Chapter 7 - The Vault
The heavy steel door locked with a sickening, definitive click.
Total darkness consumed the room for a few seconds before the emergency red lights flickered on.
The air inside the vault instantly felt heavy and stagnant.
Elias rushed to the door, pounding his fists against the cold titanium.
"Lily, are you okay?" Elias asked urgently, spinning around to find his daughter.
"I'm here, Daddy," Lily whimpered softly from the corner, still holding her plush toy tightly.
Arthur leaned against the wall, clutching his side where a stray piece of crystal had cut him deeply during the fight.
"Sir, this is a Class 9 security vault," Arthur coughed, wincing in pain.
"I know, it is designed to hold off a small army and it is completely airtight," Elias muttered in frustration.
Vanessa was pacing the small space, taking deep breaths and trying not to panic.
"We need to stay calm and conserve our oxygen," Vanessa said, trying to be helpful.
Elias nodded, moving over to the electronic keypad next to the door.
He quickly removed the plastic cover, exposing the complicated wiring underneath.
"I installed this system, I can bypass it," Elias said, pulling a small pocket knife from his jeans.
He carefully spliced two wires together, trying to force the system to reboot.
The small screen lit up, demanding a six-digit override code.
Elias typed in his master code, but the screen flashed a harsh red error message.
"Marcus changed the master code this morning after the board meeting," Arthur realized grimly.
Elias felt a cold knot form in his stomach as the oxygen level indicator on the wall dropped another percentage point.
He turned to look at Vanessa, his eyes filled with desperate hope.
"Vanessa, you are the floor manager, do you know the new code?" Elias asked quickly.
May you like
Vanessa opened her mouth to speak, but her eyes rolled back.
The stress and the thinning air were too much, and she collapsed onto the floor in a dead faint.
