and pain, Korcheck’s
legs kicked up into the air, and his head bounced against the metal floor.
Two women running directly
behind Korcheck crashed down on top of him when he fell.
Not realizing her own grip on
the man she followed, Rone found herself crashing down across the heap of
fallen bodies.
The only person to escape the
pile was the large man who initially caused the collision. Without looking
back, he raced further down the passage while the rest struggled to untangle
themselves and stand up.
"Son of a bitch,"
Korcheck swore quietly and spit a bubble of blood from a gash his teeth caused
across his lip onto the floor. He then rolled over on his side and pulled
himself up. "C'mon."
He lowered his arm and helped
haul her from the pile.
Blood also trickled from a small
cut above Korcheck’s eye, and Rone could feel a bruise already forming around
her own.
Paper and pieces of electronic
equipment and gear littered the floor. Korcheck moved hurriedly through the two
women still trying to get up. In a daze, they slowly stood while Rone and
Korcheck hurried away.
Another two hundred meters down,
the passage snaked towards the left. Korcheck pulled her roughly against a wall
to the side next to two smoking elevator doors.
Larger throngs of people now
sprinted in a panic through the halls. Sparks falling from exploding lights
dropped across and ignited paper and other discarded items from the fleeing
crowd. Small fires were scattered about the metal floor.
"Security Alert! Repeat!
Security Alert!" an electronic voice bellowed across the sea of the
riotous throng. "Enemy personnel now entering the dome! Emergency
evacuate! Execute! Repeat! Emergency evacuate! Execute! All Personnel!"
"Oh my God," Rone said
into her hands which were cupped across her mouth.
Brilliant glowing filaments from
the shattering lights lit the air as they fell in a flurry around her. A series
of four explosions rocked the floor beneath their feet. A support beam crashed
through the ceiling to their left and slammed into the ground. Its point
pierced the solid metal of the floor. The sound of the metal tearing into more
metal resembled a drawn out tortured scream.
“It’s been a long time since
I’ve been down here,” Korcheck said while pulling a security card from his
pocket and jabbing it into a slot in the center of the wall. When he did, a
panel opened slowly revealing a hidden elevator deep within the wall.
Its cabin doors opened
ominously.
“For obvious reasons, the
entrance is not always the easiest to find,” Korcheck said darting quickly
inside the compartment and motioning her to follow.
Rone hesitated for a second. She
stood alone in the hallway in front of Korcheck waiting for her inside the
elevator cabin. She turned her head and looked down the hallway. The heat from
the small fires began to increase causing beads of sweat to slide from her
forehead down her cheek.
The flames danced higher in the
corridors, and the crowds struggling to escape had finally thinned.
Korcheck held his hand out to
her.
"Go!" he screamed over
the roar of the chaos befalling the dome. "Go, if you have to! I have to
go down! I can still wake up the ship from the lab!"
"Can you really do
it?!" she screamed at him. “What about the safeguards?!”
"Alert! Alert! Soldiers
within the compound!" the mechanized voice bellowed throughout the
passages. "All personnel must evacuate. Repeat. All personnel must
evacuate. Soldiers within the compound!"
Rone saw him scream back to her
but couldn’t hear what he said. She fought the urge to just lie down across the
ground and throw her arms across her head.
And then the sights and sounds
of the turmoil around them suddenly softened as if someone had adjusted a
volume switch. The smoke clogging the air cleared slightly, and the heat from
the flames seemed to cool.
Everything became calm around
her. For an instant, Rone forgot why she was even there.
She just stared at Korcheck’s
outstretched
legs kicked up into the air, and his head bounced against the metal floor.
Two women running directly
behind Korcheck crashed down on top of him when he fell.
Not realizing her own grip on
the man she followed, Rone found herself crashing down across the heap of
fallen bodies.
The only person to escape the
pile was the large man who initially caused the collision. Without looking
back, he raced further down the passage while the rest struggled to untangle
themselves and stand up.
"Son of a bitch,"
Korcheck swore quietly and spit a bubble of blood from a gash his teeth caused
across his lip onto the floor. He then rolled over on his side and pulled
himself up. "C'mon."
He lowered his arm and helped
haul her from the pile.
Blood also trickled from a small
cut above Korcheck’s eye, and Rone could feel a bruise already forming around
her own.
Paper and pieces of electronic
equipment and gear littered the floor. Korcheck moved hurriedly through the two
women still trying to get up. In a daze, they slowly stood while Rone and
Korcheck hurried away.
Another two hundred meters down,
the passage snaked towards the left. Korcheck pulled her roughly against a wall
to the side next to two smoking elevator doors.
Larger throngs of people now
sprinted in a panic through the halls. Sparks falling from exploding lights
dropped across and ignited paper and other discarded items from the fleeing
crowd. Small fires were scattered about the metal floor.
"Security Alert! Repeat!
Security Alert!" an electronic voice bellowed across the sea of the
riotous throng. "Enemy personnel now entering the dome! Emergency
evacuate! Execute! Repeat! Emergency evacuate! Execute! All Personnel!"
"Oh my God," Rone said
into her hands which were cupped across her mouth.
Brilliant glowing filaments from
the shattering lights lit the air as they fell in a flurry around her. A series
of four explosions rocked the floor beneath their feet. A support beam crashed
through the ceiling to their left and slammed into the ground. Its point
pierced the solid metal of the floor. The sound of the metal tearing into more
metal resembled a drawn out tortured scream.
“It’s been a long time since
I’ve been down here,” Korcheck said while pulling a security card from his
pocket and jabbing it into a slot in the center of the wall. When he did, a
panel opened slowly revealing a hidden elevator deep within the wall.
Its cabin doors opened
ominously.
“For obvious reasons, the
entrance is not always the easiest to find,” Korcheck said darting quickly
inside the compartment and motioning her to follow.
Rone hesitated for a second. She
stood alone in the hallway in front of Korcheck waiting for her inside the
elevator cabin. She turned her head and looked down the hallway. The heat from
the small fires began to increase causing beads of sweat to slide from her
forehead down her cheek.
The flames danced higher in the
corridors, and the crowds struggling to escape had finally thinned.
Korcheck held his hand out to
her.
"Go!" he screamed over
the roar of the chaos befalling the dome. "Go, if you have to! I have to
go down! I can still wake up the ship from the lab!"
"Can you really do
it?!" she screamed at him. “What about the safeguards?!”
"Alert! Alert! Soldiers
within the compound!" the mechanized voice bellowed throughout the
passages. "All personnel must evacuate. Repeat. All personnel must
evacuate. Soldiers within the compound!"
Rone saw him scream back to her
but couldn’t hear what he said. She fought the urge to just lie down across the
ground and throw her arms across her head.
And then the sights and sounds
of the turmoil around them suddenly softened as if someone had adjusted a
volume switch. The smoke clogging the air cleared slightly, and the heat from
the flames seemed to cool.
Everything became calm around
her. For an instant, Rone forgot why she was even there.
She just stared at Korcheck’s
outstretched
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