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The boots thumped louder from below. I looked down to locate them and realized my mistake too late.
Never look down.
The blood drained from my face and I let out a held breath.
I thought of Bianca locked away in her pod somewhere on the upper decks, and it gave me the strength I needed to keep going.
I reached the top and lay there, gently panting, staring up at the ceiling and the towering columns of luggage on either side.
I heard the heavy boots below but resisted the urge to peer over the side.
It didn’t matter where they were, I told myself. The only thing that mattered was they weren’t where I was.
Lucky bastards.
I listened until the boots began to head away, back the way I came.
I had to move.
I checked over the side in case one or more of them had opted to stay behind. They hadn’t, so far as I could tell. Not on this row, anyway.
I threw my legs over the side and climbed down. Then I stepped into the next room and continued through the luggage jungle, slow at first, and then picking up speed as I got further and further from security.
I ran into the opposite end before I saw it. My shoulder complained when it barked against the hard wall. I peered along it and spotted what I was looking for about thirty feet above me on the far end.
Harsh light illuminated a set of steps floating in darkness.
The way out.
I took them one at a time, fearful my shoes might give away my position. I reached the top and peered over the edge along the walkway.
I couldn’t make out any security officers but that wasn’t saying much considering how dark the shadows were at the opposite end.
I couldn’t wait forever.
I had to take the chance.
I scaled the last of the steps and breathed a sigh of relief when no one yelled that they’d found me.
Then a radio hissed.
I slipped into the shadows and pressed my back to the wall. I watched as a security officer stepped from the doorway and drew up to an inferior officer.
“Radio silence!” he hissed. “Do you know what that means, private?”
“Y-Yes, sir!” the young officer said.
The older officer glared at him before turning, still fuming, and marched toward me.
I shut my eyes, held my breath, and turned my head to one side, like a child attempting to hide from a parent during a game of peek-a-boo.
The inferior officer followed his superior, fading in and out of existence as he marched through one pool of light after another.
I wasted no time.
I hustled toward the doorway they’d come from and stepped through it.
I had no idea which way I was going, but away from here seemed the best option.
