Page 66 of Silent Road

Sheila's flashlight flickered ominously.She switched it off to conserve what little battery remained, plunging them into darkness.

"Left hand on the wall," Wells instructed."Count your steps.Thirty more to the junction chamber."

It was odd to Sheila how helpful Wells was being.Then again, perhaps he had given up all hope of escape.Perhaps he knew that even if he got out of here, the cold would kill him.

They moved blind through the frigid air, every sound amplified in the darkness.Sheila's world narrowed to the rough concrete under her fingers and the increasingly labored sound of their breathing.

"Here," Wells said finally."The junction chamber.There should be an emergency kit mounted on the wall—might still have flares."

Sheila clicked the flashlight on briefly.The beam, now alarmingly dim, revealed a circular chamber with several tunnel entrances.

"Over here," Wells said, moving to a metal cabinet mounted on the wall."Emergency supplies."

The cabinet's hinges shrieked in protest as he wrenched it open.Inside, they found a few ancient flares, a first aid kit, and what looked like a hand-drawn map of the tunnel system, its edges yellow with age.

Sheila's flashlight flickered again, threatening to die completely.Wells cracked one of the flares, bathing the chamber in harsh red light.The chemical heat felt almost warm against her frozen face.

"East tunnel," he said, gesturing with the flare."Another quarter mile to the access door.If it's not frozen shut."

They moved as quickly as they dared, the flare casting wild shadows on the ice-covered walls.Every breath hurt now, the cold burning in Sheila's lungs.She had lost feeling in her toes despite her heavy boots.

"Almost there," Wells said through chattering teeth."Around this bend."

The tunnel opened into another chamber, smaller than the last.Metal rungs led up one wall to what looked like a heavy access door in the ceiling.Their escape route—if they could open it.

Wells started up the rungs, moving with surprising agility for someone who'd seemed so affected by the cold.He reached the door and pushed.It didn't budge.

"Try using the flare as a wedge," Sheila suggested through chattering teeth.

He nodded, jamming the flare into the gap.The door groaned, then lifted slightly.Wells pushed harder, snow drifting through the widening crack.

"I can get through," he said, pulling himself up.

Sheila started climbing the rungs, but Wells was already through the opening.Their eyes met for a brief moment.Then, his lips widened in a cold, calculating smile.

"Don't—" Sheila said, but that was all she got out before the door slammed shut with a decisive clang.

Sheila was alone in the darkness.The flare had fallen, sputtering out in a patch of ice.Her flashlight was dead.She had no idea which tunnel led where, and the cold was becoming unbearable.

She leaned against the frozen wall, fighting down panic.Think.As long as she kept her wits about her—

Metal scraped above her.The door opened, spilling snowflakes and light into the chamber.

"Sheila!"Star's voice.Then Finn's face appeared in the opening.

They helped her up through the door.She emerged into swirling snow, emergency lights pulsing red and blue through the storm.

The wind whipped snow around them as Finn pulled her close, but even through the haze of exhaustion and cold, Mark's fate weighed on her."Mark," she said through chattering teeth, her voice rough with more than just the cold."We left him up there, injured.Tommy was with him, but now—" The implications struck her anew, horror spreading through her chest colder than any storm.

"He's safe," Finn assured her quickly."First thing we did was send a team to the upper level.Found him barely conscious but alive.Medevac's already got him out."He tightened his hold on her, understanding the burden of command—how leaving anyone behind, even to save yourself, carved permanent scars on the soul.

Sheila nodded gratefully.Then, as she continued to process everything that had happened, her mind turned back to the missing killer.

"Wells," she managed through chattering teeth."He went this way—"

"Don't worry about Wells," Finn said."We've got units on every access road—we knew you and he were unaccounted for, so we prepared for the possibility that he was on the run.His photo's already been distributed to local law enforcement.In this storm, he won't get far."

"How did you find me?"

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