bruises, had deepened to a bluish black. They throbbed in time with the hum.At the far end of the corridor, Marks was hunched over a rolling table, poring over decades-old blueprints he’d hauled from the hospital archives. He didn’t look up when he spoke.“She’s not contained anymore,” he said, voice rasping as though his throat was raw.Siya swallowed, her mouth dry

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