Chapter 6 - DARKNESS AND CONFESSIONSInside the subterranean panic room, the air was cool and smelled of filtered steel and old dust. A single emergency overhead bulb flickered to life, casting a dim, jaundiced glow over the cramped space, which was lined with emergency rations, medical supplies, and racks of tactical gear.
Clara collapsed against a steel crate, coughing violently, her chest heaving as she clutched her left side.
"Elena... I'm sorry," she sobbed, curling into a tight ball on the cold floor. "I didn't know. The man... he said his name was Miller. He gave me an envelope with five thousand dollars cash just as a down payment. He said if I dropped the package behind the Valente gates, the rest of the money for my surgery would be wired to my account. We were so desperate... I'm so sorry."
I knelt beside her, wrapping my arms around her frail shoulders, ignoring the dull ache in my own bruised face from where Adrian had struck me days earlier.
"It's okay, Clara. Just breathe," I whispered, though my own heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped animal. "We’re going to get through this."
Suddenly, a muffled explosion shook the ground above us.
Boom!
Dust rained down from the ceiling tiles. The emergency lights flickered violently and died, plunging us into pitch blackness before the backup generator kicked in with a low, agonizing hum.
Through the thick acoustic insulation of the panic room door, the sounds of war filtered down: the sharp, rhythmic clack-clack of assault rifles, the shattering of expensive imported glass, and shouting voices echoing through the underground corridors.
"They’re in the east wing," I whispered, pressing my ear against the cold steel of the door.
"Elena..." Clara gasped, her breathing turning shallow and ragged. She reached out blindly in the dark, her cold fingers gripping my wrist with terrifying weakness. "My chest... it hurts so bad. The medicine... in my bag... back at the apartment..."
"Shh, save your strength," I pleaded, panic seizing my throat. If Clara went into cardiac arrest down here, cut off from oxygen and medical care, she wouldn't survive the night.
Suddenly, the keypad beside the heavy steel door beeped green.
May you like
The locking mechanism hissed, releasing the seal.
I froze, my hand flying to a heavy steel wrench resting on a nearby shelf, ready to swing at whatever horror was about to step through that door.
