House No. 13

Nano-surprise

"Anna, ask him to open the door," Kelly said, her tone tense as she glanced at the locked door of Eric's room.

"I am asking him, but he's not responding," Anna replied, her voice filled with worry.

At that moment, Dr. Sebastian and Timothy entered the living room, approaching Kelly, who was visibly anxious.

"What happened?" Dr. Sebastian asked, glancing around. Everything seemed normal.

"Eric isn't opening his door. He's locked himself in his room since you left for your walk," Kelly replied, her voice weary.

Dr. Sebastian noticed that Kelly's oval-shaped face was pale and her eyes were red. She looked truly exhausted and tense.

"Let him have some alone time," Timothy suggested.

"He's been locked inside for two hours. I can't let him stay locked in; you know about his worsening health condition," Kelly said, irritation in her voice.

"And Eric hasn't taken his medicine. It could worsen his breathing problem," Anna added.

"Eric, open the door," Dr. Sebastian called as he approached the door. He pressed his ear against it but heard nothing from inside.

Dr. Sebastian thought for a moment, then stepped aside from the door.

"Tim, I think we should break the lock," he said.

"Is that necessary?" Timothy asked.

"Yes, it is. Considering Eric's health, he shouldn't be left alone in there for too long," Dr. Sebastian replied.

Tim went and returned with a hammer and a screwdriver. After a few minutes of effort, he broke the lock and pushed the door open.

As the door swung open, Kelly rushed inside and found Eric on his bed. She hurried over to him.

"Eric, why weren't you opening the door?" Kelly asked, looking at him intently.

Eric's still body made Kelly realize he was unconscious, and then she noticed a line of blood trickling from his nose.

"Eric, what happened to you?" she cried out, her voice filled with panic.

Dr. Sebastian quickly moved Kelly aside and bent over Eric to check his pulse.

"His pulse is fading," Dr. Sebastian said urgently.

"We need to take him to the hospital."

Without hesitation, Timothy stepped forward, picked up the unconscious Eric, and ran out of the room. Kelly, Dr. Sebastian, and Anna followed closely behind. Just as they were about to exit the lounge, the door slammed shut with a loud noise.

"Open it!" Timothy shouted.

Dr. Sebastian stepped forward and tried to turn the door handle, but it wouldn't budge. It was jammed.

"The knob's not moving," Dr. Sebastian said.

"AURORA must have done this," Timothy said, laying Eric down on the floor.

"Dr. Sebastian, log into the mainframe of AURORA and insert a mole. That should disable the software instantly."

Dr. Sebastian logged into AURORA's software and inserted a virus using an online link. Immediately, AURORA shut down, and the house filled with loud beeps.

"AURORA is now dysfunctional. We need to get out before it reactivates," Timothy said. He picked up Eric again, whose body was starting to grow cold.

Dr. Sebastian rushed to the garage and opened the back door of his Range Rover, helping Timothy get Eric inside.