THE WAR STARTS NOW
1320 Words
CHAPTER 16:
The alarms were screaming through the building.
Red lights were flashing over the walls.
Everything that used to be controlled was now falling apart.
This was what I wanted.
"Move!" I shouted.
Ethan did not wait, he grabbed my arm. We started running towards the door.
Behind us a man in black was shouting.
"Stop them!" he said.
We were already running.
We were running out into the corridor into the storm.
The hallway was totally different from before.
It was not silent, it was not controlled.
Doors were open, people were moving, shouting.
The systems were not working right.
I could hear the panic spreading.
This was good.
This meant that my plan was working.
"You triggered the system?" Ethan asked as we were running.
"Yes " I said, I was out of breath. I was focused.
"How did you do that?" he asked.
"I helped build it " I said.
Ethan looked at me briefly.
" Of course you did " he said.
We turned a corner and we were moving fast.
Footsteps were thundering behind us.
They were still coming for us.
"They will lock this place down " Ethan said.
"They already are " I said. "We just need to get rid of them."
We turned another corner into another corridor.
My legs were burning. I did not slow down.
I could not slow down, not now, not when we were this close.
"This way!" I said suddenly.
Ethan did not ask questions, he just followed me.
Because now I remembered.
Not everything. Enough.
Enough to navigate, enough to survive.
We reached a security door it was locked.
Of course it was locked.
I stepped forward and pressed my hand against the panel.
It scanned my hand, it paused then it said "ACCESS DENIED".
My heart skipped a beat.
"No " I said.
Ethan stepped closer.
"What is it?" he asked.
"They have already started to override my access, " I said.
Footsteps were echoing behind us again as they were getting closer.
"Can you bypass it?" Ethan asked.
I clenched my jaw.
"Yes I can " I said.
"How long will it take?" he asked.
"Too long " I said.
Ethan looked behind us back at me.
"Then we do not wait " he said.
Before I could ask what he meant he grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall.
He slammed it against the panel once three times.
Sparks flew the system flickered.
I stared at him.
"That works too " I said.
The door clicked and it was unlocked.
Ethan pushed it open.
"Go!" he said.
We slipped through just as the footsteps reached the corridor behind us.
The door slammed shut.
For a second there was silence.
Then there was a bang against the other side.
"They are right behind us " I whispered.
"Then we keep moving " Ethan said.
We ran again down another passage.
This one was darker and more industrial.
My memory clicked.
" Maintenance level " I said.
"Is that good?" Ethan asked.
"It is better than the corridors, " I said.
There were cameras, fewer people.
It was more dangerous. I liked that.
Because Blackwood liked to be in control.
Right now they did not have control.
We reached a junction where there were two paths.
I stopped, my mind was racing.
Think, think.
The left path led to storage; it was an end.
The right path was the exit route,it was hidden.
"This way " I said, turning right.
We ran again.
My lungs were burning, my heart was pounding.
I did not stop.
I would not stop, not until we were out.
There was a sound ahead, voices, armed people.
They were blocking our path.
I froze.
"They are ahead of us too " Ethan said quietly.
We were trapped.
The realization hit me instantly.
"They are herding us " I whispered.
Ethan's face darkened.
"Yes " he said.
My mind was racing. There had to be another way.
There had to be.
Then I remembered something, a door hidden.
It was an emergency shaft.
My breath caught.
"I remember something " I said quickly.
"Tell me " Ethan said.
"There is another route " I said.
"But it is tight " I said.
"How tight?" he asked.
I looked at him.
"Very tight " I said.
He did not hesitate.
"Show me " he said.
We turned back and we moved fast. Quiet.
We were listening, we were watching.
Every second mattered.
I found the door and it was barely visible.
My hand trembled as I pushed it open.
It creaked, loud in the silence.
We slipped inside and pulled it shut behind us.
Darkness swallowed us.
The space was narrow enough to move.
"What is this?" Ethan whispered.
"It is a service shaft " I said.
"It leads outside, " I said.
"Then lets go " Ethan said.
We moved, slowly and careful.
We were crawling more than walking.
My body ached,every movement hurt.
But freedom was close. I could feel it.
Almost there, almost.
Then there was a metallic sound behind us.
We froze.
"They found the door " Ethan whispered.
My heart dropped.
"How?" I asked.
"It does not matter " he said.
"Move " he said.
We did, now less careful.
More desperate.
The sound behind us grew louder.
They were following us of course they were.
"Faster, " Ethan urged.
"I am trying " I said.
The shaft sloped downward then there was light.
Faint, at the end.
Hope surged.
"We are close " I said.
We pushed closer.
Then a hand grabbed my ankle.
I screamed.
"No!" I said.
I kicked hard,desperate, panicked.
Ethan turned instantly and grabbed my arm.
He pulled.
The grip tightened, strong, unyielding.
"Let her go!" Ethan shouted.
The hand did not release.
Another figure appeared behind.
Then another.
"They have got you, " Ethan said.
"No!" I cried.
I was not going back, not again, not ever.
" Hold on!" Ethan said.
He pulled harder.
I kicked again again again.
The grip slipped, slightly.
Enough.
Ethan yanked me forward with everything he had.
Suddenly I was free.
We tumbled forward out of the shaft into the air.
I gasped, fresh air hit my lungs.
Cold, real free.
"We made it " I whispered.
Ethan helped me up quickly.
"Not yet " he said.
I froze.
Because standing a few feet away blocking our path was Kieran.
My heart dropped.
"No " I said.
He looked calm, unshaken.
Like he had been waiting.
"I told you, " he said quietly.
"You always come back to me."
Rage flared instantly.
"I did not come back " I snapped.
"I escaped " I said.
His gaze flickered briefly then steadied.
"You think this is an escape?" he asked.
"Yes " I said.
He stepped closer, slow and dangerous.
"No " he said.
"This is the beginning."
My chest tightened.
"Of what?" I asked.
His eyes locked onto mine, dark, intense unrelenting.
"Of war " he said.
Silence fell between us
I straightened, I ignored the pain, the fear, everything.
"Then you should know something, " I said.
His brow lifted slightly.
"What?" he asked.
I met his gaze unflinching.
"I am not the woman you tried to control " I said.
Something shifted in his expression, interest, danger.
"Good " he said.
My heart pounded.
Because that was not the reaction I expected.
"Why?" I asked.
His lips curved slightly.
"Because I do not want the you anymore " he said.
"I want the one who fights back " he said.
A chill ran down my spine.
"I want the one who fights back " he said.
Everything went still. At that moment I realized something terrifying.
This was not over, not even close.
Because Kieran was not trying to stop me he was challenging me.
Somehow that made him even more dangerous.
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