Chapter 13 - The Ascending Cage
The cold, dark cylinder of the silencer was pointed straight at Emma’s forehead.
The chief of security didn't hesitate.
He squeezed the trigger.
POP!
The silenced gunshot echoed like a sharp whip crack through the narrow concrete corridor.
Emma didn't feel the bullet tear into her skin.
At the exact moment the guard pulled the trigger, Ethan had tripped over a loose pipe on the floor, dragging Emma down by her jacket.
The bullet grazed through the top of her shoulder, tearing a ragged strip of fabric and warm blood, before ricocheting off the steel wall behind her.
Emma hit the wet concrete hard, but the burning pain in her shoulder instantly vanished under a wave of pure survival instincts.
She didn't try to stand up.
She lunged forward along the floor like a wounded animal, grabbing the heavy industrial fire extinguisher mounted on the lower wall frame.
She ripped the metal safety pin free with her teeth and aimed the thick black nozzle straight into the guard's face.
PSSSHHHFFF!
A blinding, freezing cloud of dense white chemical powder blasted out of the hose under massive pressure.
The chief of security coughed violently, blinded and choking as the freezing chemical powder coated his eyes, face, and lungs.
He fired blindly into the white fog, the silenced bullets slamming harmlessly into the concrete walls and ceiling.
Emma scrambled up from the floor, grabbed the heavy iron base of the fire extinguisher with both hands, and swung it through the white mist with every ounce of strength left in her body.
CRACK!
The heavy steel cylinder smashed into the side of the chief's knee with a sickening bone-shattering sound.
The guard screamed in agony, his leg bending backward at an unnatural angle as he collapsed onto the elevator floor.
His silenced pistol dropped from his hand, rolling across the slick metal floor.
Emma didn't stop to celebrate.
She kicked the weapon down the open shaft beneath the elevator frame, grabbed Ethan’s arm, and dragged him into the open freight elevator.
She slammed her fist onto the heavy brass floor button marked 3 - MAIN MANOR.
The heavy steel doors slammed shut with a deafening metallic bang, locking them inside the rising steel box.
The old industrial elevator groaned as its heavy iron cables strained, lifting them slowly upward through the dark shaft.
Ethan collapsed against the metal wall, clutching his knees as he gasped for air in the dim yellow light of the elevator bulb.
"Emma... you're bleeding..." Ethan whimpered, staring at her blood-soaked shoulder with wide, terrified eyes.
"It's just a scratch, Ethan... it doesn't hurt," Emma lied, pressing her hand tightly over the warm wound.
The blood was seeping fast through her fingers, but she kept her eyes fixed on the illuminated floor indicator above the door.
LEVEL 1 - SUB-BASEMENT...
The digital timer mounted on her broken wrist was gone, but the small emergency display inside the elevator frame read: 00:45:12.
Forty-five minutes left until dawn.
The elevator shuddered violently, grinding against its iron guide rails as it ascended into the upper levels of the mansion.
Suddenly, a loud metallic screech echoed from the top of the shaft above them.
The bright overhead bulb inside the elevator flickered twice and died, plunging them into pitch-black shadow once again.
The rising box shuddered to a sudden, violent halt between the first and second floors.
Emergency mechanical brakes locked onto the steel cables with a terrifying screeching sound that shook the entire frame.
Through the heavy steel ceiling hatch of the elevator, the sound of heavy work boots echoed from the shaft above.
Someone was standing on top of the elevator car.
A heavy steel crowbar jammed into the edges of the top hatch, prying the metal lid open with a deafening groan.
The top hatch was thrown back, spilling the harsh white light of a heavy tactical spotlight into the elevator.
Looking down through the opening was Mr. Sterling himself, holding an iron crowbar in one hand and a heavy revolver in the other.
His polished hair was disheveled, his expensive tuxedo jacket torn at the shoulder, and his eyes wild with unhinged, murderous desperation.
"Did you really think an old service elevator would carry you out of my house, Emma?" Mr. Sterling snarled down through the hatch, his voice echoing loudly in the shaft.
"The fire in the archive ruined thirty years of my family's legacy!" he roared, raising the revolver.
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"I am going to watch you bleed out on this floor, and then I am going to bury your brother under the concrete foundation!" he promised coldly.
Mr. Sterling aimed the heavy revolver down through the narrow opening, locking his sight onto Emma’s chest.
