Chapter 40
CHARLIE
I don’t have seconds to think, or even milliseconds. I have to act.
The dirty oatmeal bowl in front of me is my only weapon. I chuck the bowl at Ian’s head and it connects, knocking him back and then shattering on the ground. He stumbles and goes down as well.
I don’t have time to check what damage it did to him; I have to run.
If I head for the front door, which I first have to unlock via the security panel, I will cross Ian. If he has any degree of consciousness, he could easily shoot me before I leave.
The tunnels! I race for the back wall and don’t dare look behind me. I make it to the massive door and heave it open. I think I can hear Ian moving, but I have to ignore it. Once I’m in the tunnel, I pull the door as hard as I can.
OK, that noise is definitely Ian moving. I have seconds before he can stop me from shutting the door.
The metal door is hefty, but I lean back with all my weight to get it to close. I’m not sure if it latched. I move the wheel lock to try to seal it, but it won’t budge.
Shit!
I lean and pull again. Thud. Something has landed against the other side of the door. Ian.
He pounds on it. That is what snaps the final centimeter closed. The door thunks into place and I push on the wheel.
The lock engages and I take a deep exhale. I’m safe.
An alarm starts to sound on the other side of the door, dampened by the thick metal barrier.
Ian is contained.
But so am I.
The tunnel is dark. I pull my phone out of the pockets of the sweatpants. My battery is low since I didn’t get to charge it last night and I have no bars for service. But the flashlight still works. I only need it to last until I get out of this tunnel.
If I get out of this tunnel.
What Declan called an elevator is actually a rudimentary dumbwaiter that has barely enough space for me to fit.
I worry it’s the original machine used when the tunnel was constructed a century and a half ago, but the rope holds my weight and lands softly on the earthen floor of the tunnel.
The acrid air is still. It’s like I’m disturbing the tomb of long-buried secrets below the city.
My bare feet are tentative on the cold muddy ground. The passageway is unfinished. I’m not sure when the last person was here.
I have no sense of direction, so I go the only way I can: forwards.
My breath steadies. Ian is locked in. Declan will see the alarm.
My heart stutters as his image floods my mind. He’ll blame himself for leaving me. He’ll be angry at me a little for letting Ian in. I’m such an idiot. My blind trust has put me in a dangerous situation twice now.
And Ian. Ian! Of all people. I will have to figure out how he bypassed us this whole time. How he fooled not just me, but Declan and Oliver as well.
I have to get out of these tunnels. I try not to focus on the sounds around me. It’s likely vermin that would dwell below ground. My bare feet and arms are hypersensitive; I’m ready to jump at the first trace of any bugs, snakes, or worse.
Fifty feet later, I come to a wider passage where the air is less stale. I look up and see a ladder. A way out!
I pocket my phone and climb. The temperature rises with each rung. I can taste the fresh air, even if I can’t see daylight yet.
When I hit the top of the ladder, I balance and reach for the wheel lock. It’s stiff.
I try it again, terrified it may only unlock from the outside.
There’s no give. I try again and again.
I may have escaped Ian for now, but a new terror starts to sink in – that I may never be able to escape this tunnel. That once my phone dies and there is no light, I’ll be plunged into darkness. And then what? How long can I survive down here?
Panic sets in and I pull with everything I have. But it isn’t enough.