Sapphire Angel - Superheroine

Chapter 35 - Time Running Out

She would have preferred to start at the bottom and work her way up, but she imagined the large metal doors would make too much noise. The windows were also out of the question. She probably would need to break one to get in, and that would alert Dominick and his men of her presence.

That left the stairway door. She didn't like entering the middle floor of the building and having to choose between going up or down to find Ethan. If she chose wrong, she would need to backtrack and waste time. She saw no other options, though. The stairway door it was.

Darkness had settled in, and clouds obscured the stars. It was time to move. Sapphire Angel rose, scanned the open ground between her and the building, and set off in a run.

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From a room next to the cylinder room, Demarco Dominick looked down at a monitor, watching Ethan Moore kicking and pounding at the glass of the cylinder. Dominick had to hand it to the kid. Most of them gave up after a minute or two, realizing it was fruitless. This one was a fighter.

Next to Dominick, his lead scientist pecked away at a keyboard. Moments later, a familiar buzzing noise filled the air, like the sound of a massive clock alarm. The sound originated from the cylinder, but sounded like it came from a few feet away. Dominick watched as the prisoner cringed and threw his hands over his ears.

A moment later, the buzzing stopped and was replaced by a deep rumble, like a bulldozer rolling through the building. Anyone unfamiliar with the project might have mistaken it for an earthquake. Even here, thirty feet from the cylinder, the floor shook.

Dominick watched Ethan Moore intently, seeing the same behavior shown by the previous prisoners. The boy's panic had grown to near hysteria, and a twinge of discomfort touched his face.

"Sir, we have company," Dominick's security chief announced, urgency in his voice. Dominick turned to look at a security monitor. It depicted several views of the exterior of the structure, one of which showed a beautiful woman approaching. Sapphire Angel. She sprinted toward the building.

"Damnit," Dominick muttered.

"Should we abort the process?" Dominick's scientist asked.

Dominick shook his head. "Not yet. There's still time."

He turned his gaze back to the view of the cylinder and watched as Ethan Moore dropped to his knees, his face twisted in pain.

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Sapphire Angel approached the building with the speed of an Olympic sprinter. She darted under the stairs and paused, listening to see if anyone might have detected her arrival. A deep rumbling reached her ears, and she felt slight tremors underneath her feet. Her heart leapt into her throat as she remembered the first time she had heard the sound, three nights ago. The sound had also visited her in her dreams since then.

One thought dominated her mind. Ethan. She rushed to the foot of the stairs and leapt to the landing. The metal of the platform clattered under her feet, but it was too late for stealth.

The handles to double doors were wrapped in a large length of chain, secured at the ends with a thick padlock. Sapphire Angel wrinkled her nose in puzzlement. They had locked themselves in?

She put an ear to the door, but only for a moment. Hearing nothing but the rumble, she slid Stanley's thin lock pick device from her boot and held it to the padlock. She had it unlocked in a matter of seconds. After returning the device to her boot, she unfastened the chain, opened the door, and looked down a dimly lit hall. She could hardly believe this place was being used by Dominick. Large holes pockmarked the ceiling and walls, and chunks of plaster created a minefield on the floor. Lights flickered from the ceiling, giving the place a haunted feeling.