Chapter 5 - The Oxygen Trap
The echoing boom of the vault door sealing shut vibrated through the metal floor.
Dante instantly pulled his weapon and fired two shots at the electronic lock.
The bullets ricocheted off the hardened steel, completely useless.
A red emergency light flickered on above our heads.
The digital display on the wall indicated that the ventilation system had been manually disabled.
We had less than forty minutes of breathable oxygen left in the airtight room.
Dante paced the vault like a caged tiger, his eyes burning with rage.
He realized the bank manager had trapped us under someone else's orders.
I tried to control my breathing to conserve the precious air.
I pulled out my cell phone, but the underground vault blocked all cellular signals.
Dante slammed his fists against the thick metal walls in pure frustration.
I forced myself to stay calm and analyze the room.
I noticed a small, grated exhaust vent near the ceiling in the far corner.
I told Dante to lift me up so I could inspect the screws holding the grate in place.
He grabbed me by the waist and hoisted me onto his broad shoulders.
I used a heavy metal pen from my purse to pry the cheap screws loose.
The grate popped off, revealing a narrow maintenance shaft.
I squeezed my upper body into the dark, dusty tunnel.
I crawled forward for ten feet until I reached the master control panel for the vault doors.
My hands were bleeding, but I managed to rip the wiring harness completely out of the wall.
A loud mechanical clank echoed through the shaft.
The magnetic seal on the vault door had disengaged.
I slid back down into the vault just as Dante pushed the heavy steel door open.
We rushed out into the lobby, gasping for fresh air.
The bank manager was lying dead on the marble floor with a single bullet hole in his forehead.
Pinned to his bloody suit was another note that simply read, "Evanston."
May you like
My heart stopped completely.
Evanston was where my brother's psychiatric facility was located.
