Chapter 6 - The Great Escape
I slammed the heavily charged defibrillator paddles directly into Marcus's chest before he could pull the trigger.
The massive surge of electricity violently threw his body backward across the sterile room.
He crashed heavily into a glass medical cabinet and slumped completely unconscious onto the floor.
The pistol clattered away into the corner, safely out of his immediate reach.
I quickly grabbed the gun and checked the magazine to ensure it was fully loaded.
I turned back to Claire, who was struggling to stand on her weak, drug-filled legs.
"Can you walk?" I asked, wrapping my free arm securely around her waist for support.
She nodded bravely, leaning heavily against my side as we moved toward the exit corridor.
We navigated the maze of underground hallways, relying entirely on the exit signs glowing faintly red.
The heavy drugs in Claire's system were starting to wear off, but she was suddenly gripping her stomach in pain.
"The stress is triggering early contractions," she gasped, wincing as another sharp pain hit her.
I knew we absolutely could not afford to stop moving in this highly dangerous facility.
We finally reached a heavy freight elevator that led directly up to the ground level of the factory.
I smashed the call button, praying that Evelyn had not remotely disabled the power grid.
The rusty doors slowly groaned open, and I carefully helped Claire step inside the metal box.
We rode the elevator up in agonizing silence, listening to the mechanical cables grinding loudly.
The doors opened to the dark, rainy night of the industrial loading dock outside.
We stepped out into the freezing rain and began moving quietly toward my hidden rental car.
Suddenly, the entire loading dock was illuminated by a blindingly bright spotlight.
A loud, distorted voice echoed aggressively through a heavy electronic megaphone.
"Do not take another step, or the old man dies right here on the pavement," Evelyn's voice boomed.
I squinted against the harsh light and saw my mother standing near a black armored SUV.
Nathan was standing right beside her, holding a terrified hostage at gunpoint in the freezing rain.
The hostage was an older man with gray hair, looking completely beaten and exhausted.
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My heart entirely stopped beating as I instantly recognized the familiar face of the hostage.
My father was not actually dead after all.
