Rather than opening in the usual way, one door hung suspended from the ceiling and the other extended from the floor. The gap between the two was little more than a metre wide with interlocking spokes protruding from each edge. It was clear we would have to crawl through the space between them to reach the other side.
“So, hypothetically, if the doors slammed shut while we were half way through, do you think we would realise it had happened before we went splat or just never know what hit us?" Alicia asked cheerfully as she tossed her bag through the gap. It slid over the lip on the other side and thudded as it hit the ground. Thankfully the door didn't react in any way.
“Why don't you go first and if it slams shut, let us know," Coal suggested as he swung his bag through too.
“Okay," Alicia said, giving Coal a salute and pulling herself up into the gap. It took her a moment to navigate the giant spokes designed to lock the doors together, then she was through.
"Everything okay your end?" Coal asked as he pulled himself up after her.
"Looks like someone jammed the door open on this side," she replied, her flashlight beam swinging back and forth.
Coal was through a moment later and then it was my turn. It took me a few tries to actually pull myself up into the gap and eventually I had to grasp hold of one of the spokes to make it inside. It was claustrophobic with the cool metal pressing against my hands and knees and the door above me just inches from my head but I ignored the sensation as I crawled forward.
A mechanical vibration shuddered through my palms and I fell still as I held my breath.
An endless moment stretched as my pulse thrummed like a humming bird’s wings but nothing else happened so I sped up. I scrambled forward and gasped in relief as I made it through and dropped down on the far side.
Alicia's flashlight was illuminating the thing jamming the doors open. I stared at it for a long moment but I couldn't make out what it had been; the crushing power of the doors had done a good job of rendering it unrecognisable.
“Well it's made of some kind of metal," Alicia said as she followed my gaze.
“Why would someone jam it open?" I asked.
“Maybe they were trying to break in?" Alicia guessed.
"No. They were trying to make sure they could get out," Laurie said as she jumped down next to me. The doors let out a hollow groan and we all stepped away from them nervously.
“What makes you think that?" I asked Laurie once the noise stopped.
“Mainly because they jammed it open from the inside."
“But why would the door be trying to lock with people still down here?" I asked, shuddering as thought of it.
“Maybe someone didn't want them getting out," Coal suggested.
“Why?"
“Who knows?" Alicia shrugged again, not seeming to care much about the mystery.
“Maybe they didn't want them telling other people what had been going on down here," Laurie guessed.
“Whatever it was, I'm glad they got out," I said as I turned my flashlight to illuminate the way on.
There was a short corridor filled with security monitors and scanners ahead of us and we needed to walk through the various check points and guard stations to reach the other end.
We stepped through the derelict machinery first, passing some kind of control station which had a wall with a collection of ID badges hung along it. The badges had metallic strips along the bottom of them which must have meant they doubled as key cards.
Coal leaned forwards, selected a badge with top level security and pocketed it.
Alicia moved on and walked along an unmoving conveyor belt which passed through an X-ray machine and then a metal detector. As she moved through the detector, a loud bleeping sound filled the air momentarily.
A flurry of movement took place as the four of us snatched guns from holsters and flicked the safety catches off. Alicia stepped out of the metal detector and the bleeping stopped.
"Okay, I feel stupid," Laurie said as she stowed her guns again.
I laughed nervously as I followed suit. The bleeping repeated as the rest of us moved through but there were no other signs of there being any power switched on within the compound.
Beyond the security corridor we headed up a short flight of stairs and entered a tunnel lined with doors on either side.
The doors each hid little offices which were laid out in a uniform pattern, each with desks, filing cabinets and old computers but nothing on the scale we were searching for.
The airlock on the outer door had kept the place free from dust and insects and the rooms felt strangely like they’d been recently occupied. There were coffee mugs on desks beside family photos and papers spread out on some as if someone had just been looking through them. Filing cabinets had open drawers adding to the feeling that the occupiers had just stepped into the next room and would be back at any moment.
But the deep silence proved that theory wrong. Our footsteps echoed in the empty space and the air hung still and heavy around us.
We checked behind every door but we knew there wasn't going to be anything different hidden within any of them. Eventually the corridor came to a junction but there were no signs to indicate which direction we should take.
“Do we split up?" Laurie asked.
I glanced over my shoulder in the direction we’d come from, feeling a chill on the back of my neck.
“I don't think so. It's best to stick together. Anyone have a preference?" Alicia asked.
“Left?" I suggested and we turned that way.
The corridor was fairly short and had just one set of double doors at the end. We pushed our way through them and were greeted by row upon row of bunks, not unlike those Taylor and I had been sleeping in during the Lawless Trials. Each had a small table and a bed with pullout drawers beneath it for personal belongings.
This was the first room we’d come to that showed any signs of disturbance. Most of the sleeping areas were turned out, the drawers pulled open and belongings slung around as if people had been looking for something. There was a lack of clothing amongst the things strewn about and there were several photo frames scattered in pieces. It was as if people had pulled them apart or broken them to remove the photos inside.
“Looks like they knew they weren't coming back," Coal said, kicking a bit of broken glass aside.
