Caught In The Crossfire

Chapter 7

David pulled another wire into a green terminal, at the same time connecting the wire above it to the red terminal at the top & He began to made a few more connections & a small electric spark suddenly appeared in the blue terminal in the centre. David flipped the lever on the side of the door & stepped back.

"Why didn't it work?" Alberto asked as he finished disabling the access code panel. David

thoughtfully toyed with the wire clamp & Alberto could see the gears in his friend's head turning at a feverish pace. David suddenly slapped himself.

"David González," he said aloud, "You are a complete idiot! Why didn't you see it before? The east terminal should be connecting the 3 motor wires to the manual override, not the access code pathway!"

Alberto was trying to suppressed a chuckle but failed & Zorro cocked his head as David quickly made the adjustment & a larger spark appeared in the centre terminal. Satisfied at last, he put the lever back into position. The door shuddered, then began to slide along the track. Both of them began to shiver violently as a blast of freezing cold air spilled in from the doorway.

David found a light switch & flicked it to the on position & looked back into the freezer. His heart skipped a beat. A body on the floor & the tangle of blonde hair immediately caught his attention & he quickly rushed in to the room.

***

"Hello, Winter," Alex grinned as he cracked his knuckles. "I was wondering what took you so long," he said as his voice filling the room. "It's rude to be late, you know."

"I didn't come here to talk," Max said deadly calm. He looked towards the back of the cleared storage area. Alex had gained a monstrous height in those years & it took a moment for Max to realize why. Alex's legs were prosthetic, attached to the stumps the fire had left behind & they were made way too tall for him. Half of his face was human, the other half charred. His single dark eye gleamed in the dim light as he brought his hands in front of him, one human, the other a gnarled mess as black as the jumpsuit he wore.

"Of course not. You came here to finish off the job you failed at all those years ago," said Alex bitterly.

"I tried to save you, Alex" Max shot back.

***

"Miranda!" David shouted. Miranda was curled in a ball on the floor, unconscious, not even shivering. David was on his knees beside her with Alberto standing over him & Zorro yipping excitedly next to him. He quickly gathered Jessie off the freezing floor, his arms closing tightly around her, his breath fogging up in front of him like dragon's smoke. "Miranda," David whispered to her as he brushed her hair back, keeping her head secure. "Can you hear me?" David felt his eyes well up with tears. His hands navigated her face. "Come on, Miranda," He whimpered as he reached to find a pulse on her neck. Fingers pressed against the side of her neck he squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to force the tears away, he didn't feel anything. "Miranda, you can't be gone, you can't be." He said, "We need you." He cursed the guy who did this a million times over in his head as he carried Miranda out of the death trap, creeping along the wall, following Zorro & Alberto. There was no way back as they couldn't climb up the crates again. He knew they would have to find a way out through the main corridors. "Help her," He said to Alberto.

"Inés, it's Alberto," Alberto called into the radio, "We found Miranda."

"Status?"

"Unknown but she's freezing but I think will be she's ok." Alberto said. "We need medics for we get up here & like now."

"On it," Inés replied.

***

"You are welcome to try, my friend." Alex laughed at the remark & spread his arms.