Chapter 8
The explosion shook the foundation of the Iron Garden. A deafening shockwave blew out the corridor lights, plunging the basement into near-total darkness, save for the flashing red strobes. The reinforced glass door shattered into a million cascading diamonds, blowing inward and tearing the steel frame from its hinges.
Kiernan coughed through the thick cloud of pulverized concrete and smoke. He scrambled into the ruined cell. "Sarah!"
She emerged from beneath the steel bed frame, covered in dust but unharmed. Kiernan dropped to his knees and pulled her into a desperate, crushing embrace. He buried his face in her neck, breathing her in, tears carving tracks through the soot on his face.
"I've got you," he whispered fiercely. "I've got you."
"Perrin?" she wept, clutching his tactical vest as if she would fall off the earth if she let go. "Where is my baby?"
"He's safe. He's the one who told me where you were," Kiernan said, pulling back to look at her ankle. The heavy steel cuff was chained to the floor bolt. He drew a combat knife from his boot, wedged the thick blade into the cuff's locking mechanism, and brought the heavy butt of his empty pistol down on the handle. With a loud snap, the locking pin sheared off.
"Two minutes to ignition. Fire doors locking."
A heavy, metallic groan echoed through the corridor as massive steel blast doors began to slide down over the stairwells and elevator shafts at the far end of the hall.
"Vance!" Kiernan shouted into his comms. "The exits are sealing! We need a way out, now!"
"I see it on the schematics," Vance yelled, the sound of furious typing echoing through the earpiece. "There's a ventilation shaft behind cell block C. It leads up to the exhaust fans on the surface. But Kiernan, the fans are massive. If they turn on when the fire starts to vent the smoke, they'll chop you to pieces!"
"Just point me to it!" Kiernan grabbed Sarah’s hand. She stumbled, her legs weakened by years of confinement. Without a second thought, Kiernan scooped her up into his arms, carrying her bridal style, and ran back into the corridor.
He bolted past the dead mercenaries, his lungs burning as the countdown continued. "One minute to ignition."
They reached Cell Block C. The heavy metal grate covering the ventilation shaft was bolted to the wall. Kiernan set Sarah down gently, grabbed the grate with both hands, and roared as he pulled with every ounce of his remaining strength. The rusty bolts shrieked, popping out of the concrete, and he threw the grate aside.
"Climb!" he ordered.
Sarah crawled into the dark, narrow metal shaft, and Kiernan hoisted himself in right behind her.
"Thirty seconds," the automated voice echoed chillingly.
"Keep moving! Don't look back!" Kiernan shouted, pushing her upward through the steep incline of the duct.
Below them, deep within the walls of the sub-basement, the hiss of highly pressurized incendiary gas being released began. A low, terrifying rumble built beneath them, like a waking dragon.
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"Almost there!" Sarah cried, seeing the faint glow of moonlight through the massive, stationary fan blades above them.
Then, the world below them caught fire. A blinding wall of orange flame erupted in the sub-basement, blasting a wave of blistering heat up the metal shaft.
