章節 8: Chapter 8: Breached
No man can reveal to you nothing but that which already lies half-asleep in the dawning of your knowledge. - Kahlil Gibran
Vlad steps out of his quarters. He coaxes me forward into the hall. Clear water illuminates above our heads.
My chest tightens, making it hard to suck in air. The smooth walls are a meld of different hues of browns, reds, and oranges. They're solid, unmoving, but I can't shake the sensation they're closing in on me.
Following him, I come to a stone spiral staircase.
The higher I climb, the closer it takes me to the shimmering blue pools.
Extending a hand, I touch the image overhead. My hand breaks the surface.
Oh, God, it's real. How the hell is the water staying put?
"How do we get out of here? I really have to go home. I can't stay here. I don't even know where here is." My eyes dart between the breached barrier and my wet fingers. Holy crap. Where the hell am I? And how do I get home?
"I cannot let you leave, at least, not right now. It is not safe." He takes hold of my arms. 'And we have a meeting to attend with the council.'
"Let go." I twist in his arms.
'Be reasonable.'
"You have some nerve telling me that. Who the hell do you think you are? Someone shot at me, and you almost drown me. There's some strange connection between us I don't understand, and I'm not even going to talk about the attraction. My cat is - well, I don't even know where Morph is - or if he's okay. You're holding me captive. And now you're telling me to be reasonable, really?"
'Why does the water frighten you?'
The stone stairs quake, knocking me off balance.
He tightens his hold, and I cling to him.
A loud siren clamors, piercing my eardrums, and the dim lighting in the hallway strobes. I cover my ears because the noise is deafening.
His lips move, but I can't tell what he's saying. He motions for me to continue walking. I hesitate a few seconds then run up the stairs behind him.
At the top, the opening leads into a long chamber with a sloping roof.
He stops in front of a screen embedded in the stone wall and runs a hand over the surface.
The monitor comes to life, and the screen lights up with symbols and characters I don't recognize. Within seconds, the noise stops.
"What are you doing?"
'Accessing the internal systems, they have breached us.'
"What? Breached by whom?"
'The men from the dock, they are here.' He presses a button, and a small square chamber opens. With nimble fingers, he extracts a circular object and slides it over his hand and wrist.
"What do you mean they're here? Where?" I point at the copper-colored object around his wrist. "And what the hell is that?"
'It is a weapon. Come.' He grabs my hand and leads me down a series of hallways.
A loud explosion rips through the air. Debris scatters around us.
Men in full combat ready gear come through the newly formed opening in the wall.
Vlad steps in front of me. "Remain behind me."
The man from the dock steps into the hallway. He's less than ten-feet from us.
"Hello Sarah. I see you've made a friend. Take 'em, boys."
"What? No." My breath catches in the back of my throat. "W-wait." I back up.
"Run." Vlad raises his arm, and a stream of light emerges from the object on his hand.
My soles slap the buffed stone floor, and after a few strides, I'm running.
A loud commotion echoes behind me, and the telltale bustle of approaching footsteps pounds in my ears. Rounding the corner, I enter the darkness.
My bicep prickles then feels a tinge of numbness. "What the hell?" A sharp pain spreads over my shoulder, radiating to my elbow.
Reaching around, I yank an object off the back of my upper arm. It is small and silver with a pointy end. "What the hell is this? Is it a dart?"
"Shit." He curses under his breath 'Where was it? Where did it hit you?'
"My arm. Who the hell shoots someone with a dart?"
"Vlad. Sarah. There's nowhere left for the two of you to run and hide. We have the area sealed off."
"That's the man from the dock." My legs work overtime to keep up with his longer strides. "How does he know your name?"
'I have had scrimmages with him in the past. But he has never breached the compound before.'
"Don't you want to see Morph?"
'Do not stop running. That is what he wants.'
Vlad leads me down a dimly lit hallway. It has soft blue lighting that runs down the middle of the floor.
Taking a sharp right. Bright light floods the room, and I slam face first into a wall.
"The light, I can't see anything."
'Here, put them on.' He hands me the sunglasses.
I slip them on. "How is there so much light?" My hand skims over a thick section of glass. "I don't see any sources of light." The surface is cool to the touch. Particles of luminescent bands flicker. "The water, how is it glowing on the other side of these windows?"
I had read about oceanic life that glows like some jellyfish, but I'd never seen it first-hand.
"You may ask questions later. But now you must run."
At the end of the circular glass-encased hallway, I step into another corridor lined with solid rock.
Every ten feet, glowing bars pop out of the wall. They're evenly spaced, like ladders. The men giving chase aren't far behind.
Vlad stops and motions for me to scale the makeshift ladder.
"Where're we going?"
"To the surface, now climb."
"Earlier, you said we were at a deep depth, so how far do we need to climb?" I just don't see how going up ten feet or so will take us to the surface if in fact, we're "far under water" like he said.
Halfway up, my foot slips off one of the smooth bars.
The momentum slams by body against the hard stone wall, knocking the air from my lungs.
My face collides with the metal bar, knocking the sunglasses off. A wave of pain shoots across my cheekbone and my ear rings.
Holding on with one hand, I dangle a little over ten feet off the ground.
"I can't see." My eyes sting, making me squint.
"Hold on." Grasping the front of my shirt, he draws me close to his body.
"The lights, they hurt my eyes."
"Grab the bar in front of you at ten o'clock."
My hand glides over the cool, flat surface. The tips of my fingers wrap around the handle. Steadying myself, I gulp before starting to climb.
Opening my eyes causes intense pain to shoot through my head. So, blindly, I feel for the next handhold.
"Reach for the next one." He guides me up the side of the wall.
It's darker at the top, which is a welcome relief.
"This will not take long." He runs his hand over a flat marking with an inverted V shape.
A circular door on the ceiling slides open.
"Climb through."
Gripping the edge of the opening, I pull myself up halfway through the hole, then hook my right knee over the lip of the opening. My body teeters on the edge.
He grabs hold of my other leg, pushing me through the rest of the way. Shifting my body, I turn and stare down the opening. A shadow snakes up the wall.
'Vlad.' His name booms in my head. 'Look out!'
"Not so fast," a man yells. He grabs hold of Vlad's pant leg, dragging him out of the portal opening. "Where do you think you're going?"
Vlad grapples with the man on the ladder. 'Run Sarah. And do not stop.' He loses his grip and slips. Falling a couple of feet, he grabs hold of a protruding handle from the wall.
'No.' I gasp.
The man glimpses up through the opening and smiles. "There you are, little mouse." He wraps an arm around Vlad's neck.
"Let go of him," I demand.
"I don't think so. But you can come down here and join your boyfriend." The man blows a kiss.
"He's not my boyfriend, you ass. And look at me when I'm talking to you," I command. The man tips his head back. "Shut up and release him, now."
The man lets go of Vlad and holds my gaze with a vacant stare.
'What are you doing?' Vlad's words swirl in my head, giving me the sensation of spinning on a carnival ride.
"Why don't you take a flying leap off your perch, you jackass."
The man pushes his body away from the wall and releases the bar and falls to the ground below. One arm is under him. The other is bent at an odd angle. His right leg appears twisted like a pipe cleaner. Silence fills the surrounding air, he doesn't utter a single sound.
Footsteps approach, and a familiar face comes into view.
"I know where you're going, and I will find you." The man from the dock peers at me from below. "And kids, knocking my man down wasn't a smart move. You should learn to play nicely in a group setting."
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