Chapter 24:
09:59…
The digital countdown echoed through the underground bunker.
Dust drifted from the ceiling.
The walls groaned.
The self-destruct sequence had begun.
Emily’s pulse raced.
“We’re not going to make it…”
Zach grabbed both of her shoulders.
“Look at me.”
She met his eyes.
“We’re getting out of here.”
“Together.”
For the first time since they met…
Emily believed him without a doubt.
She nodded.
“Together.”
⸻
Somewhere else in the bunker…
Father Thomas, Sarah, Lily, and Ethan hurried through a narrow service tunnel.
Lily looked up at Ethan.
“Do you think they’re okay?”
He forced a smile.
“They’re tougher than they look.”
Father Thomas quietly whispered a prayer.
⸻
Meanwhile…
The silver-masked man calmly walked toward a reinforced steel door marked:
P
