Chapter 3 - Ash and Fire
They didn't have time. The ceiling shook as heavy boots pounded on the marble floor upstairs.
"They breached the locks!" a distorted voice yelled through the floorboards.
Madame Aris shoved a heavy canvas rucksack into Maya’s chest. "Take this. There’s food, a thermal cloak, and a comms unit. Take the maintenance shaft in the corner. It leads straight down to the primary grid."
"What about you?" Maya cried, hoisting Sam onto her back. The warmth from the medical patch had revived him slightly; his breathing was steadier, though his skin was still terrifyingly hot.
"I’m a baker," Madame Aris smiled, a genuine, sad expression. "I’m going to show them how hot my ovens can really get."
Maya scrambled into the dark, narrow maintenance shaft just as the steel door to the basement blew off its hinges. She climbed down the iron rungs, her breath hitching as the sound of gunfire erupted above her.
May you like
Then, a massive explosion shook the foundation. Heat rushed down the shaft, singeing Maya’s hair. The bakery was gone.
Maya clung to the ladder in the pitch black, tears cutting through the soot on her face. There was no going back. The only way was down, into the belly of the machine.
