Chapter 9 - The Final Stand
Richard had completely regained consciousness in the basement and crawled his way into the smoke-filled garage.
His face was covered in dried blood from the fire extinguisher blow, and his eyes burned with sheer, unhinged madness.
He violently yanked Elena backward, sending her crashing painfully onto the hard, oil-stained concrete floor.
Julian screamed in horror and stubbornly refused to climb up into the ventilation shaft without her.
Richard lunged forward like a wild animal, wrapping his heavy, suffocating hands around Elena's throat.
The dark smoke was blinding them both, and Elena could feel her burning lungs desperately screaming for oxygen.
Her vision rapidly started fading to black as Richard squeezed her neck tighter and tighter.
With her last ounce of fading strength, Elena blindly reached out her hand across the cold floor.
Her bleeding fingers finally wrapped around the heavy tire iron she had dropped during the struggle.
She swung the metal bar wildly upward, striking Richard squarely in the jaw with a sickening crunch.
He groaned in pain and collapsed instantly, falling completely unconscious onto the concrete floor once again.
Elena gasped for breath, fighting through the dizziness, and quickly shoved Julian up into the ventilation shaft.
She painfully pulled her own exhausted body up into the narrow metal tube right behind him.
They crawled desperately through the tight space toward the fresh night air pouring in from the outside grate.
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They kicked the metal grate open with their feet and fell directly onto the soft, wet grass of the front lawn.
Multiple sets of blinding blue and red police lights were rapidly flashing at the main security gate.
