Chapter 4 - The Underground
A violent cloud of dust and ancient brick showered over the entire group.
Bull stepped swiftly in front of Claire and Maddie, raising his massive arms to shield them from the flying debris.
Through the settling dust, a dark, gaping hole in the foundation was finally revealed.
"It is the smuggler's tunnel," Petra announced, shining her flashlight into the pitch-black void.
"The intense heat from the fire above just cracked the structural support."
"Move!" Dorian ordered, shoving the photograph deep into his suit pocket.
They scrambled through the jagged hole and entered a narrow, dirt-floored corridor.
The air inside was freezing and smelled strongly of the nearby Chicago River.
Claire carried Maddie on her back, her legs burning with immense exhaustion.
Dorian stayed closely by her side, his gun raised and ready for an ambush.
"How did you know my father?" Claire asked between heavy, ragged breaths.
"He saved my family," Dorian answered quietly into the darkness.
"I will explain everything if we make it out of here alive."
They ran for what felt like miles through the subterranean darkness.
The tunnel gradually began to slope upward toward the surface.
Toby was leading the pack when he suddenly held up a closed fist.
The entire group froze in their tracks instantly.
"There is a rusted iron grate up ahead," Toby whispered into the silence.
"It leads out to the alleyway behind Halsted Street."
Toby reached up and pushed the heavy iron grate open with a loud creak.
He climbed out into the pouring rain and reached down to help Claire.
Just as Claire lifted Maddie toward the opening, a deafening gunshot echoed through the alley.
Toby screamed in pure agony and fell backward into the dark tunnel.
He clutched his shoulder as bright red blood poured violently through his trembling fingers.
Dorian grabbed Claire by the waist and pulled her brutally back down into the shadows.
"We have a sniper on the roof," Petra hissed, drawing her weapon and aiming upward.
Claire looked down at Toby, who was turning terrifyingly pale in the dirt.
"He hit an artery," Claire panicked, pressing her hands hard against the young guard's bleeding shoulder.
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"If we don't get him to a hospital in five minutes, he is going to bleed to death."
Dorian looked up at the open grate, realizing they were completely trapped like rats in a cage.
