Chapter Five - The List Behind the Backup Door

"Where are the meds?" Mara shouted. "There aren't any more!" somebody cried. She dropped to her knees and checked the pulse with frantic precision, sweat dripping from her forehead onto the child's face. Elliot saw a hospital wristband on the boy's arm, the ink smeared by sweat. That meant he hadn't wandered in. Someone had brought him. "Who brought him here?" he asked. Nobody answered. Sophie appeared behind them, saw the child, and went visibly sick. "Not me," she said too fast. Elliot stared at her. "Then why do you look like that?" Her throat worked once, like she was trying to swallow something she could no longer hide. "Because he was never supposed to be on the list," she whispered. "What does that mean?" "He's my son."