Chapter 7 - The Underground Maze
Aria slammed her bare hands painfully against the heavy iron bars that now separated her from her beloved adoptive father.
Leonard pressed his rugged face against the cold metal, his silver hair glowing faintly in the dim, flashing emergency lighting.
"Keep moving directly toward the main server room, Aria, I will find another way around this barricade," Leonard ordered bravely.
He quickly turned and ran heavily down an adjacent corridor just as the terrifying sound of heavy combat boots echoed directly behind him.
Aria grabbed a heavy iron pipe from a nearby abandoned maintenance cart and handed a smaller, greasy wrench to Selena.
Selena looked down at the dirty tool with absolute disgust before rapidly remembering her life was currently in mortal danger.
"I am truly, deeply sorry about ruining your dress, Aria," Selena whispered, her voice shaking violently in the freezing, dark tunnel.
"Save your pathetic apologies until we actually manage to survive this living nightmare," Aria replied coldly, never breaking her stride.
They cautiously navigated the highly confusing, twisting labyrinth of damp concrete tunnels deep beneath the luxurious hotel.
The emergency red strobe lights flashed rhythmically, casting terrifying, violently distorted shadows against the damp, peeling walls.
Aria flawlessly used her eidetic memory to recall the massive building's structural blueprints she had studied years ago.
They finally reached the heavily reinforced steel door that led directly into the central security control room.
Aria quickly bypassed the complex electronic keypad using a highly secure manual override code she had personally programmed.
The heavy steel door hissed loudly open, revealing a wall of glowing monitors perfectly displaying the chaotic violence unfolding upstairs.
They stepped inside quickly, finally feeling a fleeting, beautiful moment of genuine safety and overwhelming physical relief.
Selena suddenly gasped loudly and backed away rapidly toward the open doorway with wide, completely terrified eyes.
Aria turned around very slowly, her pumping blood instantly turning to freezing, paralyzing ice.
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Julian was sitting comfortably in the main security operator's chair, lazily spinning a lethal tactical combat knife.
"You always were entirely too smart for your own good, little sister," Julian smiled wickedly as he locked the heavy door behind them.
