Page 28 of Shattered World

My demand snapped her out of whatever trance she was in, and she straightened, staring down her nose at me. “That is my business.”

A sharp laugh came from the back of the room, Warner crossing his arms over his chest. Rainer growled low in his throat, Murphy speaking for us all.

“They won’t tell you. They,” he pointed sharply at Rainer and me, “have the location. If you don’t tell us the plan, you’ll never know it.”

Caroline’s brows raised, her lips pursing in annoyance. This wasn’t her game anymore. Not when we suddenly had informationsheneeded. Opening her mouth, I hoped she was about to explain her plan, but she never got the chance.

A loud siren pierced the air, my hands clamping over my ears to deter the noise. Caroline’s face drained of color, repetitive no’s spilling from her lips.

“What the hell is that?” Sasha shouted over the noise.

Caroline started shoving at my body, pushing me out of her office as she began explaining in a hurry.

“They haven’t done this in weeks. Not since the trains started to arrive. The sirens are a warning. When evacuations first started, they sent the guards out, going into every business and home to make sure no one was here that shouldn’t be.”

Just when I thought the road ahead was going to be an easy one, the damn universe had to throw a wrench into that. Because Caroline may be fine, but we sure as hell weren’t supposed to be here. Let alone the other people upstairs.

“Go upstairs. Hide. Do whatever you need to do.” Caroline pushed us the rest of the way out of her office, shutting and locking the door behind her, depositing a key into her pocket.

I didn’t move. We still didn’t have the plan we needed. But as the sirens continued to wail, Murphy grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the elevator.

The five of us huddled into the small box, the movement of the elevator too slow for the alarm still blaring. Stepping off and into the room, we were met with controlled chaos.

Worried looks and alarmed whispers spread throughout the room, but Matthew’s firm voice spoke over all of them.

“Caroline told me this may happen. I have a plan in place,” he assured all the others, although there was a slight tremor in his voice.

I spotted Mina rushing toward us, stopping at Sasha’s side. “Elizabeth and the twins are in their room,” she whispered and Murphy nodded, taking off in that direction.

My gaze scanned the room, looking for one face in particular, but he wasn’t there.

“Aiden?” I asked Mina breathlessly, my heart locking up in my chest.

“He’s at the train station. Far away. He’ll be okay,” Mina assured me and I nodded, although her words did nothing to stop the tremors skating up my spine.

Matthew finally noticed our little group and made his way over. “There is a hidden room on the floor beneath us. There is no key card, only a singular key hole. We should be safe there.”

He held up the key, the others in the room already heading toward the stairwell at the opposite end of the hall.

“And if they break into every room?” Rainer asked with a sneer.

Matthew’s gaze dropped to the gun at his side. “Then I hope you know how to use that thing.”

There was no more time for words as we scrambled with the others down the stairs and into the small room. As Matthew had described, it was hidden in the back, unsuspecting. From theoutside, the door was slimmer than the others, looking more like a supply closet than the sprawling room that lay behind.

Everyone crammed inside, the space tight with so many bodies. Murphy and Elizabeth were in the back, the twins holding tight onto their mother’s legs.

I pushed through the others, making our way to them. Murphy pulled me into his arms, two little arms wrapping around my leg. Looking down, I spotted Stephanie, my hand running a soothing hand over her head.

Matthew shut the door behind him, locking us all inside. An eerie silence fell over the room, no one daring to utter a word, most of us too scared to even let out a single breath.

Minutes turned into hours, the sirens still echoing throughout the room. My heart started beating a normal rhythm as more time passed without anyone entering.

But that only lasted for so long. My eyes squeezed shut at the first sound of footsteps against the floor outside. The thudding noise matched the rhythm of my heart, my hand wrapping around Stephanie protectively as Murphy pulled me closer to his chest.

“Rainer,” he urged, and my eyes peeked open to see Rainer and Warner shuffling through the crowd of teary faces.

With their guns poised, they stood before the door, ready to face down whatever waited on the other side. The thudding pounded down the hall, falling silent right outside the door. The knob twisted, refusing to budge, and I held my breath, waiting.

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