CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
AYA
Lake wasn't thrilled about leaving Rayne alone. I knew she was worried about her, as was I, but we had to worry about the virus being released. We had gone back to the hotel to try to get in touch with Serina, but she wasn't picking up, nor was Hunt. I started to fear that she may have been taken by the Wyres, or worse.
We needed to get to the outer ring, but without Serina or an authorized employee, it would be impossible. The entire Sanctum was on lockdown – that meant the inner-ring had blocked access to the outer-ring.
"I have an idea," Ace said as we all met back up in the hallway of our suites.
Ace wasn't a big talker, so for him to mention that he had an idea, gave me some hope.
"If the Wyres are going to release the virus from the outer-ring to the rest of the planet, there must be a hole or something. Either that, or the Wyres don't realize that they won't be able to access the outering.
"I saw it—" I said. "In my vision. One of the twins mentioned that the tower was ready. There must be some sort of secret access point. Ace, you're a genius."
Ace blushed slightly. "I think I know where the access point is," he said. "I'll take you to it."
We all followed Ace, for what seemed like several miles, when in reality, it was probably only half a mile or so, but we were all so exhausted that it seemed much further than it actually was.
"Wait, are we going to the tunnels?" Brennan asked.
Ace nodded, "Pretty much."
The entrance to the tunnel system was dark and damp. I had seen it a lot in my visions, but actually experiencing it in person was not a pleasant experience. It smelled like someone had poured a batch of raw garbage throughout. As gross as it was, it was our only option.
"Anyone have a flashlight?" Ace asked.
There was a flicking sound and a glimpse of light appeared. "Will this do?" Trevor asked holding up his lighter.
Ace nodded. "It's good enough," he said taking the lighter from Trevor.
The lighter did a lot more than I was expecting it to. It lit the crevices in the tunnel walls, illuminating the ugly structures that formed the tunnel.
"How much further?" Lake whined.
"It should just be up here," Ace said as we turned a corner. "I came down here once, but I have never been this far."
Issa screamed and it forced me to jump, and I fell backward into one of the tunnel walls. I regained my balance and tried to see what was happening to Issa. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing," she said with a sigh. "I felt something crawling up my ankle."
"Here it is!" Ace shouted.
I craned my head and tried to get a glimpse of what was in the distance of the tunnel. From the corner of my eye, I could see a slight opening in the concrete wall. It seemed like a serious oversight on the part of the Sanctum.
"Will we all be able to fit?" I asked.
Ace was already halfway through the wall. "It's bigger than it looks."
I went third, right after Brennan. Luckily, I was able to fit through, something that I had been worried about before. I could hear Ace and Issa arguing.
"How come you didn't stop and check on me, when I screamed?" Issa whined.
Ace hesitated. "I just knew you were okay," he replied.
"Sure, sure. Excuses, excuses," Issa said.
As soon as I stepped foot on the outside, I was surprised. The sun was shining down on my face, and the damp grass squished under my feet. The slight breeze on the water could be heard. I was actually outside,
"Ace, you did it! We're on the outer-ring," I said gleefully. From there, the tower was only fifteen feet or so. "Let's go guys!"
"You shouldn't be out here!" I heard a man say.
I turned around, "Who are you?" I asked.
We had never seen him before. He was tall and in his mid-forties. "You must be Rayne." He said with a surprisingly friendly smile.
"No, she's in the hospital." I said.
"That's Aya," Brennan pointed out.
"You spunkier, than I thought you would be," he said.
I wasn't entirely sure how to respond to his comment, but luckily, I didn't have to because he kept talking.
"I'm General Davis, Head Counsel," he explained. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to continue any further. It's too dangerous."