ESCAPE

Chapter Eight

Movement shifts from a tunnel on our left as I turn and see the man lunge at us. I scream and push us away, almost falling over Bella as the axe cuts through the air beside me. The rush of hot air blows on my face as I stumble away. As the man steadies himself, eyes wild and glaring, Will leaps towards him. He presses his desert boot onto the man's chest and shoves him back, throwing him to the ground. We break into a run and Will turns us back into one of the narrow tunnels. Bella is wailing and huffing in front of me. I feel too numb to cry; too lost in everything.

I had managed to get a look at the man just then. Grizzled face, short hair and mostly balding; maybe in his fifties. He's wearing dusty overalls and heavy black boots. That's the mental image that sticks in my mind. I keep a hand on Bella's shoulder as we run, to let her know I'm still with them and for my own comfort.

Will turns two corners as we go. I have no idea how he knows where to go, but imagine he's just running blind like we all are. I keep waiting for the axe man to jump out at us. Every flash of our phones feels like the moment he'll come into view, eyes bulging and axe swinging.

We finally come out into a corridor like the one before; painted walls and lights on the ceiling. Or maybe it's a different part of the same corridor. We reach an intersection that splits to our right and continues ahead.

"I think we lost him," Will says, breathing heavily. It's the first time I realise how imposing and powerful he is, now we're in danger.

A spark of hope hits me when I see a red 'exit' sign on the wall, pointing straight ahead. Down at the end of the corridor is a door with the same 'exit' sign on it. My shoulders sag with a flood of relief. Bella and I almost laugh with hysteria when we look at each other.

I glance down the corridor on our right and freeze when I see the man with the axe. He's standing at the far end, axe in hand, legs wide, shoulders heaving with heavy breaths. A wild, deranged look is in his eyes. My body seizes up and stops working. Then the man charges towards us.

"Go, go," Will says, pushing us towards the exit door. He reaches down, and it's then I see the fire extinguisher on the wall. He pulls it off the wall and fumbles with it as he points his chin behind us. "Go!"

I take a hesitant step back, reluctant to leave him. Bella pulls my arm back. The man is a few bounding steps away as the extinguisher bursts out a powerful stream of smoke and powder. The blast of foam hits the man and sends him stumbling back. He hits the wall and rolls before he drops to the ground, for an instant becoming lost within the cloud of smoke.

"Go!" Will shouts. "I'll catch up to you."

Bella yanks my arm again and this time I let her. I take one last look at the man, rising to his feet against the heavy foam blasts, as I turn and head to the exit. I lose sight of Will as he takes a step towards the man, heading into the other corridor. Smoke and powder explode outwards in his wake, filling the air with a thick haze.

Bella pulls the door handle and shoulders her way through. We burst into a very dark area and suddenly stop. The door closes behind us with a click, taking away the last of the light. We're back in complete darkness. I had caught sight of tables in front of us before the door closed, and don't think the room is that big, but I can't be sure of anything.

Despite our urgency, neither of us seem to want to keep running in the dark. I hear the door handle turning and suddenly think it's the axe man coming for us, before I realise it's Bella trying the door.

"It's locked," she whispers, sounding miles away. Her heavy breathing is shallow and fast.

"Look for a lightswitch," I say, pressing my hands over the wall by the door.