Embers & Ice

Chapter Forty-Eight

Hunter was cut off when an ear-piercing alarm blared throughout the institution.

Over the alarm, there came a voice.

“WARNING. ALL SYSTEMS DISARMED. PLEASE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY. WARNING. ALL SYSTEMS DISARMED. PLEASE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY.”

The monotone woman’s voice repeated her message, just as she’d done when Jack had tried to escape. Hunter wondered for a moment if it was a sign that she should try to run down to the Death Caves and rescue her friend. But was it worth the risk?

“Are we going to explode?!” shouted Zac over the noise. “What do we do?”

“Follow me.”

Mosi charged past her. Hunter quickly did a head count, thanking God they were all conscious and alive. Imogen must have woken up during the fight. She was breathing without the gas mask, which meant the mist had vanished. Mosi led them past the surgery rooms and back to the elevator.

“We’re going upstairs?” called Chantal. “What if there’s more guards?”

“Then we have to fight them, don’t we?” snapped Marcus.

As Mosi slammed his hand against the elevator door, a chill went up Hunter’s spine the moment the alarm stopped and silence fell. There came a crackle of static over the intercom, and then another voice spoke up.

“Children.”

They all froze, even though the elevator door had opened.

“I know what you’re planning to do,” said Dr. Wolfe. “Your efforts are wasted: I have every exit secured, and more guards waiting on level 1.”

“He’s bluffing,” said Zac.

“Shh!”

“Save yourselves the punishment and stop this fight. You dare not even dream what I have in store for you if you continue to resist restraint.”

Imogen whimpered and clung to Chantal’s arm. Hunter looked around at the group, their fears accelerating with each word the doctor spoke. It’s what he wants. To put fear in their minds. It’s working.

“Let’s go, get in the elevator!” Hunter shouted.

They were hesitant.

“We’ve made it this far, now come on!”

Mosi moved first and the others hurriedly followed. Will stood close to Hunter in the small box as it shot up, and Hunter’s blood pumped in her ears.

After the door was sealed shut for only a second, the elevator went pitch black and came to a grinding halt. Several of them screamed. Hunter pushed the fire to the edge of her skin, letting her veins glow bright like the sun and give them some light. Their faces were pale and terrified. She removed her mask and breathed in the clean, confined air. The rest of them followed.

“Marcus, can you power it up again?”

Sweat dripped from his brow as he nodded and pressed his palm against the power box. The elevator rocked back and forth.

“He’s doing everything he can to stop us,” said Hunter. She looked at each of their faces and realized that she had become their leader. She had to be braver than all of them. And at that point, as the fire surged through her skin and emerged from the dark pit it had been hiding in all those months, she felt truly brave. Brave enough to lead them to freedom. “You’ve all lived so long in this place that the idea of escaping seems impossible. But we’re already halfway there. He knows that we have our powers, and that scares him. He can’t stop us. The most he can do is throw obstacles in our way. We have to keep going, or our fears will weigh us down.”