“This must have happened when it all changed. Hunter told me there were riots and people were crazy with fear. They were killing each other in the street just for a piece of bread," Alicia added, twitching a bed sheet over and revealing a dark, rusty-brown stain that looked horribly like blood.
We spread out across the huge room and walked along the aisles between the bunks but there wasn't much to see.
On the final bunk was a folded piece of paper with a name scrawled across the front of it. 'Elena.' I reached for the letter and unfolded it. The Message inside was short and hastily written.
We waited here as long as we could but the food is running out. I'm heading to that lake house we visited last summer. If you find this, you'll find me there.
I love you - Joel
“Why is there nothing useful anywhere?" Laurie huffed, kicking aside more junk.
“Yeah, I was hoping for a nice little map or something." Alicia smirked.
I placed the letter back where I'd found it with a shudder and hurried back towards the doors.
"It must have been for security, they wouldn't have wanted people to be able to navigate this place easily. We think they held all sorts of national secrets here," Coal said as we made our way back out of the dorm and up the corridor to take the righthand turn.
I was glad to leave the dorm behind and I didn’t look back as we hurried away from it.
It turned out the only thing down the righthand hallway was an elevator with the doors firmly closed.
“So, how do we use an elevator in a building with hardly any power?" I asked.
“Hunter didn't mention this," Alicia grumbled
.
I stepped forward and pushed the button without any real conviction. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened.
“Let's have a look inside." Coal pulled Alicia's machete out of the holster at her hip and jammed the blade into the gap between the two sliding doors. He placed a boot against the edge of the doorway and pulled on the makeshift lever.
“That's my favourite blade." Alicia frowned as the metal groaned but she didn't make any move to stop him.
He grunted with the effort and I was sure the machete would break but a gap slowly started to appear and the darkness beyond was revealed. The metal squealed in protest as the doors were forced apart.
They gave way suddenly at the last moment and Coal fell forwards. I jumped towards him and grabbed the back of his jacket, digging my heels in as he swung out over the ledge and Alicia and Laurie grabbed hold of me too. The machete fell from Coal's hand and dropped silently for several seconds before clattering to a halt somewhere far below.
I cursed as I heaved him back and we all fell into the corridor in a heap.
“I'm definitely not regretting saving you, now,” Coal laughed as he pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me. I returned his hug and felt my arms tremble with delayed shock as I realised I'd just saved his life.
Alicia beamed at me as she and Laurie stood too. My heart fluttered as Coal released me and I took a steadying breath.
We stepped forward cautiously and looked down into the black abyss that extended far below us. Alicia leaned forward, her outstretched arm holding her flashlight, and shone its beam upwards. It illuminated the shaft going up at least three floors above us with no sign of the elevator itself. She pointed it down and we could see that it was stopped two floors below.
“I vote we start at the bottom and work our way up." Coal pointed to a maintenance ladder to the left of the doorway we were standing in.
He tucked his flashlight into his belt and swung over the edge without waiting to see if we agreed. I followed, taking my flashlight and putting it through a loop in my own belt so that the beam pointed down at my feet. Then, trying my best not to let my hands tremble, I took hold of the first rung.
The ladder felt rough beneath my palms. The metal was flaked and splintering and tried to work its way into my skin. My hands were slick with sweat and I slipped on a crumbling rung. My heart thudded in panic as I scrabbled to hold onto the cold metal.
I pressed myself against the ladder, clinging with arms and legs desperately whilst I remembered to breathe again. The flashlight was knocked from my belt and I looked down to watch as it spiralled, the beam twisting around the shaft, down, down, down and thunk. It went out instantly.
The sound echoed hollowly around the elevator shaft.
“Are you sure it's safe?" I called out, my voice echoing back around us.
Coal hopped down onto the roof of the elevator and stamped his boot against the metal. It banged dully as he repeated the process several times.
“Doesn't look like it's going anywhere." He reached up and helped me down behind him and Laurie and Alicia followed.
A low groan welcomed our weight onto the roof of the elevator and I glanced nervously at the cables holding it in place. We moved to the centre of the roof and I set to work trying to prise open the maintenance hatch.
The handle had rusted shut and I couldn't get it to budge. I kicked it and instantly regretted my choice as pain shot up my leg and my toe throbbed.
“Stupid, shitty, broken old piece of-"
“Junk?" Alicia offered grinning. Why was she always so happy?
"Let me do it, I'm stronger than you." Coal grabbed hold of the handle and heaved. Nothing happened for a fraction of a second and then there was a loud metallic snap. Coal flew backwards and landed heavily on his ass, the handle still gripped in his fist as he cursed it.
The metal beneath my feet flexed slightly as he hit the ground and I shifted nervously.
“Oh, thank heavens we had a big strong man here to help us," Alicia gushed as she stepped forward, plucking her machete off of the elevator roof where it had landed. She jammed the huge blade into the edge of the hatch and tugged. The elevator gave a loud groan but the hatch still didn't move.
"Any chance this isn't actually sat on the bottom floor?" Laurie asked, glancing at our feet with a worried expression.
