Chapter 10 - Into the Drains
The heavy iron grate of the ventilation shaft gave way under Julian’s sustained shoulder strike, clattering loudly against the concrete floor of the drainage tunnel below. Cool, damp air rushed up to greet them, carrying the distant scent of the city’s underground stormwater system. Julian lowered Leo carefully into the shallow, flowing water of the drainage trench before sliding down himself, the newborn clutched securely against his chest beneath his ruined dark grey suit jacket.
"Keep your boots up on the ledge, Leo, and stay right behind me," Julian instructed, his voice echoing off the curved concrete walls of the tunnel as they waded through the ankle-deep water.
Behind them, the muffled sound of explosions echoed from the subterranean laboratory, signaling the automated purge sequence incinerating the Vanguard facility. The shockwave rattled the concrete pipes overhead, sending a shower of loose dirt and rust flakes down onto their heads. Julian pushed forward through the gloom, his muscles burning with fatigue, knowing that resting even for a minute meant death.
As they rounded a wide bend in the drainage pipe, a pair of powerful searchlights suddenly cut through the darkness ahead, sweeping across the murky water and blinding them momentarily.
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"Freeze! Stay right where you are!" a harsh voice commanded through a megaphone from the far end of the tunnel.
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