Connor and Vince fight their forbidden attraction as they attempt to rescue themselves and fellow residents of the underground Refuge facility from a toxic breach.
*****
Conn...
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A few hours of rest fueled me, and thoughts of my mother and her big reveal prompted me to search for more answers. I opened my room door and stepped into the hall, where shadows and darkened corners demanded my attention. The dense atmosphere had a way of looming over me and making my skin crawl. It wasn't difficult to imagine clingy spiderwebs in the crooks and crannies even though insects never made it into the facility.
An odd stillness steadied the air despite the hundreds of people who resided on the floor and stirred the space. I would never get used to their eyes on me. The scrutiny and curiosity radiating from their piercing stares made me more than self-aware; it gave me shudders that nearly paralyzed me and prevented me from taking another step. But I moved forward, unaware of my destination.
"Looking for Emily?" A voice at my back urged me to pivot. I nodded to the young female in my sights and she pointed directly above. "On Fifteen, in Control."
I attempted a smile then turned, heading toward the area with the staircase.
I learned fast that up here a nod and smile didn't trigger one in return, so I mimicked the others with an awkward stare as I moved past them.
Once at the staircase, I stopped by the lift next to it. Assuming the lift wouldn't work, given the information we'd been given, I pressed the call button several times as a test. When nothing happened, I entered the stairway and marched up the few flights before exiting on Fifteen.
The level resembled Thirteen in its quiet, darkened eeriness. Another shudder tore through me as I moved past a couple dozen folks and continued to the control room. The fingerprint lock beside the door lit up with a dull red. I closed my eyes to wash the crimson color from my vision along with the disturbing thoughts of chaos and panic that came with it. I tapped the door with my knuckles.
When it opened, an unexpected man appeared between me and Em, who stood at the control panel staring at the extra-large smooth screen that held the commands of the entire upper hemi. She looked over her shoulder to me. "Let him enter." She nodded.
I had never seen the inside of a control room as no one but the workers and select persons of authority were allowed to enter. Stepping foot inside was just as surreal as waking up to the red lights and sirens had been.
The large, flat control panel glowed bright with lights and three-dimensional graphs and images. Some symbols and characters were foreign to me. Others I could make out, especially the keyboard with alphabetical and numerical symbols.
"I bet you're wondering how we were able to communicate with Dr. Smith in order to vet your friends?" She waved me over.
I stepped to the panel, which resembled a large round dinner table that reached my waist in height "This is insane. How do you even-"
"Lots of practice and hard liquor." She chuckled and after a few seconds of odd silence she added, "That was a joke."
I nodded. I appreciated her attempt at humor. We needed something to break the ice. And if I remembered what I had learned correctly, a joke or a compliment was a perfect way to open a conversation and break the tension.
