The escape tunnel beneath the facility was darker than Sophie had expected.
Her small hand gripped the emergency flashlight as she led her family through concrete corridors that smelled of damp earth and decades of secrets. Behind her, Leon wheezed with each step, supported by Marcus on one side and Elena on the other.
"How much further?" Aria whispered, her voice echoing off the walls.
"Two hundred meters to the first checkpoint," Sophie replied, checking her tablet's GPS coordinates. "Then we surface near the old industrial district."
Dr. Kim brought up the rear, constantly checking over her shoulder for signs of pursuit.
"They'll discover we're missing within an hour," she said. "Maybe less."
"That's why we're not stopping." Sophie's eight-year-old voice carried an authority that
