She could hear muffled voices through the walls and wondered if they had discovered her absence. What if they figured out this was her escape route? What if they were waiting at every chute to catch her when she emerged?
Lake forced herself to stop thinking the worst because it would do her no good; it was just make her panic and lose control of her descent. Her strength was waning, the heat in the narrow shaft making her sweat, and consequently her palms were slick with moisture. However, she knew it wasn't just sweat that was making her shirt cling to her saturated back; it was blood, and she was losing a lot of it. It was a miracle she hadn't slipped into shock.
After two floors, Lake risked emerging from the chute to see where she was.
Peering past the flap after listening for any s
