Chapter 9 - The Soil and Steel
Emma’s entire body went rigid as her boot pressed down on the metal plate.
The whirring sound inside the dirt walls grew rapidly louder, like a disturbed nest of mechanical hornets.
"Emma... what is that noise?" Ethan whispered, freezing in place right beside her.
"Ethan, do not move a single muscle," Emma ordered in a terrified, barely audible whisper.
"Whatever you do, stay completely still," she added, her eyes wildly searching the earthen walls.
On both sides of the dirt tunnel, small metal tubes slid out from behind the rotting wooden supports.
The glint of sharp steel tips emerged from the dark holes, aligned directly at chest height.
It was a hidden spring-loaded spike trap, designed to impale anyone who stepped on the pressure plate.
Emma slowly lowered her center of gravity, her muscles straining against the pressure under her right foot.
She knew that if she lifted her boot, the tension spring would release and send dozens of steel spikes flying across the corridor.
"Ethan... listen to me very carefully," Emma said, keeping her voice as calm as possible.
"I need you to step over my leg and move ten feet down the tunnel," she instructed.
"No! I'm not leaving you!" Ethan cried, tears instantly welling up in his wide eyes.
"You're not leaving me, buddy, you're just taking a few steps ahead," Emma reassured him softly.
"If I jump, I need you to be completely out of the way," she explained, her leg beginning to tremble from the strain.
Ethan swallowed hard, wiped his nose with his dirty sleeve, and slowly stepped over her grounded leg.
He tiptoed five paces down the muddy path and turned around, holding his breath in absolute terror.
"Okay... I'm clear, Emma..." Ethan whimpered softly.
Emma tightened her grip on the stolen shotgun and positioned her left foot to push off the wall.
She had to leap forward and flat onto her stomach in a single split second.
"One..." she whispered to herself, her heart beating violently against her ribs.
"Two..." she gasped, taking a deep air intake into her burning lungs.
"Three!" she screamed, throwing her entire weight forward into the dirt.
Her boot left the pressure plate, and the mechanical mechanism triggered instantly with a violent, metallic CLANG!
A dozen sharp steel spikes shot out from the walls with terrifying force, crossing the empty air right where her chest had been a fraction of a second prior.
The heavy steel tips embedded themselves deep into the opposite dirt wall, vibrating from the raw impact force.
Emma landed hard on the wet floor, dirt blowing into her mouth and eyes as the dust settled.
"Emma!" Ethan shrieked, rushing back to her side and pulling on her mud-soaked jacket.
Emma spat out the dirt and scrambled to her feet, coughing violently as she checked her body for injuries.
The spikes had missed her by less than two inches, slicing a tear into the back of her shirt.
"I'm okay! I'm okay, let's keep moving!" Emma gasped, grabbing Ethan’s arm and dragging him past the trap.
They sprinted down the winding dirt tunnel as the smell of stale, damp earth gave way to a cold, wet draft.
Ahead of them, the dirt walls transitioned into an ancient, hand-carved brick archway.
The sound of rushing water echoed through the dark stone passage ahead.
Emma stopped at the entrance of the brick archway, shining the small LED light on her shotgun forward.
A massive subterranean river was churning wildly through a deep stone cavern directly below them.
The water was black, fast-moving, and filled with dangerous concrete pillars supporting the mansion above.
A narrow, rusty iron catwalk suspended by thick cables spanned across the roaring water to the other side.
The digital timer mounted on the archway wall read: 03:30:15.
They had three and a half hours left before dawn, but the worst was far from over.
Suddenly, a loud, high-caliber gunshot shattered the air behind them, hitting the brick wall next to Emma’s head.
Brick fragments exploded into the air, slicing across her cheek and drawing a line of fresh blood.
Emma spun around, shoving Ethan behind a heavy stone pillar.
At the far end of the dirt tunnel, Mr. Sterling himself was stepping into the light, holding a sleek hunting rifle.
He was wearing a black tactical coat over his expensive tuxedo, a night-vision visor raised over his forehead.
Behind him stood three massive, fully armored security guards holding heavy submachine guns.
"You really thought you could run from me in my own house, Emma?" Mr. Sterling called out, his voice smooth and terrifyingly confident.
"This land has belonged to the Sterlings for over a hundred years," he boasted, raising his rifle again.
"Every brick, every stone, every trap in these tunnels was placed by my family," he added with a chilling smile.
"You and your brother are nothing more than unexpected pests in my private sanctuary," he sneered.
Emma pressed her back against the stone pillar, holding her breath as her hands shook on the shotgun.
She had only two shells left in the weapon's chamber.
"Mr. Sterling!" Emma shouted back, her voice filled with pure, uncompromising hatred.
"You're a sick, disgusting coward hiding behind money and concrete!" she roared into the cavern.
"When I get out of here, the entire world is going to know what you do under this house!" she promised fiercely.
Mr. Sterling laughed softly, a low, cruel sound that echoed through the stone chamber.
"Nobody is going to believe a word from a dead maid," Mr. Sterling replied coldly.
May you like
He signaled his guards with a sharp wave of his gloved hand.
"Flank them from the left," Mr. Sterling ordered flatly. "And bring me the boy alive; he still has an auction to finish."
