Chapter 21 - The Forest Extraction|
The emergency tunnel was dark, lit only by the faint, emergency LED strips running along the baseboards. I jogged as fast as my wounded shoulder would allow, leaving a trail of blood drops on the concrete floor. The silence underground was profound, a sharp contrast to the gunfire and roaring flames I had left behind in the estate.
"Clara?" I called out, my voice echoing hollowly off the curved walls.
"Sebastian! We're here!" Clara’s voice called back, filled with relief.
I rounded a bend and found them waiting at the heavy steel blast door that marked the exit to the forest. Emma was sitting on the ground, wrapped tightly in her blanket, while Clara struggled with the manual override wheel.
"I couldn't get it to turn," Clara gasped, stepping back as I approached. She noticed my blood-soaked sleeve and gasped. "You're hurt."
"It’s just a graze," I lied, gripping the heavy iron wheel with my good arm. I gritted my teeth, ignoring the searing pain in my shoulder, and threw my weight into it. The wheel groaned, rusted from years of disuse, before finally giving way with a loud clank.
I pushed the door open, and the crisp, cold night air flooded the tunnel. The scent of pine was a welcome relief after the smoke and gunpowder.
We stepped out into the dense woods. The extraction point was a small, disguised concrete bunker a hundred yards away, where an emergency vehicle was kept fueled and ready.
"Stay low," I whispered, taking the lead.
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As we moved through the trees, the wail of police sirens grew louder from the direction of the estate. The red and blue lights painted the low-hanging clouds in eerie colors.
Suddenly, a twig snapped to our left. I shoved Clara and Emma behind a massive oak tree and raised my pistol, aiming into the impenetrable darkness of the forest.
