Chapter 10 - Into the Conduit
The air inside the maintenance shaft was thick with the smell of ozone, damp concrete, and rusted iron. Officer Ramirez took the lead, his tactical flashlight cutting a sharp tunnel through the absolute dark, illuminating condensation dripping from the massive overhead pipes. Arthur brought up the rear, his sidearm drawn and ready, his ears strained for any sound behind them.
David walked effortlessly in the middle, his glowing amber eyes casting a soft, ethereal light that made the narrow conduit look like a surreal sci-fi art installation. Elena stayed close beside him, her hand hovering near his shoulder as if she were afraid he might vanish into thin air like a ghost.
"How long have you known about the board's real intentions, Elena?" Arthur asked quietly from the back, his footsteps echoing softly against the metal flooring.
Elena didn't look back, her voice bouncing off the curved walls. "I knew they weren't interested in curing diseases the day they signed the procurement contract for the containment vaults. They didn't want a vaccine for the public. They wanted a controllable variable. Something that could be deployed, managed, and monetized."
"And you went along with it?" Arthur's voice hardened. "You put your own son into a stasis pod for twelve years to protect a corporate portfolio?"
"I put him in that pod because it was the only way to keep him out of their hands!" Elena stopped dead in her tracks, spinning around to face Arthur in the cramped tunnel. Her eyes flashed with fierce, maternal fury, the harsh white light of Ramirez's lamp catching the tears welling on her lashes. "You think I wanted this? You think I enjoyed watching my child turn into an experiment? The military wanted to weaponize his DNA on the battlefield within six months. Stasis was the only sanctuary I could buy them!"
Arthur held her gaze, the tension in the narrow space thick enough to choke on. Before he could reply, a low, ominous rumble vibrated through the metal pipes beneath their feet.
Ramirez held up a hand, signaling for silence. "Colonel... did you feel that?"
"Reactor cooling pump," Arthur said immediately, his face draining of color. "The timer didn't have seven minutes. The secondary sabotage triggered the core overload early."
A bright flash of blue-white light suddenly illuminated the far end of the tunnel ahead of them, followed by a rush of searing, superheated air that forced them all to duck against the curved walls.
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"Move!" David shouted, his voice ringing with absolute command. He grabbed Elena's arm and pulled her forward at a blinding speed, disappearing into the blinding white light ahead.
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