Chapter 10 - Shadows in the Water
The icy water burned against Arthur’s skin as he waded deeper into the labyrinth of brick-lined drainage tunnels, his hands trailing along the slimy walls to keep his balance in the pitch blackness. Fifty yards ahead, a faint, pale circle of moonlight filtered through a rusted iron grating—the south perimeter exit leading directly into the dense woods beyond the estate.
"Mr. Russo! I can't reach the grate, it's bolted from the outside!" Clara’s voice cracked with absolute desperation, echoing sharply down the narrow corridor.
Arthur pushed harder through the current, his boots finally hitting solid, dry concrete beneath the moonlight grate. He splashed forward, grabbing Clara by the arm and pulling her and little Lily out of the rushing water and onto a dry maintenance platform beside the outlet pipe. Lily was shivering violently, her lips still tinged with blue, but her breathing was holding steady, thanks to the residual warmth of the blanket and Clara’s desperate care.
"Give me your belt, Clara," Arthur commanded, his chest heaving as he reached up and gripped the heavy iron bars of the perimeter grating.
Clara unbuckled her leather belt in a blur of motion and handed it to him without a word. Arthur looped the heavy leather strap through the rusted crossbars of the grating, wrapping the ends around his knuckles to gain leverage. He braced his boots against the slick concrete wall and pulled with every ounce of raw, desperate strength left in his bruised body.
The rusted iron shrieked in protest, the old masonry around the frame crumbling away in a shower of dry red dust. Behind them in the dark tunnel, the echoing splash of heavy tactical boots grew rapidly louder. A harsh beam of a high-powered flashlight cut through the darkness fifty yards back, illuminating the churning water where they had just been wading.
"There! By the outlet grate! Move, move!" a sharp voice barked through the tunnel.
Arthur threw his entire weight backward with one final, roaring heave. The old iron grate gave way with a deafening snap, tearing completely out of the brickwork and tumbling into the brush outside.
"Out! Go, now!" Arthur yelled, shoving Clara and Lily headfirst through the gaping hole into the cool night air of the forest.
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Just as Arthur hauled himself out into the brush behind them, a suppressed firearm barked loudly from inside the tunnel, a bullet chewing a deep chunk of wood out of the frame right beside his ear.
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