Too pale.
Too quiet.
The overlap episodes and gas exposure are hitting hard now.
The little girl in her arms refuses to let go of her hoodie.
Honestly?
Same.
Gabriel reaches the flood controls first.
Old Soviet-era wheel locks line the concrete wall beside massive steel river gates.
He grabs one immediately.
“It opens manually!”
Mason joins him.
Together they strain against the rusted mechanism.
The wheel groans violently.
Nothing happens.
The countdown voice echoes again.
Fifteen seconds.
Wonderful.
Just wonderful.
Water begins roaring somewhere deep behind us.
Not trickling.
Rushing.
Like an underground dam collapsing.
Hannah hears it first.
Her eyes widen.
“Clay…”
Then the tunnel shakes.
A wall of black floodwater explodes through the darkness behind us.
Children scream.
Lucas shouts:
“MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!”
