Chapter 9 - The Final Strike
"It is entirely over for your pathetic family, Lily," Silas taunted, dangling the glowing keycard over the massive, fiery drop.
The digital timer on the wall blared aggressively, flashing bright red numbers indicating we had exactly forty-five seconds left.
If Silas simply dropped the tiny piece of plastic, we would all be completely vaporized in the upcoming explosion.
I knew I could not safely disarm a grown man before he opened his fingers and let the card fall.
I needed him to actively bring the card away from the ledge using his own arrogant reflexes.
I charged directly at him, completely ignoring all the defensive strategies my father had ever taught me.
Silas laughed loudly at my foolish frontal assault, confidently stepping away from the incinerator ledge to strike me.
He threw a devastating, heavy punch aimed directly at my small chest, fully expecting to break my ribs.
I didn't try to block it or dodge entirely out of the way.
I stepped slightly inside the deadly strike, grabbing his extended wrist with both of my hands exactly as I had done to Tyler at school.
I dropped all of my body weight forcefully toward the floor, using his own massive forward momentum against him.
Silas lost his balance entirely, stumbling violently forward past me as his heavy punch met absolutely no resistance.
He crashed aggressively into the thick reinforced glass barrier surrounding the incinerator shaft, completely shattering it upon impact.
Silas screamed in absolute terror as he tumbled over the jagged edge, plummeting into the fiery darkness below.
I dove frantically onto the broken floorboards, desperately reaching my hand out toward the abyss.
My fingers brushed against the smooth plastic of the keycard just as it slipped from his terrified grasp.
I caught it securely in my palm, pulling myself away from the intense heat of the massive shaft.
I sprinted back out of the control room, running toward the main blast doors with only fifteen seconds left on the clock.
I reached the heavy steel barricade where my father, Emma, and Tyler were desperately waiting.
I slammed the glowing keycard into the electronic security terminal bolted to the wall.
The screen flashed rapidly, suddenly displaying a completely unexpected message that made my blood run cold.
"Biometric bloodline scan required for final authorization," the robotic voice announced.
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My father pressed his bloody hand against the glowing glass scanner, fully expecting it to accept his genetic profile.
The terminal flashed bright red, completely rejecting his handprint and locking the system with only ten seconds remaining.
