Darkness swallowed us.
For one terrifying second…
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Then Lucien’s hand found mine.
“I’m here.”
His voice was steady.
That simple reassurance cut through the panic threatening to consume me.
Damien switched on the flashlight on his phone.
A weak beam pierced the darkness.
It wasn’t much.
But it was enough.
“Keep moving,” Lucien ordered.
“They know we’re in the tunnel now.”
Another explosion thundered behind us.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
The ground trembled beneath our feet.
“They’re collapsing the entrance,” Thomas said.
“If we’re trapped in here—”
“We won’t be.”
Lucien’s voice left no room for doubt.
⸻
The tunnel split into two passages.
Damien stopped.
“I don’t remember this.”
Lucien frowned.
“There wasn’t a second passage before.
