“Understood,” Shea replied. “How are you doing with the door?”

“It’s about half-way closed,” Wared said as he grabbed the handle and continued his efforts to close the door. “But it’s not easy going.”

“Can you tell what is approaching? Is it human or mechanized?”

“Human or mechanized? What do you mean? Does the Protectorate use robots?”

“For recon missions, yes, sometimes they do.”

Wared paused momentarily to get a better look at what was approaching. He could just make out a human-sized figure approaching as it was illuminated again and again as the corridor came alive in front of it.

“I think human,” he said and renewed his efforts with the handle. The door squealed with each push and pull, inching closer and closer to the opposite wall with each effort. Sweat poured down Wared’s face as he alternated focusing on the handle and glancing at the approaching figure.

He only had a few inches left when he heard rapid steps echoing on the other side of the door. Running steps. With aching muscles, he moved the handle a few more times until the door reached the wall and slid into the wall.

Wared collapsed on the floor panting and wiped the sweat of his forehead with his sleeve. “The door is closed,” he said, just as he heard a bang from the other side of the door. “Just in time too, it seems.”

“Good,” Shea replied. “Make sure you lock the handle in place so that they can’t open it from the other side.”

Wared looked up, eyes wide. “They can open it from the other side?”

“I’m sure. It’s an emergency mechanism.”

Shea had barely spoken the words before the door squealed again. It moved back a fraction of an inch. Wared felt his heard jump in his chest and jumped to his feet and grabbed the handle. Someone was trying to open the door from the other side.

His eyes danced across the control surfaces next to the handle and the control panel, but nothing apparent stood out as the lock he was looking for.

“It has to be here, it has to be here,” he grunted as he strained to keep the handle from moving further.

“Is the door closed?” Shea’s voice came over the radio.

“I’m trying,” Wared said with a strained voice. “Someone is trying to open it from the other side.”

“Who?” Shea replied after a moment’s silence.

“I don’t know. I’m just trying to—”

The door jerked open another inch and Wared almost lost his grip on the handle.

“Wared?” a muted voice came from the other side of the door, through the narrow crack between the door and the wall. “Is that you?”

Wared gasped and almost let go of the handle. He recognized the voice. Henrin.

“Wared? I know you’re there. Can you open the door?” The voice was calm but firm. There was no doubt that the question was in fact a command.

“Can you lock the door remotely?” Wared whispered to Shea.

“Yes I can. Why are you whispering?”

“As soon as you see the door closed, engage the lock.”

“Ok. What’s going on, Wared?”

“Just do it, ok? Ready?”

“I’m ready.”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Wared took a deep breath and ensured he had a good grip on the handle. He put his right foot against the wall right next to the handle and braced himself.

“I’m here,” he said, his voice intentionally louder so that Henrin could hear him. “Yes, I’m here.”

There was a moment’s silence, then Henrin spoke again. “Are you all right? Can you open this door?”

As soon as Henrin spoke the words, Wared pumped the handle as hard as he could, then again. The door squealed as it slid across the metal surface and into position.

“Now!” Wared yelled as he held the handle firm. He heard a click in the wall as the locking mechanism engaged. He collapsed on the floor and exhaled forcefully.

“It locked!” Shea said. “The door locked. Are you all right?”

Wared nodded and smiled. “Yes, I’m all right. That was a close one.”

“Yes, it was. All bulkhead doors are now closed and locked. The inner core is secured.”

“Good,” Wared said and stood up. He leaned closer to the door and listened. Muted sounds could be heard through the door but it was nothing that resembled speech or any other activity he recognized. Henrin had been stopped for now. The question was for how long these doors would hold them off. He had no doubt that Henrin knew more about the facility and it was just a matter of time before he found a way in.

“Are you sure the lock is secure?” Wared said as he put his hand on the door. “If there was a handle to crank the door open, couldn’t there be a mechanism to unlock it too?”

“The remote lock I engaged overrides the local control,” Shea said. “At least for the time being.”

“What does that mean?” Wared said as he left the closed door behind and headed back towards the Operations Center.

“It’s only going to be a matter of time before they figure out how to get back in. But, we’ll have to cross that bridge when we get there. For now, hurry back here. We need to check in with Randee and see how he is coming along.”

After Wared had rejoined Shea in the Operations Center, they made they way back down to where they had left Randee, hoping to find him busy at the computer consoles. Instead, they found a handwritten note.

“What’s this?” Wared said as he picked up the note. “Meet me down below?” Wared held the note in the air as he glanced over at Shea. “What does that mean?”

Shea nodded towards a partially open door on the right side of the observation platform. “I’m guessing he went that way,” she said and stepped up to the door. She touched the door with her fingers and pushed. The door swung open with a groan from the hinges.

A platform about three feet wide hugged the wall outside of the door. It followed the wall about thirty feet before it reached a platform with a six feet diameter. A ladder stretched from the top of the platform down into the darkness below.

Wared looked Shea and pointed towards the ladder. “Do you think this is what he meant?”

“I don’t see any other way down. Do you?” Shea said and stepped up to the ladder. Without another word, she began her descent, one rung at a time.

Wared hesitated momentarily. The darkness below sent a chill down his spine. How far was it to the bottom? At that very moment, the bottom of the ladder was obscured by the lack of lighting, a fact that unnerved him.

“Are you coming?” Shea called from below.

Stirred from his thoughts, Wared acknowledged and headed down the ladder. He held it tightly as he took one step at a time while keeping his eyes focus on a spot in the distance. One step at a time, one step at a time.

Thirty steps down, he noticed the darkness below him disperse as lights flickered to life. Of course, motion sensors. It made sense. They had encountered them everywhere throughout the building. It made sense that they would be here as well.

The last fifteen feet of the ladder descended through a vertical shaft that came out in a dimly lit corridor.

“What is this place?” Wared said as he wiped the dirt of his hands.

“I’m not sure but the lights are on and there’s an open door at the end of the corridor behind you,” Shea said and pointed over Wared’s shoulder. “I bet we’ll find Randee in there.”

“What are we waiting for?” Wared said.

Shea put her hand on his arm and held him back. “Wait,” she said.

Wared furrow his eyebrows. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you think he found her?”

“Found who?”

Shea shot Wared a glare. “My grandmother, of course. Remember?”

Wared’s eyes grew wide as he remember Shea’s request. Wake up the grandmother. He took a deep breath and glanced towards the light that came through the partially open door at the end of the hallway. Would she be there, and would she be awake?

“There’s only one way to find out, right?” he said and looked at Shea. “We have to find out.”

“I know, I know. I’m just nervous.”

“Imagine what she’s feeling.”

Shea looked at Wared again. “I’m not sure I’m ready.”

Wared held out his hand to Shea. “Here, we’ll go together.”

Shea hesitated for a moment, then took his hand with a nod. They walked in silence towards the door, step by step. The closer they came to the door, the tighter Shea’s grip on his hand became.

“Are you ready?” Wared asked as they stood in front of the door. “Are you ready to meet your grandmother?”

Shea wiped a tear from her eye and nodded. Wared grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. The door opened silently, on well-oiled hinges. After a moment’s hesitation, they stepped inside.

The room inside was a small, square room with two additional doors. The one straight ahead said “Restricted Access” with large red letters. It was locked. The door on the left said “Control Room.” Wared tried the handle. It was open. As he was about to pulled the door open, he felt Shea shiver.

“Are you all right?” he asked in a hushed voice.

She nodded. “Let’s do this.”

“Here goes,” Wared said, took a deep breath and opened the door.