My stomach drops.
Steel blast doors begin slamming shut somewhere below us.
One after another.
Massive hydraulic barriers locking down access to the reactor level.
Wu’s trying to trap us topside while the core explodes.
Russ immediately turns toward the teenagers.
“GO!”
The girl grabs the younger boy’s hand instantly.
And suddenly they’re moving.
Running back through the corridor toward the trapped children below.
Toward freedom.
Toward something better.
Hannah watches them disappear with tears burning in her eyes.
Then she wipes them away hard.
No time.
Not yet.
Because far below us—
Director Wu is still alive.
And I’m done letting monsters breathe.
70
Hannah
The lower blast doors are already sealing by the time we reach the reactor corridor.
Massive steel barriers slam downward one after another beneath screaming red emergency lights.
The bunker is dying around us now.
Steam hisses from ruptured pipes overhead.
Concrete trembles beneath every step.
Somewhere far above us, children are fighting their way toward freedom through collapsing tunnels.
Please let them make it out.
Please.
Russ reaches the final security barrier first.
