Ral grabbed Maya from her bed while Louis secured their emergency bag—protocol they had drilled during their brief Montana stay. Maya was crying, confused by alarms and her parents' urgent movements, clutching Carrot with white-knuckled terror.
"Basement!" Nadia's voice shouted through their cabin's communication system. "All families to reinforced basement shelters immediately. This is not drill."
They joined panicked exodus of other families streaming toward main building's underground facilities. Children crying, parents carrying infants, elderly residents moving as quickly as aged bodies allowed. Yuki appeared beside them with her teenage daughter, both carrying go-bags that suggested they had practiced this evacuation repeatedly.
"How often does this happen?" Louis demanded while n
