Race the Storm

Chapter 32

How were they going to get out now? She didn't blame Jax for his response to the guy seeming to recognize him, but they were in serious trouble.

Willa gripped Jax's hand tighter as he surged toward the door, towing her behind him as she reoriented herself. She should've paid more attention when Jax said he didn't like the plan. Apparently, they should've gone with his gut instinct.

The second guard lunged at her. Willa dodged forward and almost collided with Jax's back. He turned and held out his free hand toward the guard. A badge on the front of his vest exploded, hurling him backwards and into the table, which screeched as its locked wheels scratched against the floor. Willa winced.

"Faster, Willa," Jax said. His hand tightened around hers, and he pulled her through the door and into the hall.

"No hard feelings," Hernandez said from the doorway. She slapped her hand against a panel on the wall, and sirens immediately began to wail. The door hurled itself shut behind them.

A lockdown? Yeah, definitely some kind of lockdown. The door at the end of the hall was sliding shut. Jax lifted a hand, and the control panel blew, sparks scattering. They were able to move through, but that didn't mean the next door would be opened.

"Do these places have emergency exits?" Willa asked, forcing herself to stay calm. They couldn't get trapped in here. Not when Hernandez had that information. They never should have come here, she shouldn't have pushed for it.

"Nothing that'll be unlocked," Jax said. They sprinted down a hall. Willa glanced up at a black circular camera in the ceiling. "I'll get us out."

"How?" Willa asked. In front of them, another door had closed, this time trapping them in the hallway. Jax scowled.

"This place focuses on people with mental powers. It's not built to take a ton of damage," he said, "I can blast through the wall."

Willa stared, incredulous. "It's that thin? Are we even near the outside?"

"I can get through multiple walls."

"And completely exhaust yourself at the same time."

He frowned at her. "Do you have a better plan?"

Willa paused, the surge of guilt slowing her down momentarily and closing her throat. She shook her head, then peered up at him as she bit her lip. "I don't." She wished her newfound electrical ability could help somehow, but she had no idea how or if she could control it. In her attempt to help them out she might end up locking them in even more badly. Better if she didn't mess things up more than she already had.

Jax squeezed her hand, his expression compassionate for a moment before he turned back toward the door. His face immediately changed, becoming business-like and closed off as he focused on the mission at hand.

Willa wished she could help.

For a second, Willa wasn't sure Jax wasn't doing anything, but then Jax was pulling her close to him and towards the wall, sheltering them in another doorway. In another second, there was a loud thud, the sound of screeching metal, and a wave of pressure that Jax protected her from fully experiencing. She looked up in time to catch him glancing over his shoulder.

"Good, the hole is big enough, let's go." As he tugged her into the next hall and toward what Willa could tell was already another closed door, Willa began to do a mental review of the halls they'd taken to get to the doctor's office.

There'd been an awful lot of open doorways.

If every door took this long...

"Jax, I don't know if we're going to make it out," she said as she heard the sound of distant shouting. Whoever was after them could either easily open the doors or climb through the holes they left behind. Plus the people who lived here knew this place better. There was no way they wouldn't catch up to Jax and Willa.