𝐈𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝

Chapter Twenty-Five: Monarch Part Two

3rd POV

Raine and Jack were still inching through the vents. Jack had switched to the front as he guided them through the small crawl space, which unfortunately for Raine, made her mere inches away from Jack's feet.

"How much farther?" she asked as she wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. The lack of room and oxygen was starting to make her claustrophobic and uneasy.

"A little bit farther, we should be in the control room soon," Jack answered as he paused before turning left to head down another vent.

"By the way, your feet stink," Raine said snarkily, which made Jack chuckle.

"Well, I'm the one who knows the way around here, so you'll just have to deal," he retorted to which Raine sighed sarcastically.

"Fine, but when we get back I-" she was cut off by Jack turning around and pressing a finger to her lips, quieting her. He removed his finger before he pointed to the small slit in the vent where Raine could see guards passing through one of the hallways. She nodded, understanding why he had shushed her. Jack turned back around and continued ahead with Raine following close behind. As they rushed through the vents, Raine could feel her knees aching and becoming raw, but just as she felt like she was about to collapse, Jack suddenly stopped in front of her.

"Jack?" Raine whispered, nudging his leg, but he didn't respond. Peeking her head around Jack's body she could see that he was fiddling with something.

"Screwdriver?" Jack whispered and Raine quickly pulled it out of the band on her waist, handing it to him as he began unscrewing the vent in front of him.

"Raine? Raine? Are you there?

Nora's voice on the walkie-talkie sounded loudly through the vents which caused Raine to jump in response and clumsily fiddle with the device before she finally turned it down. She held the button on the side to answer Nora.

"Yeah, Nora we're here," Raine spoke quietly through the speaker, "Are you guys close?" she asked as Jack continued to unscrew the vent in front of them.

"We're getting closer. Almost to the doors. What about you guys?"

"We're still in the vents because someone doesn't know how to work a screwdriver," Raine sassed, glaring at Jack who rolled his eyes at her.

"Okay, let me know when you guys-"
"Hurry up!" Dylan cut off Nora and Raine could practically hear her sister thinking up at least five different ways to kill him.

"We're almost there," Jack whispered as he was on the last screw.

"Yeah Nora, I'll let you know when we're in," Raine responded before pocketing the walkie-talkie, making sure to keep it at a low volume that was loud enough for her to hear but quiet enough that any nearby guards wouldn't hear it. As soon as the last screw was out, Jack cautiously poked his head down, checking for guards before holding onto the edge of the vent and lowering himself to the ground. He landed silently onto the ground before turning back up to watch as Raine started to do the same. She gripped the vent tightly as she lowered herself. Because she was shorter than him, Jack held out his arms and caught her by her legs, carefully dropping her to the ground.

"Thanks," Raine said quickly, trying to hide the small blush that crept onto her cheeks. Jack sent her a wink which made Raine shake her head and roll her eyes as she brushed past him to check the hallway in front of them for guards.

"We're good," she said to Jack. He waved her over and led her down another hallway.

Nora's POV