Page 108 of Immersed
“Here,”he said, pointing.“The security checkpoints. They’re located at specific junctions throughout the building.”He traced the path with his finger.“The first is in Specimen Storage, just like we thought. For the blood sample.”
“And the others?”Asher asked, leaning close enough that his breath tickled Levi’s ear.
“Second is in the Administrative Assistant Office on the first floor—probably for the voice recording. And the third...”Levi frowned, studying the blueprint.“The third is in something called the Observation Deck.”
“I know where that is,”Owen said.
“So we have our targets,”Levi summarized.“Three checkpoints, three samples. Get all three, and we can access the lower level where the primary laboratory is located.”
“And then what?”Elliot asked.“What exactly are we hoping to find down there?”
Levi hesitated. The truth—that he believed finding the lab might somehow break the loop, let them escape this nightmare—would sound insane to them.
“Evidence,”he said instead.“Concrete proof of what Dr. Fainewasdoing here. The kind that could make our careers as investigators.”
Itwasthe right angle to play. Elliot’s expression shifted from skepticism to calculation, the prospect of professional acclaim overriding his reservations. “We should split up again,”he suggested.“Cover more ground. Three teams, three targets.”
“No,”Levi said. “We stay together, tackle one objective at a time.”
“Starting with Specimen Storage,”Asher added.“It’s closest to this location.”
As if responding to their plans, a low rumble vibrated through the archive, dust sifting down from the ceiling. The metal cabinets rattled against each other, filling the room with a cacophony of clanging.
“What the hellwasthat?”Tyler demanded, steadying himself against a cabinet.
“The building,”Levi replied grimly.“It’s changing again. We need to move. Now.”
“Grab anything useful,”Asher instructed, already collecting documents and folding them into his cargo pockets.“Blueprints, security protocols, anything about the checkpoints.”
They worked quickly, each taking a portion of the discovered files. Levi rolled the main blueprint, securing it with a rubber band before tucking it under his arm.
“Ready?”he asked, surveying the group. They nodded, faces tense in the harsh glare of flashlights.
Another tremor shook the archive, stronger this time. A filing cabinet near the entrance toppled with a thunderous crash, blocking their exit path.
“That’s not good,”Maddie squeaked.
“Therehasto be another way out.”Levi’s flashlight beam caught a small door at the far end, hidden behind a row of cabinets.“There! Emergency exit.”
They made their way toward it, navigating between the rows as the tremors continued, growing in intensity. The floor beneath them shifted subtly, the entire room seeming to tilt a few degrees to the left.
Owen reached the door first, tugging on the handle.“It’s locked!”he called back.
“Of course it is,”Elliot muttered.“Everything in this godforsaken place is locked.”
Asher moved forward with his lock picks, but before he could reach the door, a horrific screech of metal filled the archive. The walls on either side began to move inward, the rows of cabinets slowly converging toward the center of the room.
“It’s a trap,”Levi realized with sickening clarity.
“We need to brace it!”Tyler shouted, already shoving his shoulder against the nearest row of cabinets.“Help me!”
The others rushed to assist, pushing against the encroaching walls with desperate strength. Metal groaned against metal as the cabinets resisted the pressure, but the walls continued their inexorable advance.
“It won’t hold!”Maddie cried, her feet sliding on the smooth floor as she struggled to maintain her position.
Levi’s mind raced, cataloging options and discarding them just as quickly. The exitwaslocked. The entrancewasblocked. The wallswereclosing in. They had minutes, maybe less, before the room crushed them all.
His eyes fell on a ventilation grate near the floor, partially hidden under a cabinet. Itwassmall—too small for most of them—but maybe...
