Page 39 of Alpha Chained

I shake my head minutely, pulling her closer to murmur in her ear. “We need to disable the security system first. I’ll explain later.”

Her breath catches, realization dawning. The detour adds precious minutes to our escape, increasing our chances of being discovered. But without shutting down their defenses, we’ll never make it past the outer perimeter. And we’ll never have the time that I need.

Raura’s fingers tighten around my bicep, her jaw set in determination. The fear is still there, lurking beneath the surface, but her courage outshines it. With a nod, she gestures for me to lead on.

Pride swells in my chest as I turn toward the security hub. She’s so damned brave – the fighter I knew she was from the first moment I saw this.

We can do this.

We have to do this.

Our freedom depends on it.

Moving with purpose, we quickly reach the heavy door that leads to the Enclave’s inner security workings. I breathe a sigh as I open it and see it unoccupied. I’ve been certain that the entire contingent of guards clears out on this rotation – a time of day that’s least likely to pose a threat. Still, it’s been mainly a theory of mine. Until this moment, I wasn’t quite sure.

I’m also not quite sure of the banks of buttons and displays that greet us as we walk in.

“Shit.” I don’t know where to start.

“What is this place?” Raura breathes, looking around.

“Parker’s paranoia playground,” I mutter, standing before the main desk and running an eye over the countless gadgets. It doesn’t take me long to find it. The man’s so predictable. Of course he’d label it after the official term for a missile attack.

“Get ready,” I tell Raura, grabbing her hand a second before I flick a series of red switches, then hit the large red button labeled “Defcon 1.”

“What—?” she blurts but doesn’t get another word out because I’m hauling her behind me as I sprint for the door. A blaring alarm goes off a second after we get through it. The lights in the hallway switch from white to flashing red.

“Move!” I yell, charging ahead, dragging her behind me. She’s stumbling but managing to keep up as I set a blistering pace to the corridor that leads to my outdoor training area. It’s the quickest way out, and if my predictions are right, the guards will be rushing to assemble at the main entrance. With any luck, they won’t be thinking about us. As much as Parker has this particular system in place, in all the time I’ve been here, it’s never been activated.

“Riot!” Raura is trying to keep up, but she’s flagging, and we don’t have time. Pausing for a fraction of a second, I lean down and scoop her over my shoulder, then hit a turn of speed that makes my eyes water.

We reach the secondary access point out of the place a second before a high-pitched whine cuts through the air. And then there’s the sound of sharp clanging that ripples through the Enclave. There’s barely a foot between us and the door when a heavy metal shutter slams down. Huge bars slide over it and snap into place. The alarms are still jangling inside, loud klaxon calls.

I set Raura down, running a hand over her to check that she’s unharmed.

Her eyes are wild in the predawn light.

“What…what was that?” she gasps.

“Lockdown,” I tell her, looking around. We’ve come out onto the plateau where I’ve trained every day for all these years. It’s a wide, bare space surrounded by towering pines that lead down the mountainside. The place is deserted…thank fuck. It looks like I may have been right. There are no guards in sight up here.

“Lockdown?” Raura is confused, and I can’t blame her. I’ve barely told her anything about this plan.

“Parker has a system in place in case of a nuclear attack.” I give a sort. The guy’s an ass.

“Nuclear attack?” Her eyes are wide.

“The man’s a lunatic,” I tell her. “He has this place prepped for a nuclear war. If the system is activated, the Enclave gets locked down for twenty-four hours. Nobody can get in or out during that time.”

It’s time that we need.

“And we’re outside.” Raura is looking around.

“Yes.” I take her hand, leading her through the giant outdoor fitness park where I’ve trained for the past ten years. The familiar structures take on unearthly shapes as we weave through them now: high beams, monkey bars, and clambering walls that bear the marks of my hands and feet…my sweat…

I’m leaving it behind me.

There’s a flood of disbelief as I realize the enormity of what we’ve just done.

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