Chapter 7 - The Desperate Flight
Aris pressed the trigger. The floor beneath them shuddered, and a massive magnetized field activated, pinning Rachel and Maya against the wall. The metal instruments in the room flew toward the ceiling, clattering like hail.
"The baby," Rachel gasped, struggling against the invisible force.
The infant was in the pod, which was being rapidly pulled toward a transport bay. The man in the tactical coat threw himself toward the pod, grabbing the handle just as the suction force intensified. He was slammed into the wall, but he didn't let go. He ripped the pod free from the bay and slid it across the floor to Rachel.
"Go!" he roared. "The pressure override! The key!"
Rachel saw the port on the floor. She slammed the lotus key into it.
System Overload. Facility venting in 60 seconds.
The magnetic field vanished. Rachel scrambled, grabbing the pod. The room began to shake violently as the facility’s cooling systems vented steam and high-pressure gases. She tucked the baby into her jacket, shielding her from the flying debris.
"Maya, the exit!"
They ran through the maintenance tunnel, the walls buckling around them. Aris was shouting orders behind them, but the structural integrity of the wing was failing. Massive steel beams crashed down, sealing the path behind them.
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They emerged into the storm-drenched wetlands above the facility. The rain was freezing, but it was the most beautiful thing Rachel had ever felt. Behind them, the ground gave a sickening thud, and the entire industrial park groaned as it collapsed into the sinkhole created by the failed sub-basement.
They didn't look back. They ran until their lungs burned, toward the distant, flickering lights of the city highway. They were out, they were alive, and in Rachel’s arms, for the first time, the baby made a sound—not a gasp, but a soft, hungry cry.
