The cold air inside the greenhouse bit at Sonia’s fingers as she pulled open the rusted grate beneath the fern-covered cistern. Moss clung to the edges like a warning. The tunnel below yawned wide, musty and forgotten. This was the place the school had abandoned but now, it was their path to resurrection.
Eric crouched beside her, flashlight between his teeth, his injured arm clutched close to his chest. He didn’t complain. Not once. Sonia could see it in his clenched jaw the pain, the effort it took to stay quiet. But still, he moved.
Behind them, Isla adjusted the fuse wires on the chemical setup they’d pieced together from the science lab’s storage. A small mix of potassium permanganate and glycerin would trigger just enough smoke to cause alarm. Not an explosion. Just confusion.
“Tw