“I thought this place was all on one level. There could be twenty floors for all I know," Alicia replied unhelpfully.
The elevator made another loud groaning sound.
“Hurry up," I hissed at Alicia and she applied pressure to the hatch again.
The elevator shuddered and dropped an inch, my stomach swooping sickeningly.
"Get back on the ladder!” Coal hissed urgently as he moved back towards the maintenance ladder but the elevator groaned and dropped another few inches before he made it.
My knees buckled a little beneath me and my breath caught in my throat as I fought to keep my balance.
“Oh hell, I don't want to die like this," Laurie hissed as we all stood still, too terrified to do anything that might make the elevator drop any further.
The echoes of the elevator's groans sang in the empty space above us as my heart tried to break its way out of my chest.
"Just one step at a time." Coal gestured Alicia to move towards the ladder and she took a tentative step.
Her fingers brushed the metal rung just as the elevator gave out and with a massive metallic whine it plummeted downwards.
I screamed as my hair whipped up above my head and the thought of how long my body might lay at the bottom of an elevator shaft flashed though my mind.
There was a squealing sound as the brakes tried to work and we stopped as suddenly as we’d dropped. I staggered into a crouch and my fingertips brushed the metal beneath my feet. Alicia reached for the ladder again and hauled herself up onto it. We all started to creep across the roof after her. Alicia was climbing quickly to make space for the rest of us.
Just as Laurie took hold of the first rung, a high pitched squeal that set my teeth on edge broke the silence.
“No no no-" Alicia yelled but the rung had already snapped and she was falling backwards, off of the ladder and down towards us. Laurie twisted aside, away from the ladder as Alicia fell towards her and my breath caught as panic overwhelmed me.
There was an almighty crash as she hit the elevator, her arms wrapped protectively over her head, and a hollow thunk reverberated all around us.
We didn't move. None of us dared to even breathe as we waited for the inevitable to happen. The silence was pregnant with the promise of a quick death.
Alicia lowered her hands and looked up at us. "For a minute I thought we were all going to-"
A huge groan of breaking metal and the squeal of protesting brakes ripped through the air and the elevator plummeted again. I scrambled to keep my feet and my broken flashlight rolled into the side of my boot.
The elevator lurched sideways as one set of brakes gave and I fell to my knees. I slid backwards as the others rolled towards me too and the elevator lurched to a halt again.
A split second passed and we all glanced at each other before scrambling up the metal incline towards the maintenance ladder as quickly as possible.
Other than the hatch there was very little to grab hold of and my fingers scrabbled fruitlessly against the smooth metal roof as the rubber soles of my boots slipped beneath me.
A high pitched whining started to fill the shaft, quietly at first but growing louder and louder as something protested under the strain. It was loud enough to make my ears hurt and I wanted to stop and clap my hands over them.
Ker-thunk! With a rending heave, one of the cables snapped and whipped up away into the darkness of the shaft above us. The elevator lurched so that the opposite side was now lower and we all rolled that way. Ker-thunk! A cable on the other side snapped and flew up, out of sight. The elevator careened back again and we were flung in a heap of bodies.
Ker
-thunk, Ker-thunk! Again we were propelled back and forth. I hit my shoulder on the raised edge of the hatch and pain splintered through the limb.
There were only two cables left on each side. The elevator levelled out and I managed to get onto my hands and knees. The others had made it into similar positions and we all glanced at each other as we tried to figure out what to do next.
I let out a breath, making a lock of my dark brown hair flutter before my eyes.
Vibrations rumbled up through my knees and palms where they were pressed against the cold metal roof beneath me. I felt them in my elbows and hips and right through my spine.
Ker-thunk, Ker-thunk! The cables snapped, one in front of me and one behind. A whip of air passed by my face as the cables shot up into the darkness and the elevator plummeted beneath us.
It felt for half a moment as though I would be left behind and the elevator would disappear beneath me but then a swooping, sucking feeling filled my stomach and I knew I was falling.
Screams filled the air around me. One of them was mine. My hair was wrenched upwards and the air whipped around us as we plummeted down through the shaft.
We stopped suddenly with a massive crash and we were thrown down in a heap of tangled limbs.
"Is everyone ok?" Coal called out. His flashlight had gone off and we were left in darkness.
“No," Alicia replied with a groan of pain.
“I think I'm in one piece," Laurie confirmed.
“Maya?" Coal called.
I heard him fumbling with something and the flashlight flickered back to life. Someone had landed on top of me and winded me badly enough that I couldn't speak. Coal was at my side in a moment, I saw him wince as he put weight on his right leg but he covered it quickly.
His hand twisted into my hair as he helped to prop me up and checked me over.
"I'm fine, just winded I think."
My arm was throbbing with pain too so I wriggled my fingers experimentally and was relieved to find no evidence of a break.
Coal shone the flashlight above us. We’d fallen down a further three floors before crashing to the bottom.
"Shit, for a minute there, I seriously thought we were all dead," Alicia gasped as she clambered upright and brushed herself off.
Rebel Rising: A Dystopian Romance (Cage of Lies Book 1) Page 26