In the hazy red-orange glow from the blaze of the solid laser stream, Adrienne’s mind wandered into the grief of lost love. As she focused on the horrors of the Addison Station massacre, reliving images that were painfully singed upon her inner eye, moments that when occurring had passed quickly in the preservation of her own life yet now haunted with images of violence and blood, the specters of the dead tugged at the deeply emotional person that she truly was.
Though at the time in moments that passed quickly, she had been focused on the situation within the train more so than that which was occurring beyond the safety of a steadfast doorway, her mind now proved to her that like a dutiful camera, she had somehow captured all that had transpired in the transit station. Amongst the visions, Adrienne relived the murder of Doctor Tremain playing over and over again within her inner sight, the senseless death of a brilliant man with a good heart who wished only to fulfill a dream while helping those that he cared for. The visions were painful for her, and as she gazed at the pencil thin line of the precision cut that the laser tool was making, she found herself wiping tears from her cheeks time and again.
Adrienne sat upon one of the two hefty rails that carried the large commuter vessels through the Underworld, the soot and dirt of the dark chasm no longer a concern to a once pristine woman. As she continued to struggle with the onslaught of painful memories, her dirty hands leaving tracks upon her face as she wiped moisture across her cheeks, she felt the beginning of vibration in the palm that rested upon the rail beside her. With a quick glance down at her hand massaging the rail with the formation of disbelief fueling fear within her, she confirmed that what she felt was not birthed of paranoia.
Adrienne leapt off the rail, kneeling beside Alec so that her lips were close to his right ear. “You need to hurry,” she said calmly, though her heart rate was beginning to increase once again.
Alec glanced sideways, the widening of his eyes seen in the glow from the laser tool.
“I felt a vibration,” Adrienne continued.
Alec turned back to the wall, hastening the movement of the laser tools tip tracing the line. Though he was close to joining the two edges, the gap was still significant. As Adrienne saw the spark of fear form upon his face, she knew that he, too, had felt the growing vibration in the floor.
Alec discontinued the laser stream, stabilizing his back against the closest rail as he began to kick heartily against the loosened piece of the wall within the incomplete cut.
“Alec!” Adrienne screamed as she saw light beginning to wash over like a fog in the distance of the tunnel.
The hole in the wall began to give as Alec’s force increased with the fear upon his face. A final powerful blow from his foot sent the block that he had cut tumbling in. “Get in!” He shouted, pushing at Adrienne’s backside.
Adrienne dove inwards, feeling herself falling as her legs scraped upon the newly cut metal. She reached her hands out to aid in breaking her fall, as her body landed at the bottom of a thin shaft. Without thought, she immediately broke into a crawl, ignoring the pain of her landing in her wrist, praying for the sound of Alec landing behind her.
The sound came, and without question or speaking, she continued to quickly scurry forward in the darkness of the shaft, feeling herself entering a tighter enclosure where her head was inches from the ceiling. She reached the end of the shaft with her head crashing against a wall, but realized that the shaft merely turned.
The vibration in the tunnel above was growing into a rumble as she continued to gain as much distance from their entry as possible. As the rumble became deafening, Adrienne felt heat erupt upon the soles of her feet while a great wind caught her hair from where the shaft had turned. With the thunderous roar of the passing train, the shaft burst into a blaze of white light as Alec collided with Adrienne, spreading himself across her back. She felt the heat around them intensify for a moment and then begin to subside as the blinding white light slowly diminished along with the rumble.
When silence returned, Alec’s breath was heavy breath was heavy upon her shoulder. “You alright?” he asked between hurried breaths.
Adrienne’s heart pounded with the furious beat of fear. “I think so,” she said, raising her head as she felt Alec begin to back off from where he had landed atop her. With the raising of her head, her hair caught a strong breeze from before them that blew across her shoulders, a cooler breeze.
“That was too close,” Alec said.
“I know. Did you save the laser?”
“Yeah, got it.”
Adrienne gazed into the shaft, the cool of the wind providing relief to her dirty face. There was a blue haze ahead, not tremendously lit, but a glow of some sort. She focused on the light as she continued. “That train may buy us some time. They’ll assume we’re dead.”
Alec sighed. “Great. Now what do we do with our bought time?”
“Let’s head towards the wind,” Adrienne replied as she began to crawl once more, the blue haze drawing her curiosity.